AN: Thanks for the continued love and support of the story!

SwordOfTheGods - The kids are absolutely terrified that they are projecting feelings for Uravity/Analyst onto Ochako/Izuku. But yes, at some point they're going to own up to their feelings and everyone around them is going to ask what took them so long.

InfinityMask - It sucks for Hikari, but it's for the best that they minimize civilians 'in the know.'

After a quiet day of patrols, Ryukyu wrapped up her day by filling out paperwork at her agency. It was boring work, but it gave her a chance to unwind before heading home for the evening.

At least, that's how it typically went. Normally she didn't receive a phone call from Might Tower as she wound down. Ryukyu frowned when she saw the call, wondering what the number one hero wanted with her. Occasionally the higher-ranking heroes called her to work on a case in her area or related to one of her ongoing investigations. Those usually come through formal channels, however, and All Might wasn't known for making casual phone calls.

Well, only one way to find out what was going on. She picked up the phone.

"Ryukyu here."

"I am here! On the phone."

Ryukyu couldn't help but crack a smile at All Might's antics. She was familiar enough with the number one hero to know that behind his public persona, he had some ridiculous personality traits that occasionally slipped out. "So what do I owe the honor of receiving a call from Japan's number one hero?"

"Actually, I have a request," All Might began, "my former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, is currently investigating a yakuza organization. He believes the organization has deep ties to the growing Trigger smuggling operations that you are currently investigating and would like to request your help."

Ok, something definitely didn't add up.

"Why didn't Nighteye put in a formal request for my assistance himself?"

She heard All Might laugh nervously on the other end of the line, and possibly cough? But he's a paragon of health, she'd never even seen him cough before. "Well you see, Nighteye is rather busy right now…"

"So he requested the number one hero to act as his secretary?"

This time she heard All Might coughing on the other end of the line. What the heck was going on? "Y-you see, I'm doing this as a favor for him. As a friend."

"I see. So why call instead of putting in an official request?"

"I'd like to arrange a meeting at UA High School. As soon as possible. To discuss… certain important details."

Now Ryukyu's curiosity was piqued. Not only All Might but UA was also involved in whatever was going on. That meant whatever was going on was big. Very big. And they were trying, however awkwardly, to bring her on board.

Ryukyu felt flattered.

"One second." Ryukyu grabbed her keyboard and started typing, pulling up her schedule. "I have a free afternoon in two days if that works."

"We can make that work!" All Might declared on the other end of the line. "I can't wait to meet with you in person."

Hanging up the phone, Ryukyu let out a sigh. Something wasn't adding up here. While she understood the security concerns of talking over an open phone line, she wished All Might gave her more to work with. Hopefully, when they met face-to-face, things would become clearer.

Even though she didn't graduate from UA, Ryukyu still respected the school and felt a sense of reverence for it as she approached the gates, where she saw a thin skeleton of a man with blonde hair standing alongside the school's eccentric principal.

"Am I a dog, a mouse, or a bear? It is I, principal Nezu!"

Ryukyu smiled at the introduction. "Nezu, it's good to see you."

"I apologize for the unusual circumstances, but I am glad you were willing to join us."

"A request from the number one hero school and the number one hero in Japan? Who wouldn't be interested," Ryukyu admitted.

"True enough," Nezu remarked, "although it is one that also will require a certain amount of discretion on your part."

"That part was obvious," Ryukyu replied. "I just wish All Might had given me more to work with."

She heard the skeletal man begin coughing. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "Y-yes well, if we go inside we can tell you everything," the skeleton said.

"Lead the way."

Nezu began walking, the two falling into an easy pace behind him. As they entered the building and walked down its halls, Nezu broke the silence. "So, what did you think of your intern?"

Ryukyu cracked a slight smile. "Hado was an excellent intern. You produce some amazing students here. I was planning on offering her a chance to rejoin my agency next semester when they begin their work studies, if she's willing, of course."

"Excellent! It is always good to know that we are upholding our reputation, after all!"

