They say that when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. And one Izuku Midoriya would be inclined to believe that. If the memories he was reliving were his own that was.
Maybe it was the fact that he had sludge pouring into his throat, maybe it was the fact that he was feeling rather depressed about his life goals, or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that he was dying. But he was starting to hallucinate. Now that would be all fine and good, but did his hallucination have to be so complex? He was dying. He didn't need a lore dump right now. But as he continued to watch the scenes play out in front of him like a recap to an old anime, he began to recognize some of the faces. And names. And events.
Slowly but surely, his brain caught up to the whole experience and he quickly realized that either his brain had decided to conjure up one hell of a fanfiction before it died or he was recapturing past life memories. If it was the former, then the pork he had the previous night had definitely gone bad. If it was the latter, well, maybe it'd prove useful. After all, the powers - and those were definitely powers - that he had seen the person use would absolutely come in handy right about now.
But the question was, would it work? Even if he had access to his memories. To who he once was, would those abilities translate to this world? To this realm? Well, considering his other option was being a meat puppet, he wasn't exactly going to hesitate. And so, he called for that power. That energy that had coursed through his veins.
Theoretically, it should have been impossible. He didn't have access to the artifact that gave him those powers in his past life. But the odds of actual reincarnation were low to begin with. So he was just going to wing it at this point.
And then, it happened. Like two puzzle pieces fitting together, he felt a surge of energy answer his goal and with a mighty shout, he blasted the Sludge Villain apart and landed upon the ground, yellow energy particles floating around him.
He looked down at his hand, eyes wide in awe. It had really worked. Now he just had to address the elephant in the room. That past version of him . . . had been a girl.
And then he quickly discarded that concern because holy crap he had powers! And man, he could relate to his past self. Trying so hard to be recognized. Okay, maybe not. She had tried way harder than him. And was way more impressive than him. He had kinda given up. Sure, he liked to talk a big game. But when was the last time he actually took a Martial Arts class? Her memories, her experiences. It made him realize just how stupid he'd been.
Of course someone without a Quirk could be a hero. They just had to try hard enough! After all, plenty of heroes fought without relying on their Quirk! Like Eraserhead and Ms Joke! They both trained their bodies because their Quirks weren't overly flashy.
He shook his head. He had really let society get to him. But no longer. He would do his best. Both for himself and for Noelle!
Then again, Noelle was him and he was Noelle. Man, that was weird to think about. In any case, with her Geo Vision - that he could use without the actual vision, he'd try and wrap his head around that later - he had a leg up. But to make full use of the Vision, he'd have to train his body. Geo was all about being strong after all!
He looked up at the sky. Ten months. That was how long he had until the Entrance Exam. He'd definitely be ready.
He walked off, unaware that he had just missed a meeting with someone he considered his idol.
And also unaware that his future was going to be anything but simple.
"What the hell?!" Izuku screamed as he looked in the mirror at his home. His hair had changed! It looked exactly like Noelle's! He panicked and quickly checked his pants, breathing a sigh of relief when he noticed that Izuku Jr. was still there. Still. Why had his appearance changed? There had to be something that he was missing.
Wait.
He had heard about Quirks that manifested in life or death situations. And Quirks that manifested late in one's life.
Could accessing his past life memories . . . actually be a Quirk? A transformation-type Quirk perhaps?
It'd explain the hair thing. And why he felt more winded than normal. Maybe if he focused, he could turn it off?
He did just that and his hair returned to normal. He also felt his access to the Geo Vision slip away.
He swallowed hard. Could it actually be that Noelle wouldn't be the only one? That he actually had more past lives? He'd heard stories of some people having hundreds of past lives. If that was the case for him, then, well, he didn't know what to think!
He'd gone from a Quirkless nobody with no confidence in himself to having a Quirk and having at least a little confidence!
So if he had access to more . . .
He felt his blood boil with excitement. Being a hero, saving people. He could do it! No, he would do it! And it all started with him! If he wasn't strong at a base level, then his Quirk wouldn't help him at all!
