The next day, Izuku awoke in the visage of Noelle. But he didn't freak out. He knew enough about Quirks to know that incomplete mastery of one could lead to it activating randomly, especially during one's sleep. No, what freaked him out was the fact that he felt lighter. And also heavier, particularly around his chest area. And he didn't know why until he looked in the mirror.

Staring back at him was Noelle. Not just him with Noelle's hair and eyes, but Noelle herself. Right down to the structure of her face and, erm, boobs.

His first reaction was to scream, but he clamped down on the instinct. Screaming wouldn't help with anything, save for making his mother angry. No, there had to be a reason for this.

He cupped his, er, perhaps her would be more accurate, chin and began contemplating what happened. She had unlocked her quirk 10 months ago and much later in life than your typical person. Which meant that compared to your average 14 year old, she didn't have nearly as much experience with her quirk. Therefore, one could argue that she was still in the testing phases.

It had taken Katsuki years to get his explosions to the point they were now. So perhaps, and this was just an hypothesis, the more she became attuned to a past life, the more her physical traits would begin to match them. That would allow her to bring out their truest potential. After all, Noelle's techniques would work best if it was Noelle's body using them.

It made sense. But it was also weird. She was technically a girl now. Izuku jr. had definitely left the building. But she wasn't too concerned. Noelle was her after all. And she knew she could change back at any time.

Speaking of, she should probably do that before having to explain this particular aspect of her quirk to her mom. But as she left the bathroom, a certain poster caught her eye. It was an advertisement for a Maid Cafe. She had picked it up a few months ago, mostly because they were supposed to have a hero cosplay day in the coming months. But what really drew her attention was the 'help wanted' sign.

She looked down at her hands and an idea slowly began to form in her mind. She needed funds if she were to pay for support equipment and she refused to put any more strain on her mother. Therefore, a part-time job would be ideal. She could pay for her own stuff and help out at home.

And while she had already been considering working at a local grocery store, the Maid Cafe paid far more and right now, she had a ticket in.

After all, who was more qualified to be a Maid . . . than a Maid?

She laughed sinisterly and then covered her mouth. Even her voice sounded like Noelle's! And that laugh was totally terrifying!

Still, she had a way forward. And while Izuku may have been embarrassed about dressing as a Maid, Noelle certainly wasn't!

"Hm," she tilted her head. "While like this, my mind works more like Noelle's. Interesting. I'm still me, but it's definitely different."

The upside was that just using a past life's visage didn't drain stamina. It was actively using their powers that did. She had collapsed after using so many abilities during the exam, with Gungnir being the last straw. Therefore, she could maintain this appearance as long as she wanted.

She unconsciously began undressing to get ready for the day and paused, her cheeks flaring red. She was about to see a naked girl's body!

Wait, no, that's not quite right. It was her body. And she had seen it plenty of times. But that made it worse! Because now she realized she had seen a naked girl multiple times!

"Get yourself together, Midoriya!" she said as she clapped her cheeks. "You can't let your anxiety get the best of you now! You've got a part time job to land!"

There was a month or two before the school year started properly, plenty of time for her to make some money.

She quickly threw on a black All Might shirt - absentmindedly noting to purchase a bra later - and a pair black jeans with blue sneakers before flinging on a green jacket and tearing out the door. She waved to her mom as she raced past the kitchen "Bye, I'll explain later!" and took off down the street.

She had been hired on the spot. With Izuku's knack for analysis and Noelle's maid experience, it was embarrassingly easy to get the role. Doubly so with the credentials that being the Top Scorer at U.A. got you. Once she had explained that she was also a guy, but had a quirk that let her transform, they had decided to make an exception. Because having a hero student as an employee was good for business, apparently.

As she threw on her maid outfit - that had cat ears, kill her now - she made another mental note to become more attuned with Remilia. Even if she was a little hesitant because that particular past life terrified her. From her - both Izuku and Noelle's - perspective, Remilia was practically a villain. Yet she knew better, because she also knew things from the vampire's perspective. Having multiple perspectives was weird.

"Noelle-chan!"

She blinked and then realized they were addressing her by the stage name she had requested. It was only fitting that she went by Noelle, no?

"I'm coming!"

