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English
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Part 32 of My MHA fics (hope y'all like them!) , Part 1 of My Apothecary Diaries fics (hope y'all like them)
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2025-07-07
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2025-07-10
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2/?
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Our bodies were the vehicle, transporters of the soul

Summary:

(title - Heaven’s Gate, by: Amélie Farren)

Maomao reincarnates as Midoriya Izuku, and Jinshi reincarnates as Shinso Hitoshi. They reunite on their first day at UA.

Notes:

important: the sludge villain incident went totally different here. due to maomao being maomao, she didn't latch on to all nights leg, and therefore didn't learn about his injury. also, she didn't go to rescue bakugo from the sludge villain so she never even learned about ofa

and yes, i do think its romantic and clever to have maomao and jinshis opening paragraphs mirror each other

oh right! almost forgot to mention that i have no clue what the tad timeline looks like in this fic, especially since I'm anime-only. so, uh. don't worry about it!

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Maomao had always been different. If she ever mentioned that to someone, they’d likely just assume she was talking about her quirklessness, or her being trans. But no, Maomao was different because she remembered her previous life. It was both a blessing and a burden. It definitely gave her a leg up, one she needed, being a quirkless trans woman, but the memories of those she would never see again dragged her down. Her mother in this life, Inko, was kind enough, but Maomao had always been independent. She missed them, as uncomfortable as it was to admit to herself. But she held strong.

– - –

Jinshi had always been different. If he ever mentioned that to someone, they’d likely just assume he was talking about his ‘villainous’ quirk, or his looks. But no, Jinshi was different because he remembered his previous life. It was both a blessing and a burden. The memories of court life definitely helped mitigate the effects of having a quirk called brainwashing, but there were so many people he missed dearly. His adoptive parents, Shouta and Hizashi, were loving and tried their best, but he was (or used to be) a full-grown man who didn’t need to be coddled. He missed everyone from his old life, he easily admitted to himself. But he held strong.

– - –

Maomao, contrary to what many might’ve assumed, wasn’t planning on going into the medical field. It was tempting, sure, but she’d gotten used to the excitement of constantly solving mysteries in the palace. She could be a detective… or she could be an underground hero. She knew which sounded more exciting to her, and she started training.

– - –

Jinshi was going to be a hero. He knew it would be difficult, he saw what it was like for his fathers, but he liked helping people. Plus, his quirk. It was useful, for one. And two… he didn’t want to be a spotlight hero, fuck no. But if he went twilight, he’d get just enough attention to raise the morale of kids with quirks hated by society. He’d started training his body as soon as he could, but he also started studying law.

– - –

Maomao glared up at the door. The door sat there, as it was a door. UA was a little ridiculous, she thought. She opened it, walked in, and stopped dead in her tracks. Jinshi-sama? She subtly shook her head. She couldn’t assume based on conjecture. She needed to observe first. She sat down at her desk and waited.

“DEKU?!” she blinked slowly, in a way she would forever deny made her look like a cat.

“It’s Izuku, as I keep reminding you, but yes.”

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN THE HERO COURSE?! I TOLD YOU NOT TO APPLY!” she smirked lazily.

“You aren’t the boss of me.”

“You’re a useless, quirkless deku, and that’s all you’ll ever be.”

“And yet here I am.” Bakugo was clearly gearing up to start yelling again, but the teacher spoke up then.

– - –

A quirk assessment test. Maomao wasn’t particularly disappointed, if only because she hadn’t had high hopes to begin with. She refrained from rolling her eyes as Aizawa-sensei told them the world was unfair. She knew that already. Both her lives had made that very clear. She completed the tests to the best of her ability, though she kept a careful eye on maybe-Jinshi. Then, the final test. She went to throw the ball, but Aizawa-sensei stopped her. 

“Do you think this is a joke?” she stared at him, unimpressed.

“No, what gave you that impression?” she asked, using her best ‘I’m just a polite little servant, don’t get mad at me’ voice.

“You haven’t used your quirk once this entire time.” ah. So he was either stupid and/or incompetent, or he was discriminating against her. It could be both.

“I’m quirkless, sir.” also, there were multiple other students who either hadn’t or couldn’t use their quirks for the test. He was singling her out, the asshole.

“So you’re a liability.” wow, he really just said that. She glanced at the other students. Maybe-Jinshi looked really uncomfortable.

“I don’t think so, sir. May I complete the test now, sir?”

“Fine.” she threw the ball.

– - –

Last place. She’d gotten last place. Supposedly, it was a ‘logical ruse’ but that wasn’t what she was thinking about. She’d kept track of the scores, and she shouldn’t have gotten last. He’d tampered with the results. But that wasn’t important right now. Right now, the school day was over, and she was tracking down hopefully-probably-Jinshi. Fortunatly, it didn’t take long. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a wide hallway where anyone could walk past. She gestured for him to follow her, and walked towards a supply closet she’d noticed on the way over. When he hesitated, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside. She paused when she glanced at his face. Shit, she forgot what this would look like to him. Oh well, it was time. In a still-familiar motion, she raised her arms, slipped her hands into her sleeves in front of her face, and bowed.

