Day three of his second life, and Rei Mizuki was already tired of pretending.
The alarm went off at 6:00 AM. He'd been awake since 5:43, staring at the ceiling, mentally running through combat scenarios that didn't exist yet. Old habit. In his previous life, every morning started with threat assessment. Who wanted him dead today? Which contracts were active? What were the odds he'd make it to tomorrow?
Here, the biggest threat was a math quiz.
'This is going to take some getting used to.'
Rei rolled out of bed and went through his morning routine on autopilot. Shower, uniform, breakfast—instant ramen because the original Rei's cooking skills were basically nonexistent. He'd have to fix that eventually. A body in training needed proper nutrition, not sodium packets and dried noodles.
But that was a problem for future Rei.
He checked his phone while eating. 7:12 AM. School started at 8:30. Aldera junior high School was a twenty-minute walk, fifteen if he pushed it.
'Plenty of time.'
Rei finished his ramen, rinsed the bowl, and grabbed his school bag. The original Rei had been a decent student—not top of the class, but solid grades. Kept his head down, didn't cause trouble, didn't stand out.
The perfect cover for someone who didn't want attention.
'Smart kid.' Rei locked his apartment door behind him. 'But you never realized how useful that invisibility could be.'
The morning air was cool, the streets already filling with people heading to work and school. Rei walked with his hands in his pockets, eyes tracking everything out of habit. Civilians moving in predictable patterns. A hero doing an early patrol three blocks away—he could hear the thrusters from their flight Quirk. Two kids arguing about some video game character.
Normal. Safe. Boring.
'I could get used to boring.'
The walk to Aldera took exactly eighteen minutes. Rei had walked this route hundreds of times in the original Rei's memories, but experiencing it firsthand was different. Sharper. His enhanced senses picked up details the original Rei had never noticed—the coffee shop owner who always burned the first batch, the crack in the sidewalk that everyone unconsciously stepped over, the stray cat that lived behind the convenience store.
The world was more alive when you paid attention.
Aldera junior high School loomed ahead, a typical three-story building that had seen better decades. Students filtered through the front gates in clusters, chatting and laughing. Rei recognized some faces from the original Rei's memories, but no names came with them. The original Rei hadn't bothered learning most of his classmates' names.
'Antisocial much?' Rei thought with a hint of amusement. 'Then again, I wasn't exactly a people person either.'
He walked through the gates and immediately felt the shift. At home, in the forest, he could be himself—or at least, figure out who "himself" was supposed to be now. But here, he had to be the original Rei Mizuki. Quiet. Reserved. Forgettable.
A ghost in plain sight.
'Just like old times.'
Rei headed to the shoe lockers, swapping his outdoor shoes for indoor slippers. The hallway was packed with students, all talking over each other in that chaotic pre-class energy. He navigated through them with ease, his enhanced spatial awareness making it simple to slip through gaps in the crowd without bumping into anyone.
Class 3-B. Second floor, third door on the right.
Rei slid the door open and stepped inside.
The classroom was already half-full. Students clustered around desks, chatting about weekend plans and homework they hadn't finished. Rei's desk was by the window—of course it was, because apparently every protagonist or side character got a window seat—third row from the back.
He sat down and pulled out a notebook, more out of habit than necessity. The original Rei's memories told him they had Japanese literature first period, then math, then history before lunch.
'Thrilling.'
Rei was halfway through organizing his desk when he felt it.
Not saw it. Felt it.
That subtle shift in the air. That change in atmospheric pressure that came when someone dangerous entered a room.
His head turned on instinct, and there he was.
Katsuki Bakugo.
Explosion boy himself, walking into the classroom like he owned it. Spiky blond hair, sharp red eyes, that permanent scowl that screamed "I'm better than you and I know it." He had his bag slung over one shoulder and his hands shoved in his pockets.
Rei's enhanced senses picked up everything. The faint smell of nitroglycerin—Bakugo's Quirk always left that sweet, sharp scent on his skin. The confident stride, weight balanced perfectly, ready to react. The way other students automatically gave him space.
'So that's him.' Rei kept his expression neutral. 'The future number two hero. Right now, just an angry teenager with a superiority complex.'
Bakugo didn't even glance in Rei's direction. Why would he? The original Rei Mizuki was nobody. Not worth noticing. Not worth acknowledging.
Perfect.
