Latest Update:November 29, 2022
Summary: When Izuku recieves One For All two weeks early, he doesn't expect it to knock him out. He especially doesn't expect it to awaken something that had been waiting in his very soul for that moment. Now he has much more than just One For All at his disposal. Things just got a whole lot easier. ...Right?
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13630526/1/Izuku-of-Myriad
Word Count:79k
Chapters:12
Chapter 1: Awakening
Yagi Toshinori, better known as All Might, didn't know what was happening, but it worried him greatly, making him race across the rooftops of Musutafu towards UA High at a breakneck pace, his young successor shivering and twitching in his arms, his now muscular body sweating heavily.
Midoriya Izuku had surpassed the blonde hero's expectations by completing the training he'd been assigned a full two weeks early. When Toshinori had arrived at Dagoba Beach that morning to find the entire beach, which had once been more of a landfill than the tourist spot it was supposed to be, completely pristine, he'd felt amazed by his fifteen year old protege's achievement. He'd fully expected it to take the lad till the UA entrance exam to actually finish, leaving him little time to get used to the power he was preparing himself to wield.
But apparently the greenette was determined to shatter every expectation the veteran hero had of him by managing to clean even outside of the intended area early. The pride Toshinori felt for the boy he'd chosen to inherit his Quirk and mantle was immense, and he'd immediately proceeded to perform the transfer by having Izuku swallow some of his hair.
Everything had seemed fine at first as they waited for the hair to be digested, giving the Quirkless boy a power to call his own. Toshinori had intended to take advantage of the extra time afforded by the weeks before the exam to give Izuku some combat training to both give him a fighting style and get him used to the immense stress One For All would put on his body, but then things had gone wrong.
A couple of hours after Izuku had swallowed the hair, when Toshinori was teaching the boy the proper way to throw a punch (though the boy already knew a surprising amount, his fanboy tendencies giving him some working knowledge that Toshinori thought would serve him well), Izuke suddenly fell to his knees, sweat enveloping him. He began to shake as he went pale, and he looked up at the surprised hero in confusion and no small amount of fear before passing out without a word on the sand he'd worked so hard to clean.
After a moment of surprise Toshinori had immediately checked the boy's pulse, which was racing, and his temperature, which was highly elevated. These facts dumbfounded and worried him, because he'd never heard of any of the previous wielders of One For All having such a reaction when they'd received it. If Izuku hadn't been Quirkless he'd have assumed it was a bad reaction of some sort to his original Quirk, even though that didn't really make sense either. Still, the boy needed help, and there was only one medical professional that he'd trust with such a sensitive matter. Thus, after a moment to hit the emergency medical alarm on his phone, he'd picked Izuku up and rushed away.
Soon enough he landed at one of UA's side entrances to find the school nurse, Shuzenji Chiyo, also known as Recovery Girl, waiting for him. "What have you done to yourself this time, All Might?" She barked, though her gaze immediately fell to the teen in the man's arms, turning and motioning for him to follow.
"It's not me, Recovery Girl. It's Young Midoriya here. He collapsed out of nowhere after going very pale and beginning to sweat, and he's shaking and twitching a lot. His pulse is erratic, and he's burning up." All Might reported, knowing that it would be best to give her the pertinent health information he'd gathered first before explaining the full situation.
"Why did you bring him to me instead of to the hospital?" Chiyo asked as she entered her infirmary and Toshinori set the boy on one of the beds, the short elder immediately going to work. "And do you have any idea as to the cause?"
"The cause is the reason that I can't take him to a normal hospital." Toshinori said as he let his muscle form fade, leaving his true, skeletal form looking down at Izuku worriedly. "This happened shortly after I transferred One For All to him. I'd say at about the point I would expect it to be metabolized and assimilated."
Chiyo paused, glancing at him before humming. "So this is the one you chose…" She turned back to Izuku. "I see. Yes, it's best you came to me in that case." She hooked Izuku up to one of her monitors and began to study the readings. "Leave him to me, Toshinori. Go rest up, you look like you need it. Nezu should be here soon to find out what's going on after receiving the message."
Toshinori sighed but did as told, knowing better than to get in the woman's way when she was with a patient, no matter how worried he was. He knew that if something happened to Izuku it would be his fault. Not only would One For All likely be irrevocably lost, but so would the life of an innocent boy who'd trusted him and only wanted to help others.
Taking a seat outside of the infirmary he glanced over when he noticed Nezu, the principal of UA High, approach. The diminutive chimera of a dog, mouse and bear stopped beside Toshinori, looking up at the man with his dark, intelligent eyes. "I received the medical emergency alert, but I see you are fine, so I'm assuming that you brought someone in to Recovery Girl and she's currently seeing to them?"
Toshinori nodded before explaining what had happened to the best of his ability, knowing that Nezu's superior intelligence granted by his Quirk, High Spec, might be able to give Toshinori a better idea of what was going on.
Nezu rubbed his chin thoughtfully once Toshinori finished, his long tail swishing behind him. "And you say the boy is Quirkless?" The principal asked for clarification.
"Diagnosed at age four." Toshinori said with a nod. "I checked his records myself, just to do my due diligence."
Nezu hummed in approval. "I can't think of what might have caused this yet. I'll need to wait for Chiyo to finish with the lad and see what she comes up with so I have more information."
Toshinori nodded, feeling tired and stressed. What was meant to be a day of celebration, when the burning torch was passed on to the next generation to nurture, had gone horribly wrong.
