I'm once again drowning in stories to edit. -_- I finished four stories each over (or way over) 70,000 words in three days. Now I have seven stories to edit. T-T Anyways, enjoy.

When Ace woke up, it was resting on Marco's back. "Hmm…?" he mumbled. Sabo jerked around, and Ace noticed it wasn't so loud anymore. Horror washed through him. "Did… did I miss everything?" he asked in a tiny voice, begging them to say no, they were just taking a break.

Sabo hugged him. Ace's face crumpled, and he cried silently. "You've only been on the pills four days. The doctor said it would be hit or miss in the beginning. Maybe you weren't moving enough," Sabo said, trying to help him. He asked who'd won. "Law got first, Todoroki got second, Marco got third. I'm sure you'll be able to watch the fights on the rerun."

"I can't believe I slept through it all. I thought that I could live normally… I was too optimistic and hopeful," he said, wiping his eyes. "But, congrats on getting third place, Marco," he said in a shaky voice, a forced smile on. Marco hugged him next, patting his back.

"Midnight excused your place by saying you suddenly fell ill. Nobody knows about the narcolepsy, or that you were asleep," Marco said. Ace nodded and pulled away. He asked where Midoriya was. He clearly lost his fight. Sabo's face turned cold. He sourly said Midoriya fucked up his arm and fingers. He needed surgery to fix them he did so bad.

Ace felt angry but also upset for him. All he could do was hurt himself. And he didn't even win. Ace slept through it, he didn't even get to cheer on his friends. "What's lucky for you is that you showed off your quirk from the beginning. You didn't make the mistake of showing the best you could do as a final act. Everyone got to see what you're capable of early on. You're very lucky."

The freckled teen nodded, but was still thoroughly depressed. Disappointed in himself. "I'm gonna call the doctor about the medication. Tell him what happened. I don't want to have to burden you more, Sabo. But can I-"

"Of course you can stay. You're not a burden. Stay as long as you need," Sabo said firmly. Ace nodded, wiping his eyes. He was still in his gym clothes while Sabo and Marco were both in regular clothes, that they'd come wearing. Ace was glad he got to take part in some of the festival at all. It had been working, and then it just wasn't. What if Ace fell asleep on the job? He hadn't woken up from anything, and he was sure they would have tried desperately to wake him. What if he slept through a robbery or something? He was insecure and scared.

"I hope Katakuri-sensei will put something in my notes about having recently diagnosed narcolepsy. So I don't have to explain it to the heroes and have them turn me down on the spot," Ace sighed. Sabo said he was sure the teacher thought ahead like that. From behind, All Might came walking over. Still smiling, like his face wasn't capable of doing anything else.

"Good work today, you three. I think you all made your marks well, and will definitely get scouted," he said proudly. "Regarding young Ace, I just want to tell you that the road will be bumpy. It is for everyone, and you'll have to work harder in some ways than your peers, but there is no shortage of heroes with health conditions."

"Narcolepsy isn't that common-"

"I've known a hero with narcolepsy," he said, cutting him off. "She was older when I met her, of course, but she dealt with it just fine! You'll have to learn to give yourself a handicap. Schedule your work hours or activities that meet your necessities regarding the condition."

Ace looked so dejected. "I was told I could do the sports festival. I would be fine. I was told my life could still be fine. But that was wrong."

All Might put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "Young Ace, to be honest, it was lucky you got to be in the sports festival at all. New medication does not work suddenly. You were only diagnosed on Monday. It may have been reckless to allow you to still take part in it, but you made it over halfway through. You showed the world you capabilities!" Ace didn't feel better. "I suggest all three of you find agencies that accommodate for disabilities. Heroes get injured on the job often."

Sabo nodded. Marco didn't, as he couldn't get hurt. "Now, go home and relax. Watch your classmate's fights that were recorded. Watch yourself, too. You stood out spectacularly, Ace," All Might said, sounding sincere. And he also had a lot of pity in his voice, but Ace pitied himself, too. He nodded, and took his backpack from Sabo.

They walked to the train station, and then Sabo's home. "I bet Midoriya is feeling pretty terrible, too," Ace said. "He didn't get to show off anything and ended up all injured." Marco said it was fine for Ace to be upset, and not compare himself to Midoriya's troubles. "Yeah… I know."

