AN: Thanks for the comments guys! Unfortunately you're going to have to wait a little while longer before the mechanics for this 'new' version of OFA to be revealed, since they have a much more immediate problem to deal with.

Jhspzhihzahyk - while there are interesting ideas going on about a quirk singularity, I think they are going to get either dropped or glossed over in the finale, sadly. And while I did originally have ideas about how to make it 'work,' I just decided to go with the much simpler explanation of 'I don't want Ochako to die early.'

Now then, about that mess…

Full of panic, Izuku felt Blackwhip spring to life in his hand. His months of training kicked in, and he launched the tendril, slamming the access door shut before it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

Suddenly everyone's eyes were on Izuku, whose own eyes went wide as he realized what just happened.

Looking toward the three girls on the other side of the roof, Izuku tried to come up with a way out of the situation.

"I-I can explain."

"What the hell? You told us you were quirkless!" Akia yelled. "That sure looked like a quirk to me!"

"I was!" Izuku defended himself.

"He was!" Ochako simultaneously shouted.

"What do you mean 'was'? That's not possible!"

Izuku, however, was less concerned with Aika and more concerned by the look of confusion and fear on Himiko's face. He carefully walked towards her. Even though she had shown massive improvements over the past few months, they all knew the potential for her to backslide.

"Himi…"

"Izu… how long have you had a quirk?"

"Less than a day," Izuku admitted as he looked at her abashedly. "When we stayed behind at the beach? That was the first time I've used it."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell mom?" Himiko was desperate for an answer. Like everything she knew had stopped making sense, and she needed something real to grasp onto.

Izuku reached out and took her hand, wrapping his two around hers. He felt her tense up, but he refused to let go. "It's complicated. We- we weren't sure what was going to happen." Izuku looked over at Kyoka who was trying to calm Aika down, and then back at Himiko. "I promise you. I was going to tell you when- when we knew I was going to keep the quirk. A-after all, when quirk training started next week, you'd have found out then," Izuku laughed nervously.

"Dude, you've got a lot of explaining to do. Telling All Might? Keeping your quirk? Uraraka having a quirk awakening? Nothing you said makes sense."

Refusing to let go of Himiko, Izuku looked at the approaching Ochako. One look was all he needed to know they agreed on what had to be done. He turned back to Himiko.

"We'll tell you. But not here - we have to wait until after school."

"Why not now?" Himiko asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot what we just did," Kyoka guiltily said. "If Mido and Uraraka want to wait until after school, we owe it to them to wait that long."

Himiko blushed as she remembered her role in this. "F-fine. But I'm holding you to that!"

Izuku smiled. "I know you will."

"What do we tell Hikari?" Aika asked.

"We can't tell him," Izuku insisted. "The fewer people that know, the better."

"But what about the whole part about you two running out on us and us following you up here?"

"Simple," Jiro declared, "we tell him the truth: that they really were talking about quirks up here."

Izuku and Ochako glanced at each other. As Kyoka just reminded them, she was already good at gathering information, even now. They were going to have to tread carefully if they wanted to keep the other big secret safe today.

"Agreed," Ochako said, "it's better that he doesn't know. For reasons that will become apparent after school."

Izuku nodded his agreement as his eyes bounced between the girls.

"Ugh, I don't like this, but fine!" Aika finally conceded.

"I know how to keep quiet," Kyoka said as she timidly tapped her ear jacks together. "I'm kind of used to hearing things I'm not supposed to."

Izuku released a breath he didn't know he was holding and finally let Himiko go. "Ok then, I'll contact All Might and let him know."

The three girls wanted to ask more questions, but one look from Ochako and they knew that they would have to wait. Without another word, Ochako grabbed Izuku's hand and led everyone back to the stairwell, and down to the classroom.

"So, what was it about?" Hikari questioned as they stepped in, instantly regretting his question when he saw everyone's faces.

"It really was about quirks!" Aika bemoaned. "These two are no fun!"

Izuku let out a tense laugh. "I've been here for two semesters now, y-you should know when I say it's about quirks I mean it."

"No kidding," Himiko interjected, "you should have seen him when we were watching Mt. Lady's debut. She was busy showing off her body for the cameras and he was sitting there wondering if she could use her quirk to shrink down to be microscopic."

Izuku offered Himiko a silent thanks as he sat back down and grabbed his phone out of his bag, sending off a very important text message.

After classes were dismissed for the day, Izuku silently packed his bag, looking over at Ochako. She hid it well, but he knew what she was feeling because he felt the same thing: a looming sense of dread.

