The next day was patrolling again, but it would stretch into the night. It passed quickly, and pretty uneventfully. He was just getting used to reading people on the street. Roger said understanding cues was the best. Someone looking at all guilty could be a potential suspect. But this was just practice, they weren't actually hunting people down by expressions. Roger just told him of cues on the face to look out for for certain feelings and expressions on the face. He was good at reading people.

"Does life ever get boring with your quirk? With nothing being surprising?" Ace wondered when they got a water break.

"Nah, I enjoy my visions coming true. Besides, it's not like I always see three hours ahead. I can activate it. If I did have it at all times, life would be less enjoyable. I don't look ahead for my time with you because so far, I like your surprises. I didn't expect a fifteen year old to be so calculating."

Ace smiled and thanked him. He went home late that night, and only had a bowl of cereal before it was his bed time, and he went to bed like he was supposed to. Ace would definitely return to Roger's agency after he got his license. He'd never met an adult like him. Having him as a boss wouldn't be too bad at all.

But the next day was very, very bad.

-x

"There! That way!" Roger called. Ace was in dragon form, carrying nine people on his back to the scene of a terrorist attack. The building was on fire and crumbling, with people still inside. When they landed, Roger told Ace he wasn't going to take part in anything but helping the citizens when they got out.

"But I can be of help, too!" Ace protested. "The door is crumbling, it'll fall!" Roger said he needed to stay out or he'd be injured. Ace frowned, but didn't go against it. Roger directed people inside. He was very bothered. Were a lot of people dead? Ace wanted to help really bad. He balled his fists, feeling useless.

He looked down, and saw there was a glowing light coming from the sewer hole. It looked bad, and he got out of the way, turning into a dragon and dragging the police car and bus ful of people out of the way when the sewer hole exploded. The top blew off, and he tried to catch it so it didn't hit anyone.

The fire had not harmed the bus full of injured and traumatized people, which was such a relief. He was useful! Who else could have pulled it away so fast! When he tried to stop the lid of the hole from landing on the bus from high up, it slammed into his arm. It was hot on the edge, and it came down heavy and tore into his uper arm.

He screamed, and shrunk, which made the wound even worse. It had slack through his scaled arm, as he wasn't aiming for anything sturdy, just large. Looking down in fear of what he'd see, he saw a big chunk of his arm was missing, the wides of it cauterized from the burn. It wasn't bleeding much because of the burn, but it didn't hurt.

While relief had flooded him, thinking the wound wasn't so bad, he found nothing hurt. He grabbed the arm roughly with his other one, but felt nothing. Even as he pressed claws in his arm, he felt nothing. His face was pale, and Roger came out. "R-Roger!" he shouted. "I got hurt! I can't feel my arm!" Ace cried, running over.

"I told you not to come inside!" he shouted.

"I didn't! What's wrong with it?!" he demanded frantically. Roger took his rm and looked at the chunk of missing arm that was burnt closed. He called 911, sending him off to the hospital immediately, taking up a whole ambulance when the terrorist victims needed treatment, too. Did that mean his wound was that bad? It was just numb.

When he released all the features, he fell asleep, the sleep attack that always came after a long time of keeping in transformed form coming. When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed, with an IV drip in his elbow. He'd been out a long time. He also had an oxygen mask on that he pulled off.

He looked at his arm and saw that a chunk wasn't missing from it anymore. It looked back to normal. It was healed, thank goodness. Well, there was a raised pink line in a large circle of his arm. Like a scar. Had he had surgery while he was asleep? He looked up when a doctor came in. "Oh, you're awake. I left for only a second."

"Did I have surgery?" he asked, tired and a little confused. The woman, with the name tag "Rouge" nodded. She asked him if he remembered what happened. "There was an explosion from one of the sewer holes next to the building I was at as a hero." His eyes were droopy. Must be medication. His arm was still numb. Well, it had just undergone surgery. "I used my quirk and dragged the bus out of the way before it was hit. But then the lid of it was gonna land on the bus from high up, and it landed on my arm and burnt me. Then I couldn't feel it. I'm happy it's better now, though."

