woo let's go lesbians, another chapter for you to enjoy bUT only if you're taking care of yourself (eating, drinking, sleeping, etc) you're contractually obligated to be kind to yourself if you read this chapter. sorry i dont make the rules!

Discord server, if you'll fuck me up if i'm mean to bugs: https://discord.gg/DSBF4dP

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It wasn't in his wardrobe, nor in his drawers, nor strewn somewhere in his dorm room, so... it was safe to assume his favourite All Might hoodie had gone missing somewhere. After all the explaining and memory-sharing and general insanity of the previous night, this was an inconvenient occurrence - especially since he had been intending to tell the teachers about the dual-personality situation now that classes had ended for the day, but this disaster took precedence. He'd even questioned his teenage self to see if he knew anything, but he was innocent and just as worried about the precious merch. Izuku had other hoodies, but that one was his favourite because it was a little too big and he could sink down inside of it and take the best naps, which is what he desperately wanted, despite the late hour. Every bit of trust for his friends was put aside as he left his room and headed towards the common area, knowing that everyone tended to commune there in the evenings, which meant it was prime interrogation time.

"Hey, has anyone seen my..." He trailed off, coming to a halt as his gaze locked onto Ochako.

She was settled on one of the sofas between Tsu and Momo, legs drawn up underneath herself. Her eyes met his and she tilted her head quizzically. Izuku stared for a few more moments, his brain not quite catching up with what he was seeing, because Ochako was the one wearing his hoodie, swallowed by layers of bright fabric and hands concealed under sleeves much too big for her. He didn't mind her borrowing his clothes, not at all, but the confusing thing about it was the fact that stealing Izuku's clothes was a habit Ochako had started towards the end of their second year at UA, one that had persisted through adulthood.

There was no way past Ochako was comfortable enough with him yet to take his things without asking. His teenage self pulsed with a sense of fondness at the memories brought to the forefront of their shared mind.

"Your...?" She prompted with a clueless blink.

"...my... best friend forever, of course!" He exclaimed, channelling his best Mic impression and darting over, hands clasping over the sofa backrest either side of her head and peering down at her while she tilted her head back to stare up at him. "Say, Ochako-chan, do you remember that time when Tenya-kun forgot that we had a test and didn't study, and no matter how much we tried to reassure that he'd do great, he was panicking, so we all ended up putting together a scheme to distract Aizawa-sensei so he forgot about the test?"

"Oh, yeah!" She giggled, pressing her fingertips against her cheeks. "I almost floated out the window and he had to use his capture gear to rescue me and he was so panicked that he spent at least ten minutes lecturing us on the dangers of accidental Quirk activation."

"Right," Izuku said, frowning slightly and scanning the room before slipping his hands under her arms and heaving her up. "I have a friend to kidnap, please excuse us!"

Ochako obligingly activated her Quirk so he could carry her more easily, waving goodbye with an unfazed smile. He turned around, starting back down the corridor.

"Did you guys see that? Do you know what that means?!" Ashido burst out, practically shrieking. "She was wearing his hoodie! He picked her up, bridal-style! Oh my god, I can't believe it's finally happening!"

"Uh... what?" Kaminari asked, completely nonplussed.

"You're hopeless! It means they're in love! Oh, we need a plan to get them together! This is amazing!"

Izuku snickered and shook his head, turning a corner and heading towards his cleaned-up dorm room. He nudged the bedroom door shut behind him with a heel, padding forwards and releasing his friend above his bed. She pressed her fingertips together and dropped down onto the new mattress, letting out a huff of air before comfortably sprawling out over the bright All Might covers and looking quizzically up at him.

"What did you need, Deku-kun?" Ochako inquired, her expression growing concerned. "Are you okay?"

"W-well," he stammered before squinting and putting his hands on his hips, staring at her thoughtfully. "Okay, um... how old are you?"

"Twenty-eight," she answered instantly, only for her cheer to vanish and be replaced with confusion as she frowned. "No, wait, that's... huh? I'm... fifteen, right?"

Izuku anxiously gnawed on his bottom lip, sitting down on the edge of the bed and twisting to face her, countenance stern and desperate. "'Chako-chan, what's the last thing you remember?"