He was anxious of what the revelation would mean for his friend group, and what it meant for Himiko. After lunch, she reassured him that she would be ok, but he couldn't help but worry. Despite their interactions in a different lifetime, he had come to see her as family and genuinely cared for her well-being, far beyond his original intention of preventing her from falling into villainy.

As Izuku shoved the last book into his bag, the familiar shadow of Himiko loomed over his desk. Looking up, he saw her face was an emotionless mask - the one her parents have trained into her. As much as everyone hated it, she still used it as a defense mechanism, when she felt overwhelmed.

Izuku hated that he was responsible for this. He just hoped that Himiko would understand when they explained why it was so important for them to hide this.

Standing up, Izuku shouldered his bag and looked at Himiko. "How are you feeling?" he quietly asked her.

"I… don't know," Himiko admitted, biting her lip. "I just want to know why you hid this from me-" She looked down at her hand, balling it into a fist and opening it, "-and why we can't tell mom."

Izuku rested his hand on top of hers. "The sooner we get going, the sooner we can talk."

Himiko looked at him and simply nodded before they joined the other four waiting around Kyoka's desk and left the school as a group.

At the school gate, the group stood around awkwardly for a moment before Hikari finally spoke up. "I don't know what happened over lunch, but I hope you all work it out. This afternoon sucked."

"Understatement of the year," Aika agreed, before looking at the other four members of the group. "We're going to go… talk it out."

"Well, good luck," he meekly offered to the three girls before turning to Izuku. "Call me later?"

Izuku smiled reassuringly at his friend. "Y-yeah. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Thanks, man." Without another word Hikari turned and left, heading in the direction of his home.

"Well, we should get going!" Ochako announced, a little too loud, before taking off towards the train station.

Izuku caught up to her and slipped his hand into hers. He knew Ochako was taking this hard and he wanted her to know he was here for her.

"Stupid, stupid-" Izuku heard her muttering under her breath.

Izuku gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Hey, it's ok! We didn't know."

"We should have! I made such a big scene so of course everyone was curious." Ochako sighed. "All I had to do was wait until school was over!"

"If that makes it your fault, then it's just as much my fault," Izuku consoled her. "I could have stopped you but I didn't."

"Don't try to make me feel better." Ochako pouted.

Izuku gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry if I care about my partner's wellbeing."

Ochako quickly looked away as her cheeks heated up and her blush spread. "...thanks."

"Besides, this may be for the best? Now we won't have to worry about figuring out what to tell them when quirk training starts up."

"About one thing, at least…"

Izuku just squeezed her hand again. "One thing at a time."

The group continued in silence to the train station, where Izuku and Ochako led the group to a different platform from usual. Boarding the train, they rode in silence, which was finally broken as they exited the train.

"Wait! We're going to UA?!" Aika exclaimed.

"I think this has to do with Izuku and Ochako's extra lessons," Himiko noted as she put the pieces together. While at first, she had teased them about using extra training as an excuse to spend more time alone together, she quickly learned it wasn't an act.

"Yeah," Izuku confessed, "you'll understand soon." He pulled out his phone and sent a message letting All Might know they were getting close before he pocketed the device.

The five exited the station and continued the short journey to UA, where they saw their trainer, Toshinori Yagi, standing at the gates waiting for them. The three girls slowly realized the severity of the situation when they saw that he was looking just as pensive as Izuku and Ochako.

"So, they know?" he asked them.

Both students nodded. Ochako was the first to speak. "It's all my fault! I made a scene and-"

She was silenced by Toshinori putting a hand on her head. "What's done is done. All we can do now is impress these young heroes-" He looked at the three pointedly. "-the importance of what they have learned."

"T-there's also the good news," Izuku offered.

Toshinori smiled at Izuku. "I gathered as much. Let's talk more inside."

Toshinori handed lanyards to Aika, Himiko, and Kyoka. "Guest badges, so you can enter the school gates without activating security."

"What about those two?" Kyoka asked, pointing her earjacks at Izuku and Ochako.

Izuku awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Um, we already have IDs that let us go in and out?"

"Of course they do," Himiko wryly joked before putting the lanyard on.

The three followed behind as Toshinori led the group to the faculty office, a kettle of tea and cups already laid out and ready. Once everyone entered the room, Toshinori locked the door behind them while Ochako went to a wall and pressed a button.

"I'm sorry, young Jiro, but the anti-surveillance countermeasures are a necessity for what you are about to hear."

"I-it's ok," Kyoka replied, looking like she was fighting a headache as everyone else merely heard a dull noise begin in the background.