Hours passed in silence, Toshinori sitting with his fingers interlaced in front of his face, a maelstrom of thoughts swirling in his mind. Whenever he glanced at Nezu, who had taken a seat beside him, he found the chimera going through Izuku's records on his phone, looking for anything that might indicate as to the cause of the boy's collapse. Toshinori had already seen most of it, including school and medical records. Izuku was unremarkable on paper, from a normal family that didn't stand out. The only thing that stuck out was the fact he was part of the dwindling twenty percent of humanity without a Quirk. That and his involvement in the Sludge Villain Incident almost ten months before, which was what had brought him to Toshinori's attention in the first place.
Still, Nezu had an impressive information network, as appropriate for a Pro Hero that excelled at tactics, strategy and information gathering. It wasn't impossible for the principal to find something of interest, no matter how much Toshinori doubted there was anything to find.
It was as the third hour of waiting came to a close that Chiyo walked out of the infirmary, looking tired and perplexed. Toshinori couldn't help but tense. "Is Young Midoriya…?" He asked, afraid yet hopeful.
"He'll live, from what I can tell. Something is definitely odd about him, however…" After another moment of thought she motioned for the two of them to enter the infirmary and walked back in, Toshinori and Nezu following. When they reached Izuku's bedside Toshinori helped Nezu up onto a chair so that the principal could study the boy for himself.
Toshinori immediately noticed a change in the boy's body when his eyes landed on him. Chiyo had removed Izuku's shirt to better work on him, leaving him in only his shorts, his muscular torso visible. Toshinori's eyes narrowed as he spotted what appeared to be lines in patterns similar to computer circuits crisscrossing his body, fading in and out of view rhythmically. When the blonde reached out to experimentally touch one of the lines he found it exuding a surprising amount of heat. "What the…?"
"Yes, that's just one of the things that's puzzling me about your protege, Toshinori." Chiyo said somewhat drily as she turned to her computer, bringing up the results of her tests, along with Izuku's medical history. "Those patterns, those… circuits… appeared suddenly with a surge of heat I worried would seriously damage the boy. They seem to be establishing themselves as a sort of secondary nervous system throughout his body. But there's more happening to him."
Nezu turned his analytical gaze from the teen on the bed to the school nurse. "Such as?"
"His muscles are becoming denser than they naturally could in a baseline human." She said seriously, 'baseline human' being the medically accepted term for Quirkless individuals, for obvious reasons. "His joints are changing as well, in what way I can't exactly say at the moment. If he wasn't unconscious he'd probably be experiencing quite a bit of pain due to those changes alone, but there's still more."
Toshinori ran his fingers through his hair at that. "Like what?"
"Something is happening to his skin, focused on his hands and the soles of his feet, though the rest is affected as well. It's still too early for me to tell what it is. And whatever is happening is also affecting his brain." She turned the screen of her computer to show them the brain scan she'd done, pointing to a particular area that was showing increased activity. "This is the part of the brain that deals with sound. I have no earthly clue what could be causing it to go into overdrive like this." She sighed. "All in all, this boy is going through a lot of changes, and I have a feeling they aren't done yet. And then there's this." She moved a tray over, letting the other two heroes see an odd, blocky, black handgun. "This appeared clutched in his hand while I wasn't looking about an hour ago, and it caused me pain when I tried to take it from him with my hands. I had to use some specialized equipment to put it on this tray."
Toshinori and Nezu observed the gun before glancing at each other, mystified. "Some sort of projection?" The blonde asked the chimera.
Nezu shook his head, unsure, before turning his attention back to Chiyo. "Is his life in any danger?" Nezu asked calmly as he observed the computer monitor's image.
Chiyo hesitated. "I don't believe so, but I can't say that with absolute certainty. I think it's best that he stay here till whatever is happening passes, however long that may be."
"You have no idea why this is happening?" Toshinori asked. "I haven't heard of any of my predecessors experiencing anything similar, after all."
Nezu spoke up. "I believe that One For All, being essentially an immense amount of energy, if we want to get down to its basics, inadvertently activated something dormant in Midoriya-kun, providing the power needed to fuel the change." The chimera rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Something passed down from his parents, perhaps, though I have my doubts about that hypothesis. There's still too much we don't know. I might have a better idea when he wakes up."
"I thought his family was unremarkable." Toshinori said doubtfully, wondering if Nezu had found something in Izuku's background that he hadn't after all.
"They are." Nezu said bluntly. "I've investigated back to his great-grandparents so far. I could find nothing of interest in them. That's why I'm not that confident in the idea. Still, it's the best I have at the moment."
"I see…" Toshinori said with a sigh as he pulled up a chair, taking a seat by Izuku's bedside and looking down at the boy with worry.
Nezu hopped down from his chair and began making his way to the exit. "I need to get back to work. There's much to do with the entrance exam in a couple of weeks. Keep me posted on any changes, though." Then he left once both members of the faculty gave their agreement.
As Chiyo turned back to her various test results Toshinori settled in to watch over his successor, taking in the boy's slightly ragged breathing and the sweat still dotting his form, along with the pulsing of the circuits. He let out another small sigh and closed his eyes, wondering how things could have gone wrong.
It was shortly after seven PM when Chiyo turned to Toshinori as Lunch Rush arrived with her dinner. "I don't believe he's going to wake up tonight, Toshinori. Go make yourself useful and inform his family. They deserve to know his condition rather than wonder if something happened to him."
Toshinori hesitated, but he knew she was right. He needed to go inform Izuku's mother of what had happened, even if it meant revealing his secrets to the woman. She had a right to know why her son was hospitalized.
