Author's Notes at the end

When he died, he thought things would be different.

Pearly gates, burning hellfire, some other third thing, he'd have taken anything other than what he got.

Floating in an endless void without a body? So boring… He wondered if maybe he'd even be able to stay sane.

It could have been minutes, hours, days, years, and he would have had no idea. He didn't know how long it had been when he first felt something again, plucked out of the endless void, he heard a voice whisper…

"How about a do over?"

His mind went blank and he knew no more.

/-/

In a bedroom that was covered in blue carpet, with a single twin-sized bed in the corner against the window that let light in lay a boy wearing a black T-shirt and gray shorts. He had pale skin and under the covers he was slim in build. Unkempt and messy black hair stuck up in random places, it fell over his closed hazel eyes. Well they were closed, until suddenly a song blared to life from the smartphone resting on his nightstand.

"IT'S FIVE AM AND MY BREATHING HAS STOPPED AGAIN! THE WORLD GOES QUIET LIKE A STORM RIGHT BEFORE THE END!"

His eyes flew open and he gasped for air before he fell off his bed in a bundle of blankets. He landed with a THUMP and groaned before reaching up to his nightstand and turning off his alarm.

Then, he reached up and rubbed the top of his head with a groan, "What the hell…" Then his eyes opened wide and he shot up, "W-Wait, wait!" He looked around, "This isn't…"

Ah, he remembered now.

Death, specifically, death from… Well, he didn't remember the specifics, he just knew that he died.

So, yeah, death. That sums it up. Now he just had to figure out why he was alive again all of the sudden. Unless this was heaven, but the aching he felt in his head from his fall seemed to indicate otherwise. He was pretty sure heaven wouldn't have pain, so that was off the table.

Hell? Nah, no fire, no demons, not even heavy metal.

His vision was also blurry, much blurrier than he remembered it being before. He saw a pair of black rimmed glasses on the nightstand, so he snatched them up and put them on, "Much better…" He muttered, "Damn, really? I didn't need glasses in my old life…" His voice was different as well, he didn't sound particularly high or low pitched, so not a downgrade, but not an upgrade either.

He looked around his room, and all things considered it looked fairly nice. The deep blue carpet felt nice and plush, his bed was ultra comfy, he had a computer at his desk, powered off at the moment, a nice looking office chair, a closet, and of course a standing mirror. There was more, but he focused on the mirror, stepping over to it and looking himself over.

Well, he looked much better than he used to, "Well, I guess I can't complain about this, at least…" He fixed his glasses, although there was one glaring issue…

He was a teenager again! Damn it, he had just escaped the hell that was the school system in his old life, now he had to do it all over again? He groaned and walked back to his nightstand, snatching up the phone, hoping it would offer some sort of guidance.

What he found was both insightful and mildly frightening.

The first thing he checked was the gallery, passing up what looked to be a bunch of memes to access his camera folder.

"Oh my God…"

There were tons of pictures of him with a girl that seemed to be his age. She had fair skin, dark green eyes, and long, incredibly fluffy hair that was the same color as her eyes and stuck up at odd-angles all over the place. The pictures varied in location and the two of them varied in clothing, sometimes they were clearly in… whatever city they were in, he spotted one of them at an aquarium…

The two usually stood close together and often gave peace signs, or just otherwise smiled. Some of the pictures appeared to be several years old, so clearly he'd known this girl for a long time… In the oldest pictures there was another boy, one that he recognized almost immediately.

"Bakugo?"

Spiky blonde hair, bright red eyes, a perpetual look of being upset at something, yep… There was no doubting that, but there was no way, right? He couldn't have been reborn into a world like that, could he?

Intent on finding more evidence, he switched to his phone's messaging app. There weren't a lot of people he talked to… in fact, there was only one. The profile picture showed the same girl as before, and the name read…

Izumi Midoriya.

He was so screwed.

Most people would have taken this as a great thing. Wake up in a familiar world where you knew all the plot points and were able to look super cool, get with your personal best girl, and live out your days in luxury, right? Well, there was one problem with that…

He hadn't seen past season three! He hadn't even watched the movies! Nor read the manga, he was anime only! He groaned and sat on his bed, "Damn it, I knew I should have actually started watching the things on my watch list… Stupid ADHD." He started scrolling through the messages on the app, only to find that he and Izumi really didn't talk there much. So, he decided to check somewhere else. Somewhere like…

'Wait, is that Discord?'

He remembered that the world here was basically the same up to a certain point, so maybe he shouldn't have been surprised that Discord existed, but still, it was kind of jarring. New world, same app… At least he didn't have to learn something new.

He had a lot more friends and chats on Discord than he did on the messaging apps. 'Some things never change…' he huffed and saw that he had a few new messages from one person in particular, the profile picture was of a deku scrub, so he didn't even need to see the name to know who it was.

Of course, the profile name was 'Deku' so even if he hadn't known what a deku scrub was, he would have figured it out that way. When he saw the messages, he groaned.

'Oh great, Deku is one of THOSE people.'

Deku: "Hey!"

Deku: "After class today"

Deku: "Wanna hang out?"

Deku: "We'll probably need it."

That all could have been one message! Based on the old messages that he himself had sent, it seemed he at least talked in complete sentences and tried to not send anymore than one message at a time, filled with everything he wanted to say.

He was also pretty sure Izuku in the show didn't like the name Deku at all until he went to UA, so what was the deal with Izumi liking it? He'd need to get to the bottom of that, but there were more important things to check. Like… going back to the messenger app and seeing if his name was on there.

Of course it was.

Niban Erabu.

'...Hey, wait a minute! Runner up? Second choice? That's not cool!'

Well, so much for that, no cool names for him. He set the phone down and checked his wallet, finding some yen in it, although he had no idea how much it was supposed to be in USD. The conversion rate could be entirely different now…

He also found an ID when he checked his wallet again, and found some interesting information on it.