Bakugo dropped into his seat near the front—because of course the loud ones always sat up front—and immediately started barking at some kid who'd apparently borrowed his pencil last week.
'Loud. Aggressive. Talented but arrogant.' Rei observed from his window seat. 'He's got the skills to back up the attitude, but man, the personality needs work.'
Still, Rei couldn't deny the kid had presence. Even sitting down, Bakugo commanded attention. People orbited around him, either trying to be his friend or staying far away.
The original Rei had always chosen "far away."
Smart choice.
More students filtered in. Rei recognized a few from his memories—the kid who always fell asleep in class, the girl with the plant Quirk who decorated her desk with flowers, the guy who tried way too hard to be funny.
Background characters. Extras in someone else's story.
'Just like me,' Rei thought. 'Except I know what story this is.'
The classroom door slid open again, and this time, Rei's attention sharpened.
Green hair. Freckles. A nervous energy that radiated off him like heat.
Izuku Midoriya.
The protagonist himself.
Rei's eyes tracked Midoriya as he walked to his seat—coincidentally right next to Bakugo's desk. The green-haired kid looked tired, like he hadn't slept well. His uniform was neat but worn, and his red shoes were scuffed from heavy use.
But that wasn't what caught Rei's attention.
It was the muscle.
Midoriya had always been small in the original Rei's memories. Thin, almost scrawny. The kind of build that came from bad nutrition and no exercise.
But now?
Now there was definition in his arms. His shoulders were broader. His posture was straighter, more confident—or at least, trying to be.
'He's been training.' Rei leaned back in his chair, mind racing. 'Heavy training. The kind that builds muscle fast.'
Which meant...
'All Might already gave him One For All.'
The timeline clicked into place. Four weeks until the entrance exam. In the original story, All Might had given Midoriya his Quirk about ten months before the exam, then put him through hell training to build up his body so it could handle the power.
Ten months of training would put Midoriya at... yeah, about four weeks out from the exam.
'So it's already happened.' Rei watched as Midoriya pulled out his notebook—a fresh one, not the burned hero analysis book that Bakugo had destroyed. 'The Sludge Villain attack. The beach training. All of it.'
This was confirmation. Proof that the timeline was exactly where Rei thought it was.
'Which means everything is about to start moving fast.'
Midoriya sat down, and immediately Bakugo twisted around in his seat.
"Oi, Deku." Bakugo's voice carried across the classroom. "The hell happened to you? You look different."
Midoriya flinched. "N-nothing, Kacchan. Just... been working out. You know, for... general fitness."
"Tch." Bakugo's eyes narrowed. "Whatever. Just stay out of my way."
He turned back around, dismissing Midoriya entirely.
Rei watched the whole interaction with detached interest. The casual bullying. The nickname "Deku" used like a weapon. Midoriya's automatic submission.
'Same dynamic as always,' Rei thought. 'Bakugo on top, Midoriya on the bottom. Except now Midoriya has the power to change everything, and Bakugo has no idea.'
It was almost poetic.
The classroom door opened one more time, and their homeroom teacher walked in—a tired-looking man in his forties who always seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Alright, settle down." The teacher set his bag on the desk. "Let's take attendance."
The class quieted down, students finding their seats. Rei pulled out a pen and opened his notebook, preparing to look like he was paying attention while his mind worked on more important things.
Because sitting here, watching Bakugo and Midoriya, seeing the story about to unfold...
It made everything feel real in a way it hadn't before.
This wasn't just some reincarnation fantasy. This wasn't just him getting a second chance with cool powers.
This was the actual story. The real My Hero Academia timeline. And he was in it.
'So what do I do?' The question sat heavy in his mind. 'Do I approach Midoriya? Try to be his friend? Give him advice?'
But even as he thought it, he knew the answer.
No.
Not yet.
Because Rei Mizuki—the original one—had never talked to Midoriya. Never even acknowledged him beyond passing in the hallways. If he suddenly walked up and started a conversation, it would be weird. Suspicious.
And more importantly...
'Midoriya doesn't need me.' Rei watched the green-haired kid taking notes, that intense focus in his eyes. 'He's got All Might. He's got his own path. His own story.'
Interfering now would just complicate things.
'I'm not the protagonist here. I'm not even a side character. I'm a variable that wasn't supposed to exist.'
So the smart play was to stay invisible. Stay in the background. Build his strength, prepare for what was coming, and only step in when absolutely necessary.