"You just stole me from the common room and now you're interrogating me," she responded with a nervous giggle, starting to look a little panicked as she pressed her cheek a little heavier into the pillow. "No, but... that's... there was a man... kind of plain-looking, very average... I- I think he was scared– and we were talking, but– I don't-"

"It's okay, it's okay," he let himself flop onto the bed, reaching out to cast an arm over her side in a loose, uncertain hug as they faced one another, both fearful and bewildered, and as eager as he was to get some answers, she was growing more distraught by the second and he needed to comfort her. "Take your time. We'll work this out, right? We've always been a good team, so we can do this together."

She took a steadying breath, shifting closer to him and squeezing her brown eyes shut, eyebrows drawing together as she focused. "Okay, um... I think... there were some other people. The man looked... stressed. He was kind of freaking me out. I... I remember him reaching for me, and then-" She let out a harsh puff of air that bordered on a whimper, hands going up to her head and her eyes snapping open. "It was... so painful and scary, Deku-kun. I was so scared. I- I don't understand. What's- What happened to me?"

He didn't even think about it before drawing her against his chest, his arms holding her securely as she curled up, trembling, with tears trailing down her cheeks. "It's okay, I've got you, it's okay," he muttered to her lowly, struggling to keep his voice even and soothing. "I... I don't really understand how, or why, really, because everyone thought he was getting better so it doesn't really make sense, but I guess maybe something happened – maybe he pushed his Quirk too far and it affected his mental state again so he wasn't thinking clearly, but surely the carers wouldn't let him do anything detrimental to his health so – oh, maybe those people had something to do with it-"

"Deku-kun," Ochako mumbled softly, tone less miserable and more fond.

"That man went by Banisher, but his name is Ikari Ryou-kun," Izuku said.

She tensed up, breathing halting for a moment before her gaze raked across his features, expression morphing into one of horrified realisation. "He... He attacked you, didn't he? And we thought you were dead, but it was some kind of time-travel-dimension-travel Quirk, and we were all working on finding a way to get you back... wait." She lightly pressed a palm against his chest, moving it up to gently pat at his cheek, understanding dawning upon her. "You're younger... and... we're at UA..." Ochako let out a resigned sigh, alarm fleeing and replaced with an exhausted sort of acceptance. "Ikari-kun used his Quirk on me, didn't he?"

He gave a half-shrug, teeth baring in a sardonic, tired smile. "Seems so."

"Why does this always happen to us?" She whined exasperatedly, clearly trying for joking, but the strained note in her voice and her glistening eyes gave her away.

"Yeah, I think the universe really hates us," he agreed with a wet laugh. "We think it's all over and we're safe, and then suddenly we're hit by another ridiculous situation."

"It's almost like we're the protagonists in a story," Ochako added, huffing.

"Oh, yeah! It's like a shounen manga!" He laughed, finding himself relaxing into the mattress, revelling in the warmth of his best friend.

"If you weren't so amazing, we wouldn't be having this problem," she grumbled with a slight pout.

"That sounded like an insult, but..." He snickered to himself. "I'm sorry, 'Chako-chan, but I can't tone down my coolness."

Her eyes suddenly widened and she lightly beat her fists against his chest. "You fought against All for One! And High-End! Oh my god, Deku-kun! Do you have any survival instincts?!"

"That's what I've got you and Tenya-kun for, isn't it?" Izuku retorted, lips quirked in a cheeky smile that only grew wider as she gave a long-suffering groan of exasperation.

"You're my best friend, and I love you, but you really are insane," she told him, tone disappointed, but she quickly perked up. "Oh, but at least I'm here now to stop you!"

"Or throw yourself into battle with me," he added.

"That too," she admitted sheepishly.

"And then Tenya-kun will have to be the one to pull us back and stop us from being stupid," he paused, grin turning mischievous. "But he's not here, is he?"

She pulled a face. "Oh, this is going to be bad, isn't it?"

He let out a nervous giggle. "Yeah, definitely."