Sighing once again he got up, shifting into his muscle form as he did so. It was time to face the music.
Midoriya Inko was growing concerned.
The short, somewhat rotund woman frowned as she put the finishing touches on dinner. Izuku should have returned already. He was rarely out this late, and when he was he usually let her know, but he hadn't called or left her a message ever since he'd headed out that morning to train.
She bit her lip as she wondered if something happened. She knew he was getting in shape for the UA entrance exam, and while she was proud of her son for putting so much effort into chasing his dream, most of her couldn't help but worry that he was going to get hurt, both physically and emotionally.
He was definitely giving it his all, though. It was easy to see from how his physique had changed from a scrawny teen to a well muscled young man. It was hard not to notice. She knew that if he'd stop wearing the baggy clothes he preferred that he'd be beating girls off with a stick. Assuming said girls could get passed his Quirkless status, of course.
Inko sighed as her mind turned back to her son's well being. Had something happened during his training? She didn't even know where he usually went to train. Surely somebody would have called her about it, though… right?
As that thought crossed her mind a knock came at the door. Perhaps it was because of the direction her thoughts had been going, but Inko froze, feeling like a fist had taken hold of her heart and was squeezing it hard, dread filling her. Somehow she knew that getting a knock on her door instead of Izuku opening it with an apologetic look wasn't good.
It was as the knock came again that she managed to shake herself out of her paralysis. Quickly making sure the food wouldn't burn she made her way to the door and opened it, peering out curiously. "Yessssssss….?" Her brain practically short circuited when she saw the Number One Hero and Symbol of Peace in front of her apartment. "A-A-All Might!" She squeaked in shock, eyes wide.
"Hello, Midoriya-san. It's good to finally meet you. May I come in?" All Might asked kindly.
It was then that Inko noticed something important. All Might wasn't wearing his famous smile. That fact made her previous fears return and she sagged against the door. "Something happened to Izuku, didn't it?" She said, on the verge of tears. The only reason she wasn't flooding the apartment already was because she was in front of All Might.
"Can we discuss this inside?" The greatest hero in Japan, if not the world, asked gently.
Sniffling, Inko allowed the man into her home, All Might respectfully walking in and waiting for her to sit down before he began. "I'm afraid something unexpected happened with Young Midoriya this morning when I was training him." He began.
Inko blinked, surprised out of her tears. "You've been training him?" She said in slight disbelief that someone as renowned as All Might would have any time for her son beyond perhaps signing an autograph.
"Since the Sludge Villain Incident, yes. He impressed me immensely back then, and I decided to take him under my wing." All Might said with a smile.
"Why?" Inko asked. "Please don't misunderstand, I'm immensely proud that Izuku apparently managed to impress you enough that you'd personally train him, but there has to be more to it."
All Might sighed before smiling slightly. "I figured I'd have to explain everything, considering what happened to Young Midoriya. It's a bit of a story, however, and I must ask that you not breathe a word of it to absolutely anybody. Not even your husband."
Inko looked worried at that, but considering it was All Might asking she could only nod her head.
From there came All Might's explanation of his injury, One For All, his search for a successor, and his choice of Izuku. He'd even shifted to his true form and showed the woman the wound, much like he had to her son months before.
Inko was horrified by what had been done to the man, saddened by the knowledge that soon the world would lose the Symbol of Peace, and a fierce, immense pride that the man had seen Izuku and decided to name him his successor in such a legacy, even though part of her now felt intense worry over her son's safety with such a burden now on his shoulders.
"You said something went wrong, though?" Inko asked fretfully.
All Might sighed as he sat back in his seat, bringing his hand up to rub his face tiredly. "Young Midoriya finished the training I'd set for him a full two weeks ahead of schedule this morning." He began. "I determined that meant he was ready to receive One for All and proceeded to pass it on. However, he had a reaction that I've never heard of any of my predecessors having and passed out, having several physical symptoms that worried me. I immediately took him to Recovery Girl at UA, since she's my personal physician and knows the secrets I just told you."
Inko clenched her fists on her skirt. "Is he…?"
"Recovery Girl doesn't believe his life is in danger." He assured her. "That said, we're not sure what's going on, only that his body is changing."
"Changing how?" Inko asked, relaxing slightly despite her ongoing fear at the news Izuku would live.
All Might proceeded to tell her what Recovery Girl had found, finding Inko to be just as perplexed as the rest of them.
"And One For All didn't affect you this way?" She asked once he was finished in order to clarify things.
All Might shook his head. "Not at all. It simply granted me the power you have seen me use before. I had no physical changes, especially not such severe ones."
Inko bit her lip. "Can I see him?"
"Of course." All Might said immediately. "I was waiting for you to ask. We're not going to keep you from your son, after all." He got up, shifting back into muscle form. "I have a car parked outside so I can drive you to the school."
Inko's quickly nodded, making her way to the kitchen. "I'll be just a moment. Let me put the food I was making away."
A half hour later Inko and All Might entered UA's infirmary to find Recovery Girl performing a check on Izuku, who's status hadn't changed since All Might had left.
"Oh, Izuku!" Inko cried, quickly making her way to her son's side. She looked up at the school nurse. "How is he?"
Recovery Girl smiled at the younger woman reassuringly. "The changes his body's going through is progressing, but as far as I can tell he isn't in any danger. I do want to ask you some questions about your family medical history, however."
Inko nodded, tears falling from her eyes, and kissed Izuku's forehead. "Anything to help." She said, hoping desperately that she'd be able to do so, and Izuku would wake up soon.