Niban Erabu

Sex: M

D.O.B: 2060/02/01

Blood Type: O Negative

Quirk: None

No quirk?! That was so unfair! He got sent to a new world and he didn't even have the main thing that made that world special? He groaned and slipped the ID back into his wallet and pondered what to do with this new information.

However, before he really had time to think about that he received another message from Izumi on Discord.

Deku: "I see you online!"

Deku: "You'd better be getting ready!"

'Shit.'

He had no time to adjust! How was he supposed to get his bearings when he had to go to school right away? Still… there wasn't really anything he could do about it. So, he stood up and went to his closet, finding a uniform hung up and ready to go, he started to get dressed. All the while he was grumbling about Japanese uniforms being way too complex for what they were.

By the time he finally finished getting dressed, he heard his front door open and a girl's somewhat high-pitched voice call out, "Niban! Are you ready? We're gonna be late!" He realized that must have been Izumi, so he hurried and grabbed the backpack that was laying on the ground and hurried outside.

Indeed, Izumi Midoriya was waiting for him at his door, holding a key, which seemed to imply that he had at some point given a spare to her. He didn't hear anyone else in his home, so.. .was he living on his own? He wasn't against that, but still, it was strange. However, as his gaze settled on her, his mind went back and he had one thought…

'Oh no she's cute!'

She looked basically the same as she did in the most recent photo, except now she was wearing the female version of the school uniform, the primary difference being the dark blue skirt she wore instead of pants. She was also fairly short, and if nothing else, Niban realized he seemed to be at least somewhat tall, he would need to see more people to know for certain though.

He cleared his throat and smiled nervously, "H-Hey, Izu! Sorry, I got distracted." That was technically the truth, and now he realized that unless he eventually started getting memories of this new life, he was just going to have to wing it very hard when it came to his past.

Easy, right?

Izumi smiled, "It's alright!" She shifted her weight to accommodate the backpack she was wearing, "Now let's get going, we don't wanna be late on the first day!"

Niban didn't really have time or reason to argue, so instead he followed after her and decided that he would have to look at the rest of his home later. He recognized the apartment complex vaguely, it was one of those ones with just several flights of stairs leading up to the different floors. At least it looked well taken care of…

As they headed down, Izumi said with excitement laced into her voice, "I can't believe after this year we'll finally be going to high school! We'll get into UA, I know we will!" Different gender, same Deku, it seemed, at least based on what he remembered about who she was in the show.

He rubbed the back of his head, "I dunno Izu, I don't have a Quirk. How will I get in?" He frowned, "It doesn't seem likely."

Izumi shook her head, "Even if you fail that part, you can always get into General Studies, or Support! I know nothing will stop you from being a hero, though. I won't let you give up now when we're so close!" She pouted, "You aren't giving up, are you, Niban?"

'Damn it…'

He shook his head, "N-No, not at all. I'm just… not sure what I'll do." In more ways than one, "Oh, you know, my memory's been pretty spotty lately… Can you remind me why you use Deku as a handle online?"

Izu huffed, "You seriously don't remember? That's just like you, Two." Two? Well, it made sense, given his name, "When we were younger, Kacchan would call both of us that. Then after I got my Quirk, you told me I should own it! If someone can become a Hero with a name like Deku, then the definition will change! Deku will mean hero instead of useless!"

'I said that?' Well, he could see himself saying something like that, so maybe he wouldn't have to worry about his personality ratting him out as not knowing what the hell was going on, "Ah, right right. I remember now."

It didn't escape his notice that Izumi had a Quirk, which was kind of a big deal. It meant she wouldn't have to worry about not having a snowball's chance in hell when it came to getting into UA, now that was on him. It sucked, he would have loved to be a Hero, not just because it sounded super cool, but because with his new lease on life, he figured the least he could do with it was be a good person. Why let a gift like this go to waste?

Clearly the universe, or whatever put him here, was hell bent on making his life difficult though. Why couldn't he have gotten a show that he actually watched all the way through? Like…

…Well, he actually hadn't watched any show all the way through, playing video games was a full time occupation!

Izumi was watching him closely and when he looked at her she looked away, "Ah! Sorry, you just looked really deep in thought so I was wondering what you were thinking about and you know with all the talk about UA I was thinking it might be that and-"

He waved his hand, "Deku, calm down." He then gave a thumbs up, "It's alright!" He found it hard to not feel a bit happy around Deku, her exuberant attitude and clumsy habits were very uplifting.

…Now if only that uplifting spirit would get him through the school day. He was so not looking forward to that.

Oh well, how hard could it be?

/-/

It turned out that school wasn't that hard, but it was incredibly annoying. The teachers were the ones who swapped instead of students, that was nice, but man the others were super loud. The only person who didn't really talk besides him was Izumi, and that was because she was busy scribbling in one of her journals, 'Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume 7'.

Niban might not have remembered much about the show, but he remembered Deku being a real nerd for Heroes. It was kind of relieving to see that that hadn't changed, even with the addition of a Quirk.

The Homeroom teacher returned at the end of the day to see everyone off and to 'pass out' (read: throw everywhere) a bunch of career aptitude tests. He claimed he knew everyone wanted to be heroes so there was no point in giving the test, but that felt… short-sighted at best. Not everyone in the room was going to be able to get into UA, in fact, only two people were.

Certainly not him, that was for sure.

Then, as if had heard Niban's thoughts, the teacher asked, "Niban, don't you also want to be a hero?"

Of course, most of the class' first instinct was to laugh. Niban clenched his fist, he had been bullied enough his first go around, damn it! "Hey!" He growled, "Yeah, I want to be a Hero, and yeah, I'm Quirkless, but you know something?" He gestured all around, "Most of you guys aren't getting anywhere in life either, so you might as well fill out your aptitude tests or get ready for a job flipping burgers after you've failed the UA entrance exam!"

