An Eclectic Catalogue of Ideas

He was barely standing, surrounded by utter devastation. Buildings stood shattered, roads were torn to shreds, and entire blocks were destroyed by the climatic battle. Staggering and swaying, he refused to fall. If he was going to die, he would die as he lived: he refused to give up! They had been fighting the creature for what felt like hours, even as one by one, others fell around him. It was laughable. How could they lose to a Nomu, no matter how strong? They'd faced them so many times over the last decade.

But this one was different. Somehow, they had not only created a Nomu but gotten access to David Shield's old Quirk Amplification Device technology that was supposedly destroyed. His mind whirled back to the events on I-Island, even as he charged forward to meet the creature's fist and was blown back, even as he felt his arm finally shatter. His body collapsed a wall as he ended up on his back.

He hadn't felt that in a long time. He didn't break bones anymore.

He had to keep it distracted so people could evacuate. Lifting his other arm, he summoned a tendril of Blackwhip to pull himself to his feet. He turned, about to attack again, when he saw the Nomu's fist inches from his face. Too close, it was too...

His last thought was of his wife, that he'd never see her again.

Darkness.

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And Izuku Midoriya woke up on a train.

His heart beating furiously, he started to panic, before his training kicked in, and he looked around slowly. He was on a train. Above him, he saw a small sign announcing: Now Arriving at Yavin Station. Yavin Station? That was the station near UA University. What was going on, how could he be on a train? He'd been about to die from the hyper-charged Nomu's attack.

Slowly, Izuku pulled out his phone, and swiped a finger to unlock it. He just stared at the date. He knew that date. He remembered that day even now.

The day of the Entrance Examination for UA. His entrance examination.

Izuku got up almost mechanically and approached the doors, getting off the train. Turning, he walked towards UA, and approached the gates. In the distance, he could see the buildings, just as he remembered. Everything was as he remembered. He could even see Kirishima and Mina in the distance, entering the testing center.

He stopped, trying to control his panic. He couldn't panic; heroes didn't panic. He had to think. What was going on? He couldn't, he just couldn't be here. It was impossible. Not even Eri's quirk could do something like this! Quirks were weird, but sending him back in time? Well, his mind at least. This was definitely his seventeen year old body.

"Out of the way, Deku!" came from behind him. He saw Bakugou stalk past, and then a few moments later, Uraraka passed by as well. Some part of him felt sad. There wouldn't be a funny meeting where she prevented him from tripping, not this time. He'd have to meet his friend another way.

That is, if he wasn't going insane.

Taking a slow breath, Izuku made a decision. Either he was insane, or he was really back in the past. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it. So he'd act as if this was real. And if it was, perhaps he could change things. No, he would change things.

Bakugou wouldn't get kidnapped. Ragdoll wouldn't lose her quirk. He would save Eri more pain, and Mirio wouldn't lose his quirk. Nighteye and Midnight wouldn't die.

After a moment, Izuku started walking towards the testing center. He remembered his words, so long ago. And reaffirmed them.

He would be a hero that saves everyone.

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Izuku shook his head as he came out of the classroom. The written examination was easy. Then again, he had done this before and by now he knew Hero Law like the back of his hand. That had always been the most difficult part of the test. His footsteps brought him to the auditorium and he saw Present Mic standing in front, as he walked towards his seat.

Oh yeah, he was sitting by Bakugou.

Sighing, Izuku sat down, looking briefly at Bakugou before leaning back to wait. The other boy glared at him briefly before ignoring him. Much like before, Present Mic summarized the practical and Iida stood up to demand questions. He always did handle stress that way. The only difference was Izuku managed to control his muttering, so he didn't get singled out this time.

Was it wrong that some part of him actually felt sad about that?

He'd long ago learned when to control his muttering. Having to worry about revealing time travel? Or insanity? A very good time to control it.

After the explanation, Izuku glanced at the slip in front of him and rose to his feet. He nodded at Bakugou, "Good luck, Bakugou," he said and turned to walk away.