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Yon asked as he and the other previous wielders of One For All watched the weird scene occurring in front of them.
"Not a clue." Go grumbled. "This isn't normal. It's never worked like this before." He glanced at Nana. "How about you? It was your successor that passed it on."
Nana's eyebrow twitched. "And that means I know what's going on when One For All suddenly decides to be weird?"
San seemed especially annoyed. "Why exactly don't we know what's going on? Aren't we part of the freaking Quirk?" They looked over at another of the men, the weakest looking one of them all. "Do you have any idea, Ichi-sama?"
Ichi stared at what was happening in front of them, seeming to be in awe. "All I know is… Kyuu is truly amazing. If what I think is right, he has more potential than every previous wielder combined."
What the seven previous wielders of One For All (eight, technically, as Hachi's shade was beginning to form in the quasi-mental/spiritual space they inhabited) were observing was a great orb of energy with a mass of green at the center. The green, they knew, represented the current wielder, Midoriya Izuku. What was odd was what was happening around the orb.
Four other colors had appeared, and seemed to be caught in the grip of arcs of electricity emanating from One For All. What (or who) those colors were, the wielders didn't know. The only information they had at the moment was the orbs' names (though names didn't exactly fit, because again, quasi-mental/spiritual space). Those 'names' were Sword, which was silver, Spider, which was blue, Sound, which was red, and Horse, which was bright yellow.
"What do you mean, Ichi-sama?" Roku asked respectfully.
Before Ichi could answer the four extra orbs began to react to the energy being pumped into them by One For All. Lines like those of computer circuits began to leave Sword, each carrying what the wielders somehow knew was information in their energy. Spider began to emanate webs, as was appropriate for its name, which stuck to the 'walls', which began to shift. Sound began to vibrate, emanating a beautiful noise that none of the wielders would be able to adequately describe beyond melodic and soothing. And Horse began to bounce around, a blast of energy emanating from it each time it stopped, which dissipated to shower the surroundings with light.
The wielders watched this with awe, somehow knowing what they were seeing was something momentous.
Ichi simply smiled, feeling reassured that the work he had entrusted to his successors would now be completed far beyond what he'd hoped for.
As the four orbs were drawn into One For All, touching the green of the current successor, streaking it lightly with their colors, becoming part of it while still apart so as not to overwhelm, Ichi's smile widened, feeling content as he knew that the work he'd set out for himself and his successors was in good hands.
"What I mean, Roku, is that, seeing those four entities join Kyuu in a way even we never could, and knowing we will all support him… We are witnessing the birth of not just a Symbol, but a Legend."
Izuku groaned as his eyes slowly began to open. He felt tired, and his body ached like he was getting over the flu. Once his eyes managed to focus he glanced around at his surroundings, only partly surprised to find himself in what appeared to be an infirmary. His gaze focused on his mother, who sat at his bedside, apparently fast asleep. He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the lines of stress on her face, knowing that he'd caused them.
His attention turned to the door when All Might walked in carrying a tray with some tea on it. The fact that the man was in his true, skinny form around his mother threw Izuku's mind for a loop, but when he opened his mouth to ask all that escaped was a rasp as the teen realized how dry his throat was.
All Might's eyes widened when he saw Izuku was awake, almost dropping the tray. "Young Midoriya!" He cried out in surprise, making Inko jerk awake, eyes blinking tiredly, and drawing an elderly woman that Izuku recognized as Recovery Girl from another part of the infirmary.
"Izukuuuuuu!" Inko cried, hugging him tightly as she cried enough tears to fill a fish tank.
All Might set the drinks he'd brought down on a nearby table and approached with a smile on his face. "How are you doing, young man?"
Izuku coughed. "Water?"
A few minutes later Izuku was sitting up in bed, sipping on some water as Recovery Girl poked and prodded him.
"You really gave your mother and mentor a fright, young man." The elderly hero said as she checked his temperature.
"Sorry." He said as he glanced from his mother, who had calmed down and was sitting on her chair, watching him, to All Might, who was still skinny. "Err…"
"I told her everything." All Might said. "Considering how long you've been unconscious, she deserved to know."
Izuku ducked his head slightly as he looked at his mother. "I'm sorry for not telling you, mom."
Inko waved the apology off. "I'm not exactly thrilled that you didn't, but I understand your reasons." She sighed before smiling. "I'm just glad you're okay."
Izuku smiled back before something All Might had said registered. "Wait, how long have I been out?" He began to panic. "I didn't miss the entrance exam, did I?"
All Might raised his hands reassuringly. "Not at all, Young Midoriya. You've been asleep for a week. You have plenty of time."
Izuku slumped with relief. "Good…" Then he blinked. "Wait. A week? I've been out a week?"
"Scariest week of my life." Inko said, slumping slightly as she finally relaxed after a week of worrying.
"The changes your body went through only ended this morning." Recovery Girl told him as she took his blood pressure. "So it's not too surprising that you only just woke up."
Before anything else could be said Izuku's attention was drawn back to the door, which opened to allow the principal of UA through the door. Izuku immediately went rigid. "P-P-Principal Nezu, sir!"
"Indeed." Nezu said as he approached the bed, deciding to forego his usual introduction as he quickly hopped up onto one of the seats. "It's good to see that you've awoken, Midoriya-kun."
"Th-thank you, sir." Izuku said, trying not to get on the chimera's bad side.
Nezu appeared to be amused by Izuku's nervousness, but didn't comment on it. Instead he sat down and fixed his gaze on the teen. "Have you been informed of what happened?"