“My apologies, Jinshi-sama.” she cautiously glanced over her arms at his face, well aware of the painful amount of hope that had been in her voice. Then, in a volume just above a whisper…

“Apothecary?”

Chapter 2: in which nedzu does not know all, but he does have security cameras everywere

Notes:

battle trials haven't happened yet when this chapter takes place, just so you know

Chapter Text

“I apologize for the rough treatment, Jinshi-sama, but I needed to get out of view and I didn’t know if you would walk off.”

“You can stop that, apothecary. Things are different now.” she let her arms drop to her sides. She hesitated, but ultimately spoke.

“I missed you, Jinshi-sama.” His eyes widened, and… was he blushing?

“I missed you too… Maomao.” she startled slightly.

“Do you know what happened? I hope someone poisoned us in our sleep.”

“You and your poisons. And no, I’m not sure, though unfortunately, you’re probably right.”

“Yesssss!”

“Apothecary, you should not be so excited that we died. There are so many political ramifications to that…”

“I’m just saying, out of all the ways we could’ve been murdered, I’m glad it was poison. Too bad it was in our sleep though, I’d love to remember the effects...”

“Apothecary, please.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I am actually sorry for dragging you in here like that. You may not be of legal age anymore, but you’re also not pretending to be a eunuch, as far as I’m aware.”

“You know, sometimes I almost forget you were raised in a brothel…” her gaze sharpened.

“And what do you mean by that?”

“Nothing! Just that you’re very casual when saying stuff like that.”

“Alright fine, you get a pass this time. But keep in mind that this time around I won’t get beheaded if I poison you a little.”

“Noted!” he squeaked. Maomaos phone started buzzing in her bag. She sighed, and accepted the call.

“Hi Mom.”

“Izuku! Where are you?”

“Sorry Mom, I got caught up talking to a classmate. I’ll head home now.”

“Alright sweetie, love you!”

“Love you too.” she hung up. “Sorry, I guess we’ll have to cut this short for today.”

“Give me your phone. I’m giving you my number.” Maomao rolled her eyes, but did hand her phone over.

– - –

It was the next day, after school, and they were planning on heading home, specifically to Maomaos’ seeing as neither of them were particularly happy with Aizawa after his stunt on the first day, when the PA system crackled to life. 

“Midoriya, Shinso, please report to Principal Nedzu’s office.” they both froze, before doing as asked.

– - –

“Sit, sit.” they sat. “Now, do you two know why you’re here right now?” Nedzu asked.

“I forgot security cameras existed while dragging Shinso-kun into a supply closet.” Maomao replied morosely.

“I promise she didn’t assault me in any way.” Jinshi tried a charming smile.

“Oh no, I’m not worried about that. And you,” he turned to Maomao. “were half right. You did forget about the security cameras… including the ones in the supply closet.” Jinshi and Maomao suddenly went very pale. “Yes. So, reincarnation, huh? I must admit, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Why are we here?” Maomao asked, trying for calm and mostly succeeding.

“Frankly, I’m concerned about you, Midoriya-chan.”

“Ah.” she sighed in realization. “You’re worried about the power dynamic between us.” Jinshi winced as she spoke.

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t. We’re fine.”

“Forgive me if I don’t quite believe you”

“We’re fine. Jinshi would never hurt me in any way.” there was a faint flush to her cheeks.

“You mentioned beheading.”

“Yeah, if the wrong people heard me disrespect him. But you should’ve seen the look of horror on his face when I first brought up the possibility of my being executed. Also, might I remind you that the beheading was mentioned in the same sentence as me threatening to poison him? I’m in no way afraid of him. Besides, even if I was before, we aren’t in that environment anymore.”

“Also, her lack of fear or attraction for me is what made me fall for her in the first place.” Jinshi added, almost entirely shamelessly. “Like, imagine this. We’re in ancient China, in the rear palace, where all the emperors' consorts live. And there’s me, commonly regarded as the most beautiful man alive. And then I meet Maomao. As per usual, I try to charm her. And she shudders in disgust, and later proceeds to glare at me like I’m a bug. Actually, worse, bugs have a possibility of being poisonous, and therefore intriguing to her. How could I not be drawn in?”

“He’s a freak, if you couldn’t tell.” Maomao deadpanned. “I think he gets off on me looking down on him.”

“What- Maomao! No! I do not! Why would you say that?!” Jinshi sputtered.

“Remember how you were pretending to be a eunuch when we met? I have a lot of dirty jokes I couldn’t use back then.” Jinshi didn’t reply, hiding his blushing face in his hands.

“If I wasn’t afraid of what kind of poison you’d use on me I’d make a comment about how your sisters raised you.”

“You’re on thin ice with that alone. I’d be careful what you eat for the next few days if I were you.” a pause. “I’m joking, for the record. You’ve had enough experiences with people drugging your food. I wouldn’t do that to you.” he lifted his face from his hands to smile at her.

“Look at you, learning social skills. I thought you’d remain a feral cat forever.”

“I never said anything about injections or airborne-”

“‘Ahem.” they were both suddenly reminded that they had an audience. “Well, I suppose you can both go. You have thoroughly assured me about your… relationship.” they looked away awkwardly, and headed out.