Soon, Ace's tail feathers were too fluffy to hide easily, and they were visible through his pant leg. But he didn't let it out. Being still cold, he didn't need his feathers to show all the time. People outside only knew of what he was - when they knew what to look for - because of the feathers that were now mixed in with some of his black hair, and the big eyes with slitted pupils.

Ace was also going through a phase where he refused to sleep in the bed, and instead made a huge nest on his bedroom floor out of blankets and pillows. A futon was underneath, but he slept on the blankets and pillows. It was more comfortable and he felt more at ease. Inko was unsurprised, having done as much research as she could on what was to come with Ace being how he was.

If one thing Inko had to be very stern about with him was getting a second fridge that had a lock on the door so Ace wouldn't get into the raw meat and make himself sick from it. He wanted it, it smelled good raw. "I'm sorry I'm causing trouble, mommy." It had been a month and he already felt comfortable thinking of Inko as a mommy.

"It's okay. I was prepared for it all when I took you in," she said, patting his head. The horns hadn't grown at all. Still soft and stubby. "Things will be different than with other little boys, but that's just how things are." Ace smiled lightly and nodded. Izuku was on the couch playing with his All Might doll, his favorite plastic one. Ace got used to his gushing over All Might all the time. He was happy about him, and Ace wanted him to stay happy.

He sat next to him, picking up his feathered dragon stuffed animal. "Izuku, I'm sorry if I am embarrassing."

The other stopped playing, looking baffled. "Why would I be embarrassed?" he asked in confusion. Ace told him about when he growled at the bird on the windowsill. "Well, you're part dragon, right? That's normal! You shouldn't be ashamed, right? That's what you tell me, so you have to do the same." Ace's shoulders were still slumped. "Besides, when you're bigger and stronger, you'll look so cool. And nobody will mess with you, too."

Ace nodded slowly. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Like if somebody had a chronic injury - an injury that sticks around - of some sort, they shouldn't be ashamed because there's nothing they can do, they did not do it on purpose. They would be much happier if they embraced it, and just did everything they could to accommodate their differences," Inko explained patiently. "There's nothing wrong with you for being special, and there's nothing wrong with Izuku for being quirkless. You both made friends that accept all of you, right? There are tons of people out there who will welcome you both!"

The dragon boy still looked sad, even if the words made him feel better. Inko was good at giving nice talkings to. "You don't need others to change what you think of yourself," she finished firmly. Ace nodded, and gave a small smile. He was convinced both of them were telling the truth, but would do his best to behave like a normal boy.

Kindergarten was starting in three weeks, and Ace was nervous. He and Izuku both turned five already, so they were the right age to start their first year of school. Ace hoped he could make new friends that liked him the way he was. Feathers, horns, sharp teeth, claws, weird behavior and all. But he didn't expect to make many friends. He wouldn't have super high expectations.

-x-

"The… littl-little boy went to the mar-erket for ba...nanas?" Ace read from his picture book. Inko looked shocked. It was two days before kindergarten and Ace just read a full sentence. "Did I do good?" he asked, not liking the silence. Inko was reading him and Izuku the book while they had fruits for dessert, and Ace said he wanted to try reading. Inko had doubted he could, but encouraged him to try.

"You did. You almost read the entire sentence perfectly. I'm sure you'll both grow into very smart boys." Ace deflated. "What's wrong?"

"Makino read me from a book that my type of dragons are really smart. It's only cause of that… I'm not smart on my own, I'm cheating," Ace said, and put the book down. Izuku frowned at his words. He hadn't looked upset that Ace read a little bit when he couldn't. They were only five, and already Ace was pulling ahead.

His brother said, "Why is that bad? Aren't some people born super smart, and they don't gotta work on it super hard? And there are quirks that make people really smart, too! Is that cheating?"

"No, it's not cheating. Cheating is when you do something dishonest to get ahead of others in life. Being naturally intelligent isn't cheating. That's like saying being born with a body that can become very athletic is putting less value in their talent because they were able to get higher, faster. If someone was naturally good at a sport, would you call them a cheater because others take longer to get there?" Ace shook his head, knowing she had a good point.

Izuku was nodding in agreement. "Ace should be Ace for everything. You shouldn't act dumb or anything. It's cool to be smart and strong!" he said firmly.

"You won't get upset? If I can do things easier?"

"Nope! Cause then you can help me get better myself. And I want you to be happy, too," the green haired five year old said brightly. Inko smiled at him in pride, and called him a good brother. He giggled and nodded happily. It really seemed like he wasn't upset or jealous, and Ace hoped it stayed that way. But he was right, he would do what he could to help his brother out when he could! It was something family did, right?

-x-

Ace and Midoriya stood in front of their new school, among many new students who were clinging to their parents, or crying about the new setting that was also scary. There were a lot of different looking kids here. All with quirks that changed their appearance from humanoid to something else completely. Ace looked more human than some of them did.

Tenya and Tsu hadn't arrived yet, but they were all going to the same school to stick together. It was nice having friends with them. Not being the only two who were "outsiders". They held hands tightly and said goodbye to Inko with nervous faces and strained voices. Both took deep breaths and walked inside.

It was warmer now, so Ace wasn't wearing long sleeved shirts anymore. He had a tank top on with a dinosaur on the front. His feathers were all showing, but he had a baseball hat over his horns. Hopefully he would look like he just had a mutant quirk that gave him feathers. They walked inside, finding it looked much like the daycare, only with more tables and posters on the walls with words, not just drawings.