He didn't notice Bakugou's shocked expression behind him.

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Arriving at his battle center, Izuku looked around slowly. He saw Uraraka in the distance, and part of him wanted to go up to her. He decided it'd look strange when they hadn't spoken before now, and so he just stood there waiting.

As he did, he pulled on One For All, slowly building Full Cowling. He didn't know how much he could manage at the moment, and didn't want to injure himself pulling too much. He could feel the energy infusing his body as it slowly rose, green lightning flaring over his limbs. He could feel his bones vibrating as it hit around nine percent, so he dialed it back to eight.

That was more than he'd expected, but then he'd never pushed himself with it at first. All Might had said he could handle five percent, so that's what he'd done. The extra three percent would be useful.

He heard Present Mic call for start and he dashed out, tendrils of lightning flashing in his wake. Might as well make an impact.

He came upon a group of robots and leaped in the center of the group, causing a shock wave that took them all down in an instant. He dashed up towards one of the buildings, leaping from wall to wall so he could look over the testing ground, and leaped down, landing in another group of robots and lashing out with his leg, shattering two before turning to put his fist through the head of another.

Leaping from building to building, Izuku saw others fighting the robots. As he leapt off a building, he grabbed a three pointer when it was about to attack Aoyama, holding it until the blonde blasted it away. "I thank you, monsieur," he said as he flashed a smile, and Izuku couldn't help but smile to himself.

Back and forth he went. He really didn't care about points; Izuku knew he'd get more than enough to pass. Instead, he focused on helping his fellow students in between destroying robots, dashing forward to block attacks or pull people out of the way of collapsing rubble.

In a way, he was enjoying himself.

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In the control room, the teachers were watching the battle centers. Nezu commented, "Oh ho, look at applicant seventy nine. Izuku Midoriya. Not only did he not hesitate when the test started, but he's taking out robots quite well and he's helping his fellow competitors too."

To the side, All Might was shocked. The boy was doing very well! He was a little confused about the green energy around the boy, but he sometimes did something similar when pushing himself. He was curious at some of the boy's martial arts, he didn't realize Izuku knew such things.

"Look at the applicant in Battle Center C. He's destroying robots even faster than Midoriya with those explosions of his. He isn't helping anyone else, though," commented Snipe.

As the test continued, Nezu was almost vibrating as he looked between the screens. "I think it's time to step things up a notch," he said. "Let's find out who will take this opportunity."

And pressed a button.

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Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound and the ground started to shake. Izuku leapt up onto a nearby building, running towards the rumbling, as he watched people pass by below. His gaze flickered over the runners, making sure no one fell. He was hoping that this time, Uraraka didn't get hit by falling rubble.

Damn it.

There she was, just like last time. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, even as the Zero-Pointer approached. He pulled on One For All, his bones vibrating harder as he pushed up to ten percent. He'd have to break at least one limb. He didn't think he could do enough damage quickly enough, otherwise. He jumped off the building, rocketing over towards it and turned in midair, using a move he'd based on Miruko's fighting. "Crescent SMASH!" As he moved, he pulled yet more of One For All in his leg and brought it down, collapsing the head of the robot and causing it to collapse not far from Uraraka. At least he only used about half, so it was probably a clean break and not shattered.

In a room not far away, teachers cheered.

Of course, his leg did break. He pushed off the robot, bouncing from building to building to land on the ground, not putting any weight on his leg. It still hurt like a son of a bitch. He leaned against the wall, panting, "Now I'm thinking like Bakugou." He called out to Uraraka, "Are you all right?"

"I think so. My leg is trapped, and I can't reach the rubble," she said.

Izuku began to hop towards her, wincing as pain shot through him from his leg. Nearing her, he leaned down and pulled the rocks off of her. "There. What a pair we make, I'm pretty sure I broke my leg."

She giggled. "I guess so. I'm Uraraka. Ochako Uraraka."

"Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Uraraka," he said with a smile.