"I lost consciousness after receiving One For All as my body went through some changes." Izuku said. "I'm not surprised, seeing as the changes weren't just physical."
Everyone focused on him more than they already had at that. "What do you mean?" Inko asked worriedly.
Izuku took a deep breath, knowing that his next words were going to sound unbelievable. "My body had to adjust to make use of the abilities of the past lives of mine that became active when I received One For All."
Absolute silence reigned in the infirmary for a long moment. Eventually, as Izuku began to fidget, All Might gave a bloody cough. "What?"
Izuku laughed a bit nervously. "Funny thing, apparently reincarnation is a real thing, and I've received the memories and abilities of four of my past lives."
There was stunned blinking all around as those present tried to process his words. Finally Nezu seemed to recover first. "Anybody we might know?"
Izuku immediately shook his head. "No sir. Souls are rarely bound to a single strand of the multiverse. My past selves are from different realities. I know that because I have all their memories, and Quirks the way we know them here just weren't a thing to them."
Another moment of shock, but this time it was Inko who spoke worriedly. "You have the memories of four other people?"
Izuku nodded before smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, Mom. I'm still Midoriya Izuku first and foremost. I remember my past lives, and even the emotions of those memories, but they're removed enough that they haven't completely changed me. You might see a few new habits and preferences shine through, but I'm still your son."
Inko relaxed at his words, giving him a thankful smile for his reassurance. She'd been worried that the son she loved so much had been turned into a completely different person, and apparently he'd realized that. Still, she knew she'd been paying close attention to his behaviour in the future.
"Forgive me, Young Midoriya, but this seems rather unbelievable." All Might said slowly.
Izuku chuckled lightly. "Tell me about it. But it's the truth." He sighed before looking down at his hands. "I remember things, All Might. I remember fighting monsters you wouldn't believe, learning skills even most Quirks wouldn't be able to replicate, and enduring things that had to be real."
He took a deep breath as the adults all looked at him silently, letting him continue. "I remember losing my brother and spending years desperately searching for him. I remember fighting a mad king to the death to keep an existential threat from wiping out a city, if not more. I remember killing a demigod for a woman I wasn't sure I loved." He grit his teeth. "I remember the agony of my wife miscarrying our daughter due to a villain's personal attack." He heard Inko gasp in horror when she heard that. Then he looked up to look All Might in the eye. "It doesn't matter if you believe me, All Might, because nothing can erase those memories. I am still Midoriya Izuku. But now, I'm also much, much more than that."
All Might stared at Izuku for a long moment before nodding, knowing Izuku was entirely correct.
Nezu gave Izuku a moment to recover himself before speaking. "Would you mind telling us about your past selves, Midoriya-kun? Maybe also what abilities you believe you gained from them?"
Izuku nodded with a small smile on his face. "Sure. I'll start with the one you'll be able to comprehend the most. A New Yorker called Peter Parker, who went by the hero name Spider-Man."
"Ah, so you were a Pro Hero in that life?" Nezu asked with interest.
Izuku shook his head. "Not really. Pro Heroes weren't a profession in that world, at least during my era. I was actually a vigilante, though one the government tacitly approved of. I didn't get paid for my heroics, which caused a lot of issues during my life, seeing as I was evicted more than once due to not being able to keep a steady job."
All Might frowned. "Unfortunate. The current system has its flaws, but it at least allows heroes to make a living protecting people."
Izuku snorted lightly in amusement. "You have no idea how much I would have appreciated a system like the one this world uses. Sure, I had other heroic friends who were willing to spot me some money every once in a while, but it would have been nice if the Avengers paid a salary for membership, or something like that."
"The Avengers?" Inko asked with a light frown, not sure she liked the name.
"One of the superhero teams I was a member of, and probably the most prominent one in that world." Izuku explained. "We had a pretty large roster. I was generally more of a street level hero, but I was ready to join in when it came to more global threats, like the occasional alien invasion."
At that all the adults blinked multiple times. "Aliens were a thing on that world?" All Might asked incredulously.
"Oh sure." Izuku said with a nod and a smile. "More than a few that liked to cause trouble, like the Kree and the Skrulls. Plus all the other global threats, like various warlords or supervillains."
"And you said Quirks weren't a thing there?" Nezu prompted.
Izuku pursed his lips. "Not in the same way, no. For example, I got my powers when a spider that had undergone severe mutation due to radiation exposure bit me. There were others that had powers and abilities from different sources, like the various magic users, or people without any powers at all but that made up for it with extreme training and skill or by using technology."
"Nobody with inborn powers, then?" Nezu asked, his academic curiosity asking to be sated.
"There were. They were known by the derogatory name of 'mutants', since their powers came from a mutation in a set of DNA colloquially known as an X-Gene. They are a lot like Quirks, but have been around since at least ancient Egypt, though the population had grown a lot during my time." Izuku sighed. "Unfortunately they were the victims of a lot of racism and bigotry, being hunted down and killed or put in concentration camps in some cases."
Inko had a hand to her mouth. "That's horrible."
Izuku nodded. "I was friends with a group of mutant heroes known as the X-Men, whose main focus was to protect the world and show humanity that mutants didn't need to be feared. Of course, they ended up fighting against both human and mutant supremacists a lot."
"I will definitely be asking you for more details on that world, as it sounds fascinating, but let's talk about you." Nezu said brightly. "What were your powers?"