To his surprise, Bakugo spoke up, "The Quirkless Loser is right for once." He grunted, "All of you nobodies are just extras. I'll be the first person from this nothing school to get into UA, so you'd better get ready to go flip some burgers, losers!"

The class' ire was redirected right to Bakugo, who seemed to relish in it, a wicked grin on his face, "Come on, I'll take all of you idiots on! Who wants to die?!" He held up his hand, ready to blast someone, and of course nobody was willing to take that challenge.

He never thought he would find himself on the same side as someone like Bakugo, but weirder things had happened. Luckily, class was quick to let out after that, and so he busied himself putting his books away.

Unfortunately, of course, Bakugo had to choose this point to approach him.

His gruff voice caused Niban to look at him as he spoke, "Hey, loser. I don't know what's given you that backbone, but you might as well give it to Deku." He tossed his head towards her, although his eyes remained on Niban, "'Cause there's no way a Quirkless loser like you will ever become a hero."

Niban frowned, he remembered this guy being a jerk, of course he did. Wasn't he going to possibly betray UA, or in the words of people online, 'pull a Sasuke'? Yeah, he was going to want to stop that, somehow. For now though, he scoffed, "Trust me, Kacchan, I would if I could." He turned fully towards Bakugo, "But since I've still got it how about I just tell you to, what's the phrase..? Ah, right! Shove it up your a-"

Izumi interrupted him with a nervous laugh, "H-Hey, guys! Don't fight, we all wanna be heroes, don't we? I know Niban can do it, he can be the first Quirkless Hero!"

Niban appreciated the sentiment, but he couldn't help but think, 'That's a bit naive…'

Bakugo grunted, "You should stop encouraging this damn Quirkless loser, Deku! Even if he had a Quirk he'd be nowhere near my level, so you might as well focus on your own damn Quirk if you want any chance to get into UA! Even if you'll never be anywhere near my level."

Izumi, of course, was quick to start going into appeasement mode by saying things like, "A-Ah, of course! You'll always be the best, Kacchan!"

All the while Bakugo just ignored it, his focus was still on Niban, "You wanna be a hero so bad?" He gestured to the window, "Why don't you take a dive? Maybe you'll get lucky in the next life, loser!"

'I remember this.' It was the reason why he began to dislike Bakugo in the first place. Who the hell just says something like that?! He clenched his fists, "The only way that's happening is if you're right there with me, pal!"

Izumi watched in abject horror while Bakugo's eyes damn near popped out of his head in rage, "What the hell did you say to me, bastard?! And who the hell calls people pal?! When'd you become an America fanboy, you Quirkless loser?! I should toss you out the window myself, maybe then you'd get the message that you're nothing!"

Niban clenched his fists, "You heard me, shitstain! If you're gonna throw me, then throw me! See how getting that Hero license goes when everyone hears you just killed a classmate, huh?!"

Finally, Izumi interrupted before Bakugo could say anything, "Guys! Stop fighting!" She looked nearly in tears, "We're all gonna be heroes, so there's no reason to fight!" She held up the Hero Analysis journal she was working on, "With this, Niban will become a hero, he'll have all the info he needs!"

Bakugo grunted and snatched the journal, in spite of Izumi's protests, and tossed it out the window, "Stop deluding yourself, and him, Deku! He's a Quirkless nobody, and you're a wannabe!" After that, he left, turning on his heels and stomping out the door.

Both Izumi and Niban were quick to leave, Izumi a bit quicker than him, because she wanted to make sure her journal was okay. When they arrived at the fountain it had fallen into, Izumi sighed, "All my work, just fish food…" She grabbed the journal and her hand emitted some heat, causing the book to dry, "At least it's not ruined."

'So her Quirk is fire-related? Hmm…' He had no idea what it could possibly be, exactly, but it was good to have a general idea at least. Niban was starting to come down from the adrenaline of damn near getting into a fight with Bakugo, and it caused him to deflate, "Ugh, man I'm stupid…"

What the hell was he thinking, picking a fight with Bakugo? The guy could turn him to ash without a second thought! He was just such an asshole that he was able to push all of Niban's buttons without even trying! How could a Hero hopeful be such an asshole?

The down look on his face seemed to grab Izumi's attention, she waved her free hand in front of Niban's face, nervously trying to get his attention, "H-Hey, don't be upset! You know how Kacchan can be, I bet he didn't mean anything by it!"

When that didn't work, Izumi took off her backpack and rummaged through it before producing something, "Hey, look at this." The title read 'Hero Analysis for the Future: Special Edition', it made Niban tilt his head slightly in curiosity. Izumi, red-faced and wide-eyed, said, "I didn't want to show you this until we got into UA, but we're close enough, right? Here, look inside." She held it out for him.

He took it and opened it, his eyes widening slightly at what he saw.

Subject: Niban Erabu

Hero Name: TBD

Quirk: None

Stunned, he looked up at Izumi, who was smiling brightly at him with her eyes closed and hands behind her back, "Ever since we were kids, I knew you were going to be an amazing Hero. Even after we found out you're Quirkless, I had a feeling deep in my heart that that wouldn't stop you!" She opened her eyes, "I've had this special edition ready ever since kindergarten! Ready so one day I can write down everything about the great Hero, Niban! O-Or whatever you choose to be your name…"

She looked away and rubbed the back of her neck, before her gaze snapped back to him, her eyes were filled with an unrelenting resolve, "So don't give up now!" She clenched her fists and held them at her sides, "We're too close to our goal for you to throw in the towel now! One way or the other, Niban, you will be a Hero!"