And then he realized he'd damaged the sink with his enhanced Geo strength while transformed and blanched.
Mom is gonna kill me!
When his mother came home from work, he broke the news to her. There was a lot of crying. Too much crying. So much crying that you'd probably need a Noah's Ark Quirk just to survive. But at the end of it all, he got to hear his mom have faith in him for the first time. She also apologized for never believing in him at the start.
And so, feeling lighter than he had in a long time, he went to sleep, dreaming of brighter days to come.
The best way to train one's body was to push it to the utmost limit. That was what he had gleaned from his past life as Noelle. 100 push ups. 100 sit ups. 100 squats and 10km run around the city every single day. He would keep that up for the next ten months. And while he was at it, he'd also help clean the beach. Maybe it was the Noelle in him, but he hated seeing junk piled up like that. He wanted to tidy up.
Once a maid, always a maid, he supposed.
It was easier said than done. By the end of the first day, he wanted to die. But he didn't give up. He ate dinner, crawled into bed and resolved to do it again the next day. And he did. Each day, it became easier. So to counteract that, he started wearing weights. He immediately regretted it when he fell down a flight of stairs in such a horrific fashion that when he finally hit the ground, the surrounding people thought he had died, only to freak out when he popped back up and kept jogging down the street. A simple flight of stairs was nothing compared to being hit point blank with an explosion quirk!
Huh. Thinking back on it, Katsuki was a lot like Klee. Blond hair, red eyes. Very explosive. Now if only he were small and adorable. That would make him far easier to tolerate. He idly wondered if Katsuki was the reincarnation of Klee but then disregarded that notion. He didn't want to experience the horror that was those two put together. An egomaniac and a terrorist. The very thought of it made him shudder.
So distracted was he with his thoughts that he had failed to pay attention to where he was running and ended up being hit by a car.
Once again, people had thought he died, only for him to rise to his feet like some kind of zombie.
"Sorry," he said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, the driver gawking at him all the while. "I wasn't paying attention."
He continued down the street and realized that perhaps being bullied for most of his life truly had given him a level of durability and pain tolerance that bordered on superhuman.
"And stay out!" he shouted at the last piece of metal he tossed into the recycling center. It had taken eight months, but he had finally cleared the beach. It would have taken him longer had he not cheated and used his Noelle transformation for some of it. If only because he wanted to practice using his Geo powers. Training his base was all well and good, but if he had no idea how to use his actual powers, then they may as well be useless to him.
By this point, his daily exercise was practically as easy as breathing to him. His muscles had increased considerably and he felt stronger, lighter and most importantly, more confident. His hair had also grown out a bit. It gave him a bit of a wild look, but he didn't mind it. He'd cut it after the entrance exam. Right now, he just didn't have time.
Besides, there was one little elephant in the room he wasn't addressing. That being his school life. Growing up, he had always been bullied. From being blown up by Katsuki, to being shoved in lockers by others and even being pushed out a window a few times. Quirkless kids had it rough and he was no different. One person named Takamiki was especially bad. She was like Katsuki, only worse. Katsuki looked down on everyone. But Takamiki seemed to take special offense to his existence.
It was because he once complimented her Quirk and she took it as him stalking her. She'd never let it go.
Still, her bullying had ceased when one day, a few weeks ago, she had tried to slap him and he had caught her wrist.
"Sorry, Takamiki-chan. Not today."
It was the most steady his voice had ever been, even though he was screaming bloody murder on the inside. He hadn't meant to catch her wrist. It was just, reflexes from his past life and all his training had kept him on guard. And the words, well, they were instinctual too.
She had glared at him and he had thought she was going to make his life even worse. But to his surprise, she hadn't bothered him since.
But, of course, his peaceful days would come to an end when his teacher had finally seen fit to announce to the class that not only was he going to U.A. alongside Katsuki, but he had awoken and registered his own Quirk. He was suddenly the talk of the class and Katsuki was glaring at him so hard that if the guy had explosion vision, he'd probably be dead.