"Considering how I got my powers, they were obviously spider based." Izuku said with a smile before getting out of bed in spite of Recovery Girl's tutting and his mother's worried look. Making his way to a relatively empty wall he placed his hands on it before beginning to crawl along it, his body bending in ways a baseline human's shouldn't be able to. Izuku smiled down at them all from the ceiling before letting go once his demonstration was over, flipping easily to land in a low crouch, hands and feet on the floor, before getting back up.
"Interesting. Is that all you can do? Or is there more?" Nezu asked as he started making notes on his phone.
Izuku nodded and began to speak. "Increased strength, enough to lift and move multiple tons, though with One For All backing me up that limit is probably a lot higher. Superhuman agility, flexibility, speed, stamina, reflexes and durability. A moderate healing factor and heightened immune system. And probably my most important one and the one that saved my life more times than I can count: my Spider-Sense."
Nezu looked up from where he was rapidly typing, the others in the room allowing the hyper-intelligent animal to lead the questioning. "Spider-sense?"
"A light precognitive ability that warns me of danger." Izuku said. "I instinctively know where danger is coming from up to a few seconds in advance, and my body normally moves automatically to avoid it. It generally encompases pretty much anything I consider harmful, though it doesn't trigger when it comes to those I trust."
All Might looked impressed. "That last ability alone is hero tier." He said with a smile. "Add it to all the rest, I imagine you were a very effective hero."
Izuku shrugged. "I did alright." He said modestly as he made his way back to his bed under Recovery Girl's disapproving gaze.
Nezu finished typing before turning his attention back to Izuku. "What about another of your lives?"
Izuku considered which one to tell them next before nodding to himself. "Next I'll tell you about my life as Saotome Ranma, living in the Nerima district of Tokyo. There were no superpowered individuals in that world, not like here or my Spider-Man world. Magic was a thing, though, and it caused me personally no end of trouble, though most of my problems were caused by my father."
Inko tilted her head to the side. "How so?"
"I was a martial artist in that life. Likely the best in my generation, if I'm being honest." Izuku said with a small, proud smile. "I was trained since I was two years old, when my father took me away from home on a training trip that lasted almost a decade and a half. Looking back on myself from my current viewpoint, I had a lot of issues due to not being raised around people normally or going to school on a consistent basis." He said, frowning slightly at the memories he could now look at through a new lens.
"So your father took you on a training trip that most likely left you socially and intellectually stunted." Nezu said with an understanding nod. "Yes, that would cause many issues."
Izuku snorted derisively. "Oh, that wasn't the main problem, though it definitely didn't help. No, the old panda engaged me to dozens of girls on the training trip, usually out of greed or gluttony. One time when I was about three he engaged me to a girl in exchange for a fish, a bowl of rice, and a few pickles." He said with a dark look.
All of the adults in the room stared at Izuku incedulously. "You're joking…" Recovery Girl said, shock in her voice.
Izuku shook his head with a sigh. "No. You have no idea how much trouble I had dealing with crazy fiancees and rival suitors." He hung his head at the memories of the sheer amount of insanity he'd endured during that lifetime.
The adults glanced at each other before Nezu coughed politely to get Izuku's attention. "Let's focus on something other than that for now, then. What abilities have you gained from that life? You said you were a martial artist. Which style?"
"My main style was the family's Anything Goes Martial Arts, which was essentially an amalgamation of multiple styles into a single, cohesive whole. Part of the style's philosophy is to take the strengths of other styles into your own, so I know quite a bit of a lot of different styles." Izuku crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "Honestly, my life as Ranma is going to help a lot when it comes to the abilities from all my past lives. I've already mostly figured out how to meld all the different skills and abilities from my various selves into a single style, so I won't suddenly freeze in indecision over how to react to a threat."
"Sounds very useful." Nezu said in agreement as he noted that down. "Anything else?"
"...You ever read one of those old martial arts manga from before Quirks?" Izuku asked with a smile. "The ones where the martial artists can use their internal energy to do absurd things a Quirkless human shouldn't be able to?" Seeing that they were getting where he was going with the questions Izuku held up a hand, furrowing his brow before slowly a small orb of golden energy appeared above his palm, shining brightly. After a few moments he let it dissipate, taking a breath and wiping his forehead. "Whew, that was harder than it should have been. I don't think that emotion is going to work for me like it did when I was Ranma."
"Emotion?" All Might asked.
"Drawing ki out like that requires an emotional component." Izuku explained. "The person I adapted it from used depression. As Ranma, I used confidence. But I'm too different from how I was as Ranma for that to work as easily for me, so I'll need to find something that works better for my current self."
"Interesting…" Nezu murmured as he wrote that down. "Can anybody learn to do that?"
Izuku thought about it. "Technically everybody has the potential to do so. It requires an absurd amount of dedication and training, though. Even most grandmasters wouldn't be able to do what I just did."
"Mmm, pity. If it could be taught then it would help less combat oriented heroes significantly." The chimera said with a sigh. Then he perked up again. "Alright, how about your next life?"
Izuku scratched his chin before shrugging. "My life as Jesse Faden was interesting. During that life I was the director of the Federal Bureau of Control in the United States."
All Might raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe I've heard of such an agency." He said slowly, not liking the implications of the name.
"If they exist in this world, you wouldn't have." Izuku said seriously. "They are an agency focused on dealing and containing what they call 'paranatural phenomena'. It's another completely Quirkless world, so they focused on things like objects that can move on their own, or launch blasts of energy, or levitate. Basically, things outside of the bounds of nature as science understood them. The Bureau would hunt down such objects or people, contain them, especially if they were dangerous, and then study them to better understand them, all while hiding the truth from the general public."