They heard footsteps behind them, and both turned. Izuku started to mutter, not bothering to control himself, before asking, "You're Recovery Girl! Can I have your autograph? It's such an honor to meet you, ma'am!"

"Yes, I am, and maybe later, young man," the woman stated. "What's wrong with you two?"

"She hurt her leg, I'm not sure if it's sprained or broken," Izuku explained. "I'm sure that I broke mine."

"Oh dear, let me look at you," Recovery Girl said as she approached, leaning in to kiss Ochako and then Izuku. He felt a sharp pain in his leg as it started to heal. "Did you fall, how'd you both get hurt?"

"Some rubble fell on me," Uraraka said with a shudder, "It was too far down to easily reach, so I couldn't get it off."

"I, er, well, I destroyed the Zero-Pointer. It was getting too close to Uraraka. I used too much power, and couldn't handle it," Izuku admitted.

"Your own quirk did this to you?" Recovery Girl asked with a frown. She produced some gummies, offering them to both Izuku and Uraraka. "Eat this, it'll help you recover your energy."

As he ate the gummies, Izuku tentatively leaned on his leg. There was an ache, but no real pain, and even the ache was fading. "Thank you, ma'am," he told her, before glancing at Uraraka, "How do you think you did?" he wondered.

"Pretty well," Uraraka said. "I'm hopeful."

"Me too," Izuku said to her with a smile, "We should clear out though. Hey, how about we exchange numbers so we can chat later?"

"Sure!" the girl agreed, even as they slowly made their way out of the battle center.

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A week later, Izuku was wandering along Dagobah Beach, his hands in his pocket. Waiting. Soon, Yagi appeared, and Izuku greeted him, "Hello, Yagi, sir."

"Hello, my boy! You wanted to speak to me? I must repeat that you did excellent on the examination! First place!" Yagi said boisterously.

"I need to tell you something. But I'd like it if your detective friend was here, too, could you call Detective Tsukauchi and ask him to come here?" Izuku asked.

Yagi frowned, "I can do that. How do you know about Tsukauchi, if I might ask?" the hero wondered.

"That's part of what I need to talk about," Izuku stated with a sigh. He watched as Yagi called the Detective, hands in his pockets.

"Can you tell me anything about what's going on?" the hero asked with a frown.

"I think it better to wait. What I want to talk about is pretty unbelievable, it'd be better to have the Detective's quirk to verify my words," Izuku explained.

"This is not filling me with confidence, young Midoriya," Yagi said to him. They waited in silence, and perhaps fifteen minutes later they saw the detective approaching, "Ah, Tsukauchi. Thank you for coming!"

"Not a problem. What exactly am I needed for?" Tsukauchi asked.

"It was actually my idea. What I'm about to say is pretty unbelievable, but between supporting information and your quirk, I'm hoping that Yagi can believe me," Izuku stated.

Brow lofting, Tsukauchi nodded, "All right..."

"In a nutshell, I've been a hero for over a decade. I graduated from UA after a lot of difficulties due to villains, and slowly rose through the ranks to reach the top," Izuku said calmly, watching their reactions. "Eventually, something happened, and the remnants of the League of Villains, a group of villains who originally appeared not long from now, created a creature we found unbeatable. Eventually, it defeated me. I saw darkness. And... I woke up on the train, a week ago, going to UA for to once again take the Entrance Examination." He shrugged, "So either I'm utterly insane, or my mind came back in time from the future. To be honest, it's still freaking me out."

Yagi opened his mouth. Closed it. He looked at Tsukauchi, who was blinking, "My quirk said he's telling the truth, but remember, it only knows if the person believes they're telling the truth."

"Yeah, I know, it's just one supporting factor," Izuku said. "Some other details. Your teacher was Nana Shimura. When she died due to All For One, you were taught by Gran Torino. You were originally quirkless - which kind of annoyed me when I originally found out, by the way. All For One's alive and his current protégé is Tomura Shigaraki." He considered, "I have more information of course, but I think that's enough to show I know more than I should?"