Himiko looked at Izuku and Ochako, and then towards Toshinori. "What's so important that we need this much security?"

"And you said we were meeting with All Might, where is he?" Aika asked.

Izuku, Ochako, and Toshinori looked at each other awkwardly, until they heard Jiro gasp. She raised a finger and an ear jack, pointing both at Toshinori. "The yellow hair, the eyes, and the baggy attire!"

Himiko and Aika looked at Kyoka and then looked at Toshinori, eyes going wide as they realized what she meant.

"Wait, how?"

"Are you really-"

Toshinori chuckled and changed to his muscle form in a puff of smoke. "Very observant, young Jiro! I am here!"

"What?!"

"No way! This skeleton?"

"How?"

"That means we've been training under All Might all this time?!" Aika yelled.

"How did I never see this before?"

"Of course, Izu would find some way to attract All Might's attention!"

"Wait-"

"No way!"

"So mom has been-"

After giving the three girls a chance to absorb the news, Toshinori held up his hand to call for silence. "Now, I must impress upon you the importance of what you are about to hear. My condition alone is already sensitive knowledge, and what we are about to tell you is of even greater importance."

"What about Hikari?" Aika asked.

"Not even him," Ochako insisted, "it's too dangerous."

"This is why you haven't told mom-" Himiko turned towards Izuku.

Izuku knelt down in front of Himiko. "Himi, what we are about to tell you is very dangerous. If the wrong person found out… they would have no problems going after everyone important to me. Especially mom." The look of horror on Himiko's face let Izuku know that he made his point. "I will tell her when it's safe, but until then - it's very important we keep this amongst ourselves."

Himiko closed her mouth and nodded. "Ok. If it will keep mama Inko safe."

Izuku smiled and hugged Himiko. "Thank you." Standing up, he walked back to Toshinori and Ochako before looking back at the three. "So, where do we start…"

"Dude, you told us you were quirkless," Kyoka started. "How about you start by explaining why you had that whip-thing on the roof?"

"I believe that is my cue." Toshinori turned back into his skeletal form. "The truth is, I was quirkless once, the same as young Midoriya was. But then one day I met my mentor, who possessed an ancient quirk called One For All. This quirk is special, dating back from the dawn of quirks. In short, it is a quirk that stores its wielder's power, including their quirk. In short, a sacred torch to be used and then passed on to the next generation. After almost two hundred years, the quirk has amassed a great deal of power - and additional quirks, such as what you saw from young Midoriya. Yesterday, these two were finally ready, and I passed my quirk on to them."

Aika pointed at Toshinori. "Since the quirk makes you big and bulky, does that mean Midoriya and Uraraka are going to become huge when they use it?"

Toshinori laughed as he sat down. "No, fortunately not. One For All has a unique manifestation, personalized for each wielder. As you will soon see for yourselves, young Midoriya manifests the power in a green glow. And we have yet to discover how young Uraraka will appear."

"So this is the real you?" Himiko asked. "And when you use your quirk you become all big and muscly?"

Toshinori frowned and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Not exactly." He opened his shirt, revealing his wound to the three girls, who all gasped. "For thirty-five years, I was always the image of All Might you know. However, five years ago, I fought an ancient foe. One who has the counterpart to my quirk, and is responsible for killing almost all of the past holders of One For All. I suffered this wound, and lost most of my stomach as well as one of my lungs in the process."

"Ohmygosh…"

"And you still have been fighting for the past five years in that condition?"

"Izu…" Himiko looked at Izuku, concern filling her face before she turned to Toshinori. "And what happened to the guy you were fighting?"

Toshinori sighed as he buttoned his shirt back up. "For years, we had thought I had killed him. But evidence has come to light that suggests that he is still alive, somehow."

The room filled with silence as the three girls stared at Toshinori, eyes wide. Izuku and Ochako sat there fidgeting, waiting for the implications to set in.

Himiko was first, pointing a finger accusingly at All Might. "And you- you just expect them to continue this fight for you?!"

Toshinori frowned and looked Himiko in the eye. She flinched but refused to back down. "No. This is my fight, and I intend to finish what I started five years ago."

"How?!" Aika and Kyoka both exclaimed.

Toshinori disappeared in a puff of smoke and when it cleared he was standing in his muscle form. "Even now, I can still act as a hero for three hours a day. You see, One For All leaves its mark on its holders. While the raging inferno of power is now in the hands of these two, there are still smoldering embers of power that were left behind within me. As long as I carefully manage these embers of power, I will continue to act as All Might. And I refuse to leave this fight unfinished. This foe is my responsibility, and I will bring him to justice this time."