Marco walked to Sabo's house with them. He could fly to his own afterwards. The moment they got inside, Ace went to the other room and called his doctor. He was thankful the man answered quickly. "Hello?"

"Hi, Crocus-san. This is Portgas D. Ace. Today was the sports festival, but I fell asleep halfway through and nobody could wake me up. I though the medicine would work but I was wrong so how long until the medicine makes me better?" Ace asked.

"Ace-kun, it will take time and experience to know what the right dosage and medication is for you. I want to remind you you were only diagnosed on Monday, and only started showing symptoms on Saturday. This is a brand new disorder for you now. You must be patient with yourself and the medecine.

"Since you've never had real medical care until now, it might be hard to understand that medication for this is not a miracle drug. It helps manage symptoms, but they will still be there. Just be more manageable."

Ace frowned. "I just want to be normal again," he sighed, showing insecurity and frustration in his voice and words.

"There is no real definition of normal, Ace-kun. Your new normal is this. It's living with narcolepsy, but still living to the fullest. I'd like you to see a counselor about dealing with this new disorder. I have no way to force you, but I highly recommend it." Ace didn't want to go to counseling. He'd just be reported to the government or something.

"I want you to check in with me next Monday. I won't be changing your medications. It will take weeks at least for it to become apparent if it has changed anything. What you can do is to rest when your body needs it and take scheduled naps. And since you'll be going to hero internships soon, I recommend you tell the hero ahead of time so they can make necessary accommodations. Most heroes are more forgiving and lenient than you might think. They're civil servants, after all.

"Call me if you have any more concerns or questions. I don't mind," he said. "I will email you about counselors that work in my orbit. Occupational therapists." Ace thanked him and hung up. He bit his lip harshly before he broke into tears. He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

There was a knock on the office door. How long would he need to stay with Sabo? It took weeks for it to kick in? What was he supposed to do in that period where nothing is happening?! He was supposed to intern, yet he basically had untreated narcolepsy still! Sabo opened the door and stepped inside. Marco was in the hallway.

"Oh, Ace. What did he say?"

"My old normal is gone for good, and he said the meds won't kick in for weeks. He wants me to see a therapist about it, too." Sabo said he would still live with him. Even if it was Sabo going to his place, he was going to live with him still. "You don't have to… I've always been okay on my own. I can do this alone, too."

"No, you can't. You're strong, but this is stressful! You don't want to deal with it all alone, I know you don't. I know you're lonely. I see it every time anyone mentions a family or home. I'm your family and can be your home, too. There's already multiple spare bedrooms here, you know? It's not like there's a lot of people to crowd us, either."

Ace knew Sabo was right, what he was saying was the truth. Ace didn't like that he saw the loneliness behind his smiles. But it was always and would always be there. To an extent, at least. Maybe until he found some sort of family of his own. But for the next many years, he was his only family.

Sabo hugged Ace, who finally broke down into sobs. This was scary, and he couldn't help but expect the worst. It did feel like things were crumbling. But not his ability to stay living more independent, more like he was crumbling.

Ace's phone rang with Midoriya's ringtone. He wanted to know how he was, but Ace needed a little bit to compose himself. After he calmed down, Sabo not pulling away, continuing giving him support, like he always had, they left the office. Marco was sitting against the wall, and stood up when he saw Ace.

"Are you okay? Of course not… can I help in any way?" Marco asked, sounding sincere and concerned. Ace nodded. Marco could still go on flights with him. They made him happy. "And I'll make sure you never fall," the tallest of the three vowed. Ace gave a smile and nodded.

He offered to help Ace move things. Sabo went downstairs and bluntly told Hack Ace would be staying with them. Sabo was left to his own devices most of the time. His mom died and his dad was an asshole and left, but he still had his brother, grandparents and cousins. He wasn't completely alone, even if he only lived with one other person in this very large house.

Hack was fine with it, very understanding about Ace's current problem. So they moved Ace's clothes and more necessities to Sabo's house. They dumped all of the food in the fridge so it didn't rot. It already smelled bad after leaving food inside for the last week. Ace made sure to close and lock all the windows and door.