He wasn't sure why, but in that moment he felt tears welling up in his eyes, even though he was smiling. He looked down and wiped his eyes, all the while Izumi was quick to try and calm him down, "A-Ah! I didn't mean to make you cry! I'm sorry, I just-"

"Izu, please." He looked up and grinned at her, "I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because… I'm just… stunned, and happy…" He was telling the truth, too, in his old life nobody believed in him that much, no matter what he tried to do, he was always one of the worst in his class, always one of the last past the post, not even his parents believed in him.

So… to hear someone putting genuine faith into his abilities, even if he knew that they probably weren't anywhere near where they wanted to be, it made him feel… genuinely happy. He held out the journal to her, "Thank you, Izu…" He grinned, "This journal, your words… It means a lot to me, so… I won't stop trying." Even if the realistic part of him knew that it was probably never going to happen.

He could at least try, couldn't he? Even if he failed, like he knew he would, he could try.

'Damn it, that's so cheesy. I haven't even been in this world a day and Izumi's already got me thinking stuff like that… Why's her attitude so damn infectious?'

Izumi grinned right back and moved to put the journal away, "Good! Now let's get going, we can play some games or something when we get back to your place." He wasn't going to say no to that, so the two of them started to walk, taking the back path towards home.

While they were walking, Izumi fished out her phone and looked over the news, "Awh, man! We missed Kamui Woods and some new hero Mount Lady making their debut!" She pouted, "Man… At least tons of people recorded it."

He remembered that now, they had taken a different path than the one Izu usually took on account of them being late… 'Guess that was my fault.' He hoped he didn't screw things up too much. The important thing was Izumi getting One for All, after that? Well, Niban figured he could find some way to be a Hero in his own way. Maybe he'd become a firefighter, or a police officer? He wouldn't be able to catch any big villains, but at least he could still be helpful.

After all, he could barely remember what happened past the… what was it called? The Training Camp Arc? That was probably it. Something about a guy with lots of muscles…

He was so caught up thinking about this that he almost didn't notice where they were, under the bridge and walking past a sewer grate. His eyes widened and he saw goo beginning to emerge from the grate.

'Shit! He can't get Deku, she's actually got a Quirk this time!'

Without wasting a second he pushed Izumi out of the way, eliciting a yelp from the girl. Before anything else could be said, though, Niban was wrapped in the disgusting goo villain's grasp. He began to struggle while Izumi shouted, "Hey, let him go!" She raised her hands and seemed prepared to use her Quirk when the villain just smacked her with a tendril and sent her sprawling on the ground, gritting her teeth.

"Don't worry, kid!" The villain laughed, "I'm just borrowing your friend here! I need a skin-suit so I can hide before he catches me!"

Niban, meanwhile, was having trouble breathing. He struggled as hard as he could, but his vision was already beginning to fade, 'Shit! Come on All Might! I didn't show up in this world just to die again on the first day!'

Just as Deku was beginning to stagger to her feet and preparing to attack, she froze with wide eyes, looking past the goo villain. Then, a loud booming voice called out, "Don't worry! You're safe now!"

Izumi dropped to the ground just in time for Niban to hear the words, "Texas… SMAAASSHHH!" Powerful, high-pressure wind blasted forward and easily blasted apart the goo villain, just as Niban lost consciousness.

When he came to, he found All Might's giant figure kneeling next to him, "Hey, wake up!" When he blinked his eyes open, All Might's grin seemed to brighten, "Great, you're awake! Thought we lost you there."

Niban's eyes were wide as he silently stared at All Might in shock for a few seconds. Izumi shouted, "Niban!" He looked and saw she was on the other side of him, holding her book, "You're okay! Look!" She showed a big signature with the name 'ALL MIGHT' written in capital letters, "He signed my book! This is amazing!"

All Might laughed and stood up, "I would have been here sooner, but it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate!" He laughed boisterously again, "Anyway! You were a big help, thank you! I've captured the evil doer!" He gestured to the two soda bottles filled with goo instead of soda.

All the while, Niban couldn't speak. It was like he had cotton in his mouth, All Might's presence was just so overwhelming that he couldn't think of what to say. All Might stepped away, "Well, I've gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of him! Stay out of trouble and see you around!"

Izumi seemed horrified at the idea of him just leaving like that, "W-Wait, you're leaving already?" She looked at me worriedly and then back to him, "W-We still have questions!"

All Might was already preparing to leave, squatting down for his next big leap, "Sorry! Heroes are always fighting against time as well as evil!"

Izumi whispered to Niban hurriedly, "We can't let him leave! Grab his leg, we gotta talk to him!" He was ready to tell her to just go on her own, he knew that would be the best way to guarantee she got her powers, but she seemed dead set on him going too. He reluctantly moved and joined her as they grabbed one leg each, before Deku could ask him to stay, the man launched into the air.

All Niban could do was squeeze his eyes and mouth shut while Izumi screamed. All Might was clearly shocked as he said, "Hey hey hey! What do you think you're doing?! Let go! I love my fans but this is too much!"

Izumi responded, "I can't! If we let go now, we'll die! There's just so much we wanted to ask you!"

'You wanted to ask, not me!' Niban wished he could open his mouth so he could retort, but he was too busy shielding himself from the wind.

All might relented, "Okay okay, that's a good point. Just keep your eyes and mouth shut!" The lack of screaming seemed to indicate that Izumi did just that.

When they finally touched the roof of a tall building, Niban muttered, "Land, sweet land." while dramatically kissing the roof, at least until he remembered it's a rooftop and his face contorted in disgust, "Why'd I do that?"

Meanwhile, All Might was stepping away, "Right, just bang on the door and somebody will let you in. Now, I've got to go!"

Izumi exclaimed, "W-Wait!"

"No! I need to leave now!"

Yet, she wasn't letting up, "Please!" Her voice was breaking up and Niban couldn't help but stare wide eyed as she continued, "Can my friend still be a hero, even though he doesn't have a quirk? That's all we've ever wanted, to be heroes! Can he… Can he do it?"

