The Past Finale

(POV Rachel)

"Wahhh!"

'This is humiliating…'

"Dear~ I think Yami-chan needs to be changed, could you check for me!?" I heard my mum shout from the kitchen.

"Sure thing, sweetheart! Come on, Yami. Let's get you changed and smelling nice and clean." My pops, a man with a bird head, said to me while gently picking me up and taking me to another room.

It had only been a few weeks since I was reincarnated but it seems I already view them as my parents. In fact, I don't even remember my original parents' faces anymore. Perhaps that was Rob trying to make things a little easier for me? I'm not sure how I feel about it to be honest, but I don't mind getting to know my new parents better. At least pops seem better than my last one, but unfortunately I still can't completely let my guard down around him.

After pops changed me he put me back in the crib in the living room and went back to watching T.V while looking a little depressed. I think he can tell I'm a bit uncomfortable around him. Hopefully, he thinks it's because of his bird head instead of him being a man. I know he's done nothing wrong, but I can't help it right now. I didn't have this problem when I was older, likely because I could defend myself should anyone try anything. But this is borderline torture right now.

Sigh, I hope my powers come in soon. Since I have nothing better to do, I start meditating hoping to speed up the process and maybe gaining more control in the future.

'Azarath Metrion Zinthos' I chant in my head over and over again while trying to clear my thoughts and utterly failing. I have so many worries right now going through my head. Especially concerning this so-called game we're supposed to be taking part in.

'Although he said it was for his enjoyment, I feel like he's hiding something from us. Despite being very expressional, I couldn't really get a read on him.'

While trying to meditate, my thoughts drifted back to my meeting with the mysterious being called Rob.

'In the first place, how do you play a game with no rules…'

---

[A few weeks ago probably]

'What is this, some bad fanfic or something…' I thought to myself before temporarily ignoring the weird kid in front of me and looking around a bit. Being exposed to a professional chunni for several years has me a lot more calm in this situation than I imagined I should be.

As expected, it was the typical white space that seemed to stretch on infinitely, but what surprised me was the fact that I wasn't the only one here.

"Oi, what the hell do you mean I died! Explain yourself, brat!"

"Ahh~ Sarah always said I'd get killed for cheating, but seriously? How lame..."

"I knew I was better than all those assholes. I always knew I was the protagonist. I'll get my revenge against them..."

'What the hell is with this gang of freaks?' I had to question what exactly I was seeing. There was a delinquent looking guy, a promiscuously dressed girl(?), and some plain-looking guy with his eyes covered by his hair.

They all seemed like people I would tell Rika to avoid talking too. Don't need them corrupting my little marshmallow.

"Maa~ let me explain okidoki? Good! Basically, I brought you all here to be a part of a little game of mine~ You'll get the chance to reincarnate with powers into a world of my choosing. Before you all ask, I chose you because no one would miss you if you died, anyway!" The being called Rob casually said something outrageous.

I couldn't help but to get slightly upset (read: EXTREMELY PISSED!) over that last remark. Is he trying to say my Rika wouldn't miss me if I were gone? I like to think that over the years I've developed some serious patience skills, but this was something I would never let slide. I wouldn't allow anyone to devalue the love we had for each other. Even if they were some kind of omnipotent being or something!

I think he noticed my growing anger, or maybe he could read minds, because he soon looked in my direction and locked eyes with me for a moment. I could see the genuine confusion on his face for a moment before he went wide eyed, slightly pale and then schooled his expression almost immediately after. Before I could call him out on it, I was beaten to the punch by the delinquent looking guy.

"The hell do you mean "no one would miss me!?". You tellin me my girlfriend wouldn't miss me! Don't fuck with me, brat!" The delinquent guy shouted out, stealing the words right out of my mouth. Maybe he's not so bad after all.

"Yeah, probably not! She was cheating on you, ya know? With your best friend on top of that! Your parents were also getting tired of bailing you out of jail every other week and they wanted you gone too. All your other 'friends' were only people who feared you! One of them even danced on your grave after the funeral!" Rob said some pretty venomous words with a cheerful tone. I actually felt bad for the guy when he just sat there in stunned silence after that.

