AN: Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites!

tiguylerobot - sorry to disappoint you, but the five alt-dimension Ochakos are going to be sticking around in the prime dimension once they're done.

Step 3b: Izuku is known to be stubborn when it comes to placing others above his own self-worth. In this case, you may need to invoke shonen rules and convince him through violence. Don't worry about holding back, he can take it.

"Ura-"

Izuku was about to say something before Ochako launched herself at him, quickly closing the gap with her arm outstretched.

"No! I refuse to stand by and watch you hurt yourself again Deku!" Uraraka shouted.

Izuku barely had time to wrap himself in Full Cowling and dodge away. "You don't understand!" Activating Float, he hovered several meters above the ground, trying to talk to the now-angry girl.

"No, I fully understand," Uraraka said as she fired her grappling hook at a wall behind Izuku while she used her quirk on herself, launching herself at Deku. "This must be how the others felt. That their idiot Deku was too dense to accept help."

Izuku was confused by the strange language again, the distraction enough that he was unable to dodge in time. Uraraka crashed into him before she carried both of them into the wall.

"Since you don't think we are capable of defending ourselves, we need to show you that we're not helpless maidens! If that involves beating sense into you, then that's what you get."

"H-helpless maidens?" Izuku asked.

"Yes! We'll show you we can protect you from All For One and you don't have to do this alone!"

"We?" Izuku asked, his confusion growing.

Uraraka merely smirked as she brought her hands together, releasing herself from her quirk. "Do you really think I came alone?"

As Izuku watched, Uraraka began falling away as gravity reasserted itself over her. Only to see several large pieces of debris floating in front of him.

"Zuzu! I was weak and couldn't protect my Zuzu. I'm not going to make that mistake again!" Occhan declared from on top of the largest piece of debris, a lamp pole slung over her shoulder.

"Ur-uraraka?!"

"Nope! You can call me Occhan, though!"

The girl in a puffy hero costume did a backflip off of the rock, floating herself right behind them before she swung the pole, using it as a giant club to launch the debris at Izuku. She then fired her grappling hook at the wall, connecting right above Izuku's head as she began reeling herself in.

Not wanting to hurt the new girl, Izuku raised his hand and began firing off Delaware Smashes, trying to pick off the debris without hitting Occhan. He wasn't fast enough to stop them all and a table-sized piece of debris slammed into him, stunning him. Seconds later Occhan followed up as she crashed into him.

"Zuzu, we're strong! We may not have One For All like you do, but we want to protect you just as much as you want to protect everyone!"

"Protect me?" Izuku asked as if that was a foreign concept.

"Zuzu…" Occhan said, and Izuku could hear the heartbreak in her voice as she reached up to touch his face gently. "What happened to you here?"

"I don't want to see anyone else hurt," Izuku said, flinching at the contact. Not that he hasn't dreamt of Uraraka doing that exact thing but her touch stung, like her hand was coated in Mina's acid. He shoved his confusion aside. "not because of me."

Calling upon Blackwhip, Izuku pulled himself to the side, throwing Occhan off of him. He saw her descending slowly to the ground, looking visibly hurt by his actions, and he felt a heavy weight upon his chest.

She isn't Uraraka. Izuku told himself. No matter how much she looks and acts like her.

No matter how much he repeated that the weight refused to go away.

His concentration was broken as he felt a piece of debris slam into him, sending him off course. He barely had time to catch himself, using Blackwhip to grab onto a fire escape and launch himself to the top of the building. Turning around, he saw another Ochako standing on the roof across from him. She was dressed in green overalls, almost like a technician's outfit, except she also wore many accessories that Izuku was familiar with.

"That was a great test Mido!" She called as she pointed what looked like a crossbow at him. "I never got a chance to test this yet! I'll have to thank Occhan for the idea of tying a rock to my bolts as well."

"Occhan?"

"Nope! You can call me Rara. That's what Mido always called me." Rara took a running leap and as Izuku watched, small thrusters in her oversized boots carried her across the gap as she landed next to him, the roof of the building shaking with the force of impact. "Mido was a villain in my world, but that didn't stop him from being a good guy."

"I was a villain?" Izuku felt the weight in his stomach growing. How could he possibly turn to villainy?

"I don't know what started it, but in the end, he didn't have the stomach for it," Rara looked at Izuku, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. "He decided he would die saving me as his redemption."

Izuku pulled his eyes away from Rara. "I-"

"Mido, you don't have to make the same choice that my Mido did. You've got the chance to live when so many of your other selves died. Why are you so insistent on throwing your life away?"

"I was given this burden by All Might. I owe it to him to finish the job that he started," He heard Rara starting to protest, but Izuku had already called upon Full Cowling and was once again airborne.