Nezu raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like something out of some sort of horror or science fiction story." He said, prompting an amused smile from Izuku.
"You have no idea. Running that place was insane, especially considering when I first arrived there at twenty-eight I ended up in the middle of an invasion by a hostile force from another dimension that the former director was manipulated into letting free." He shook his head. "Honestly, none of my past selves knew what a normal life was… Till the day I died as Jesse hearing people call me Madam Director just felt weird…"
Inko had been trying to keep up with the insane things her son was matter of factly speaking about, but one thing he'd just said stuck out to her. "Wait, Madam Director?" She asked in shock.
Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Ah, yes. Souls aren't bound by gender. Jesse Faden was born and died a woman." He shook his head again, face a bit red. "Honestly, I now know more about women than I ever wanted to…"
All Might looked at his successor a bit askance as Nezu let out some squeaky laughter. "Well, I imagine that will at least come in handy when you enter the dating scene." The principal said between laughs.
Inko looked like she was trying to wrap her head around the idea that her son now had the memories of being a woman, with all that likely entailed. To distract herself she asked him another question. "So, ah, did you get any abilities from that life, honey?"
Izuku crossed his arms in thought. "You know, I'm not sure… All the powers I had during that time came from being bound to certain Objects of Power at the Bureau. Those connections should have been severed when I died. But…" He looked around before spotting a small table set to the side where Recovery Girl had set the handgun that had appeared while Izuku was unconscious. His eyebrows rose when he saw the gun. "Well, that's here, so maybe…" He lifted his hand, and suddenly the table flew towards him, stopping a foot or so away from his hand, floating easily. Then he let it drop back onto the floor with a clatter and picked up the gun. "Looks like I still have my abilities after all, along with the Service Weapon."
"Service Weapon?" Nezu asked, once again taking notes.
"It's an Object of Power that binds itself only to the director of the FBC. If anybody else tries to use it, it kills them." Izuku said seriously, making everybody start eyeing the gun a bit more warily. "It's basically the director's symbol of office. I became director when I picked it up and used it without dying after the last director, Trench, committed suicide with it. It's very powerful." He looked down at it, frowning. "I'm surprised it's here though. It should be with whoever became director after me." He tilted his head slightly. "A copy, maybe?"
"Possibly." Recovery Girl said with a nod. "It appeared in your hand during your first day here. Maybe it was created by your power."
Izuku hummed before turning back to Nezu. "My other abilities mostly involve telekinesis in some form or another, letting me pull and launch objects, levitate for short periods, dash around, and form a shield out of debris." He deliberately didn't say anything about his mind control abilities.
Nezu nodded gratefully at the information, noting it all down. "Thank you, Midoriya-kun." Then he looked back up. "And as for your final life…?"
"That one was pretty insane as well." Izuku said with a light chuckle. "My name was Emiya Shirou, and I lived in Fuyuki, here in Japan, during some of the most important events of my life." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I've mentioned in previous worlds that magic existed, right?" As the others nodded he continued. "I was a magus when I was Shirou, if a third rate one. When I was seventeen I ended up embroiled in something called the Holy Grail War."
The heroes glanced at each other with frowns on their faces, not pleased by the sound of that, while Inko stared at Izuku, not liking the idea of anybody that age becoming entangled in anything that could be called a war.
"What did this Holy Grail War entail, Midoriya-kun?" Nezu asked seriously. "It sounds as though it has some sort of religious significance."
"It doesn't." Izuku said bluntly, and they could all hear the distaste in his voice. "Nothing about that damned thing was holy." At their looks he sighed. "The Holy Grail was a nearly omnipotent wish granting device holding immense power. The person who possessed it could bring nearly any desire to life, from true resurrection to the destruction of the planet itself."
Eyes around the room widened. "That… that's not good." Recovery Girl said.
"You have no idea." Izuku said with another tired sigh. "The Holy Grail War was a battle royale between seven Masters and their Servants, beings summoned through a ritual that were more powerful than any human could be." He looked at All Might. "Most Pro Heroes would stand no chance against a Servant. Even you would fall to some of the upper echelons in their ranks."
All Might's eyes rose at that. It wasn't arrogance to say he was probably in the top five strongest beings on the planet, even as weakened as he was, so that was quite a statement. "What is a Servant then, Young Midoriya?"
Izuku pursed his lips in order to think of how best to explain it. "Outside of space and time, at the Root of reality, exists a thing called the Throne of Heroes. People whose deeds have transcended humanity and reach into legend are removed from the cycle of reincarnation and reside there. These are known as Heroic Spirits." He paused to let Nezu finish writing his notes before continuing. "People like Heracles, Miyamoto Musashi and Jeanne d'Arc are enshrined in the Throne of Heroes. Through a ritual during the Holy Grail War, these spirits can be summoned as Servants, and like I said, they're more powerful than pretty much any human could be, at least in the modern era. That's partly because they draw power from their legend. The more well known a Servant's legend is, the more power they have alongside what they already did. But even low tier heroic spirits could slaughter a large number of heroes."
"And I assume you ended up Master of one of these Servants?" Nezu asked.
Izuku nodded. "I was a Master through no choice of my own. My Servant was King Arthur." He smiled softly at the memory before continuing. "During the war I was mainly trying to survive and keep the collateral damage down, especially since I was orphaned in the previous War." He sighed before shaking his head in disgust. "I'll save you the gory details for now, but in the end it turned out that the Holy Grail had been infected by a malicious entity calling itself Angra Mainyu during one of the previous Wars."