The three brought his things to the house on Ace's large dragon back. It was safe enough, Sabo trusted him using his quirk. He had so much trust in him that it sometimes overwhelmed Ace. When they had everything in Sabo's house, they put it up in the bedroom next to Sabo's. It was bigger than his bedroom at his apartment, too.

He would still pay his bills, even if he wasn't living there right now. It was still his apartment. Still his home. When they finally settled down, Marco asked if he could stay and hear how Midoriya was. He sounded awkward and out of place. But both best friends nodded. The other blonde was thankful, and sat on the large bed of Sabo, calling their friend.

"Hey, guys," Midoriya said, sounding tired. Well, Sabo said his injuries were really bad, and Recovery Girl's healing sped up the healing factors, which tired the patient out. "How are you?" Ace said he had fallen asleep and missed his match. But Midoriya already knew about that, and felt for him.

Ace apologized for missing his match. For missing all of theirs. "You couldn't control it," Marco said nicely. Ace looked down, knowing that was true, but it didn't make him feel much better. He asked how Midoriya was now.

"I'm okay. My hand is still damaged, even after healing. Recovery Girl said she isn't going to heal my broken bones anymore." They were all surprised at this. "Because I'm too reckless because I can always fall back on her healing. But my hand is not going to be the same. It still functions, but it's damaged aesthetically."

"I see. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry you had no other way to attack. I feel like I'd be angrier at you if I saw it, but I'll be watching the reruns, so I can get mad later," Ace said. "I don't want to talk about the thing today. We're both in bad moods," he added. Midoriya understood and didn't press. They ended the call when dinner time came, and Marco went home.

Ace gave him his mailbox key and asked him to check it for him if he could. "No problem," Marco said lightly. "And now that I know you're my neighbor, when you move back, we can hang out more!" Ace smiled and nodded to that. He left, flying back, and Ace made them some dinner. Hack ate with them, and complemented Ace's cooking.

"Thank you. Are you sure it's fine if I stay?" Ace asked when he got a cup of juice. Hack said it was not a problem at all. Ace smiled in relief. He didn't want to be a bother to anybody, ever. After dinner, they watched the matches Ace had missed. Sabo had defeated Luffy without his quirk. Luffy was strong and got hits in, but it was easy to grab his arms sometimes and flip him over, fling him away.

Their fight lasted a good fifteen minutes, one of the longest ones. But Sabo won. Luffy beamed and waved to the crowd, the best loser that Ace had seen so far, so happy to have made it this far. It was a nice thing to see, honestly. But Ace expected nothing negative from him, winner or loser.

Marco lost to Law by him switching him onto the ground with a pebble. That was after Marco got some good hits in, with Law having a broken arm from an especially hard kick. But he won in the end.

Midoriya's fight was hard to watch, and Ace indeed feel angry that he destroyed his body like that. It just looked worse for him. That his own quirk destroyed his body. Ace sighed and said nobody was going to scout him. Sabo nodded in sage agreement. His fingers were destroyed, and he also messed up one arm and one leg.

He was very into it, talking a lot to Todoroki. Ace hadn't really noticed he never used his fire side since he was so strong already with ice, but was surprised with the change in demeanor near the end of the match, and how his attack would have totally roasted Midoriya. It was very reckless, but a sign of respect to go all out on his opponent.

Ace was just glad Cementos intervened. After watching the whole thing, what Ace had missed, he was bummed about it. Wishing he had gotten to fight them. "You'll get to fight villains and students again. That wasn't the only time."

"I know," Ace nodded.

That night, at bedtime, Ace slept in his new, temporary room for the first time. It had only been a week. Under a week. It felt like so much longer. He had trouble falling asleep. Probably because he slept too long. He was thrown off. He tossed and turned before he finally fell asleep.

His phone went off in the morning, waking him up. He didn't want to get up, but he also didn't want to get too thrown off. Go to bed at 10:00, get up at 7:00. It was something he had to do. He sat up, and looked at his phone. He looked at the email his doctor had sent him. A list of counselors he felt would get the job done.