Sure enough, after class had ended, Katsuki cornered him.
"What the hell, Deku?! How long have you had a Quirk?"
Izuku stared him down, appearing way more confident than he really was. He may have gotten a self esteem boost, but Katsuki could still be terrifying. "Oh, about nine months now?"
The blond grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close. "Have you been looking down on me?! Have you been pretending to be weak?!"
Izuku blinked. What the hell was he on about?
"You've been hiding your Quirk for far longer than that, haven't you?! Or could it be that you're lying and you're actually still Quirkless?!"
Oh. Well, apparently book smarts don't account much for common sense. He respected Katsuki. He did. They weren't really friends anymore, but the guy was talented, strong and would definitely make a fantastic hero. But right now, he was proving himself to be a bit daft. Ego would do that to you.
"Even if I try to explain, you won't believe me."
He grabbed Katsuki's arm and glared at him, even if his glare was paltry compared to the explosion user's.
So he did the only thing he could. He appealed to his former friend's pride.
"If you're so much better than me, score higher in the entrance exam. If you do, you'll see that I'm a sham."
The two future heroes stared at eachother for a few tense moments before Katsuki wrenched his arm away. The other student glanced away before refocusing his gaze on Izuku, his scowl slowly transitioning into a smirk.
"You're on, Deku. I'll crush you and show you what a fraud you are!"
And as the explosive blond trudged away, Izuku allowed himself to sigh in relief. That could have gone far worse!
It was the day of the entrance exam. All his training had been for this. He was ready. He was prepared. He was going to be the greatest hero since All Might! And, he's tripping on a rock. Figured that this was how he died. How ironic.
But then a firm hand grabbed his arm. "Whoa there, crash. You okay?"
He felt himself lifted back up and turned around to find himself facing a girl with long blackish green hair, playful dark eyes and shark-like teeth that were formed into a smile. "Uh, thanks."
"Don't mention it! Us green hairs have to look out for eachother, ya know?"
Izuku almost snorted at her words before nodding, already feeling more comfortable around her. "You're right about that. I'm Izuku Midoriya," he said, steeling his nerves and holding his hand out.
She shook it, her grin widening. "Setsuna Tokage! I'm a recommended student, so I won't be seeing you in the normal exam, but who knows, we might end up in the same class!"
Wow, a recommended student? Talk about being in a different league. "I hope so too."
"Oh? Already confident that you'll pass, huh? I like that! Good luck out there, Izuku!"
He nodded. "Good luck with your exam as well."
She gave a two fingered salute and wandered off, vanishing into the crowd.
He watched her go and smiled softly to himself.
Finally, a conversation with a girl that wasn't with his mom or a bully trying to make his life hell.
And then he realized that she had been wearing a Kamui Woods hoodie!
Damn it, I could have asked her hero questions!
He stared blankly at the robots lining the streets. When he had heard about the practical exam, he had thought it'd be more straightforward, like rescue training. You know, proving your mettle as a hero. Anyone could beat a robot. That wasn't heroic at all. In fact, it kind of irked him.
Even so, he had to pass this test to attain his dream. So he would do it. With a burst of yellow energy, he called forth Noelle's power. His hair shifted into a replica of hers and he felt strength well up inside him.
He smirked. "Time to tidy up!"
He dashed forward and punched one of the smaller robots with enough force to completely disable it. He then ripped off one of its arms and swung it experimentally. It wasn't a claymore, but it would do.
And so he tore a path of destruction through the robots, even utilizing Noelle's trademark shield a few times in order to just power through the bigger robots. A few times he helped fellow applicants who were in a tight spot. He even wasted precious time escorting a girl with a sprained ankle to a safer area.
But that was fine. He'd rather sacrifice potential points than ignore those who needed help.
Then the ground started rumbling and he couldn't resist gawking at the giant metal monstrosity that loomed over the mock cityscape. This was the Zero Pointer that Present Mic had told them about. The one meant to serve as an obstacle.
He swallowed audibly. He wasn't strong enough to deal with something like that.