"The fight also has a personal meaning for All Might," Izuku helpfully added.

"I'd say, he has a gaping hole in his stomach! I'd take that personally!" Aika exclaimed.

"That is not what he means, young Shizu," All Might said regretfully. "You see, this foe - I was forced to watch as he killed my mentor in front of me. But that wasn't enough. He then had the audacity to track down my mentor's children! He took in my mentor's grandson!" All five students felt an intense pressure in the air as All Might let anger seep into his voice. "And he has been training him to be his successor! Much in the way that I have been training these two!"

"Woah!"

"Dude, that's intense!"

While silent, Himiko bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as she looked at Izuku. If she had any doubts about his earlier warning, they had been erased by this latest revelation.

"This is why it's important that you don't tell anybody," Ochako urged, "if this villain finds out that we have One For All… Everyone we care about is in danger."

Once again, Toshinori returned to his true form as he sat down. "Indeed. Before I had met these two, only six people knew the truth about One For All. With you three, that number has almost doubled."

"Ok." Kyoka looked at Izuku and Ochako. "So… why them? I get that they both are crazy motivated, but why pick those two?"

"Yes, why those two, in particular?" Himiko was looking intently at Izuku.

Izuku and Ochako laughed timorously as they looked at Toshinori.

"Around ten months ago, when I was in Mustafu and beginning to think about my successor, I ran into a quirkless boy with the soul of a hero." Toshinori looked proudly at Izuku. "It was almost like I was looking into a mirror. When I saw him spring into action, I knew I had found a successor."

This caused Himiko to snort. "I can believe it."

Toshinori continued. "A few weeks later, I found myself out in Nabari. Even though I thought I had the answer to the question of my successor, I met a young girl with a gravity quirk. She too possessed the strength of spirit I was seeking." He then looked proudly at Ochako. "When I saw her indomitable will and her desire to save others, I knew I had found someone equally as worthy to be my successor."

"And because of the nature of your quirk, it can just be shared? Why not have a bunch of people share this quirk then?" Aika asked.

"A good question!" Toshinori said, while glancing at Izuku, silently begging for help.

"We weren't even sure it would work like this," Izuku admitted, "but think of it like a phone battery pack. If you plug one phone into it, it can charge the phone completely. If you plug in two phones, each phone can only be at half power. Even if four people have it, each person would be half as effective as if it was just Ochako and I."

"Precisely!" Toshinori held up a finger with a grin on his face. "While I believe One For All has grown strong enough to support two wielders, I am worried about what would happen if too many people try sharing its power."

"That makes sense." Aika sounded disappointed by the explanation.

"Ok, so that explains part of it. What about that crazy energy whip Midoriya used?" Kyoka asked. "I've never seen you use anything like that before in your fights."

Toshinori chuckled. "Well, that is a new one to me as well. It appears that my original hypothesis was right. One For All has grown so powerful, that it has undergone a quirk awakening of its own." He looked at his two successors. "One that makes me wonder what would have happened if I had simply given it to one of them."

Of course, the three knew the answer to that, since they lived it. But sometimes the best way to handle a situation was to tell the truth and merely omit details.

Izuku fished a notebook out of his bag and set it on the table. "I have been looking into the past One For All holders, and the quirk I used today is called 'Blackwhip.' It came from the fifth holder of One For All, a hero by the name of Lariat."

"So all this time we were joking about how unstoppable you would be if you ever had a quirk, and now you go and get the strongest quirk in existence?" Aika groaned. "That's it, I give up!"

Kyoka patted her friend on the back while looking at Izuku and Ochako, trying to let it all sink in. "So now what?"

"Now-" Toshinori gave all three of the girls a meaningful look. "-the three of you must decide what you want to do with this information. I don't want these two to face the past but instead, look towards the future. And to do that, they will need strong allies," He gave the three girls a weighty look. "I will not ask you to do anything you don't want to. If you wish to merely continue on with your lives, you can simply promise to not share these secrets with anyone and walk away."

Toshinori stood up and gestured to Izuku and Ochako. "However, I must speak to these two alone while you make your decision."

Toshinori led his successors back out to the hallway and closed the door behind them with a sigh. "I hope my acting was sufficient."

"You did great!" Ochako praised. "It's like you've had years of practice at this!"

That got a chuckle out of Toshinori. "Indeed. Now we just need to wait and see."

Izuku looked at the door. "I think they'll make the right call."