The nurse said his actions were heroic. "Roger told me not to go in the building, so I didn't. I don't know if he knew about this injury." Rouge left to get the doctor. He was surprised to see it was Crocus. That's right, Ace was in the hospital and had surgery! People would definitely know now that he had no guardian.

Well, it shouldn't be too bad. Crocus came in with another man with black hair and glasses. They both looked grim. "Wh-What's wrong?" he asked before either could speak.

"Ace-kun, I can't say it's good to see you again," Crocus said, sitting down on the rolly chair while the other man sat in the guest chair. "You sustained a major injury while on the job. It was while doing a heroic act. You saved the lives of sixteen people on that bus. It was directly over the sewer hole. If you hadn't had the quick thinking to move it out of the way, that bus would have been destroyed."

"They're all okay?"

"Not a single one is hurt from that. You should feel very proud of yourself. Dr. Trafalgar, can you explain the injury?" Crocus asked in a grim voice.

Ace asked if he was related to Law. "I am his father. It's just a coincidence I'm meeting you here today. Have you heard of the ulnar nerve in your arm? It's the nerve that connects your brain to your hand and arm. The signals from your brain run through that nerve along your arm and is what allows someone to move their arm, wrist and fingers.

"You sustained a severe ulnar nerve injury. A part of it was torn out of your arm, ripping it apart. Then the hot metal cauterized it. It was a truly unlucky event. We've done surgery the best we can, and Recovery Girl came personally in a great hurry. But it was too damaged. What she heals can't be something this complex.

"I'm so sorry, but the nerve is beyond repair of anything we can do. The skin and flesh have been replaced, and it is not infected." Ace's face went white, eyes wide. "You have lost all feeling in your arm. It is not paralyzed, which is phenomenal. With the treatment we've given it, it should not become paralyzed.

"But all of the sensory feelings in your right arm cannot transmit anymore. You can still move it, you just can't feel it." Ace lifted his arm, but it was shaky. It felt like there was nothing there. He gagged and a plastic bucket was given to him. He threw up in it, and Crocus rubbed his back. "It will be hard to use it, but not impossible.

"You'll need physical therapy on it. Writing with that arm will probably be impossible now. You'll need to learn to write in your left hand."

"Can I still be a hero?!" Ace demanded.

"Well, it might be a lot harder to become a hero soon. You might take a break from it to heal." Ace refused. "I thought you might say that," Crocus said. "You will need to relearn how to do some things with it, but occupational therapy will be a big help. To help teach you how to use it properly without any sensation receptors to guide its movement naturally."

Ace said, "But I can't lose my right arm! I draw to make money!"

"Roger-san has offered to pay all medical expenses, and you will get a settlement for being injured at work. For something this big, you'll get a lot of money."

"What about the meantime?" He was really scared now.

"Roger-san has offered to pay any expenses until the settlement. He feels responsible." Ace frowned. Roger had told him to stay out of the building. He had. Did he not see Ace's other injury? But he couldn't bring himself to blame him. Ace was very, very unhappy, but he was just glad that he could save the lives of all those people on the bus. The little kids.

Ace lifted his right arm, but it felt wrong. Terribly wrong. It shook, and it truly felt there was nothing there, but there was. It was wrong, completely wrong. He touched his own face, but felt nothing. He felt the pressure on his face, but his fingers felt nothing. Tears poured down his face. "First narcolepsy and now this! Why me?" he sobbed.

Crocus looked pained. Ace brought his knees to his chest. He was really glad he could still use it, still had an arm, but it just wasn't right, it wasn't natural. It was wrong. Just wrong. "I'm so sorry, Ace-kun. perhaps taking a break from the hero course would be for the best."

"No! I'm not letting these problems destroy my dreams. But… do you think Roger will still want me? I'll be a burden."

"You can ask him, he told us to have you call him when you wake up and are ready," Crocus said. Law's dad was saying nothing more for the moment.

Ace asked, "And… the feeling won't ever come back? Like, it'll grow back someday, or maybe more surgery could fix it!" he was begging, grasping at straws now. Law's dad shook his head.