She emerged onto the floor and immediately had a strong case of stage fright. Noelle was used to this, but Izuku most definitely was not. She swallowed hard and schooled her nerves. She could do this!

"Table 8 just got a customer, would you mind asking for their drinks?"

She nodded and made her way toward the table only to freeze. Sitting there, at the table, was someone she knew very well. In fact, a little too well. For it was one Katsuki Bakugo.

Their eyes met.

She may have let out a little 'meep.'

He scoffed and turned away, gazing out the window.

She physically cringed. Was that explosive weirdo trying to look cool?! She bit her lip and approached his table. "Greetings, Master~. What would you like to drink?"

He turned back toward her and rested his forearm on the table. "Orange juice."

He was looking at her like he just ordered hard liquor. She was going to poke his eyes out.

"Coming right up, Master~!"

She hurried away, not wanting to vomit right then and there. Why the hell was Katsuki here anyway?! Had someone tipped him off? Sure, the Cafe was happy to have a U.A. Student working for them, but Katsuki didn't seem the type to visit places like this.

She quickly got the orange juice and placed it in front of him. "There you are. Are you ready to order~?"

"Not yet. In fact, I got a question for you."

A chill went down her spine. "What is it~?"

His red eyes drilled directly into her soul.

"I haven't seen you here before. You new?"

If she had been drinking water, she'd have spewed it in his face. Katsuki, that Katsuki, was a frequent visitor of Maid Cafes?!

Why? How? What would he gain out of going to a place where cute girls dote on you and make you feel superior- oh, there it is. On second thought, this makes perfect sense.

"I am~. Just got hired today."

He took a sip of his orange juice and nodded. "As always, they have good taste in employees."

She was going to be sick. Katsuki had just implied that he thought she looked pretty! Oh, no. Oh god. This was a mistake!

But none of this showed on her face. Instead, she forced a smile.

"The boss does seem to have quite the talented eye, yes~."

The rest of the interaction went normal and by the time her shift ended, she wanted to die. If Katsuki hadn't been there, the experience would have been enjoyable. But no, he had to be there. And he had the balls to even indirectly flirt with her. The worst part was that it was the first compliment she had ever gotten about her looks. Both as Izuku and Noelle!

Wow, talk about depressing.

Either way, she'd be sure to memorize when Katsuki came to the damn place so she could schedule her day's off accordingly. She had no desire to see him here again.

She let out a sigh and started walking home, the boss saying she could keep her outfit. Which meant she was walking through the streets looking like a Cat Girl Maid.

The Noelle side of her thought she looked adorable. The Izuku side of her was actively cringing. Even if he had to admit that yes, they were adorable.

And that's when two mean looking bastards approached her. Oh, right. She probably looked like a defenseless cute girl. She grimaced and decided to play it cool. Maybe, if she was lucky, she'd get to see some cool Quirks in action.

"You're a pretty thing," one of them said, she'd label him Thug 1 for now, leering at her. "Wanna come home with us?"

"Course," Thug 2 said," that ain't really a choice. You're coming with us whether you want to or not."

She gazed at them, her expression deadpan. Compared to the bullies she'd faced in her youth, this was nothing. "I'll have to politely decline."

Thug 1 decided that was apparently an insult and lunged for her.

She sighed. Might as well have a little fun with it. She jumped into the air and landed on his outstretched arm. "You'll have to do better than that, nya~."

And then she kicked him right in the face and sent him hurtling backward before flipping forward and landing gracefully behind the remaining thug.

She turned toward him with a playful grin, one reminiscent of a cat's.

"You want some too~?"

Thug 2, apparently not being any brighter than his compatriot, charged toward her, brandishing a knife.

"I fought literal robots the other day, nya~. You're not very threatening."

She ducked under his guard and planted a fist in his stomach. He crumpled and she let him down gently. Only because if she had just let him fall, he may have landed on his knife and she didn't want that to happen. She had no desire to maim these poor guys.

She winked at the two downed thugs. "Bye, bye~!"

And with that, she left the scene. She didn't want to stick around and be questioned by the police. That was the last thing she wanted. Because it would lead to more stress for her mom.

The moment she rounded the corner, she nearly collapsed. Her legs felt like jello. How the heck had she managed to keep her cool so easily? Was it the Noelle in her? Was it the fact that they weren't scary compared to robots? Or had it been the adrenaline? Either way, it all caught up to her now and she basically had to force herself to walk it off.