'A different path,' Rei thought, echoing the chapter title in his mind. 'Not Midoriya's path. Not Bakugo's path. But Mine.'
The teacher finished attendance and started the lecture on classical Japanese literature. Something about Heian period poetry. Rei's hand moved automatically, taking notes he didn't need, while his mind wandered.
Four weeks until the exam. Four weeks to get stronger. Four weeks before he'd have to decide how involved he wanted to get in the main story.
'But for now...'
Rei glanced out the window at the clear sky beyond.
'For now, I'm just another student. Just another kid trying to get into UA.'
Nothing special.
Nothing worth noticing.
Just the way he liked it.
---
The rest of the morning passed in a blur of lectures and note-taking. Rei played his part perfectly—attentive enough to not draw attention, but not so engaged that teachers called on him. The original Rei had perfected this balance over years.
Math class was second period. Rei breezed through it. Turns out, high school calculus was easy when you'd already learned it once and had decades of experience calculating trajectory angles for sniper shots.
History was third period. Modern hero society, the rise of Quirks, the formation of hero agencies. Stuff Rei already knew from the original Rei's memories and from watching the anime in his previous life.
But he took notes anyway. Kept up appearances.
Lunch finally came at 12:30.
The cafeteria was chaos. Hundreds of students packed into one space, all talking over each other, the smell of food mixing with teenage body spray and stress. Rei grabbed his lunch—a simple bento he'd bought from a convenience store on the way to school—and immediately started looking for somewhere quiet.
The original Rei usually ate alone. Sometimes on the roof if it was unlocked, sometimes in an empty classroom, sometimes just at his desk.
Today, Rei chose the desk option.
He walked back to Class 3-B, which was mostly empty now that everyone had gone to lunch. A few students lingered—the kid who always slept through class was passed out in the corner, and two girls were chatting by the windows.
And sitting at his desk, muttering to himself while scribbling in a notebook...
Izuku Midoriya.
'Of course.' Rei paused in the doorway. 'He usually eats alone too.'
For a moment, Rei considered turning around and finding somewhere else. But that would be weird. This was his classroom. His desk.
So he walked in, casual and unbothered, and sat down at his window seat.
Midoriya didn't even look up. He was too absorbed in whatever he was writing—probably hero analysis, knowing him. The kid's pen moved frantically across the page, muttering under his breath about "power output ratios" and "strategic applications."
Rei unpacked his bento and started eating, keeping his eyes on the window but his attention on Midoriya.
'He's different from the memories,' Rei observed. 'More... focused. Like he's got a purpose now.'
Which made sense. The original Midoriya had been aimless, dreaming of being a hero while the world told him it was impossible. But now he had One For All. Now he had proof that his dreams weren't stupid.
Now he had a reason to push forward.
'Must be nice,' Rei thought. 'Having a clear goal. A defined purpose.'
What was Rei's purpose? Stop the villains? Change the timeline? Just survive?
He still didn't know.
The two girls by the window left, their chatting fading as they headed to the cafeteria. Now it was just Rei, Midoriya, and the sleeping kid.
Silence, except for Midoriya's muttering.
Rei took a bite of rice and debated saying something. Just a casual "hey" or a comment about the weather. Something to establish a connection, plant a seed for future interactions.
But before he could decide, Midoriya's pen slipped.
It rolled off the desk and across the floor, stopping right next to Rei's foot.
Midoriya looked up, noticed where his pen had gone, and his eyes went wide.
"Oh! S-sorry!" He scrambled out of his seat and hurried over. "I didn't mean to—I'll just—"
Rei bent down and picked up the pen, holding it out without a word.
Midoriya froze for half a second, then took it with both hands, bowing slightly. "Thank you, Mizuki-kun!"
'He knows my name.' Rei blinked. 'Didn't expect that.'
"No problem," Rei said, his voice even. Not unfriendly, but not warm either. Just... neutral.
Midoriya clutched the pen like it was precious and gave an awkward smile. "Sorry for bothering you. I'll, uh, get back to—"
"You training for something?"
The words came out before Rei could stop them.
Midoriya's eyes widened. "W-what?"
Rei nodded toward Midoriya's arms. "You've got muscle you didn't have a month ago. Figured you were training. UA exam, right?"
'Smooth. Real smooth. Now you sound like a stalker.'
But Midoriya didn't seem to notice. His face lit up with that bright, earnest expression that was so incredibly *him*.