"As much as I hate to say it, but now that it's all out in the open I- feel better that this happened," Ochako admitted. "Keeping the secret of OFA after Kamino was… hard. The thought of having friends who know… even if they don't want any part of the responsibility that comes with it…"

Toshinori rested a hand on top of Ochako's head. "I know, young Uraraka. I should have stressed the importance of finding trusted allies for yourselves, but now it appears they found you, in much the same way you stumbled into my life." He lightly chuckled. "It's almost as if Fate itself has a role to play in your journey."

"Now then!" Toshinori suddenly pulled his hand back, a serious look on his face. "Will you please explain what really happened between the two of you."

"R-right." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. "So last night I was pulled into the vestige realm - but it was different from what I remember. Second and Yoichi were there, and they explained that thanks to whatever Second did, our copies of One For All merged."

"So the copy I passed on to you…"

"Is gone, unfortunately," Izuku said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. He waited a moment before continuing, "Yoichi told me that if I tried to transfer One For All to Ochako, it would simply just - recognize that she had a part of it? Instead of performing a full transfer, it would simply re-ignite what was held by Ochako. Like her copy is a second generator that is partnered with mine, and the power from my generator could restart it before they balanced themselves out."

"And you confirmed that you both have it?"

"Yes," Ochako said, looking between Toshinori and Izuku, "we may have gotten a little carried away with our celebration when…"

"I see. Fortunately, Nezu was able to arrange Gym Theta for us again, once we are done here."

"I'd like them to watch," Ochako said, turning towards the door, "if we are bringing them in, I want to show them that we trust them with this secret. Even if…"

"I agree," Izuku added, "I hated how many secrets we have been keeping. Even if- even if we're still hiding something from them."

Toshinori smiled as he placed a comforting hand on both of their shoulders. "If you are in agreement, then I will allow it." He turned towards the door. "Now, we must wait to see what they decide."

A few minutes later, the door opened behind them and Himiko peered out. Seeing they were alone, she grabbed Izuku and Ochako by their arms and pulled them back into the room, slamming the door shut.

Wheeling around, Himiko attached herself to Izuku, burying her face in his shoulder. "Why are you like this?" she complained.

Izuku laughed nervously as he wrapped his arms around Himiko. "Is it really that surprising?"

"That the biggest All Might fanboy I know somehow attracts All Might's attention? No." Himiko peered over Izuku's shoulders at Ochako. "And that his best friend is also involved."

This caused Aika and Kyoka to laugh before Aika spoke up. "So this big ancient scary bad guy. Do you two really believe All Might will take care of him? That he's not just going to pawn him off on you two?"

Izuku and Ochako looked at each other, turning to Aika. "Yes."

"Think about All Might's entire career. Do you really think he would be willing to just- tell two kids to clean up his mess?" Ochako asked. "What he really was looking for - when he chose us, is for future heroes ready to step up. To continue the Era of Peace in Japan."

Izuku nods vigorously. "He - you saw him. He knows he can't stay the Symbol of Peace forever. When he offered me the chance to wield this power. The chance to meet Ochako. I don't regret any of it. It is - well I can't say it's going to be easy."

"Having people who know would help, though." Ochako finished. "And if those people are willing to share the mantle of Symbol of Peace…" she added, hopefully.

Himiko pulled away and looked at Izuku, biting her lower lip uneasily. "I have one question though. The night that you all… found me. If it wasn't for-" Himiko waved her hands towards Izuku and Ochako, "-this, what would have happened to me?"

Izuku looked at Ochako, and then back at Himiko. "We don't know. You weren't classified as a villain, so it would have been a matter for the police. What I can say is that if they weren't taking me out for patrol, I don't think Kan and Kayama would have been there."

Himiko looked at Aika and Kyoka, turning back towards Izuku and Ochako. "I hate keeping this a secret from mom-Inko, but if it wasn't for this-" Himiko refused to finish that sentence. "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye out for you."

This got a laugh out of Ochako. "Exactly! Izuku is such a trouble magnet."

Izuku looked at Himiko with excitement. "So you'll help us?" He felt himself tearing up.

"Hell yeah!" Kyoka called out from behind Himiko. "With or without some fancy ancient quirk or not, you're still our friends."

"Sure you kept a big secret from us, but you had your reasons!" Aika added, "Besides, what is the other option? Join up with some big scary bad guy? That doesn't sound particularly heroic! Us future heroes have to stick together!"

"You guys are the best!" Ochako exclaimed.

"T-thanks you guys!" Izuku wailed, bursting into tears.

AN: Canon - "you can't tell anyone or else!"

Bttb - "you know.. That didn't work out so great for us, let's try something different."