Situations like that, heroes get into them all the time. So it'd be best if she got used to it sooner rather than later. And perhaps it was best that it was her and not someone else who might have gotten hurt.

The very thought that she may have indirectly saved someone made her smile. She was moving on up already.

"And that's why I'm a girl," she explained to her mom over dinner, a cup of coffee in her right hand.

"Any reason why you're still a girl now?"

"Getting used to it. Since it'll be the form I need when I work my part-time job."

"I see" Inko said before chuckling. And it was a chuckle that made Izuku shiver immediately. "You know, Izuku~. I've always wanted a daughter."

She stood up from the table and suddenly, Izuku knew why those thugs weren't that scary. It was because her mom was so much worse!

"Now I can finally spoil one~! We're going to the mall tomorrow and getting you all sorts of clothes!"

Izuku could only scream in horror.

It was finally time for his first day in class. And boy was he glad to be at U.A. Working as a maid was fun for those two months, but it was time to give his Noelle persona a rest. At least until the next school break. Still, he had grown very attuned to that particular past life and could now use Noelle's abilities as easily as one breathed. He had also worked on Remilia a bit. While he had yet to fully manifest her physical traits, he had gotten a better handle on her abilities. Enough to know that she may very well be as strong as All Might. And wasn't that a scary thought?

He shook his head. He could worry about that more later. Right now, he had a class to attend. Class 1-A. He made it to the door and looked up. And up. And up. Seriously, why was everything in this school so damn big?! Even the doors went Plus Ultra!

He entered the room and was immediately treated to the sight of some bespectacled guy berating, you guessed it, Katsuki.

Oh. Oh no. That meant Katsuki would figure out he was Noelle.

On second thought, that would be hilarious. He was fully willing to watch Katsuki's dawning horror as he realized he simped over a 'Deku.' Preferably with popcorn in hand.

He glanced around the room. There was a girl with pink skin and pink hair. Some guy with two-toned hair. A few other extras - who was he, Katsuki? - and there! In the corner. A smile split his face.

"Tokage-chan!"

The recommended student looked up and smirked. "Yo, Izuku! Looks like we're in the same class after all. And please, just call me Setsuna. Honorifics are boring."

He laughed lightly and walked up to her. "How was the recommended exam?"

"It was pretty good. Just narrowly beat out this Momo chick and tied with Ice boy over there," she jerked her thumb at the boy with two-toned hair. "How was yours? Actually, don't tell me. I already know, Mister Number One" she said with a teasing smile.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Word spread's fast, huh?"

"Oh, definitely. Everyone knows. You nearly broke All Might's record after all."

Everyone huh? It was like his reputation from Aldera, only reversed.

"Midoriya-kun!"

He turned around and his eyes widened. "Komori-chan?"

The brunette nodded and ran up to him. "I-I'm glad we're in the same class!"

That stutter reminded him of how he used to be. Of how he still could be in certain situations. It was a little bit endearing.

"Me too. Hey, Komori-chan. Meet Setsuna" he said as he nodded toward the recommended student.

Setsuna grinned. "Nice to meetcha, Komori! I like the way you do your hair."

Komori blushed slightly. "T-Thanks."

"You!"

Izuku nearly flinched at the volume of the voice and turned his head to see the bespectacled teen from before standing there.

"You are the Number One, aren't you? I am Tenya Iida from Soumei! And I must say, you truly deserve the position!" he said as he bowed dramatically. "Being from a hero family, I should have seen the true purpose of the test, but I did not! Therefore, I must concede that you are superior!"

Izuku held up his hands. "I'm really not-"

"Quiet."

Another voice cut through the room and everyone turned to see a tired looking man wearing black standing at the front of the classroom. A gray scarf was wrapped around his neck. "It took you far too long to settle down. I'm Shota Aizawa and I'll be your homeroom teacher."

He rummaged through a bag and tossed a bunch of gym outfits onto a nearby desk. "Put those on and meet me at the nearest combat field in ten minutes."

He left as soon as he arrived.

"Edgy," Setsuna commented.

Izuku couldn't help but be inclined to agree. Even if something about that man struck him as familiar. He just couldn't put his finger on what.