"Y-yeah! I mean, I'm trying. The exam is really soon, and I want to make sure I'm ready, so I've been working out and studying and—" He cut himself off, laughing nervously. "Sorry. I'm rambling."
"It's fine." Rei took another bite of his lunch. "Good luck with it."
Midoriya's smile got even brighter. "Thanks! Are you... are you applying to UA too, Mizuki-kun?"
Rei paused.
This was the moment. He could say yes, establish himself as someone also aiming for UA. Plant himself in Midoriya's orbit early.
Or he could deflect. Keep the distance. Stay invisible.
"Maybe," Rei said finally. "Haven't decided yet."
It wasn't a lie. Technically, he hadn't filled out the application yet. Even though he knew he would.
Midoriya nodded, accepting the answer. "Well, if you do apply, I hope we both get in!"
There was something genuine in the way he said it. No competition. No arrogance. Just a sincere wish that they'd both succeed.
'This kid,' Rei thought. 'No wonder he becomes the greatest hero.'
"Yeah," Rei said quietly. "That'd be cool."
Midoriya gave one more awkward bow and hurried back to his desk, immediately diving back into his notebook.
And just like that, the moment passed.
Rei finished his lunch in silence, watching the city beyond the window. That brief interaction replayed in his mind.
'First real conversation with a canon character.' He packed up his empty bento. 'Kept it natural. Didn't reveal too much. Didn't act weird.'
Success.
But there was something else nagging at him. Something about the way Midoriya had smiled. That genuine, hopeful expression.
'He has no idea what's coming,' Rei thought. 'The USJ attack. The training camp. The war. All the pain and suffering ahead.'
And Rei knew. He'd watched it all. Knew every tragedy, every loss, every moment where Midoriya would break and put himself back together.
'Should I warn him?'
But even as the thought formed, he dismissed it.
Warning Midoriya would mean revealing he knew the future. Which would raise questions he couldn't answer. Which would make him a target for people like All Might or even worse, All For One.
'No,' Rei decided. 'I can't change the big stuff. Not yet. Not until I'm strong enough to handle the consequences.'
So for now, he'd watch. He'd train. He'd prepare.
And when the time came, he'd step in.
On his terms.
His way.
'A different path,' Rei reminded himself again. 'Not the hero's path. Not the villain's path. But my own.'
The lunch bell rang, signaling the end of the break.
Students started filtering back into the classroom, bringing noise and energy with them. Rei settled back into his seat, pulled out his notebook, and prepared for the afternoon classes.
Just another normal day.
Just another normal student.
Nothing to see here.
But in the back of his mind, plans were already forming. Training schedules. Combat drills. Ways to push his Quirk further.
Because normal was just a mask.
And underneath it, Rei Mizuki was preparing for war.
The afternoon classes dragged. English, then P.E., then one final homeroom before dismissal.
P.E. was interesting, at least. The class played volleyball, and Rei had to consciously hold back his enhanced reflexes and strength. The original Rei had been decent at sports—good enough to not be picked last, not good enough to stand out.
Rei maintained that balance perfectly. He made saves that looked impressive but not impossible. Spiked the ball hard but not superhuman-level hard. Moved with coordination that seemed natural for someone with a physical Quirk.
Nobody questioned it.
Bakugo, predictably, dominated the game. Explosive spikes, aggressive plays, trash talk that bordered on threats. The kid played volleyball like it was a battle.
Midoriya, on the other hand, was awkward but trying hard. His serves were inconsistent, and his coordination was off—probably because his body had changed so much with the recent training. Muscle memory hadn't caught up yet.
Rei watched them both from across the net. Two future pillars of hero society, just teenagers playing volleyball in a middle school gym.
'Surreal doesn't even begin to cover it.'
When P.E. ended, Rei hit the showers, changed back into his uniform, and sat through the final homeroom announcements. Something about a field trip next month. Career counseling sessions for students applying to hero schools.
Boring but necessary.
The dismissal bell rang at 3:15 PM.
Students packed up immediately, chatting about afternoon plans. Some were heading to cram schools. Others to part-time jobs. A few were just going home to play video games.
Rei packed his bag slowly, deliberately waiting for the classroom to clear out.
Bakugo was one of the first to leave, his group of followers trailing behind him. Midoriya lingered for a moment, organizing his notes, then slipped out quietly.