Izuku looked back at Rara and saw how hurt she looked. In the back of his mind, a traitorous thought began to form. Telling him he didn't need to carry this burden alone.

Of course, it sounded like her.

Moments later, the fragile thought shattered as he felt a grappling hook wrap around his arms. Gasping, he saw another girl approaching him, quickly pulling herself down the line. Even though she was wearing a motorcycle helmet with cat ears and had a pink trench coat flapping in the wind, he recognized who it was.

No matter how she dressed, he would always recognize her.

"Hi, Zuku!" Neko said as she grabbed his arm. "Fancy meeting you out here!"

"Uraraka?"

"Nope! Name's Neko. You suck, by the way."

"M-me?!" Izuku asked incredulously.

"Mmhmm. All of us have cute names thanks to our Zuku. Except for Ochako of course, she's happy just being on a first-name basis with you. But you just call your Ochako Uraraka? Lame!"

"S-she calls me Deku though," Izuku stuttered out, confused by what was going on. "She helped me rehabilitate that name!"

"Aww, how sweet!" Neko said as she swung around onto Izuku's back, trying to throw him off balance, "And this is how you repay her? Uraraka?"

"I… never thought about it that way," Izuku admitted.

"Right, heroic drive and all that. Seriously, you need to live a little."

Izuku let go of Blackwhip and began descending to the ground, hoping to scare Neko off. Instead, she held on tighter.

"This is fun, you always gave me the best piggy-back rides!"

"I did?" Izuku asked.

"Of course! We had so much fun together. Seriously, you need to live a little."

"B-but All For One!"

"Screw him! We'll take care of him together."

"He's too strong!" Izuku insisted as he watched the ground come closer and closer. He knew he could survive the impact, but he was beginning to worry about hurting Neko. Realizing he couldn't risk her, he shot out a tendril of Blackwhip and sent the pair skyward.

"Wheeee!" Neko shouted uncomfortably close to his ear. Even with the wind rushing past, he could feel her hot breath against it. "You may have just beaten Zuku's old record! See? We can do fun things together! You just need to loosen up!"

"Shigaraki destroyed Jaku City!" Izuku said as he grabbed a railing with Blackwhip. "So many people died because I wasn't strong enough! It's my job to defeat him!"

Channeling the power of Fa Jin into his Blackwhip, Izuku launched himself at incredible speed toward a building. He already hated himself for what he was about to do, but he was getting desperate. Neko was an expert at staying attached to him, and as long as she was there he knew the others could follow them. As they rocketed toward the building he called upon One For All and spun around, putting Neko between him and the building.

"Please Neko-san! Don't make me do this!"

"Aww, you do care! " He felt Neko let go a split second before he slammed into the building. Even with One For All, he was momentarily stunned, only for the girl to land gracefully next to him. "See? Perfectly fine!"

"H-how?"

"You think this is my first chase with Zuku? We did all sorts of incredible things together," She said, a teasing lilt in her voice that sent shivers down Izuku's spine. "I'll get you to loosen up yet!"

"I can't," Izuku insisted, shaking his head. "Please, just let me do this for you!"

"Do what for me, Deku?" Izuku heard her voice before he saw her wheeling herself in via grappling hook, "Are you seriously going to let yourself die, just like Deku did for these girls?"

"U-Uraraka," Izuku could feel a tear forming, but he blinked it away, "No! I just- I just-"

"You just what?" Uraraka said as she slammed into the building next to him.

"I just need to beat Shigaraki to keep you safe!" Izuku yelled as Blackwhip exploded from his hands. He felt more than saw as it battered both girls away, and he looked down in a panic, but he saw them floating down gracefully, determined looks on their faces. "Why won't you just let me do that for you?!" Izuku yelled as he powered up One For All, putting the power of Fa Jin behind it, and then launched himself skyward.

He needed to get away from Uraraka. He already felt his resolve cracking. Didn't they see the danger they were in? If he let them help… No. Shigaraki would use them against him. He knew it. Better to face him alone. He just needed some time alone. Away from them. Away from her.

That would give him time to clear his head and focus.

He was so caught up in his head, that he missed the pink comet shooting towards him, stars trailing behind it as blackwhip tendrils corrected its course - directly into Izuku. He didn't notice, until he felt Chako slam into him with the full force of a Fa Jin-powered One For All, knocking him off course and sending him flying into a building.

Why wasn't Danger Sense going off? Izuku couldn't help but wonder for the brief moment before he impacted the building.

"Izu, you idiot!" Izuku saw stars in his vision, and by the time it cleared he heard two heeled boots slamming into the wall on either side of his chest. Looking up he saw Chako in her predominately white, black, and silver costume, and she was pissed. "Seriously? What the hell has All Might been teaching you? Are they all this incompetent across every other dimension?"