There were six to choose from. His finger shook above the delete button, but he couldn't. He closed the email and locked his phone, leaning back against the pillows. For a guest bed, this one was so comfortable. Sabo was lucky of his inheritance. Though he'd probably rather have a mother.

Ace sighed and got up and out of his pajamas. His clothes were in the dresser. Sadly, this room didn't look so different from his usual room. It had no personality. Ace's house was a home, but it probably didn't look like it to a lot of people. Well, nobody but Sabo ever went over. Ace wondered just how different his unit was to Marco's. He had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Ace had two bedrooms and one bathroom. He walked into the bathroom across the hall and brushed his teeth before showering. His mouth had tasted bad. Sabo's door was open, and Ace saw he was still asleep.

He headed to the kitchen and got some cereal, not feeling like making any special breakfast. Ace texted Midoriya, asking if he was awake. Yeah. I couldn't sleep well.

Me neither, but it's my narcolepsy.

Sorry, Ace. I really am.

I'll be okay. Eventually. Can I call you? When he got an affirmation, Ace sat on the large sectional couch and called him. He brought his knees to his chest.

"I'm gonna tell you the stuff now, okay? Just listen till the end," he promised he would. So Ace explained his life, how he lived, what he did to survive that way. Fooling the world with a fake persona. He lived next to Marco. He drew for a living (he didn't say it was pornographic). He'd been trying not to lie by keeping the truth in, but it was still a lie. "I was worried you'd pity me, or try and get me to go into foster care or something. It took me a long time to tell Sabo, too. Sorry I kept it a secret."

Midoriya said, "I'm not mad. I do feel sad for you, but I don't think it's pity. I have a big secret, too, and I keep it to myself as well. I have to. I'm actually impressed you live on your own like that. You're super responsible, huh? And your quirk is so useful for you every day!" Ace smiled, and agreed. He should have told him earlier, but it was better late than never.

He talked with Midoriya for a bit, and didn't press or even mention the secret he said he had. "Are you going to try the counselor?" Ace said he wasn't sure yet. Not anytime soon. Maybe, if things didn't get worse. He was just scared of everything coming unraveled. But if it helped him live more normally, then he would try.

Eventually. Maybe.

After about another hour of talking, speculating about what would happen after the sports festival. Ace was nervous about what everyone would think of him skipping out by falling asleep, basically comatose. He had to apologize to Zoro, too. He knew it had to be frustrating to win by default. Though he didn't seem like a guy that held grudges.

The day was spent lazing around with Sabo, texting with Marco a lot, who said he only had some spam letters and magazine ads in his mailbox. He said his family were confused beyond belief when his brother saw him opening up Ace's mailbox and shoving them under the door into Ace's house.

But he didn't give them the truth. Which annoyed them deeply. The weekend was spent doing random things to keep Ace's thoughts busy. He went on two flights with Marco, and helped grocery shop with Sabo. Ace had only two sleep attacks on Saturday, one lasting five minutes, the other one minute. Sunday had one thirty minute sleep attack. He was angry it hadn't been like that on Friday.

When he, Sabo and his friends met up at the train station, they were all recognized by those in the area. Talking about how amazing they all were. Someone asked why Ace hadn't fought. He was looking forward to his fight. "I got sick."

"Oh. That sucks, I'm sorry." It was a middle aged man in a suit and carrying a briefcase. Ace nodded, and said it was very frustrating. "Well, you stood out pretty well! All of you did. You're crazy, kid. How could you do that to your fingers?"

"Ah, I wanted to win," Midoriya said awkwardly, his face pink. A woman listening in said he was close to winning. "Yeah…"

"Your quirk is overpowered. Flying and immune to injuries!" the woman said to Marco. Everyone around were listening in, and Ace really was glad he made an impact without even fighting at the end. Sabo was mostly praised for his quick thinking when his quirk wasn't efficient for brawling. He smiled, glad to be praised in any way, since he felt he hadn't stood out enough, even though he made it to the third round.

When they got to school, Ace walked past everyone, some muttering questions about how he got sick. And how they felt such pity for him. When he got into class, he was in a sour mood already. Everyone gave him a sad look. He was sick of that face. He looked to Zoro, and apologized for missing their fight. It must have been annoying. "Better than missing the rest completely. You don't need to feel bad about it." Ace nodded, not surprised he was chill about it, but glad nonetheless.