They lapsed into silence. Izuku let his eyes slip shut as he sank into the bed, revelling in the reassurance of his best friend. He listened to her steady breaths, instinctively curling his hands a little tighter into the plush fabric of the All Might hoodie to hold her a little closer, tucking his face against her hair while she pressed her nose into his chest. It was the best break they could hope for in their chaotic lives, but they had each other, and that was enough.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," he said in a whisper, voice gentle and vulnerable, "but.. I'm really glad you're here, 'Chako-chan."

"I'm glad, too," she agreed. "It was horrible, but, for you... I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

There was a pause. Izuku sniffled.

"...you're crying, aren't you?"

"...no?"

Ochako let out a breathy giggle, humming doubtfully. "Of course not."

Izuku steadied himself and reluctantly pulled away from the embrace, sitting up and ruffling his messy hair back into place as he cast a glance over his shoulder at her. "W-well, I'm... I don't really know how this changes things, but for now, we need to tell Aizawa-sensei."

The tears she'd been repressing returned full-force. She gulped in a shuddering breath, pulling the hood over her face as she tried to compose herself, using her other arm to push herself into a sitting position and sliding across the covers to settle next to her friend.

"G-good plan," she choked out, expression concealed behind a sleeve before she hopped to her feet, bubbly and determined once more. "Right! Let's go, Deku-kun!"

He glanced at her open arms, bouncing on his toes a couple of times before launching himself at her. Ochako smacked him and activated her Quirk, then scooped him up and used her elbow to push down the handle and open the door. She ran into the corridor, hesitating for just a moment to get her bearings but dashing off the moment she realigned herself. They passed a surprised-looking Aoyama, who hastily flattened himself against the wall to avoid being trampled by a very focused Ochako and a content Izuku, who managed to offer a little wave before they were gone again.

"Sensei!" Izuku called, flailing an arm to get his teacher's attention.

Aizawa turned, straightening up in mild panic as he saw two small children barrelling down the corridor towards him. "What-"

"Catch!" Ochako chirped, tossing up her friend and flinging him with an evil cackle.

"Urara-" The man automatically raised his arms, shifting a leg back to steady himself as Izuku slammed into him. "There better be a good explanation for this."

Izuku let out a panicked wheeze, dipping his head and clutching onto his teacher, who was clearly trying to hold the kid as far away from his body as possible. "My whole life just flashed before my eyes..."

Ochako slyly pressed her fingertips together, returning gravity to her friend who immediately dropped like a stone, almost taking Aizawa with him before the man let go, merely watching Izuku crash to the ground with a startled squeak. He rolled onto his back and palm a hand to his chest, closing his eyes and revelling in the feeling of not being murdered by his own best friend, whom he had missed very much and loved dearly, but he was absolutely going to get revenge on the first chance he found...

"Problem Child?"

Izuku waved a hand dismissively, blinking up at the man. "I'm okay, Aizawa-sensei."

"...was there anything you needed, or did you two just want to attempt an assassination against me and be given detention?" He asked drily, crossing his arms and casting his irritated gaze between the two kids.

"Uh... You've gotta keep your senses sharp as a hero, we just wanted to, um..." The boy trailed off, trying to regain his train of thought that had been thrown out the window the moment he was indelicately punted down the corridor, but his teenage self gave him a little mental nudge. "Oh, right! 'Chako-chan came back from the future, too."

"What," Aizawa muttered, tension in his shoulders as he raised his head to look at the girl. "Is this true?"

Any mischief drained from her countenance under the full strength of his glare, but it wasn't due to fear. She stared up at him sadly, taking a hesitant step forwards before darting over and wrapping her arms around the man in a tight hug, pressing her face into the soft black fabric of his shirt. Aizawa blinked, a frown creasing his forehead as if something was confusing him. He reluctantly raised a hand to pat her on the head, loosening up when she backed away, although his contemplative expression didn't falter.

Izuku picked himself off the floor, steeling himself and taking charge. "We should go to Principal Nedzu-san and tell him – Toshi-san, too. It'd be smart to get his opinion on how to proceed, but I assume you'll want to test 'Chako-chan's abilities like you did mine, and maybe... let her join us patrolling under a pseudonym?"

"We'll see," Aizawa said, blanking his expression as he turned around, briskly heading down the corridor with two children in tow.