In Chako's home dimension, All Might was in the middle of grocery shopping when he suddenly felt the urge. The one that he always felt when he knew his lifestyle choices were correct.

So naturally, he gave in and set his grocery basket down, before pumping his fists in the air.

"Yes! Yes! I was right!"

"All Might is trying his best!" Izuku insisted, feeling new resolve as Blackwhip shot out from his hands, forcing Chako to leap off the wall. "He sacrificed so much these past six years! Trying to keep Japan safe and peaceful! I owe it to him to give it my all!" He lashed out with Blackwhip, trying to knock her out of the sky. "

As Chako was dodging the tendrils of Blackwhip she realized she had screwed up by insulting All Might. While she was confident that she was better trained with One For All and the quirks contained within it, Izuku was more powerful than her. If this were a normal fight she should have been able to take him, but when he was lashing out like he currently was, she was at the disadvantage.

"Girls, I'm going to need a little help here."

"What? Is One For All too much for you to handle?" Ochako teased in response.

"Not a good time," Chako said with a grunt as she called upon Blackwhip and used it to knock a few tendrils away that had gotten dangerously close to her. "Remember, Blackwhip is tied to emotions. And Izu is very angry right now."

"What did you do?!" Occhan asked back.

"I may have insulted this dimension's All Might."

"You did WHAT?" Uraraka's voice rang through.

"How was I supposed to know?!" Chako defended herself.

"Well, far be it for me to stand between the two of you fighting over whose dad is better, but I have to defend my fellow Ochako," Ochako's pained voice came through clearly, causing Chako to roll her eyes.

"Oh give me a break! How far out are you?"

"I'm three buildings away, what's your plan?"

"Same as Muscle-boy. I'll send him up to you."

"Oooh, exclusive Izuku time! I'll take it."

"Have fun with that," Chako muttered as she called upon Fa Jin, empowering her Blackwhip. She shot a tendril out, knocking away one of Izuku's next attacks with enough force that his hand was shifted slightly by the force of her blow.

It wasn't much, but the opening was enough for Chako. Launching Blackwhip with her other hand, she managed to get a tendril around Izuku's torso, and she pulled him towards her. Gritting her teeth, she put the full power of One For All and Fa Jin into her fist.

"Psuedo-100%..." Ochako pulled her fist back, before she swung an upward jab aimed straight at Izuku's torso. "Gravity Hammer!"

The look of shock on Izuku's face would have broken a lesser woman, but after the onslaught Chako just had to deal with, she didn't have room for doubt. Time seemed to freeze momentarily as Izuku's wide eyes made contact with Chako's own.

"I'm sorry Izu," Chako whispered right before he was blasted upward by the force of her blow.

Izuku felt himself flying upward.

How?

How did Ochako have One For All?

And how did she have better control than he did?

As he was flying upwards, he began to hear familiar words that sent a shiver down his spine.

"I'm not watching you die again. No matter what it takes. Heavy Payload, Light Manipulation, Quirk Enhancement times four…"

Izuku's eyes went wide.

All For One.

But not just any All For One.

The voice he heard… was Ochako's.

"...Air Cannon. I'm sorry Izuku."

Ochako sounded genuinely remorseful as Izuku felt the change in air pressure mere heartbeats before he was engulfed in a massive laser blast.

Izuku screamed.

Why isn't Danger Sense warning me?

Are they really not a threat to me?

The answer never came as Izuku slammed into the ground, his body bouncing from the force of the impact. Instinctively, he activated Smokescreen, filling the area with dense smoke.

Why are they working alongside All For One? And willingly! One of them even had One For All, and was taught by All Might!

Izuku slowly pushed himself up as he heard two people land nearby.

"I'm sure you're wondering why All For One and One For All are united." He heard from one side of him. Izuku stood still, hoping that a few seconds of breathing room was enough for him to recharge and escape.

"It's a good old-fashioned team-up!" He heard Chako say. "When the heroes and villains team up to stop an even greater threat."

"Hey! I resent that."

"You're not denying it, though!"

Izuku took slow, deep breaths, his hands covering his face to minimize noise.

"Fine! But it's true! Tenko. Well, Shigaraki as you know him. I'm going to solo his NEET ass. If that's what it takes to get you to just stop. To keep you from throwing your life away again. Izuku you-" He heard her pause as she took a deep breath, "In my world you died in my arms. Cleaning up my mistake. Do you know how hard it was, travelling through so many worlds, to hear the same story over and over? Izuku died heroically saving someone."

"I know my story is different," Chako began, "but she's right. Let us help you! Do you want to suffer the same fate as all of the rest? And for what?!"

Izuku stood there, the cracks in his resolve widening.

"I know not everyone is as powerful as the three of us, but that's not an excuse to shove everyone away! Especially everyone who want to help you! Do you think they don't know the risks? You don't have to do this alone anymore!"