Before class, he was taken into the hall by Katakuri. "I just want to tell you when we get to the internship offers, I put markings next to the agencies who accept you despite the sleep attack. Yes, I alerted them all about that so you won't need to. I know it has to be frustrating, and I don't want you to have salt rubbed in the wound."

Ace smiled a small smile and thanked him for his thoughtfulness. "You're my student, of course, now go sit down. We have a lot to do today." Ace nodded, and went back inside. He felt better now. Just a bit. He wondered how many of the agencies accepted him despite his unpredictable condition.

Sabo looked at him in slight worry, but Ace gave him a thumbs up as he sat down. "With the sports festival behind us, we all knew it was a good chance for heroes to scout you. You'll each get a list of heroes that both recommended you, and heroes that will take anyone, regardless of their offers. They are few, but they're there." He pulled up the board and pressed a button to turn on the screen.

Unlike other schools, it wasn't with a projector. UA had top notch equipment and technology, and used it at every turn. The list on the board was how many requests they'd gotten. The highest were Law, Marco, Ace, and Todoroki. Bakugo hadn't made it to the top based on how quickly he got out against Marco, and it pissed him off. The top ones were expected, but Ace still felt happy he was scouted despite not making it to the end, and falling ill before he was able to finish.

Bakugo, Luffy, Zoro and Yaoyorozu were scouted the most below them. The rest got barely any offers. Midoriya got a big fat zero. Nobody wanted him. It was sad, but that was also expected, even by him himself.

They were all handed out lists of agencies that invited them. Ace did indeed have markings next to many of the agencies. The big names accepting him with his condition were Hawks, Endeavor and Roger. Ace didn't know who to pick, but he wanted one of the three. He ruled out Endeavor based on Todoroki's obvious hate for the guy, and Midoriya talking about how bad of a father he was, without going into much detail. He didn't want to work under a jerk, no matter how he was ranked.

So, Roger or Hawks. Both were highly ranked, Hawks more than Roger by two spots. Hawks was younger, but had his own agency despite his age. And he was ranked highly for how likable he was, as well. Roger was older and had been a hero much longer. He had multiple agencies around the country. He also had the most sidekicks, and was also known for treating his staff and underlings very well.

He was leaning towards Roger. Well, he had until tomorrow to pick. "Turn it in tomorrow. Take time considering. This will be your first step into the hero world. Think about what kind of hero you want to be, and who could help you with that the most," Katakuri said. They all shared who they'd gotten. Only Ace, Marco and Tokoyami had been scouted by Hawks. Law, Ace, Todoroki and Iida were scouted by Roger. Bakugo and Zoro were scouted by Best Jeanist. Nobody else had big names scouting them so far.

Katakuri came back not long later, having let them talk about it for about ten minutes, along with Midnight. "We're doing something else important today. To have you go out into the hero world, interns or not, you need your hero identity. Your hero name. You can change it later, but think had about what you want. It can be anything, but go for something that would be accepted by the public," Katakuri said, and then moved aside for Midnight to lead it.

Ace already knew what he wanted. His own first name already sounded like a hero name. He had no other idea what to do. If he found one, he could change it. But having his own name was more convenient. Being named Ace could seem to others that it wasn't his real name, just his hero name.

"Once your name is done, you will present it to the class! Of course, I'll judge if its appropriate or not. Many heros made the mistake of being too erotic and are looked down upon even today." This seemed a bit ridiculous coming from Midnight, whose whole hero identity was sexualized. Besides her name, that is.

Many didn't like that they'd have to present it to the class, and there was plenty of squeaking noises as they erased and then rewrote. The first to go up was Aoyama and then Ashido. Both of theirs were a bit ridiculous and turned down or edited. The next one was Tsu, whose fitted her perfectly. "Froppy". It sounded cute and friendly, and also referenced her quirk.

The students felt better after hers was normal, and Ace got up for his. They were surprised his was just his first name. "Ace already sounds like a hero name. And it will be nice to be called my own name. Plus, I couldn't come up with anything else," he said honestly with a chuckle. Midnight approved of this just fine. Simple and agreed it did sound like a hero name.