Nezu quickly did a search for the name Izuku had just given him, and if his fur wasn't already white he would have paled. "According to this, Angra Mainyu is the name of the God of Evil in the Zoroastrian religion."
Izuku nodded. "Yes. My adoptive father was the winner of the Grail War before mine, and he claimed the Grail to wish for world peace."
"A noble goal." All Might admitted.
"Yeah, though I don't agree with his methods. He was… not nice when it came to his enemies." Izuku sighed. "But when he claimed the Grail he found Angra Mainyu in it, who agreed to grant his wish as winner… by killing every person in the world besides him, his wife and his daughter."
Eyes went wide at that, with Inko bringing a hand to her mouth in horror. "He refused, of course." All Might said.
"He did, and he forced his Servant to destroy the Grail. The backlash destroyed a large portion of the city and started a literally cursed fire that claimed thousands, including my previous family, and almost killed me." Izuku paused, looking briefly haunted by the memories, before he continued. "In any case, events during my Grail War ended up nearly releasing Angra Mainyu. With all the power the Grail had accumulated during multiple wars backing it, it would have been a literal end of the world scenario. So me and a few others went to stop him. I had to fight Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, in order to be able to get to Angra Mainyu in time to destroy it."
"I imagine that wasn't an easy battle, even with someone like King Arthur at your side." Nezu said sympathetically.
Izuku smiled wryly. "Saber had gone on to face Angra Mainyu while I fought Gilgamesh, actually."
Eyes widened again. "I thought you said even Pro Heroes couldn't face a Servant."
"They couldn't." Izuku said bluntly. "And Gilgamesh is probably among the top ten Heroic Spirits. He could slaughter every Hero in Japan, All Might included, on his own if he took things seriously. But he didn't. He underestimated me, and by the time he got over his arrogance in order to kill me, I'd already killed him."
"How?" Inko asked, enthralled.
Izuku held out his hands and focused for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, two beautiful swords were in his hands, one white, one black. "I have a skill unique to me I call Tracing. At a glance I can know everything about any weapon, especially bladed ones, and then by spending some energy I can create an almost perfect copy. This includes even legendary weapons with magical abilities, like Caliburn or Gae Bolg, and I can use those abilities myself. I can also wield the weapons with only a bit less skill than the original users, because I know their styles as well as they do. A fact the skills I gained as Ranma are making good use of."
Once again, the heroes' eyebrows went up. "That's a potent skill." All Might said admiringly. "And you can use that skill now, as your current self?"
Izuku nodded as he let the swords fade away. "Yeah. So my arsenal will only grow." He felt no need to tell them about Unlimited Blade Works, especially as he doubted it would work for him anymore beyond being where his weapons resided. He wasn't Emiya Shirou anymore. Not entirely.
Nezu finished up his notes before putting his phone away. "This has all been fascinating, Midoriya-kun, and I hope to continue discussing things further with you, whether or not you join our fine institution." He hopped off the chair. "However, I think you should go home with your mother and rest, assuming Recovery Girl releases you. The entrance exam is in a week, after all, and in spite of any instinctive knowledge you might have regarding your new abilities, you still need to prepare and make sure you can use them properly."
Izuku nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Principal. I won't disappoint."
"I'm sure you won't." Nezu said with a smile before leaving the room with a last bow to both of them.
All Might let out a sigh as Recovery Girl resumed checking Izuku over. "You scared the crap outta me, young man."
"Me too." Inko said, resting a hand on her son's arm, teary eyed once again from the relief that he was alright.
Izuku smiled apologetically to the both of them. "I'm sorry, Mom, All Might. To be fair, I didn't exactly do it on purpose. And now I'm even better prepared for joining UA than I was before."
All Might chuckled. "Just from what you've told us about what you now remember, along with your new skills, I'd say you're pretty much ready to go Pro as is." He sat back as he watched his successor get poked and prodded. "Honestly, your potential is ridiculous, even without factoring in One For All. I have no doubt you'll end up surpassing me easily."
Izuku smiled. "Thanks, All Might." He perked up. "I don't suppose you'd mind sparring with me for the next few days? Make sure I've managed to incorporate all my skills correctly?"
All Might buffed up and let out a laugh. "It would be my pleasure to assess your skills, Young Midoriya!"
Recovery Girl tutted. "Not even out of the infirmary and already rushing to come back…" She sat back and looked at Izuku seriously. "As far as I can tell your alterations haven't caused you any harm, but I still want you to take it easy at least tomorrow to make sure there aren't any complications. You can train with All Might after that, though I expect you to come here immediately if you notice anything wrong." Despite her size and appearance the elderly healer took on a distinctly ominous air. "Am I understood?" Izuku and All Might nodded frantically. "Good." She said calmly after that. "Then you're free to leave, young man. Good luck on the entrance exam."
Izuku got out of bed, pulling on the shirt that had been set aside for him and slipping the Service Weapon into his pocket. "Thank you, Recovery Girl."
Inko got up and bowed deeply to the elder woman as well. "Yes, thank you so much for your help. I'm very grateful."
Recovery Girl waved the thanks away. "Just doing my job." Still, she had a pleased smile on her face.
The three left UA shortly thereafter with All Might driving them to their apartment. As the evening sky darkened and the buildings slid passed, Izuku looked out the window, lost in the myriad memories now occupying his head, and focusing on certain particular ones. Ones that he hadn't told the others about.
Memories of his past selves agreeing to be activated in a future life, knowing that they would be needed to combat some great threat. What that threat was, Izuku didn't know.
But something told him that he'd be finding out sooner rather than later...
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13630526/1/Izuku-of-Myriad