But all thoughts of playing it safe and not engaging went out of the window the moment he heard someone call out for help. He didn't hesitate. He didn't even think. For the moment heard her pained cry, he was already running.
He skidded to a stop in front of the source of the voice. A girl with auburn hair in the shape of a bobcut. One bang was covering her eye as she desperately tried to pry her arm free from some rubble.
"Hold on," he said as he knelt down and hurled the rubble off of her with one hand. "Trying to pull it free would have only hurt it more."
She glanced up at him. "Thank you- uh, look out!"
He whirled around and had just enough time to activate his shield around himself and the girl as the Zero Pointer's fist came crashing down on them. Was that damn psychotic Headmaster really trying to kill them or something?!
After the fist receded, he turned back to her. "Can you stand?"
She nodded. "Uh, I'm Kinoko, by the way! Kinoko Komori!"
"Izuku Midoriya. Got a Quirk that can help with this?"
"I can summon mushroom spores. But infecting something that big, I don't think I can manage that."
Well, there goes that idea. Truth be told, though he was standing tall, it was only for her sake. Even with all of his training and Noelle's memories, this kind of situation was new to him. New to Izuku Midoriya. And he was terrified. But he had to protect Kinoko. He had to!
And like a switch, something happened. A new set of memories. Ones he couldn't even begin to parse at the moment, began to flood his mind.
Another past life had been accessed.
It was also another girl. He was starting to think that was why he was so in touch with his feminine side. But that didn't matter right now.
This past life. They had what it took to defeat the Zero Pointer.
He steeled himself and swapped from Noelle's power to theirs. His hair changed styles ever so slightly and became a dark blue. His eyes shifted from green to red as he gained pronounced fangs.
He gazed up at the metal monster and almost wanted to laugh. Compared to the things she had seen and fought. This wasn't so bad!
He called energy to his right hand and soon it coalesced into a long purple javelin. He pulled his arm back and aimed the weapon directly at the head of the Zero Pointer.
"Spear the Gungnir!" he shouted as he launched the weapon with such force that it nearly shattered the sound barrier. The projectile hit the robot's head and for a moment, nothing happened. And then the explosion occurred.
He could see Kinoko gaping at the spectacle from the corner of his eye and while he himself wore a cocky grin on the outside, on the inside he was practically fanboying over his own ability.
That was so cool!
Noelle, the Maid of Mondstadt. Remilia Scarlet, Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Those were the two past lives he'd awoken so far and they couldn't be more different. One was diligent and heroic. The other was charismatic and almost villainous. But at the end, they were both him. And he was them. So he wouldn't reject any part of them. For it would mean rejecting himself.
And as he sat in his room, contemplating his own existence, his mother barged in with a letter from U.A.
"Greetings, Young Midoriya!" the booming voice of All Might called, the man manifesting as a hologram. "I must say, of all the students this year, you are certainly one of the most impressive! A perfect score on the written and 70 Villain Points in the practical! Why, with that, you'd be a shoe in for the Top Five. That is, if there wasn't a secondary scoring system."
Izuku was so focused on the fact that All Might of all people was talking to him that he almost missed the next revelation.
"What kind of hero school would we be if we didn't grade heroic actions? For your selfless deeds during the exam, you have gained 70 Rescue Points! This brings your total score in the practical exam up to a mind blowing 140! And that's no easy feat! I myself scored 150! Honestly, you had me sweating a little there. I'm quite proud of that record, you know!"
He had almost beaten All Might?! At this rate, he was going to faint.
"But I digress, you have certainly earned your place among this school. Welcome, Young Midoriya. To Your Hero Academia."
The hologram flickered off and Izuku allowed himself to collapse backward into his bed, a goofy smile on his face. He had done it. He had taken the first steps to achieving his dreams of saving everyone with a smile!
And then he registered the fact that All Might was going to be a teacher at U.A. this year and squealed so loud that his neighbors thought a pig was dying.
This truly was the beginning of his story.
The story of how he became the greatest hero.