They would be learning at this place. Ace didn't want to get too ahead, but he also vowed to himself that he wouldn't put himself down to make others feel better. Being smart was good… he shouldn't be ashamed of it or try to hide it, even if he was bummed it was probably because of his dragon side.

They put their backpacks in the cubbies, which were more like open lockers than cubbies, and went to sit on the carpet. They were not the only ones looking nervous or apprehensive. When Tenya came in, he sat next to the two brothers and Tsu came in not long after. They were surprised to see Ace's arms uncovered, though his tail was secured around his leg with a few rubber bands to keep it flat and from poofing out.

With his two friends, he'd always worn long clothes since it had been cold out then. But now it was late spring, and the cold had left, leaving behind nice weather that was still too hot for long sleeved clothes and beanies. A baseball hat was fine. Tsu openly commented on Ace's feathers being really pretty. They'd grown longer and firmer, not only downy and soft anymore. They lined the back of his arms and were dotted in his hair, mixing with the black. His nails were sanded down to look normal, so that wasn't a problem.

Nobody was looking at him oddly, thinking he just had a quirk that gave him feathers. Hopefully it stayed that way. He'd seen how little kids could be cruel and judgemental about it. It wasn't just adults with prejudice. So Ace was prepared for backlash, though he'd be very happy if it never happened.

The teacher's name was Conis, a kind looking woman who welcomed them all and laid out ground rules. Everyone needed to be kind to one another, report if there was bullying, and nobody was allowed to use their quirks, no matter what it was. Quirks were prohibited in the classroom of every grade in this school.

"Most schools don't allow quirks in class, but on Fridays, we'll each have sessions where we learn about our quirks and ourselves in the process." They were excited for that part, but Ace looked forward to learning to read and write because he wanted to start a journal in keeping track of himself. He wanted to do it himself because he didn't want Inko to know all of his sad thoughts.

An outline was given of the year, focusing mostly on basic concepts of math, reading, writing, shapes, and telling time. Ace looked forward to learning a lot. Ace hadn't registered the part where they were all to work on their quirks on Fridays. He and Izuku didn't have quirks, so what would they do during that time? And everyone would find out, then, too. In the first week, would they all know Izuku was quirkless and Ace wasn't a full human?

He fidgeted with his feathers while Izuku wrung his hands in worry. But overall, nothing negative happened, and the playground was huge! And there was a big field to play tag at. Only, Tenya couldn't use his quirk to play tag. Ace had no idea what the majority of the quirks were in that class because nobody was allowed to use them. Bakugo would hate this rule.

They hadn't seen him in months after switching daycares, and Ace was very glad he wasn't here. Last time he'd seen him was when he was nearly kidnapped. So he'd beat him up. He got the last laugh in the end. So that was nice, though he didn't want to get in fights again.

After all the students left, Ace and Izuku asked what they should do on Fridays. Both had no quirk. She already knew about Ace, so she wasn't surprised at hearing his appearance was not a quirk. "You two will have open recess during that time. It's not your fault for not having quirks." She was nice!

The two happily left the building to wait out in front of the school for their mom to pick them up.

"Heh… I remember you!" a boy with pink hair said to the two quirkless boys. Ace looked over, and recognized him, too. From the first daycare. He wasn't a bully or mean kid, so Ace didn't think he'd bully him. But he'd rather not have anybody there know his secret. Ace pulled his hat down lower and looked away.

"Please don't tell others," Izuku said. "We want to start her fresh." The boy promised he wouldn't spread around that Izuku was quirkless and Ace part dragon.

"Really?! Wow!" a girl with orange hair gushed from the side. Ace gave the boy a death glare, showing "look what you did you idiot!" though he didn't say it. The girl hurried over, and looked Ace up and down. "So, you're part dragon? Interesting!" Ace frowned, not wanting anyone to know. "I won't tease you or anything." Ace hoped she didn't hear the part about Izuku being quirkless.

Stupid pink haired loud mouth!

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to," he said. Ace bluntly told him to go away, and he ran away crying. Ace was still frowning deeply. The girl glared at him, calling him mean.

Izuku stepped in. "Ace isn't mean because he's not happy someone spilled his secret. He has a right to be angry and irritated," he defended. The girl still glared at Ace, who felt very small, and held his hands together. He was angry at the pink haired loudmouth, but wasn't trying to be mean. Didn't want him to start crying by just being told to go away.

"Sure," the orange haired girl said, eyes narrowed, and sauntered away. Ace furiously wiped his eyes. Izuku hugged him, saying nobody saw and the boy wasn't in their class. Ace nodded, and they were both happy when Inko pulled up and then both got into the car, Ace staring out the window. Did he majorly mess up?

The three went out for cookies from the bakery they liked as a treat for going to school, and Ace told her about what happened after class. "Oh, I'm sorry. He shouldn't have said that."

"I didn't mean to make him cry. I just didn't want him to be there anymore, so I told him to go away and he was crying. That girl saw it and got mad at me and now probably thinks I'm a meanie. But I was mad, I didn't want anyone to know," Ace explained sadly.

Inko said, "Everyone makes mistakes. Hopefully you can remedy from it by saying your are sorry to him."

"But I'm not! I just told him to go away, I didn't say anything mean. Why do I have to apologize?" Ace asked, frowning deeply.

"Because when you hurt someone's feelings, on purpose or not, it's best to make up before things get too bitter quickly. If you apologize, it will clean things up very nicely. Even if you don't think you did anything wrong, sometimes it's just the smart thing to do by apologizing. Now, don't worry so much tonight. You can fix it tomorrow," she explained. Ace nodded.