He said, in sympathy at least, that there was no hope that feeling would return. "Occupational therapy and intense training on your left hand will help you find the new normal." Another new normal. Great. "You can still be a hero, Ace-kun. And you're already in the news for saving those on the bus. Nobody will ever look down on you for an injury sustained while saving lives." Ace didn't care about the praise. He just wanted to be normal.

"Am I a cripple now?" he asked quietly.

"No, you're not a cripple. You just have a hard injury. It's lucky it still functions given just how severe the injury was. It'll just feel wrong for awhile until you get used to it," Crocus said firmly. "You are not a cripple. You have somebody to stay with you, right?" Ace frowned. He didn't want to burden Sabo more. He didn't want to worry him. His class would pity him even more, now.

The thing that was lucky was his quirk didn't need his arms specifically. He shifted and his arm did, too. "Being on four legs will be hard for awhile. You'll be off balance and unsteady until you get used to it." Ace sighed. Most of the forms he used were four legged.

"I can just spawn an arm that works then. Coming out of my armpit or something." He thrust out another arm, but the right side didn't feel anything. Neither arm felt anything. "But… why?"

"No matter your form, you still have a brain sending signals to that limb. A new arm still needs the messages sent through nerves. So, it's unlikely any new arms on your right side will help you feel them again." Ace formed wings, and was so glad the right side was still working, he could still fly!

Ace asked for his phone. It was handed to him. Someone had brought his backpack there. He was still in his hero outfit, though. He had a bunch of texts and calls from friends his classmates. Ace ignored them and called Roger, working with one hand. He was going to have a very hard time texting with both hands right now. Occupational therapy… it would help, right?

He asked to be alone in the room. Roger answered immediately. "Ace, how are you?"

"I can't feel anything in my arm. I'm even more messed up now. I understand… if you don't want me anymore or anything."

"Ace, did you forget everything I told you on Monday?" he asked, though his voice was soft and kind. "You are still completely welcome. You saved all those people, be proud of it. Nobody but you noticed the explosion was coming, and nobody else could have moved the bus so fast. Of course I still want you. No matter the trouble you have with your arm for now. Even if I didn't think you were physically capable, you've proven to be very smart and useful in that way, too.

"You are completely welcome. And I will help you pay for living expenses. I assume you have no family, based on the fact there is no contact information on your phone for them. But you live with others, right?" Ace wasn't upset he knew, it was obvious probably when there was nobody on his phone named family in anyway.

Ace said he lived with his best friend. "He already has to deal with my narcolepsy…"

"If he can't house you, much of my sidekicks and employees live in our building. There are open spaces there. If you need one, I have already been told that some will accept you as a roommate."

Ace laid down on the bed. He'd rather live with Sabo than a stranger. "Just for now, until you can use your arm and the medications are working. And until then, I will pay for your rent wherever you live," he vowed.

"You're too nice," Ace said, almost in disbelief.

"I consider you one of my agency's heroes already. Of course I'd help you. I'll even welcome you to come back for the last day tomorrow if you'd like. Cutting it short would not be a good feeling. I don't want you thinking you can't be a hero now."

Ace started to cry. "I'm so unlucky! In the span of three weeks, I get two life long injuries!" he sobbed. Embarrassing as it was, he couldn't help it. It was all too much. From the strong emotions, he had a sleep attack.

When he woke up, the phone was still on. He picked it up. "I'm sorry, I had a sleep attack," he said, thankful Roger was still on the phone.

"No problem. I want you to know that I'm an adult that cares. Okay? You have my support, whatever you choose to do."

"I'm still gonna be a hero, and I'm still gonna go to school. That's what I choose to do. I… can't do anything about either things. I'm trapped. But my quirk still works well enough. I'll learn to handle the arm. I can still move it. I'll never let my dream be ruined," he said firmly, despite the tears still pouring down his cheeks.

"The Roger hero agency will support you 100% if you want us to."

"Please…"

"You're still welcome. Even if you don't get the provisional license exam the first time, you're still welcome to intern here in your free time."