"I see a promising future for Hado, that's for sure. Even with her quirk's drawbacks, she is going to be a great hero."

"Well, we have another student to introduce to you," the principal replied cryptically. "Perhaps she will also catch your interest."

Ryukyu was about to ask more when they reached Nezu's office and he opened the door, revealing two middle schoolers sitting there happily talking to each other. It was not what she was expecting, to say the least.

She followed the two into the room and waited for Nezu to secure the room before she spoke plainly. "Alright, time to drop the act. Why did you really want me here? And where's All Might?"

"I am here!" In a puff of smoke, the skeletal man vanished, replaced by Japan's number one hero. "Sorry for not telling you earlier, but I shouldn't go walking around UA in my more recognizable form."

Years of training kept Ryukyu from reacting to the sudden sight of All Might's transformation. That didn't stop her from being concerned. Here was the number one hero, clearly hiding some major health issues from the other top heroes, to say nothing of Japan at large. Her eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

"I believe that is Ochako Uraraka's story to tell," Nezu answered, gesturing to the brown-haired girl staring happily at her.

Ryukyu turned toward the kids in confusion. "Her?"

"Yes, I know what she is about to say will be hard to believe, but please understand she is telling the truth," All Might assured her.

Ochako waited for Ryukyu to give her a signal before she began speaking. "My story starts almost three years ago," Ochako started. "In my small hometown, nothing exciting happens, not really. Until one day, a villain decided to try hiding there. One that was bad enough to attract All Might's attention."

She then explained All Might's special quirk and the chance encounter offered to her, leading her to spend months training before receiving the quirk and entering UA. Things appeared to be going smoothly, until the third day of class when they faced the first of several villain attacks that would happen during their first semester, ultimately ending with the death of All Might and All For One at Kamino Ward.

A heavy silence filled the room as Ryukyu looked around. She was obviously missing something big since she'd never heard of any of these events, and All Might was very much alive right now. "I assume there's more?"

Ochako nodded. "That's where All Might's part in my story ends… and yours began. You see, I was suddenly alone in the world with a weight I wasn't ready to carry thrust upon it. I have a zero gravity quirk, but it only lets me carry so much," she joked, "but in the aftermath of Kamino, I met you. Without anyone to turn to, I just felt like a dam broke, and I told you everything."

"Why me?" Ryukyu asked.

"Why not? You're a top ten hero. You're strong, patient, and responsible," Ochako replied, "but most importantly, you were willing to listen to my incredible story. And once I told it to you, you told me what I needed to hear at the time: that I didn't need to carry the burden alone. You- you took me under your wing. You and Nejire Hado both helped me learn more about my powers and helped me learn how to handle the burden that had been thrust upon my shoulders."

"Then what happened?"

Ochako continued, explaining about the Shie Hassaikai and the rescue of a little girl named Eri. She then continued, describing the general unrest of Japan in the wake of All Might's death, leading to the rise of the Paranormal Liberation Front.

"Then war broke out and I- well I almost died. Which brings us here."

"These two are from our future, Ryukyu," All Might explained, "more precisely, they are from a point in time about twenty months from now, having arrived about ten months ago."

"Thirty months huh." Ryukyu put her hand on her chin as she thought about everything that she had heard. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself annoyed. Frowning, the dragoon hero turned towards All Might. "You know, after hearing all of that, I should punch you for being so irresponsible."

All Might laughed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "You're not the first person to say that."

"Good, seriously, how can you fail so badly as a teacher?" Ryukyu sighed before turning back to Ochako. "So if this is a clean slate, and you've got another chance with All Might, why bring me in?"

"Even though All Might is learning to be a better teacher, I learned so much from you over those six months. I'd- I'd like to continue learning under you if you'd have me."

"It would be suspicious if I trained both of these students, after all," All Might elaborated, "and dangerous. For both of these two, before they came back in time, the previous versions of myself emphasized secrecy and carrying their burdens by themselves, and it ended poorly. This time, we decided to try something different. Eventually, I'd like to have these two trained under other heroes as well, but after what young Uraraka told us, I felt that you deserved to know the full truth of their situation."