Izuku felt himself wavering, his feet felt like they are wielded to the concrete.

"There you are!" Suddenly Rara appeared out of the smoke, wearing a pair of goggles that were eerily reminiscent of the ones Mei Hatsume wore. Pointing her gauntlets at Izuku and depressing a hidden trigger, he found himself wrapped in the same cloth that Aizawa's capture weapon was made out of.

Izuku felt the exhaustion creeping in but wasn't done yet. Calling upon One For All again, he wrapped himself in Full Cowling. He tried to reinforce it with Fa Jin, but found his reserves empty - did he use all of his spare energy on Blackwhip earlier?

It didn't matter. Forty-five percent was enough to break Aizawa's capture weapon and would be more than enough to break this cloth. With moderate effort, Izuku flexed his arms and felt the rope break. However, the strength behind it was enough to push back the smoke, revealing that Izuku was surrounded.

As he stood there, he was stunned by the sight. There were six girls in total. All of them wore Ochako's face, and they were all staring at him with a mixture of anger, frustration, and pity.

They were all fighting so hard, all for his sake. No matter how hard he tries to push them away, they refuse to let go.

"Deku," Uraraka stepped forward, her arms crossed. "It seems we're not so helpless now, are we?"

"Even if you could escape, I've got Search too, you know," Ochako said from behind him, causing Izuku to freeze.

"Ragdoll's…"

"One and the same! As long as you're in Japan, we can find you."

"Please run!" Neko encouraged, "I want to chase you some more."

"Don't encourage him," Occhan chided her counterpart, "Zuzu. You're slowing down. I know you are. We can keep going. If you can't defeat us, how can you expect to defeat Shigaraki?"

"Oh don't put it like that!" Chako said, wrapping her fists in One For All as she slammed them together, in a move reminiscent of Kirishima, "we just showed him what we're capable of! Think about it, Izu! Two One For All users! And we have someone with All For One on our side too! There's no way that Shigaraki can stop us!"

"But the others-" Izuku protested, his brain trying to find some loophole to rebuild his resolve, "Uraraka, Neko, Occhan, and Rara? They don't have any protection against Shigaraki! What about them?"

"Zuzu," Occhan said, walking towards him, "Most of us - where we came from you died. Because you refused our help. Don't make the same mistake we did. Don't shut us out. Don't shut her out." Occhan emphasized her point by pointing toward Uraraka.

"Deku," Uraraka said, getting dangerously close to Izuku, "We know the risks, but we're heroes too! You can't shoulder the burden of the world on your own. All Might did that and look at where it got him."

Izuku shuddered as he remembered All Might's wounds. "Uraraka I-"

"Grab him!"

From behind Izuku, Ochako activated Magnetism, and Izuku found himself surrounded in a blue glow, while the six girls were surrounded by a pink glow. Before he could move, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest as Ochako crashed into his back and began snuggling in, her face leaning against his shoulder.

"Good luck escaping now Izuku."

Seconds later the other versions of Ochako began slamming into him, magnetically attached to him thanks to the Magnetism quirk. As the fourth Ochako became attached, Izuku fell over, but the girls didn't seem to mind as they all shifted around and made themselves comfortable.

Finally, Uraraka landed on top of him, looking angelic as she was wrapped in the pink glow of the Magnetism quirk. Ever so gently, she pressed her hands against his face, cradling it as she looked down at him. "Deku, everyone at the dorm is worried about you. I was crushed when I read that letter. Why didn't you come to me sooner? Even if these other versions of me didn't show up, I'm sure our class would have helped me track you down. Don't you get it? You don't have to do this alone! You never did. You have us. You have me."

"Uraraka…" Izuku said before he burst into tears.

Inside the vestige realm:

Yoichi: Man, Higake, that was brutal cutting off Danger Sense like that.
Higake: *shrugs* Kid needed to learn a hard lesson, no thanks to that dummy.
Toshinori: I… may have gone a little overboard on my teaching of young Midoriya.
OchakoFA!Toshinori: You're damned right you did! You're lucky I can't punch you or I'd teach you a lesson right now!

*Everyone looks stunned at the new arrival.*

OchakoFA!Toshinori: *sheepishly rubs the back of his head* Oh yeah, all of the vestiges can talk to each other.
All For One: You're welcome.
Yoichi: B-Brother!
All For One: I already introduced myself to the other vestiges, and thought I should say hi. Don't worry, my successor refuses to claim your power for herself, which is why I'm forced to talk to you this way.
Yoichi: *looks cautiously* She doesn't?
All For One: As it turns out, love is an even stronger emotion than hatred. I really messed up in my plans by trying to make Tenko a living ball of hatred, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.
Yoichi: Only because you can't do anything about it now, by the look of things.
All For One: *looks offended, but refuses to respond*