Niban had no idea why but he felt a pang of sadness in his heart, because he already knew the answer. Sure, he wanted to do good, hell, even in his old life he'd dream about being a superhero, any kid would, but he held onto it for much longer. To be someone who could fix so much with so little effort, to see to it that evil, wherever it was, could be taken down? It was a simple dream, for a simpler world.

…A world like this, where powers made things so much simpler and more complex at the same time.

So, he nodded and looked down, "People wrote me off as nothing, they still do." He was speaking from experience, his life had not exactly been the best before, "Always the last choice, people have always told me that I wouldn't amount to anything! Well… I don't know if I can take that anymore!"

'What am I saying? This is Izumi's moment, not mine… Just because my old life sucked doesn't mean that I should be stealing the spotlight!'

Yet… he wasn't lying when he said it was frustrating. He didn't do anything in his old life! Even his own parents wrote him off as a loser! The worst part was, they were right. What did he do? He lived, played video games, went to school, and then died. Hell of a wasted life…

Izumi's scream of shock pulled him out of his thoughts as he looked up and saw Toshinori standing there where All Might had been previously. Deku seemed to have a mental breakdown as she began to say that there was no way he was All Might, even yelling, "Impossible!" when Toshinori tried to tell her that he was, in fact, All Might.

Toshinori explained, "You know how those guys on the beach are always suckin' in their gut and flexin', tryna look buff? I'm like that."

The exchange continued, and it played out much like Niban remembered it playing out. Luckily, he knew a decent amount about the first season, and although he couldn't remember every detail, he knew about this exchange.

Although things deviated once Toshinori got to the end of talking about how much fear was really behind his smile. He looked at Niban, "Listen, kid… You seem like a good person, although I think you let your friend here do a bit too much talking on your behalf…" That was true, "I know she's just trying to help you reach your dream, it's admirable, really, but… You can't be a Hero without a Quirk, it's just too dangerous, someone who's Quirkless could never keep up."

Niban just nodded and looked down, with Toshinori continuing, "If you wanna help people you could always become a police officer. They get a lot of crap because the heroes catch most of the villain's but it's a fine profession." The door to the roof access opened and he finished with, "There's nothing wrong with having a dream, kid. Just make sure those dreams are attainable, and make sure it's what you want… Not just what your friend wants." Then he stepped through the door and shut it.

The two sat there in silence for moments that felt like hours until Niban heard Izumi move. Then he felt her arms wrap around him tightly, and it was clear from the way she was sniffling that she was crying, "I'm sorry, Two… I'm so sorry… W-We could still find some other way! I-I'm… sure… we can…"

She didn't even believe her own words, but that was okay, he didn't either. He just sighed, "No, Izu… I think the dream's dead. All Might just said it was impossible… There's no coming back from that for me."

'Not like I could do much anyway, even with a Quirk. I'm not Izumi, or Bakugo…'

He closed his eyes, "Truth is, Izumi… I'm nobody's hero. I'm just a… soon-to-be NEET with a stupid dream who's a waste of the gift he's been given." What kind of cruel joke was all of this, anyway? Why did the universe, or God, or whoever, see fit to send him here when he had no powers? To a world he only knew the bare minimum of, where he wouldn't be able to improve things for the better? No, no, it clearly had to be some joke.

Or a mistake.

Izumi just tightened her hug and whispered in a pleading hushed tone, "Don't say that!" She took a deep breath before her voice returned to normal volume, "Don't say that. You're not a waste, you're not a NEET. Stop talking down to yourself, as if Kacchan doesn't do that to you enough…"

They stayed like that in silence for a minute before Niban finally said, "...We should get back home, play some games or something." He hadn't cried, he could do that on his own time, because he had no real right to cry. This wasn't his story.

The hero of the story was standing next to him, supporting him when she was supposed to be off earning One for All. If he was going to avoid messing things up even further, they needed to move. Luckily, Izumi didn't put up any fight, she had stopped crying and now looked just as down as he felt.

Their walk was silent as they hit the streets and started towards home. The silence was only broken when Izumi pulled out her phone and saw a notification, "Oh, hey! There's a situation not far from here, a villain's attacking. Wanna go see it? Maybe watching the pros will cheer you up!" She tried her best to smile, "Just because All Might said what he did doesn't mean you can't still watch them work."

Niban was not only not feeling it, he knew that Izumi was going to rush in there and inspire All Might to save the day. She'd get One for All and be an even greater Hero than she was already going to be. To that end, he shook his head, "You go on ahead. I'm just gonna head home."

Izumi hesitated for a moment, but she seemed to understand that he wanted some time alone. So she nodded and took off in the direction of the crime that he knew would define her life. After standing there for a few moments, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before sighing, "Well. I guess I can go see All Might save the day, if I stay far enough behind, she won't see me."

Luckily, there was a crime tracker app on his phone, so he was able to start towards the location without any worry about ending up somewhere else. Normally this app was meant to help people avoid active crimes, but he figured that just this once it would be fine to see everything unfold.

He was already thinking over what else he could do to help the world out. He supposed he could try to become a member of Support, although… He wasn't a scientist, he'd have to dedicate years learning how to build things, and no doubt he wouldn't make it into UA. He could try for General Education, there was no guarantee he'd make it in but he could at least try to be a normal student at UA.

That way he could still watch everything unfold as it happened. The festival, the exams, everything in between… If he was able to, he might even be able to help Izumi land Ochaco, the girl would just need the density pulled out of her system. Deku might not be a guy this time around, but that didn't mean Ochaco and her wouldn't be perfect together.

…Granted, he didn't know anything about matchmaking. So he'd probably have to enlist help if he really cared about it that much. It was less an interest in who Izumi was with and more just a general desire to see her happy. It helped that, from what he remembered, Deku and Ochaco were always super cute together in the show.