Ryukyu stared at the number one hero in awe. Even though she was a pro hero herself, he still stood on a pedestal apart from everyone else. To hear him say that he was willing to bring her into his circle of confidence…

She had lingering doubts in her mind, but if what Ochako was saying was true, it would be easy for her to verify it. Ryukyu turned towards the brown-haired girl, who sat there patiently waiting for an answer. "Uraraka, was it? I want to see what you can do."

Ochako smiled and balled her fist. "Sure!"

All Might led Ryukyu and the two kids to a training ground. Once they had entered the building, Ochako and Izuku separated from the heroes to head towards a locker room, while All Might continued onward to the main part of the facility with the dragoon hero. Following the number one hero further in, she saw that there were three other students already training. One girl worked with a training dummy, while further back she noticed two other girls practicing with training weapons: one girl wielded a training sword while the other used dual-wielding knives.

"Let me guess, they're all in on the secret as well?"

All Might laughed uneasily. "Sort of. They are young Midoriya and Uraraka's friends from school. Two of them plan on becoming heroes, while the third is an abuse victim who is now living with young Midoriya and trying to figure out what she wants for herself. All three of them stumbled upon the truth about One For All by accident and have been brought into confidence."

Ryukyu crossed her arms, picking up the unspoken part of the statement. "Hmph, I see. So how many people know?"

"There are two other people I plan to talk to, but ultimately there are less than fifteen in total."

"Are you worried about any information leakage?"

All Might shook his head. "My confidants are trustworthy, and I trust those two to choose people they trust as well. Unless you are suggesting that you are not trustworthy?"

"Hmph." Ryukyu cracked a sly smile. "I see your point. I guess after forty years you have some experience in hiding this secret."

"Indeed, although perhaps a little too good." All Might turned his gaze from Ryukyu to the three students who were training. "After what they have been through, perhaps it is for the best that they have already begun to build their own network of confidants, rather than simply rely on mine."

"That's true, these future heroes will someday succeed us, after all."

"Something tells me you've put a lot of thought into this."

Ryukyu smiled. Leave it to the number one hero to be observant. "Just thinking about my intern from last semester. She attends UA after all, so it's hard not to think about her when I'm here. Her personality means she comes off as disarming, but there is a wicked intelligence underneath that." She looked around the room again. "And Uraraka seemed to like her as well. Perhaps I should skip the formalities and offer her a sidekick position now, rather than wait."

A few minutes later, Izuku reappeared dressed in a similar gym uniform as the others, and Ochako followed closely afterward.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Ochako exclaimed, pumping her fists for emphasis.

Ryukyu grinned at the girl's enthusiasm. "Alright then, let's see what you can do." She swept her arm to point to an empty training ring. "We go until one of us gets ejected from the ring, or by concession. Since we both can fly, we will also say there is no height restriction to stay in the ring."

"Deal!" the girl agreed with a fierce look on her face.

"Hey guys, Uraraka's fighting Ryukyu!" Aika shouted to her friends, having finally noticed what was going on. Everyone turned to see Himiko and Jiro putting down their weapons as the three jogged over to where the others had gathered.

"And an audience too." Ryukyu made a thoughtful noise. "Are you worried about showing off in front of your friends?"

"Nope!" Ochako brazenly said.

Toshinori laughed and turned into his muscle form in a puff of smoke. "I believe Ryukyu may be underestimating young Uraraka!"

"We'll see about that," Ryukyu said as she walked to the edge of the ring and hopped into the middle with a practiced leap, landing on one side. After walking to the starting position, she watched as Ochako climbed through the ropes and took up the opposite position.

As Ochako slid into her fighting stance, Ryukyu saw precisely what she was looking for. The girl had dropped into a familiar fighting stance, one that the dragoon hero had invented.