When the room was finally empty, Rei stood up and headed out.
The hallways were still crowded, but Rei navigated through them easily. Out to the shoe lockers, swap back to outdoor shoes, exit through the front gates.
Freedom.
The afternoon sun was warm on his face. Rei took a deep breath and started walking.
Not toward home.
Toward the train station.
Because afternoon meant training. Real training. Not the half-hearted gym class stuff.
He needed to get back to the forest. Push his limits. Test new techniques.
Four weeks until the exam. Four weeks until everything changed.
'Can't waste time.'
The train ride was quiet. Fewer passengers in the afternoon. Rei found a seat by the window and let his mind wander.
Today had been... educational. Seeing Bakugo and Midoriya in person, not just through memories or a screen. Watching them interact. Confirming the timeline.
It made everything real.
'I'm really here,' Rei thought. 'In this world. With these people. About to live through a story I already know.'
The train pulled into his stop. Rei got off and headed toward the forest trail.
The transition from city to nature was jarring. One moment, concrete and crowds. The next, trees and silence.
Rei walked deeper into the forest, following the same path he'd taken yesterday. The clearing came into view after fifteen minutes, exactly as he'd left it—displaced logs, scuff marks on trees, faint traces of dissolved webbing.
His training ground.
Rei dropped his school bag against a tree and started stretching. His body responded easily, muscles loose and ready.
'Alright,' he thought. 'Yesterday was basics. Today, we get serious.'
He needed to work on combat applications. His Quirk was powerful, but power without technique was useless. He'd learned that lesson in his previous life—raw strength meant nothing if you didn't know how to use it.
Rei started with hand-to-hand drills. Punches, kicks, blocks, counters. Movements from a dozen different martial arts, all filtered through this new body.
His fists cut through the air with sharp precision. Each strike flowed into the next, a combination that would've looked like a deadly dance to any observer.
But something was off.
The techniques were there—his mind remembered every move. But his body was young, untrained in this specific way. Muscle memory from his previous life didn't transfer.
'I need to rebuild it,' Rei realized. 'Train this body from scratch. Burn the movements into new muscle memory.'
He spent the next hour drilling. Same combinations, over and over. Punch, kick, step, spin, block. Again. Again. Again.
His body started to remember.
Then he added the Quirk.
Wall-running mid-combo. Jumping off a tree trunk to deliver a flying kick. Using webbing to swing around a target. Enhanced reflexes to dodge imaginary attacks.
It was sloppy at first. His timing was off, his coordination janky. But slowly, piece by piece, it came together.
'Faster,' Rei pushed himself. 'Smoother. Make it instinct.'
He fired webbing at a tree branch, pulled himself up, flipped over it, and shot more webbing mid-air to swing to another tree. His body twisted, feet planting against the bark, and he launched off into a spinning kick that would've taken someone's head off.
He landed in a crouch, breathing hard but grinning.
'That was better.'
Rei spent the next two hours pushing his limits. Combining assassin techniques with Quirk abilities. Testing what worked, what didn't, what needed refinement.
By the time the sun started setting, he was exhausted.
Good exhausted. The kind that came from real progress.
Rei sat on a fallen log and pulled out his notebook, adding today's observations.
Combat Integration - Day 1:
- Hand-to-hand techniques transfer mentally but need physical repetition
- Quirk enhances mobility significantly - use it more
- Web-swinging + aerial attacks = high potential
- Need to work on transition speed between normal combat and Quirk-assisted combat
- Stamina holding up well - Quirk doesn't drain energy like expected
He closed the notebook and looked up at the sky. Orange and pink, the sun dipping below the trees.
'One day down,' Rei thought. 'Twenty-seven to go.'
Twenty-seven days until the entrance exam. Twenty-seven days to turn himself into something worthy of standing beside future heroes.
'I can do this.'
He had to.
Because the alternative was being useless when the real threats showed up. And Rei Mizuki refused to be useless.
Not in this life.
He packed up his stuff and started the walk back to the train station. His muscles ached in a good way. His mind was clearer.
And for the first time since waking up in this world, Rei felt like he was moving forward.
Not following someone else's path.
Not being a ghost.
Just... moving forward.
On his own terms.
Toward his own future.
'A different path,' Rei thought one more time.
Yeah.
That sounded about right.
---
Author's Note:-
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Next chapter: More training, and maybe some unexpected developments...
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