He, meanwhile, could graduate, go to college, land a job, and then just… live a normal life. This time without dying prematurely. That sounded like a good plan, even if the nagging feeling and lump in the back of his throat still told him he seriously wished he could have been a Hero.

'Can't win 'em all I suppose.'

The fact that he got a second chance at life should have been more than enough to satisfy any desire he would have had. After all, he died, and how often did people get a second chance at life?

…Well, he couldn't answer that question. For all he knew people were getting reincarnated left and right, maybe he was the only one, there was no way to tell. So he decided that the healthy thing to do was to treat this as a one-of-a-kind gift that he needed to appreciate. Even if he still felt it was a bit wasted on someone like him.

There was no use moping about it. After he watched Izumi inspire All Might to act he would just go home and see what kinds of video games this world had. In time, he knew he'd come around to the idea of just being something normal and then he'd move on and watch from the bleachers while Izumi became the number one Hero.

When he started approaching the scene of the crime, however, the shouting from the civilians immediately had him worried.

"What the hell, when did the criminal catch another one?!"

"I don't know, but now the fire's just getting worse!"

'Another one? Don't tell me…' He swallowed a lump in his throat. It had only taken him maybe ten minutes to get there! What did Izumi do in that time span? He looked around, the Pro Heroes were trying to figure out what they were supposed to do about the situation while the civilians were staying back, and among the crowd he saw him.

Toshinori was there, it didn't seem like the man noticed him, which was good. He turned his gaze forward towards the scene of the crime and gasped at what he saw.

Somehow, likely because she tried blindly rushing in to be a hero, Izumi was now just as trapped as Bakugo was. He heard the villain laughing, "This explosion Quirk is something else! Sorry, girlie, but once you're dead I'll be taking this guy for myself!"

'Are you kidding me? You should have waited a bit longer!'

He looked towards Toshinori and saw that he wasn't any closer to jumping in and saving the day. Niban resisted the urge to scowl at the man, it wasn't really his fault, but he couldn't help but be angry. 'Fine… You won't be a Hero? Then, just this once…' He reached up and grabbed his backpack, slipping one strap off so it was just hanging from one.

'I will.'

He took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face before he raced forward, bursting out of the crowd and straight past the heroes. Several people exclaimed all around him as he continued forward.

"What's that kid doing?!"

"He's crazy!"

"Somebody stop him!"

There was no going back now! He shouted out while racing forward, dodging the flames that licked against his body and would no doubt leave burn wounds later, "Villain! This isn't your story!" He stumbled forward, but luckily that stopped the villain from connecting an attack on him.

Niban grabbed ahold of his backpack and declared, "It's theirs!" Then he brought his bag around and unzipped it before throwing it forward as he got closer to the villain. It was enough to temporarily blind the villain and give Bakugo the ability to breathe, before he had been almost completely covered in the goo. As it impacted the villain, Niban came to a realization.

'The eyes! That's where he's vulnerable!'

He was weak, he wasn't supposed to be here, none of this made any sense, but in that moment his instincts overcame him. He balled one of his hands into a fist and, as he reached the villain, punched it square in the eye again, causing him to shout in pain, releasing Izumi's mouth as well.

The first thing she said when she saw him was, "Niban! What're you doing?! This is dangerous! You should-"

"I know!" He yelled right back as he began to claw uselessly at the goo to try and get one or both of them free, "I-It's a bit late for that!" He was terrified out of his mind, but he was in it now.

Bakugo was next, growling and yelling, "What're you doing here?!" He looked like he had more to say, but his mouth was covered again before he could.

Niban continued clawing away at the goo, he wished he could have said something witty in response at that moment, but he was too busy panicking. This wasn't supposed to be his moment! He didn't 'move without thinking!' He did it on purpose, because he knew what would happen next! "I couldn't just stand there and watch you two die! That's not how this story goes!"

The villain yelled, "Stupid kid! Once I have full control, you're dead!" Goo shaped like a hand formed above the villain and threw itself downward, towards Niban. An explosion of dust and rubble kicked up and instinctively the boy shielded his eyes, but he knew what just happened.

"I really am pathetic!" All Might's deep baritone rang out, Niban stared at him wide-eyed as he continued, "I told you the traits that make a great champion…" He forced a hand free from the villain's grasp, "Pros are always risking their lives! That's the true test of a hero!"

As he charged up his attack, Niban looked around. He saw that Izumi was safely in All Might's hand, so against his better judgment he reached out and grabbed hold of Bakugo's wrist as best he could. The other boy looked a mixture of shocked and livid, but there would be time for arguments later! All Might began, "Detroit…"

"SMAAASHHHH!"

Niban felt his own wrist being grabbed as All Might prevented him from flying off. A powerful burst of wind, easily stronger than any hurricane Niban had seen in his life, shattered the goo villain into nothing but specks of his former self and directed upward into the sky.

All Niban could do was squeeze his eyes shut and wait out the powerful winds that would alter the weather itself.

Once it died down and his feet were on the ground again, he looked up and saw how the weather shifted and rain began to fall. After such intense heat, rain was a welcome reward for a job well done.

He closed his eyes and grinned while letting the rain hit his face, and he didn't notice Izu looking at him with something that crossed between concern and utter glee.

Then she just shook her head and grinned as well.

/-/

After that, well, what Niban expected happened.

The pro heroes were pissed at him and he got treated for some minor burn wounds for jumping into a literal inferno. He was told several times that he was incredibly lucky he didn't suffer any serious injuries. Izumi and Bakugo both were swarmed with interviewers praising their bravery in the face of death while All Might, similarly, was crowded with reporters.

Once his wounds were treated and he had gathered up everything that had escaped his bag (and wasn't destroyed or lost in the ensuing action), he started on the path home. It was well in the afternoon now, oranges, yellows, and reds were cast all around the sky, making for a rather beautiful sight to close out the day.