Falling claw style. A martial arts style she had invented to take full advantage of her transformation quirk, emphasizing powerful swings with her arms and flying in the air only to deliver diving attacks with her legs and massive body. If this girl had a quirk that let her negate gravity, on top of All Might's ridiculous super strength, she could already see the usefulness of her style as a baseline to build onto.

That was all the proof she needed to believe everything she had heard in the office.

Unfortunately for Ochako, even with her years of experience beyond her apparent age, Ryukyu had almost a decade of experience on top of that, and about ten centimeters of height, and that was before she used her quirk. She was sure the girl knew that, too. That just made her more dangerous. Looking her over, the dragoon hero knew she would have to take Uraraka seriously.

Casually dropping into a fighting stance, Ryukyu slid her eyes over to where Toshinori stood and gave him a small nod confirming she was ready. Seeing both opponents ready, he slowly raised his hand before quickly dropping it in a chopping motion. "Begin!"

As she expected, as soon as Toshinori called for the match to begin, Ryukyu saw a pink glow surround the girl before she dashed at her, leaving an effect resembling starlight in her wake. She was sure she would appreciate the sight later when she had time and wasn't facing her head-on. Instead, she brought both of her arms up to form an X in front of her torso and transformed her limbs, being pushed back into the corner despite absorbing the blow.

"You're strong, I'll give you that," Ryukyu complimented before she leaped into the air, turning her lower half into her dragon form as she crashed down into the middle of the ring.

"Thanks!" Ochako replied as she dashed sideways to avoid the massive form before rushing back in, hand stretched out.

Ryukyu was glad Ochako had informed her of her quirk earlier and was only able to avoid the move with her quick reflexes. With precise timing she sidestepped the attack and grabbed her opponent's wrist, using her momentum to throw her towards the edge of the ring. Ochako grit her teeth and Ryukyu saw her wrapping herself in that pink glow again, and she was able to twist around and catch the rope with her feet, using it as a spring to propel her back towards the hero.

This time, however, the dragon hero had seen the move once and had a good idea of how fast Ochako was traveling. With split-second precision, she shifted into her full dragon form, plucking the glowing form of her opponent out of the air and slamming her into the ground. If it was a lesser opponent she may be worried about going too hard on them, but she was pretty sure that this was an inconvenience at best for one of All Might's chosen successors.

She was right as she saw Ochako recover almost instantly and touched her claw with her hands, causing Ryukyu to feel a disorienting feeling as she lost her gravity. Rather than let the girl take advantage of the fact, she went skyward, hovering above the ring. Waiting, she saw her opponent use her quirk on herself, before she kicked off the ground, shooting up in the sky.

"Checkmate, you lost kid," Ryukyu said, the faintest smile on her face. She used her wings to buffet her opponent. It was a bit tricky, having to constantly adjust for the lack of gravity, but this wasn't the first time she had to maneuver in tricky conditions.

"N-no!" Ochako cried out, using her quirk to restore her gravity before she would be thrown out of the ring by the air pressure, only to have the dragon hero dive towards her, knocking her aside as she began falling.

Ochako felt herself falling uncontrollably after the dragon hero slammed into her with her draconic form, only for seconds later she felt a claw gently wrapping around her torso, slowing her descent as Ryukyu lowered both of them to the ground.

"You did good," Ryukyu complimented her as they touched the ground.

Ochako crossed her arms and frowned. "No, I didn't! You countered everything I threw at you! How is that good?"

"Because you forced me to go all out," Ryukyu pointed out. "I can stop most villains with less effort and concentration than what I needed against you. And I'm out there fighting villains every day. When was the last time you fought anyone seriously?"

That seemed to salve the girl's ego slightly as she thought it over before Ryukyu put a hand on her shoulder. "Walk with me. I want to talk, just the two of us."

"O-okay," Ochako agreed, still working through her frustration at herself.

Ryukyu led Ochako out of the training ground before shifting to her dragoon form. "Meet me on the roof." Without another word, she took off and landed on the rooftop.

Moments later, she saw Ochako floating beside her, touching her fingers together. "Release."

With a satisfied smile, the dragoon hero sat down on the edge of the roof, looking over UA, waiting until Ochako sat next to her.