"Thanks."

-x-

Ace took the train back to his city and walked to the house. It was late, and he'd called to tell Sabo he was on his way home, and that he'd tell him what happened in person. He hadn't responded to any of the messages from his friends because they were all talking about his heroic act and how he got injured from it.

Nobody expected a wound like this. He had his arm in a sling and was on pain medication. Crocus chose meds that wouldn't affect his narcolepsy pills. When he got to Sabo's house, he was waiting on the door step. He ran to him and asked if his arm was broken.

They walked inside, and Ace told him the gravity of the wound and what roger said. What it all meant now. Sabo was horrified before he hugged the crying teen. "I don't want to be a burden to you anymore!"

"You're not a burden! I'll still keep you here. I care about this injury, I won't say I don't. But regardless of it, you live here now. And you said Roger will pay rent."

Ace said, "Sabo, I can't draw anymore. I love drawing! It means so much more than just money to me… and now I can't even do that. Why couldn't it have happened to my left arm? I don't meant to be dramatic, but is the universe against me or something?"

"Maybe. I don't know, nobody knows. Get back at the universe by saying 'fuck you, I'll be what I want to be'." Ace mumbled he didn't want to jinx it. Sabo wrapped his arms around Ace, who only wrapped one arm around Sabo. They ordered take out that night. Sabo was the one to call Marco and Midoriya and explain what happened.

Ace wasn't in the room. He just wanted time to himself. But he had to tell his subscribers.

Hello, everyone. I'd like to start by saying I've always be so grateful for all of you. You've single handedly kept me alive. It pays for my rent and food and bills. Everything. But I also have bad news. I've sustained a severe ulnar nerve injury. I've lost all feeling in my right arm, which has the hand I draw with. For awhile, I won't be able to post any more good drawings. I have to relearn to draw in my left arm. I can't ask you all to continue to pay when I have nothing to give. When I can draw again, please come back. I'm sorry about this, and thank you all, again. It means the world to me.

He cried when he submitted that. He got replies immediately of support, but he also watched as people unsubscribed. He finally exited it and closed his computer. But he couldn't go to bed early or it would mess up his sleep schedule. Sabo came into his room and laid on the bed with him until Ace fell asleep hours later.

The next morning, he was back at work. The injury was "healed", but left behind severe damage. But he had it in the sling for now until he got more used to it still being there when he couldn't tell without looking. Roger was there, and smiled at seeing Ace.

"It's good to see you back so soon. But don't push yourself-"

"I only have one more day left here. I've decided to do what Sabo said and tell the universe to fuck off. I'm still gonna be a hero. I'll make it work. I just have to work even harder now," he said firmly. Roger smiled, clearly believing him. And Ace was being truthful, he wasn't putting up a front. "For now, though, I'd like to keep it in a sling. It's helping me to get used to it being there, the pressure on my chest."

"That's fine. I wasn't planning on doing anything strenuous today after such a bad injury. Most people don't return so soon, but I commend you for doing so. Just don't push yourself." Ace nodded. "Today may be boring, but it's necessary. I'm going to tutor you on all of Japan's most important heroes. The ones you're the most likely to ever work with." Ace nodded.

It wasn't boring, as it kept Ace busy. He felt awkward with using his left hand for anything exclusively. He had never realized how much he favored his right. He turned pages with his right hand, he grabbed door handles with his right hand everything. His phone buzzed during him reading the books.

Roger let him keep it with him in case he got any important messages. It was from Katakuri. We will be meeting on Monday after class about this new injury, and will adjust accordingly. We are proud you saved all those people, and won't punish you for something like that.

Okay, I'll be there.

"So, have you memorized them?" Roger asked, walking into the room with a coffee. Ace said he got through half of them. "Great! Based on what you know of yourself and these people, who do you think you'd be the strongest to team up with?" he wondered, sitting across from the teen.

"Ryukyu and Hawks can both fly like me, but we wouldn't complement each other by having the same quirk. Mercy can send out sonic waves from his mouth, maybe it would be good in a long ranged way and I could be transportation from above. Most of the things I feel I could help would be by being transportation or some sort of guard animal. That's fighting alone."