Overall, Niban could say his first day of his new life was a success. He might not get to actually be a hero, but he got to live that dream for a day, and that was all he needed. He intended to get home before Deku or Bakugo were free from the press so that everything could play out as it was supposed to.

Well, as close to 'supposed to' as it could given how different things were in this place. As if he didn't have enough trouble trying to do good with his half-remembered knowledge of the show, if the way things played out that day were any indication, things were just going to keep getting different. Stranger and stranger.

His mind started to focus on the one thing he wanted more than anything after that day: A warm shower, a fresh set of clothes, and a well-earned early night. Maybe he'd even get excused from class so he could just enjoy a day of doing nothing after spending one day doing so much.

All Might was right about one thing, though, Izumi did a lot of talking for him. That was partly because he just didn't know what to say, being in a new world was bound to do that to him, but he was sure he'd improve in time. Not that he was upset that Izumi was such a fierce friend, in fact it was probably the second greatest gift of this reincarnation, only second to getting a new life at all.

He was torn out of his thoughts when he heard Bakugo's gruff voice calling out to him. Niban turned around and saw that, thankfully, he was alone, that meant that he could still get out of here before Izumi arrived. Bakugo stopped and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Listen. I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me, so don't think you can look down on me! You're already such a damn smug bastard, I don't need you getting even more ideas in your dumbass brain! You didn't help me, you did nothing! Don't forget that, I don't owe you anything!"

Then he started to stomp away and Niban called out snarkily, "Love you too, Kacchan, your words of support and encouragement are always a real bright spot in my day!" He watched as Bakugo froze and clenched his fists before he yelled out in anger and then ran away, likely to stop himself from blasting a hole in the boy who had just tried to save him.

Niban laughed softly and shook his head before facing forward again and starting to walk. He wasn't so low on self-confidence that he thought he did nothing, but he knew that all he did was act as a reason for All Might to jump in and save the real heroes. He didn't have any of those cool heroic flashbacks or anything. He just did what he had to do. Now he just wanted to get home.

Then a lightbulb went off in his head and he froze.

'Oh no, no no no… I need to get out of here, right now!'

He looked around and ran into an alleyway…

Only to run into a wall of muscle that knocked him on his ass, "Ow…"

"Woah there!" All Might's booming voice sent a chill down Niban's spine, because he was starting to get an idea about what this was. He desperately, desperately hoped that All Might was just going to thank him for his work and then leave.

Niban swallowed a lump on his throat as he looked up at the giant of a man, "A-Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else right now?" Like giving Deku One-for-All! That's kind of important!

All Might reached out and with one hand stood the boy up before stepping back, "Haha! I stand for justice, not soundbites!" He began to flex, "Because I! I am All Mi-" Then he transformed into his skeletal body and coughed up blood in the process, all Niban could do was watch, wide-eyed and silent.

Toshinori wiped his mouth clean of blood, "Young man, I came here to thank you. And also to discuss what your friend asked on your behalf earlier." Oh no. "If you and your friend hadn't told me about your conviction, if you hadn't run into that fight… I would've been a worthless bystander watching from the crowd. So… thanks."

'I need to avert this, right now!'

Niban laughed nervously and began to step away, "Ah, well, you know, I just wanted to help my friends is all. Besides, I'm half the reason that villain got free in the first place, so it's not like I did anything special!" He turned around, "Now I'm gonna go home and prepare for my life of mediocrity-"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he immediately froze. Toshinori continued to speak, "I'm not done. Listen, kid… I know you think that you didn't do anything good out there, but you did. Your friend told me you didn't have a Quirk, so when I saw this Quirkless boy with this tired and downtrodden look in his eyes try to save a life… It inspired me to act too."

'This can't be happening… Say something!'

Yet, he was having trouble finding the right words. Toshinori continued, "There are stories about every hero, how they became great. Most have one thing in common… Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think. Almost on their own."

This was his opening! He squeezed his eyes shut and yelled, "But I didn't! I just… I thought that maybe somebody would come to help if I stalled for time! I thought about it! I didn't move on my own, I'm not made to be a hero!"

To his shock (and mild horror) Toshinori just chuckled, "Ah, kid… You're downplaying yourself. So what if you thought a hero was going to come save the day? You still ran into a blazing inferno, faced down a villain, and punched them in the eye, all in an effort to free your friends. You might think you planned it all out… but you didn't, did you?"

He wanted to say that he did, that this was all calculated and that he knew that All Might would come to save the day exactly as he did, but he couldn't. Toshinori wouldn't believe him anyway. Instead of saying that, his voice fell to a whisper, "No… No I didn't."

For some reason, in that moment, his old life flashed before his eyes.

"You got all D's again?! Why aren't you trying harder?"

"You stay inside and play videogames all day! When are you going to get out there and do something with your life?"

"Honey, I'm telling you, he's… He's just… He's not going to do anything…"

"...We failed as parents."

Niban swallowed a heavy lump in his throat, tears began to form in his eyes but he refused to let himself cry. Toshinori let him go and stepped in front of him, turning to face him, "Young man… you too can become a hero."

The boy realized now that there was no going back. Was this what was planned for him all along? Toshinori continued, declaring with as much pomp as he could muster in his weakened form, "I have deemed you worthy of inheriting the glorious power of All Might!"

At Niban's silent shock, he continued, "When I've deemed you ready, you'll take on my unstoppable Quirk, One for All!" He laughed, "Of course, your body would need to be prepared. You're not terribly unfit, but you'd still need a decent amount of training for your body to be prepared to handle it."

Niban swallowed a lump in his throat and realized he had to play the ignorant student, "I-Inherit?"