"So I'm going to ask again. Just between the two of us. Why me?"

"Luck of the draw," Ochako admitted, "I just… needed an outlet and you were the first hero to give me a chance."

"I see." Ryukyu looked out across UA, deep in thought.

"If these past two years have taught me anything, it's that sometimes, random chance leads to deeper connections," Ochako continued, "take Izuku and me, for example. We only came back together thanks to dumb luck, and we became inseparable partners, brought together by One For All." As Ryukyu watched, her hand glowed pink again. "Maybe, that's why I… I began thinking about all of the connections I made. If I didn't meet All Might through sheer chance... if I didn't meet you. Then I would have never met Izuku, never been sent back through time. So maybe, there's a deeper meaning behind it all?"

"That's pretty thoughtful."

"Mmm." Ochako nodded. "But I meant what I said earlier. You taught me so much in six months, I'd love to learn more from you. Maybe - maybe it didn't have to be you in the end, but that doesn't change the fact that it was you who took me in when I was at my lowest and mentored me. I- I'm grateful for that, even if I know you're not the same Ryukyu."

Ryukyu beamed at the girl. "Well, after a speech like that, how can I say no? I'll mentor you and hope I live up to the expectations you have for me. I just hope you know that since I know this isn't your first time around the block, I'm going to make you work even harder than Hado." She pushed herself off the edge, smoothly transitioning to her dragon form as she hovered in front of the brown-haired girl. "Now then, let's get back to your friends."

Ochako smiled at Ryukyu and nodded before pushing off the edge herself.

"My, you have chosen an excellent tea today, Mrs. Midoriya," Toshinori said after taking a sip.

Inko gave him a bright smile as she tried her cup of tea. "Thank you, I decided to try importing some new flavors, and I was worried about how they would turn out."

Technically, Toshinori was here for the weekly check-in with Inko about how Himiko was doing, although as the weeks went on it had become more and more of a formality, a simple checkmark on a list to ensure that she was not breaking the rules of her probation. However, Toshinori didn't mind, because it gave him an excuse to spend several hours with a certain Inko Midoriya. Someone whom he found himself growing increasingly fond of.

"Now I know you hate me asking the questions, but how is young Himiko doing?"

Inko gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. "Can't you heroes do anything about this?"

"Sadly no, you know the terms of her probation as well as I do."

"Well, there has been no change. Ever since you had started the second part of their training, she has had this new fire inside of her. While she's still lost about many things, your training has done wonders to build up her self-confidence. It makes me proud, knowing that I've been cultivating that."

"I must agree." Toshinori took notes. "Young Himiko appears to be quite the passionate young woman. She just needed genuine support in her life."

They spent the next ten minutes going over the questionnaire, Toshinori scribbling often-repeated notes into the boxes before finally putting the clipboard away.

"Now then, I have one more question. How would you and your family feel about a trip to I-Island?"

"I-Island?" Inko asked, surprised by the question.

After multiple discussions with his successors, Toshinori was finally convinced that he needed to talk to David Shield about the truth behind One For All. Toshinori agreed, on the condition that they come with him and undergo a quirk evaluation. There were still many unsolved mysteries about their joint ownership of his quirk, and from their reports, there were many questions that even the vestiges were trying to find answers to.

It was time to trust his old friend with his greatest secret, and avert yet another future tragedy in the process.

"You see," Toshinori said, rubbing the back of his head. "I was planning on visiting the island to see an old friend of mine, and I hoped to bring young Midoriya and Uraraka with me. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized it would be quite the experience for yourself and young Himiko as well."

"What about Miu and Katashi?" Inko asked.

"While I had asked them, it appears that the week I intend to visit I-Island was the same week they will be in Nabari, taking care of business. So they had to decline."

"That's a shame," Inko said, a hint of sadness in her voice. She had become friends with them, filling the hole that appeared when she fell out with Mitsuki Bakugo. "Are you sure that it's ok for us to visit the island? Isn't it a secure location?"