"What about me? I know somebody has to at least miss pounding my ass, right?" The girl(?) asked seriously, tilting her head with a confused expression.

"Oh, you? Well, I didn't actually have anything to do with your death. That one was all on you. I just picked up your soul since it was convenient. Well, that was generally how most people saw you anyway, but with your nature I doubt you mind much."

"Guilty~" She(?) said with a sultry expression while licking her lips. Definitely keep Rika away from her. Well, I guess I won't be able to do that anymore, huh… The reality of my death still hadn't quite set in until now. I guess I really won't be able to see her again, huh? Wow…

Rob continued on with the explanation while reality was slowly setting in for me. My emotions were so over the place that I couldn't even make an expression at the moment. I just settled into some sort of blank thousand-yard stare, same as the delinquent guy.

I miss her...

I want to see her again...

I don't want to say goodbye...

I can't live without her…

What if she really didn-

Suddenly I felt all my emotions go mute. My thoughts cleared and my breathing that I hadn't noticed going erratic returned to normal. I looked at the little boy I figured was responsible and only saw a brief look of pity cross his face before he went back to explaining things to the rest of the group.

With my emotions mute for now, I could actually follow along again. Not that there was much to follow, anyway. Essentially, he was sending us to this world with 3 wishes, with the only instructions being to do what we want. That said, I could tell there was something off about that, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Why would he call it a game, but the only instructions being to do what we want? Who or what are we competing for or against?

The others didn't seem to mind, and I could see the excitement grow on their faces. Even that delinquent looking guy had life return to his face.

"Welp, go ahead and tell me your wishes. Ah, but keep in mind that I won't allo-"

"My first wish, I want a system with no emotions that's only loyal to me!" The average-looking guy shouted out before Rob could finish talking. Judging by the vicious-looking smirk on his face, I could tell he had already thought about what he wanted from the beginning. But Rob only gave him a dull look. The kid didn't seem to realize he was being looked down on in that moment and just kept going.

"I've read enough novels to know exactly how to prepare for this moment. You already said any wish, right? I don't need some shitty system that will insult and berate me every step of the way. I want it to be loyal to me so I don't have to worry about any annoying quests that go against what I want." He seemed he was about to go into his second wish before Rob cut him off with a very loud and intimidating laugh.

The kid seemed confused at first, before his face switched to annoyance and rage. My gut told me he was used to being looked down on and laughed at. Judging by his posture and overall atmosphere, I could tell he was a victim of bullying.

Just before he could question Rob, the being only gave him a disdainful look that completely froze him on the spot. The look in his eyes made it feel like you were staring into the deepest and darkest abyss in existence.

I think I would have felt afraid if I could feel anything at this moment. But it was at least enough for me to realize I shouldn't let his appearance fool me. Because just as quickly as it came, it vanished behind his childlike facade like it was never there.

"Pfft! You read too much fanfic kid. If you let me finish, you would have known there are some wishes I won't allow. Systems and such being one of them. Hehe, I'm still going to count that as one of your wishes though. Maybe you'll listen till the end next time?" Although he still had his playful tone, I could tell it annoyed him. I guess it would annoy anyone being interrupted like that.

"WHAT! That's not fair! You can't do that!" The kid yelled at the godlike being in front of us. I couldn't help but question his sanity at the moment. He's already lucky he can have his wishes granted. What is he complaining about being fair for?

"Tough tinkles kid~ Hmm, but since you want fair, how about this? From now on you can only wish for things related to books! Ah, but you still only get 2 wishes~"

"Wha-? What part of that is fair!?" The kid seemed to get even more upset over the new limitation. If he were smarter or maybe had his emotions muted like me, he likely would have shut up already and said thanks.

"You reeeeaaaallly don't get it, do you, kid? I make the rules here. My word is fairness. Deal with it." Rob said, switching to a serious expression and tone for the last part. It was apparently enough to cow the boy though, since he just put his head down while clenching his fist.