"Your ability to travel with other people is quite the quirk. You can do a lot in that form." Ace nodded. He said he thought about more domestic and normal things he could help with. Transporting heavy things, maybe machinery, to places. Evacuating areas would be a good use of the dragon bus form.

"I can create a compartment on my back. If there was any sort of wildfire, I could go and collect people and keep them safe. A lot of rescue options. I was good at it at USJ with Shanks. I can turn into a sea creature to save sinking ships, perhaps," Ace mused, his left thumb on his chin. "I don't know much about the fighting styles of others, so I wouldn't know how to fight alongside them and help."

Roger nodded along to this. Ace was good at rescue skills. "I think you would be superb under cover some day." Ace nodded. He could stay as another human for hours at a time. "But before any of that happens, you must have complete control over your emotions and actions if you were to impersonate somebody or even just be somebody you aren't," Roger explained. "Physical strength is just half of what it takes to be a proper hero. Mental strength and emotional capacity are what makes you or breaks you.

"If someone is strong, but is too afraid to fight, then they fail as a hero. You're more likely to be better if it were the other way around. But it also takes mental strength to do things like rescue missions, depending on what it is. What a hero needs is the mental strength to deal with overwhelming failure."

Ace nodded. He wondered if some in his class could handle that. Midoriya would break apart if he failed so save somebody. He would break into tiny pieces if he suffered a complete failure that cost someone their lives. "I'm not mentally strong. I cry a lot over this-"

"I never said heroes are weak for crying. It's more in the moment when you must be made of stone. Crying and lamenting over a failure on your own when it doesn't affect others is not a weird or shameful thing. But in the moment, you can't let emotions overtake you. Right?"

Ace nodded. It made sense. There was a knock on the office door, and Roger got up to see who it was. "Oh, Rouge."

"Rouge?"

"That's right, she was the nurse you woke up to. Ace, this is my wife." What a weird coincidence that he went to the hospital Roger's wife worked at. Well, what a coincidence it was that she worked there. Ace bowed his head and thanked her for being his nurse.

"It's my job, and I'm sorry I couldn't help more." Ace didn't really know what to say, so he nodded and then turned back around to look at more heroes. Rouge just came to tell him she brought more muffins, gave him a box, and informed him that she would be working very late again. Roger said goodbye with a kiss, and she left after saying, "I'm glad you're looking well, Ace. You're very strong." Ace blushed.

Roger left and then came back with a box. "These have been being put in the lobby." He put the box on the desk. Ace looked inside, and saw gifts. Lots and lots of letters. "They're all addressed to you. From the people and their families who were on the bus. I've gotten plenty of calls about you. You're off to a good start. Even if you got hurt, it was still a good thing to get hurt over."

Ace nodded, and read some of the letters. They were all thank yous. It felt nice. To be appreciated by a lot of people. "I'll try not to disappoint," he said firmly. Roger nodded, too. "Will you explain to me, about the settlement?"

"I'll help you with navigating that personally. If you'd like the help." Ace accepted it, of course. Having help from an understanding adult would be wonderful. When it was time for Ace to leave, Roger asked how he should pay for the rent.

"The payments are automatic, but I have a worry about you helping me with the money." He raised his eyebrows. Ace didn't want him to get in legal trouble. "I pay for my rent and stuff, but I was only able to get the apartment and debit card and all by lying. I pretend to be an adult to get all of that stuff done." Roger looked shocked. He asked for how long. "I started when I was eleven. That's when I started to pretend a lot. You can do a lot more things as an adult than a kid." He was nervous. What if he went to jail?

Roger simply said, "I'll pay you directly so it goes into your account. I never heard this, either."

"But you're a hero."

"And you're a worker for me, I help you pay your rent. It's doing business. But I think that it's sad you have been doing this since you were eleven." Ace shrugged awkwardly and said he hadn't wanted to be homeless anymore. "It's no wonder you're responsible for your age, considering."