"You'll be undergoing a Quirk Apprehension Test," Aizawa told them after they had reached the field, his expression somehow seeming even more tired than before.

"But what about orientation?" Komori asked.

Aizawa scoffed. "Orientation is illogical. You're here to be heroes, no? So the sooner you start learning, the better. Now then."

Izuku stiffened when the man turned his gaze toward him.

"Midoriya, you scored number one on the exam. What was your score on the ball throw in Middle School?" Aizawa asked as he tossed a baseball up and down.

"Uh, 35 meters?"

The teacher nodded. "Come and stand in this circle. You'll be using your Quirk to throw it. You can do anything so long as you don't leave the circle."

Izuku took the ball from him and steeled his nerves. In a case of strength, there was only one person he could rely on. He concentrated and linked with Remilia, his hair shifting to a dark blue and his eyes becoming a blood red. He gave a fanged smirk as Remilia's charismatic personality influenced him.

"You might need to get a new ball," he mused as he pulled his arm back. "Because I'm not going easy."

And with enough force to cause a shockwave, he launched the ball through the air. It rocketed at speeds that easily rivaled the speed of sound and vanished into the horizon.

He watched it keep sailing, a hand shielding his eyes from the sun. "There it goes~."

Aizawa snorted and showed the class the score. "1,000 Meters. That is what it means to be a hero."

Izuku smirked before turning to face the one person he knew was absolutely fuming. "By the way, Kacchan. I guess you didn't get to prove me a sham after all~."

To the explosive blond's credit, he didn't try to kill him. Which was a good thing, because he had said that purely on instinct. Remilia really could be a little brat.

The students all cheered. But their good cheer was quickly ruined by Aizawa's next words.

"You think this is fun? What part of being a hero strikes you as fun? The moment you let your guard down, you could die. Therefore, the one who gets the lowest score will be expelled. So you'd better do your best. Plus Ultra and all that."

Izuku almost laughed. Talk about an incentive to try harder. And he finally knew where he recognized the man's dry humor and appearance from. He was the Capture Hero, Eraserhead. An underground hero that only the most diehard hero nerds - people like him - knew about.

He cracked his neck and gave a fanged grin. "Of course, Aizawa-sensei. If I wasn't willing to go Plus Ultra, I wouldn't even be here~!"

Aizawa shook his head. "What a cheeky brat you are."

The next test was the 50 meter dash, one that he blew the competition out of the water in with a crazy 1.1 seconds. He could have gone faster, but he didn't want to drain his stamina too quickly.

It was pretty much safe to say he came in first in every test, except for the long jump, where he embarrassingly tripped and face planted in the sand.

"I hate sand," he whined. "It's rough, it's coarse and it gets everywhere."

In the end, he was sitting pretty in first place, with Todoroki Shoto in second, Katsuki Bakugo in third and Setsuna Tokage in 4th.

He allowed his transformation to recede. He didn't want to risk saying anything bratty right now. Still, to think he'd gotten first again. A small part of him relished in it. That was probably Remilia. But the other two halves, Izuku and Noelle, were very humble about it. He knew that without all his hard work, he'd have never gotten this far. And that included his hard work in his previous lives as well.

Someone named Kyoka Jirou had gotten last place, but then Aizawa dropped the second bombshell.

"I lied about you getting expelled. It was a logical ruse to motivate you."

"You're lying about lying, Teach," Setsuna said with a grin. "I know you. You're the teacher that expelled a whole class last year."

Aizawa didn't dignify her with a response and Izuku took that as her being right.

After class, he, Setsuna, Komori and surprisingly enough, Iida, exchanged numbers.

"I know a cool place we can hang out at," Setsuna said. "I'll show you it this weekend."

"Sounds good," Izuku said with a nod.

"My brother tells me I must socialize more, so I'll take you up on your offer, Tokage-san!" Iida said while performing his trademark hand chopping motions.

"I-I'll be there as well," Komori said with a small fist pump. "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Then it's settled!" Setsuna chirped. "See you guys later!"

They all went their separate ways and as Izuku headed home, a bright smile adorned his face.

He finally had friends. Friends who accepted him for him.

Now, of course, came the hard part. Telling his mother about them and having to endure her teasing once she learned that two of them were girls.

She truly was the most fearsome foe of them all.