"Ne~ Can I choose my wishes now?" The girl(?) asked, completely ignoring the previous mood.

"Sure~ I'm all ears! I'll let you know if it's something I'll allow or not! Ah, I'll also let you choose your appearance separately so no need to waste a wish on it. I'll be sending you all to the world of My Hero Academia, so I'd pick something that might help you survive there. Well, it's fine even if you don't~" Rob said once again returning to his cheerful demeanor. I really couldn't get a read on him. It's almost like he's unstable or something.

"Great! I know exactly what I want! First, I want to be a neon conduit like in infamous! But I want it to work more like a devil fruit, so I don't only have to rely on outside sources of neon! Second, I want the ability to switch between genders at will whenever I want! And finally, I want a succubus/incubus physiology!" She(?) ended with an excited and turned on gleam in her eyes.

"Hahaha! I shouldn't have expected less from a guy like you. Even when you were alive, you'd try to sleep with anyone you could get your hands on. OK! I'll allow it! Now what's your appearance?" So she is a guy...

"Hehe, that's easy! I want to look like Astolfo from Fate!" He/She said while pumping their fist in the air.

"Donzo~ Good luck in your next life~" Rob said, and they slowly faded away as if they were never there.

"I'm next. I want to be born in a wealthy family that won't abandon me. I want some way to know who is loyal to me or not. I want to be a Saiyan and look like Bardock!" The delinquent guy said as soon as the horny one left. I honestly expected Rob to deny the Saiyan wish since it seemed like he didn't want things to be boring, but it surprised me when he agreed so easily.

"Sure! So you wish it, so it shall be~" Rob said with an amused and mischievous smile that gave the delinquent guy a bad feeling. Before he could change his wishes, though, he was already sent on his way as Rob turned to the other kid who was staring at him with clear rage in his eyes.

"Sooo~ Have you come to a decision?" Rob said with a shit-eating grin.

"...I want the stand The Book and the fullbring ability The Book of the End." He said while staring Rob in the eye, almost as if he was daring him to challenge his request. I don't get this kid. He's got way too much confidence in a situation like this.

Rob only frowned slightly before shrugging his shoulders.

"Done. Not what I would have picked, but meh. Alright, be on your way now. You annoy me so your appearance will be up to your parents. Whoever they'll be. Toodaloo~," Rob said and sent the boy on his way before he could retort. Though I swear I could hear him mention something about revenge.

It was now just the two of us left. I had been quiet until now because I could tell he wanted to get to me last. I could slowly feel my emotions coming back now, and more tears fell from my eyes as they did.

It hurt so much. I almost wished he would take them away again, but this pain was proof of my love. I didn't want to lose it again, even if it hurt.

Rob gave me a brief look of pity before he did something that inwardly shocked me, even if I still couldn't express it yet.

"I am truly sorry. It seems I made a mistake when I chose you to reincarnate. I won't ask for your forgiveness, but I will try to make it up to you." He said after getting down on both his knees and performing a brilliant dogeza.

"...How?" I hoped he knew what I meant, I didn't feel like talking much at the moment. I was still trying to get a handle on my emotions that were running rampant. Anger, sadness, fear, frustration. I was feeling so much of everything right now. I just needed a minute to calm down. I hoped his explanation would be an excellent distraction from the rest of my emotions.

"Ahh...Well, it wasn't entirely my fault, but it was because of my negligence. I should have double checked instead of assuming. You see, I and most beings with similar abilities as my own often turn off or seal certain aspects of our abilities or else we'd go insane. Knowing everything is rough even for gods, which is why many of them are limited to a single planet or realm." I was following along a bit, and I could definitely understand how rough it would be to know everything happening in the universe at the same time.