Ace said, "I don't want to talk about it anymore." Roger dropped it, and connected his account to Ace's to give him direct deposits every months with enough to pay for rent and utilities. If he ever wanted to take up the offer to live in the agency apartments some day when he's better, he was welcome to. "Thank you. I'm sorry to cause you trouble."

Roger nodded, knowing that he would think it was trouble even if he was told it wasn't. When Ace was going home to his current residence, Roger asked for him to keep in touch. Ace wondered if he did that will all of his interns. Maybe he felt guilty or responsible that he got this injury while on patrol with him. Ace never asked him why he didn't see his injury, not wanting to make him feel bad. It happened regardless of the reason.

The weekend was spent with his friends. They all went to the park and had a picnic. His class didn't know about it yet. They'd find out on monday. He just wanted to not talk or think about it for two days. At least, not think about everyone else's reactions. It was still in his sling.

"Hey, I'm left handed. I can help you out," Marco offered. Ace didn't know how he would help Ace get better with his left hand. It wasn't something that someone could assist you with or anything like that.

"Katakuri-sensei said he'd allow me to do notes on the laptop for now," Ace replied. "The occupational therapist wants to meet me Tuesday. She wanted sooner, but I didn't want that. So I'll be going there after school. Maybe she can deal with the narcolepsy and dead arm. Two birds with one stone or whatever," he mused in a flat voice.

He added, "I don't want pity looks anymore. I know it'll be hard, but I don't want pity. It's not gonna help me get better because I can't. Pity won't do a damn thing. I know I'm going to get it from everyone at school too. I don't want things made easier for me because of this, but I know they will."

Ace laid down on his back, looking up at the sky. He pulled his arm out of his sling and held it up above him. It looked so normal. He clenched his fingers into a fist. He'd get used to it eventually. Marco took his other hand. "I won't pity you anymore. Promise."

"It's okay if you feel it, I just don't want to see it," he said. He didn't pull his hand away. "I think at school I'm gonna try and get used to being on four limbs again." They already knew about him being unable to replace his right arm, which was bullshit. "Since most animals are on four limbs, being unable to so that is very limiting."

"Yeah. It'll probably take time to be able to sprint again," Sabo said. "Midoriya still has to show us the fruits of his training, but that can wait." Midoriya nodded, wanting to make sure it still worked at hero training. "I can't wait to see everyone in shock that you can attack without breaking apart anymore."

Marco said, "We all had helpful internships." Ace knew he was saying the truth. Besides Ace's permanent injury, he learned a lot and felt better about himself. Sabo was the one who felt his training was the most underwhelming, but still necessary. He and Uraraka learned a lot of martial arts style self defense and went on patrol, but fought no bad guys and had no real incidents to clean up.

Ace commented, "I wish you guys all had the training I did. It was so helpful! I learned so much about being a hero and about myself." He smiled. "Roger is an awesome hero. Better than All Might, in my opinion." He smirked at Midoriya. "Fight me, bitch." They all started laughing.

"I wonder if the others improved, too," Marco mused. Sabo said he knew Uraraka was stronger.

"I wouldn't say I improved at my quirk at all, to be honest," Ace said. "I got more mental training. Career tutoring, heh." They all talked about other things, school, wondering what event would come next. What they had to worry over next.

Later that night, Ace stood on the back of the couch as a house cat. He took a hesitant step forward, but he was off balance, his mind not processing a hand was there supporting his weight. He stared at it and kept walking, but his legs crossed, and he tumbled over the side. His balance was shit. He tried running, going all out on the first try, but face planted when his right arm tilted.

He huffed. Well, he needed to get better at this. And he would work on this at school, too. He didn't care if he humiliated himself over and over by falling off of things, not even walking straight. He would look pitiful if it was to get better faster. He never needed to be the strongest in the class. The rankings were over, he knew what agency he was going to return to, and he had no reason to fight to be number one or two or three.

There were more important thing to strive for, now. Hero training would be like physical therapy, hard and relentless. He kept practicing and kept failing. He finally went to bed, setting his alarm to get up in the morning again.

Mwahahaha! Suffer more, Ace!