"Oh, it is extremely secure. But my association with Might Tower and with UA affords me certain liberties," Toshinori explained, "and guests to the island are allowed to bring a small number of family members with them. So if I make it an official visit for young Midoriya, then there will be no problem."

"That sounds nice. It's been years since I was able to take a trip outside of Japan, not since Hisashi…"

Toshinori reached across the couch to place a hand on Inko's shoulder. "Do not dwell on the past. You have created a wonderful family and life for yourself despite any hardships."

Inko felt a faint blush dusting her cheeks at the unexpected contact as she looked at Toshinori. "T-thank you."

"Anytime."

Toshinori let his hand rest on Inko's shoulder for far too long, neither wanting to move until they heard an awkward cough from the hallway. Both adults turned to see a wide-eyed Himiko staring at them. Quickly pulling his hand back, Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck laughing, suddenly shy, while Inko quickly picked up her cup of tea to take a sip. Without another word, they watched as Himiko walked into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, and then awkwardly returned to her room.

"W-well then, I believe that is it for questions. Onto more pleasant topics."

"Y-yes!" Inko agreed, a little too loudly as she stood up, walking to the small bookshelf. "I was going to share some of my favorite poems my aunt used to read to me with you…"

The six friends had taken over part of a cafe after school, preparing for their upcoming finals. Himiko sat off at one table by herself, because she had discovered that years of abuse had left her with a learning disability, and the best way for her to retain information was to read her notes out loud and hear the information instead of reading it. Ever since then, her grades had been improving, even if they were still nowhere near as good as Izuku's.

At the other table, Izuku and Ochako sat together, trying their best to split their attention and explain the concepts to Aika and Himiko when the two girls asked for help. Meanwhile, Hikari and Jiro both sat at the other end of the table, Jiro sitting as far away from Himiko as she could to avoid being distracted.

"Augh! How is this so easy for you guys," Aika whined, slamming her face into her textbook dramatically.

Hikari laughed and patted the girl on the back. "There there, at least you've got people trying to help you now!"

"Yeah, for all the good it's doing," Aika grumbled, "I may as well just fall asleep on this book and hope to learn by osmosis."

Ochako laughed at Aika's antics while Izuku gave her a pitying look. "You know Shizu, you may not think you're smarter, but you've been picking up concepts faster than you did at the end of last year."

"Ugh, don't remind me about those finals." Aika leaned back and draped a hand over her face. "And you just showed up last semester and embarrassed everyone in the class."

"W-well, I have a lot of motivation," Izuku pointed out. "And you do too, now."

"I can't believe all of you convinced me to try for UA!"

"Hey, at least you scored a whole thirty-five percent on your last practice test," Jiro teased as she poked her friend with an ear jack, "that means you got above the statistical average this time."

"Yeah, that was almost double the score you had at the beginning of the year," Hikari pointed out. "If you can keep that pace, then you'll be over one-hundred percent when it's time to take the entrance exams."

Aika punched Hikari in the shoulder. "Math doesn't work that way, idiot. Even I know that!"

"Who're you calling an idiot?"

"Hey! No fair!"

Izuku felt a tapping on his shoulder, pulling his attention away from his friends as he turned around to look at Himiko. She held up her notes with a pleading look in her eyes. Even though Izuku knew that she was being dramatic, he still offered her an encouraging look as he spun his chair around, ready to help her fix the holes with her notes.

It would be a lot of work, but if Aika and Himiko were determined to get into UA after the revelation about One For All, Izuku and Ochako would try their best to help them make it happen.

AN:

*Himiko enters Izuku's room, slams the door shut to announce her presence*

Himiko: Izuku, I think All Might has a thing for mom, and she feels the same way back.

Izuku: Izuku exe has stopped working

Himiko: *sighs* Of course you're useless, you and Ochako won't even resolve… whatever it is you two have going on.

Izuku: *stars in eyes* My father figure… could be my real father…

Himiko: …damn it, you're right, All Might may be one of the few people who actually deserves Inko.