"Well, that's irrelevant. To make a long story short, the hospital got your records mixed up with someone else. Even though you were told you had 3 years to live, you still felt pretty fine, right? That's because you were never sick in the first place. Because you avoided going back to get seen since you didn't want your girlfriend to find out, they never caught it. Because I wasn't using my ability to its fullest, I also didn't catch on to that. I had you killed so you wouldn't have to suffer another 3 years. Had I just taken a brief look in the past or future, I would have found out immediately. For that, you have my apologies." He seemed genuinely apologetic, and he did it to help me, but I can't help but feel an unbridled rage towards him.

I wanted to lash out, to scream and shout. I wanted to beat him, hurt him, kill him. But more than even that, I was just sad I would never be able to see her again. I knew he wouldn't be apologizing if it was just as easy as sending me back.

After that, neither of us said anything for a while. I was at least thankful he gave me a minute to collect myself. That said, the awkward silence was getting to me so I asked some questions.

"Why did you allow the Saiyan wish but not the system wish?" He didn't seem surprised by the sudden switch in topic and just returned to his cheerful demeanor.

"OHHH that? Hehe, well, even if he does wish to be a Saiyan, it won't do him much good in that world. He doesn't have any martial arts knowledge, no Ki mastery, no Senzu beans, gravity chamber, nada. Although he'll certainly get stronger if he trains himself properly, even Goku was weaker than Raditz after 23 years of regular earth training. Access to quirks that can completely heal him from a fatal injury is practically impossible to come by, especially ones without major downsides. Even that Eri girl would completely negate any zenkai he had if he tried to make use of her later on. At best, he might reach up to the level of All-Might or just slightly beyond that if he plays his cards right. It'll still take him years to accomplish."

I never really thought about it like that. There might be some better ways to train in a world full of quirks, but I doubt they'll be better than anything in dragon ball.

"If he wished for the knowledge of Bulma or something, then he might have been able to at least reach the level of Super Saiyan. Well, he still can theoretically, but a guy like that is going to need a huge push to unlock it the traditional ways. He'll still have his great ape transformation though, so I'd look out for that if I were you." He said, giving some helpful advice. Almost as if he expects us to clash against each other at some point.

"So, have you decided on your wishes yet? Not to rush you, but you can't stay here long." He said before I could question him on the true nature of the game. I was almost tempted to just allow myself to disappear in this space without a fuss. Life really didn't seem worth living without her, but I know she'd hate for me to do that. Plus…

'Fufufu, didn't she say she'd come to heaven and drag me back herself? Maybe I'm just in denial, but maybe we'll see each other again one day.' I could briefly pull myself out of my depressed thoughts enough to focus on what to do next. I guess I already had my wishes picked out since I had this conversation a few times with Rika before.

"Yeah, I have. I'd like the powers of White Raven from DC, along with her magical knowledge. Minus the connection to Trigon, of course. I'd also like to be immune to all mental abilities unless I allow it." The first wish was just a remnant of my goth days. Raven was my favorite comic book character and still kind of is. The second one was to counter the abilities of the other two reincarnated guys. I didn't want to deal with having my memories altered or read by anyone, nor having my mind influenced by a succubus.

"Hmm, normally I would probably count the first one as two wishes buttttt I'll let it slide. Think of it as an apology. So, what's the last one?" Rob asked with excitement in his eyes. I wonder what for? Well, I'll probably be disappointing him with it.

"I just want Rika to be happy. Maybe some good luck, good health, maybe help her find someone else to love, whatever you can do really." I said with a slight smile. I briefly considered asking him to bring her to me so we can be together again, but I'm not that selfish. Just like I thought all those years ago, the only thing I want is for her to be happy. Be that with me or someone else, I don't mind.

Rob however seemed stunned by my request.

"Seriously? You can wish for anything in the world, and you choose to use it for someone else? Are you insane?" He genuinely asked me. I would almost feel insulted if I didn't get where he was coming from. Few would waste a wish like that, but for me it was only natural.

"For me, she is my world. What else would I use a wish for if not to make her happy?" I asked with a smile. Rob only looked at me for a minute, maybe judging if there was any falsehood in my words, and then just burst out laughing.