What followed was All Might explaining One for All, exactly as he remembered it. A power passed down for generations that was kept a highly guarded secret so that people believed that the Symbol of Peace was a natural born hero, all of that. Then, after he finished his explanation, he said, "This is a choice, of course, if you don't want it, then I won't force it on you. So, what do you say?"

Well… he did express that he wanted to make a difference in this world. Otherwise, what was he here for? Who wouldn't want to do as much as they possibly could after being given a second chance at life?

If Izumi didn't catch All Might's attention, then…

'I guess it's better that it goes to someone close to her, even if it's not her herself that gets it. Her knowledge on Quirks and determination will be important, I know they will be…'

He took a deep breath before giving Toshinori a thumbs up, "Alright! I'll do it, I'll become a Hero!"

Toshinori grinned and laughed, "Hah, great! Then we're going to need to get your body into shape! Give me a day and I'll have a fitness plan ready for you!" He took out his phone, "Here, let's swap numbers, I'll get in touch with you once I have everything ready."

Numbly, Niban did as he was asked and traded contact information with Toshinori. After that, the two parted ways and once again the boy was back on track to going home.

…Hell of a day. Was this day a success still, or was it a catastrophic failure? He supposed that would be up to him in the long run, wouldn't it? He was going to have big shoes to fill if he wanted to be anywhere close to Deku's level, even from the vague memories of the three seasons he did watch, he knew Deku was insanely powerful.

He thought more about this as he continued on his way, and once he was getting close to the apartment complex he received a few messages from Izumi on Discord.

Deku: "Hey! So… Mom heard about what happened."

Deku: "She wants you to come over so she can treat you to some miso soup."

Deku: "And to talk your ear off."

Well, that was going to be fun. He resigned himself to not getting the sleep he so desperately wanted and, instead of entering his building, he scrolled through his messages and found which apartment belonged to the Midoriya family. It turned out that they were right next door to him.

He knocked on the door and not even a few seconds later it opened, with Mama Midoriya worriedly grabbing at his hand, "Come in! How many times have I had to tell you that you don't need to knock, Niban?"

He didn't respond because he simply didn't know. He got dragged in and Mama Midoriya began to ramble about how worried she was and how scary it was to see the news footage. She continued on, somehow both praising Niban for his bravery while also chastizing him for being incredibly stupid. Judging by the awkward look on Izumi's face as she watched this all unfold from her position sitting at the dinner table, she had received a very similar lecture.

At least the miso was good, that made the awkward anxiety that came from a parental talking-to easier to swallow.

No sooner than when they finished eating did Niban escape, with Izumi going with him on the pretext that she wanted to talk to him about what happened. When they got into his apartment, he looked around it and took it in for the first time.

A coffee table, two couches, an armchair, a television, a dining table, a kitchen… It seemed fully equipped for a family. Based on the pictures on the wall, he had to assume that he had a family once in this life, but not anymore. How did he afford this place? He'd need to explore later.

For now though, he couldn't afford to gawk. Instead they headed to his room, with Izu flopping down on his bed while he sat in his chair with a heavy sigh. Niban groaned, "Man… Today was something, wasn't it?"

Izu stared up at the ceiling and sighed, "Yep." She looked at him, "And… I'm sorry again, about what All Might said." She sighed, "This is so unfair. Why couldn't I be the one without a Quirk? You deserve it more!"

'Hell the fuck no I don't.'

Niban shook his head, "No, I think you're a far more heroic person than I am." He smirked, "What kind of Hero gets into arguments with his ex-friend on the regular? I don't think All Might does."

She huffed, "Thank you, but you still deserve a Quirk. Don't turn this around and try to make me feel better. You're supposed to be the one who's upset. Why do you look so chipper?"

Did he? Maybe he did.

He hummed, "Well, All Might talked to me again." She gasped and he nodded, "Yep. He said that he was mistaken and that I had what it takes to be a Hero. I'll just need to put in a lot of work to make it."

Izu sat right up, "Really?! That's amazing! So what're you gonna do? Are you still going to try to get into UA? The Entrance Exam's in ten months!"

Niban nodded, "I'm going to work out and push my body as far as I can take it. Then, who knows?" He shrugged, "I'll take it from there." More like he was going to swallow a hair, he was not looking forward to that… "It'd be easier if I had someone to work out with, maybe sometimes you could join me?"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded, "Yeah, absolutely! We both need to be in top shape if we're going to stand any chance of passing the Entrance Exam!"

He grinned, "Great." He looked up at his ceiling and thought things over for a moment, "You know I've been thinking about my name. Second choice, runner up, whatever else it means. Kinda settin' me up for failure from the start, weren't they? My folks." He chuckled, "Even so…"

He was no Izuku Midoriya, he knew he wasn't a true hero, at least, not yet. He knew that he didn't have that innate spark in him that Izuku had, and Izumi has, but he could try. After all, what did he have to lose? Well, other than his life, the life of his 'new' friend, the lives of the students at UA and everyone in the world…

No pressure, right? He finished his thought…

"I'll be the best runner up I can be!"

Izumi deflated a bit, "Eh… That's not as cool of a thing to say as you think it is…"

"...Damn it."

Author's Notes

Wow, I haven't written a story for MHA since 2019! I've improved a great deal, and to that end this is sort of a hard rewrite of the other story I did for MHA, that one is still on my profile. I never kept it going because of personal stuff, but now that's no longer an obstacle. The old story had flaws, a mixture of things that I'm hoping this story will rectify.

Something that I'm hoping I got across this chapter is that Niban is just just "Izuku but better", he's his own person with his own flaws. The limited knowledge on the source material on his part certainly doesn't help matters. Things will also not entirely be the same, expect some things to stay the same while others change. As for ship, that's going to be undetermined for a little bit. This chapter probably won a few people over on 'OC x Izumi', but I'm going to give the other candidates their own time to shine before locking anything in.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I don't really work on a schedule with any of my fics, but expect another of this one to come along before too long.