Marco's was just "Phoenix Marco." This was approved. Everyone else did their own, many fitting, with two others using just their first names. "Tenya" and "Shoto". Though Ace's sounded more like a hero name than their plain names.

Sabo and Midoriya were both last. Sabo's was figured out first. "Cumulus. It's the word in most types of clouds. It fits my quirk." Ace thought that was great and creative, but also sounded like a fictional wizard. He wouldn't be telling him that thought. Midoroya went last. His handwriting was messy due to the hand injury still bothering him slightly. They were surprised by his pick.

"Deku". A name he'd been called by Bakugo for many, many years. Nobody knew why he'd want to use an insult as his hero name. Bakugo especially seemed angry about it. That his cruel nickname was now completely accepted and to be used by his least favorite person. At least, it seemed that way. "It used to be an insult to me, and I never liked it, but then the meaning was changed for me." Uraraka smiled, knowing it was her. "It helped me a lot, changed my view. So, I'm fine with this."

Ace and Sabo smiled proudly. Bakugo was still pissed. And so, the last name was chosen.

"For the hero internships, those who got no requests have a list of open spaces from heroes across the country. You'll all be doing this whether you did or didn't get someone you'd prefer. We're beginning next week. Be prepared. I suggest looking up the agencies and getting to know what they're like before arriving. I'll give more directions on Friday so you'll begin on Monday." Then the teachers left.

Ace looked back down at his list. Marco said he was choosing Hawks. A flying quirk user would be best to train him. "You coming, too?" Ace shook his head. He decided to go to Roger's agency. "Why?" He sounded disappointed.

"Hawks is too young and inexperienced." Those around him looked at him in disbelief.

"What are you, an old person?" Kaminari snorted. Ace bristled and said he wanted to go to someone with much more experience. "But Hawks is number four! Roger is number six!" Jiro pointed out it really wasn't a big difference. Nobody else was choosing Roger, which was good. He got more time with him himself.

Ace hoped they went on patrols. Sabo decided to go to Gunhead with Uraraka. He wanted to be stronger physically, better at fighting, since his quirk wasn't well suited for physical acts. Midoriya was bummed. No requests had to hit hard since he tried to do his best, even though it did the opposite effect.

Hopefully he'd get a late request or something. Ace turned his decision in, as did many others, who were all excited. He was nervous and excited at the same time. When he went home, he did a lot of research on Roger's agency. Maybe he should have done that first, before choosing. But he had a variety of tasks for his sidekicks and workers. Solving mysteries, hunting down villains, investigating cases, and rescue training. He was glad he was gong to go someplace with such diverse jobs.

The next week was full of excited energy from everyone. Ace had to be careful with his emotions so he didn't trigger a sleep attack. The meds seemed to be helping him sleep easier, but he was still having sleep attacks and sleep paralysis. Less hallucinations besides one where Sabo's head was severed from most of his neck, which woke him up in sobs and hurrying into Sabo's room and waking him up.

That made a bad day, and when he was asked why he was so cranky, he told the truth, and they were all glad they didn't have his problem. That kind of pissed him off. It was a given nobody wanted it, they didn't need to point it out out loud. It was so frustrating. He talked to the doctor again, and he just checked up on the medication.

Ace wasn't happy to hear him say they'd change it up if it's not doing enough by the end of the next week. He wouldn't want to try new meds after waiting for these ones to work. He hoped he was a special case and this dosage and medication were perfect.

On Sunday, Ace went on a flight with Marco, who was really disappointed that he was going to Hawks without Ace. Tokoyami was going, too, so at least he had somebody. Nobody was going with him. "Well, I just want to go to Roger's. Maybe if I don't like it, I can switch to Hawks. Or if you don't like Hawks, maybe you could switch to Roger. I'll give him a good request to accept you if you want."

Marco nodded, as that was the best they could do by going to different agencies. Ace was glad he got to go alone, even if part of him wanted Sabo so he would have somebody with him if he passed out and he wouldn't be so humiliated. But he had to get used to not depending on people during hero work.

Well, teamwork was necessary for all heroes, but that was different than having a baby sitter. Right?