"kukukuHaHaHa! You humans really never cease to amaze me. Fine, so be it. So, what about your appearance?" He asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Hmm~ Well, I would say I'd like to keep my looks, but there was one person I was always jealous of. I'd like to look like Tosaka Rin from fate. Rika used to say Ishtar was her waifu all the time. At least this way I won't lose to her." I pouted a little while recalling all the drawings and animations I had to make of the fictional(?) girls when Rika requested. I couldn't say no to her, so I begrudgingly did it, of course. I guess it was stupid to feel jealous of a fictional character, but she never called me her waifu! It's not fair! Although her blushing face when I asked her to was cute...hehe~

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the strange glimmer that appeared in Rob's eyes briefly before it went away.

"Very well. It shall be done. I hope you have a great next life and good luck with everything. You're going to need it." Well, that wasn't ominous…

With that, my consciousness faded to black…

---

[Present]

'It's been a few weeks since I was born now, and I was at least able to get a handle on my emotions with a bit of meditation. I wonder if it's thanks to my unawakened powers? White Raven did have complete control of her emotions.' I thought while trying to continue meditating-

'Yo! It's me again! Did ya miss me~' -when suddenly I was interrupted by a familiar voice inside my head.

'Eh? Rob? I honestly didn't think I'd hear from you again.' I figured/hoped he could hear me with just my thoughts. Otherwise, if he expected me to be talking at a few weeks, he must not know how children work.

'Yes, I can hear you fine and this will probably be the last time you hear from me, for a while at least. Just wanted to do you a little favor and drop off a piece of information.' He said with clear amusement in his voice.

I then felt something enter the core of my being. It didn't hurt, in fact it felt rather comfortable. Like it was something that always belonged to me. It was strange, but I could feel myself changing by the second.

'Hehe seems I was right, you both were a perfect match. Got the right body and a soul with a similar wavelength. That should solve one problem at least.' He sounded pretty proud of himself for some reason, but I have no idea what for. That said, I could feel a certain change in my soul cement itself and I was left shocked by the minimal knowledge I got from it. Seriously? While I was still trying to digest what just happened, Rob hit me with one more surprise before he left.

'Yup, well good luck Yami or should I call you Ishtar now? Well same thing, hehe~ Oh almost forgot, your girlfriend died, so I reincarnated her somewhere in this world now. Good luck finding her, I think she's somewhere in Kyoto. BuhBye~'

"Ahhh~" 'WAIT, WHAT!?' I was so surprised I tried to use my actual voice to speak to him, but he was already gone.

"What's wrong, Yami-chan? Hmm? What happened to your hair? Why is it red!? Your eyes too! Eh? What's going on, did your quirk already awaken!? Are you already in your rebellious phase!? Sweetheart! I think Yami needs to visit the doctor! Or a psychiatrist!" Ah, it seems like pops is panicking now.

Pops freaking out was enough for me to calm down slightly, but it couldn't stop the wide smile that made its way to my face.

'Rika...Wait for me, I promise I'll find you!'

---

[A/N: Chapter turned out way longer than I thought it would. If you have any questions concerning the three other reincarnated guys go ahead and ask them and I will try to answer. I know this decision will probably put a lot of you guys off but I was tired of reading the exact same MHA fic over and over again with just a different power set. There will be some minor and major changes to the story because of these guys. Some may be allies some may be enemies, only time will tel.

Ah I'm also going to be starting a pat reon soon. Once I get some extra chapters made there will be a few advanced chapters there for anyone willing to donate. This is still a hobby for me so I can't write fulltime but if enough people support me on pat reon it's not an impossibility. But it's fine if no one does too. I will also be posting prologues for any other stories I'm working on there as well. I often come up with ideas for stories then scrap them without anyone seeing them. Might be nice to get a little bit of feedback on what people might like to see. Like I have like 2 different Naruto fics that I might write out one day. One is further along in development than the other and takes place in the hidden cloud village and like during the 3rd war. In any case, I'll add the link once I start posting stuff there.]