Nedzu was already waiting for them in his office, a mug of steaming tea clasped between his paws, paperwork neatly stacked on his desk, and somehow the perfect number of chairs for a meeting he was yet to be told about: it was probably safer to ignore Nedzu's borderline psychic abilities. Toshinori sat up straighter, looking over a bony shoulder to throw the newcomers a smile, his large hands clasped in his lap. Izuku grinned back, pushing a chair closer to his mentor before settling himself down, side-eyeing the man in consideration before linking his own hands together on top of his thighs. Ochako tugged her chair next to her friend, pausing for a moment before snatching Aizawa's seat as well, causing them all to sit in a tight line. She lightly slipped her hand between Izuku's for comfort, then slumped the other way, resting her pink cheek against their teacher's arm.

"I hear Uraraka-san was transported back to the past," Nedzu stated, pausing to sip his tea. "This peculiar situation only grows more fascinating. I must say, it seems like trouble enjoys following you, Midoriya-kun."

"I wish I could say I'm used to it by now, but..." Izuku sighed heavily, scuffing his red shoes against the carpet. "Well, nevermind. What are we going to do?"

The principal spread his white paws towards them, flashing pink pads. "I suppose that depends on what Uraraka-san wants, but I'd imagine we could make the same accommodations and provide the same opportunities we have for you, Midoriya-kun."

She scrunched up her face thoughtfully, clearly trying to sift through the relevant memories of their current timeline. "So, that's... the anonymous hero thing, extra opportunities to train at full power, and... teasing Aizawa-sensei?"

Toshinori and Izuku both let out a splutter of laughter, although one came with blood. The boy shifted in his seat and tugged a tissue from his pocket, handing it to his mentor without freaking out even once, because he was a mature and weathered hero and he could handle the common event of the greatest hero ever spewing up blood every now and then, no matter how scary and horrible it was to know that he couldn't do anything to heal the man's ailments-

Nedzu's ever-pleasant smile bordered on amused. "Well, I can't say that term is included in the paperwork, but Midoriya-kun does seem to have a talent for teasing and getting away with it in a manner I've never had the pleasure to witness until now."

"Finally, someone appreciates my skills," Izuku commented haughtily, casting a miffed glance at his teacher, who looked as if he was ready to embrace death, glaring vacantly at the wall.

"It's okay, sensei, I'm not as bad as Deku-kun – I promise!" Ochako insisted with a sunshine smile, lightly nudging him.

"Yeah, she's worse," Izuku added, grinning deviously and bursting out laughing at the offended expression he got in response.

"Well, you're not wrong," she acquiesced sheepishly.

"I'm not babysitting both of you," Aizawa stated firmly, gently shoving the girl off of him.

Both children shared a look before busting out the puppy eyes and blasting them full-force at their beloved teacher, knowing he didn't stand a chance. "Please, sensei!"

He bared his teeth in a slight grimace, averting his gaze. "Absolutely not."

"You haven't even seen my potential yet," Ochako exclaimed indignantly. "Aren't you interested to see how well you did in teaching us?"

"It's bad enough dealing with the Problem Child-"

"I believe, since you are their homeroom teacher, it's only logical that you participate in the overseeing of their extra-curricular activities, too," Nedzu commented, raising his furry eyebrows.

"What's the point in being a teacher and a hero if no-one ever listens to me..." Aizawa muttered under his breath, cupping the back of his neck with a palm and scratching before letting his arm fall, visibly deflating as he sighed. "Fine. I hope you don't disappoint, Uraraka."

"Never, sensei," she said solemnly, a spark of determination in her eyes.

"Wonderful!" Nedzu nodded, tapping his fuzzy appendages on his mug. "We'll sort out the details at another time, but for now, I must admit that I'm quite curious... Uraraka-san, would you mind telling us exactly what happened? I'm rather interested to know the events that occurred once Midoriya-kun was transported here."

"Yeah, okay," she agreed, already deep in thought, one palm tapping at her cheek. "Um, I guess... it all started with Banisher, back in March..."

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fun fact, this (and the following chapters) have been written for like a year now, and just sitting in my drafts,,, i have been waiting for sO LONG and it's finALLY TIME to publish them!!