Yagi's mouth seemed stuck in a permanent open position, going white as he hears Izuku say All for One is alive. And has taken a protégé. After a moment, he recovered enough to ask, "How did this happen then?"

"I have absolutely no idea. I know of a quirk that can rewind time on a person to heal or even de-age them, but I've never heard of one capable of sending someone's mind into the past," Izuku said with a sigh. He frowned, "Which reminds me, I need to save Eri. Anyway. All I can think of is there was someone on scene who saw me fall and wanted to help out?" He shrugged. "I just know the Nomu was about to basically smash my face in, everything went black, and here I am. I basically decided that it didn't matter. If I'm insane, I'm insane. If I'm not, I'm going to do my best to save everyone I can. I can't stand by and do nothing when I know bad things are going to happen."

"Nomu?" asked the Detective.

"An artificial creature created by taking a host and having All For One graft multiple quirks into them," Izuku explained with a sigh. "It's basically a mindless, brain dead drone right now, though they do figure out how to keep them sapient later. The first one that was fought had incredible strength, shock absorption, and super regeneration and was designed to kill All Might, though luckily it failed."

"This is a lot to take in," Tsukauchi stated with a frown, "I'd say you were insane if you didn't obviously know a great deal that you shouldn't. Is there anything you can tell me that can be verified immediately?"

"Himiko Toga is on the streets in Yokohama, not far from Kamino. Until she met the League, she usually hung out near middle schools, where kids her own age were. I'll give you her description before we leave. She has a quirk called Transform, that lets her take the form of people whose blood she drinks. She needs blood to survive, but her parents are bastards who think she has a 'villainous quirk' and so stop her from getting blood from blood banks, insisting she can go without. If she doesn't get stopped soon, she will snap and kill someone for their blood, but I think she can still be saved," Izuku said before continuing. "Look at Endeavor and his wife's family's financial records. You'll find that he paid her parents a great deal of money for a quirk marriage. Oh, and the Hero Killer's quirk is Bloodcurdle. If he ingests your blood, you're paralyzed for a time. How long depends on blood type. That's why he has so many bladed weapons. Best way to beat him is to keep him away from you so he can't cut you, though he does have throwing knives."

Blinking slowly, Tsukauchi said, "Well, we can certainly check Endeavor's financial records, and look for Toga once you give me her appearance," the man said. "Are you sure about the Hero Killer?"

"Yes. Last time I fought him with two other students. Iida had been looking for him after he paralyzed his brother; hopefully, that won't happen this time," Izuku explained. "By the way, for Bloodcurdle, O is the shortest time, and I believe AB is the longest."

"Young Midoriya..." Yagi began. "Are you all right? If what you're saying is true, this must be traumatic for you. What with nearly dying and then ending up in the past?"

"You have no idea. I see my friends, but they don't know me yet. I'm going to meet my wife soon, and she won't know me either. Will we get together again? Or did I lose that too? I don't know," Izuku said, closing his eyes. "Would it be fair of me to try to get to know her? Would I be manipulating her?"

"That's hard to say. I do think you should talk to her about it, if you married her, you obviously trust her," Yagi stated.

"Wouldn't that make it weird?" For the first time, Izuku showed uncertainty, revealing just how much this has affected him.

"Possibly, but isn't it better to talk to her and know, than feel guilty?" Yagi asked this with an uplifted brow.

"You're right," Izuku said with a sigh. "I'll talk to her, though probably not for a while. I mean, 'Hey, I'm Izuku. You were my wife, once upon a time...' would be a bad way to introduce myself." His voice is laden with bitter humor.

"That would be for the best, I think," Yagi said dryly.

"Can you give me a description of Himiko Toga?" asked Tsukauchi, "So I can have people start looking for her?"

"I can do you one better, I recall where she went to school, as she was in the League for a long time," Izuku said. "Come on," he added, pulling out his phone and tapping on it, "I should be able to find pictures on the web site and we can visit the school." he continued, walking with Tsukauchi and Yagi as they headed off the beach.

It was only in these times, when he was helping people, that Izuku stopped thinking about what he lost.