Maldea: Thank you! Not many people reading it so far. Most of my fics with Luffy are more popular, so it's not a surprise since this one is Ace. I am doing #3. Just have to finish editing, which I am. Soon, lol I keep writing and not editing like an idiot.

Zoran Dawn-Eclipse: I make it super painful for him hehe. Love him suffering but having emotional support from friends/family.

"Move already," Ace snapped at the boy in front of him in line, who was not moving despite the others moving along with their food. He was a second grader, and started crying. Ace's face fell. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. Here, you can have my juice pouch," he apologized, handing him the apple juice pouch.

"Y-You're a meanie!" but he took the juice pouch anyway. Ace was about to tell him to give it back if he didn't forgive him before Marco put a hand on his head from behind.

"No big deal. Everyone else heard you apologize. It isn't like it was in kindergarten," he said kindly. He knew about the thing that helped get the bully stuff going. When he made a kid cry. Ace took a deep breath and got his food, making sure to stay away from the still-upset tiny kid. Ace didn't want to be mean, he didn't think he was a mean person. But he did come across that way just from his tone of voice. It was harder than he expected to control at least his tone of voice.

When they sat down, Ace picked at his lunch, and the table was awkward and quiet. He was sitting with his two best friends like every other day, but wasn't hungry anymore. It had been two weeks since his dragon attitude showed up to be useless and annoying. So lunch was a bust, and Ace was down when they went back to class.

His back hurt and he was irritated with himself, which manifested in a nasty look on his face no matter where he was looking or what at. It wasn't a good day at all. He was on a streak of bad days, all his own fault. At least his class didn't seem to give a shit about anything. His friends were understanding. That was a relief, and things would be so much worse if he was all alone.

Ace had stopped wearing hats to cover the messed up horns, and regret damaging them in an attempt to get them to go away. His tail, he forgot was even there most of the time. So used to not using it, that even when he knew he could without totally being looked down on, it stayed in his pants, tucked away.

He hadn't developed anything new, so that was nice. And his training with Rayleigh had shifted from "therapy" to focusing on using his senses in moderation. Enhancing them, focusing on something to drown out everything else. He was already pretty good at that out of necessity of day to day life, so that was only one session.

So then they started working on Ace's sense of smell, which was harder, but also interesting, because everyone had their own smell. Marco and Sabo didn't smell bad, thank goodness. Izuku smelled like cinnamon and lime, which was a weird mixture and they both had no idea why, since he didn't eat lime in the first place. It was a joke now.

Inko smelled like clay and laundry detergent. Again, it made no sense. Ace didn't tell Bakugo he smelled like burnt socks. He'd probably try to kill him for it.

-x-

"No fair, you get to play any day after school," Ace complained, battling Izuku on the wii. It was used, and came out a long time ago, but was in fine condition. They had to buy the games off of ebay since they weren't sold anywhere nowadays.

"Heh, I tried the boxing one, but I was sore afterwards. I guess I'm really out of shape, huh?" Izuku asked, self-deprecating. Ace said he would get stronger if he kept playing often. "It's boring to play alone. Mom isn't into it, either. And of course you can't play online with it, either."

Ace knocked Izuku's mii out of the ring and was having a very forced grin. "Take a break?" Izuku asked, clearly able to see that the grin was a grimace at the pain moving his arms around roughly caused. But he was doing physical therapy on Sundays. More money Inko had to pay for his non-human issues. It still hurt daily, though. And nobody said it would make the pain go away. He was just happy he was doing all he could to live with it and not having it bother him constantly.

They both sat and Inko came in and asked if they were done playing. "For now. I'm tired and out of shape, haha," Izuku lied. Ace gave a small smile in thanks to his understanding brother. He missed him and his mom, even if going to Moby was the best option for him. Ace got down and laid on his stomach on the rug in front of the couch.

"Ace, how are the feathers?" Inko asked, sitting on the couch beside the shorter brother.

"They itch, but it's not that bad. It's not really a problem," he answered truthfully. "The physical therapist was nice about it, though. I like her."

"I do, too. She was very kind and understanding, even though she's never worked with a half-dragon," she said with a smile, glad to talk about something positive when much of their conversations lately had been about negative things. She was just always worried and managed to turn every conversation into one about his pain level. It was annoying, but he felt he physically was unable to snap at her.

Of course he'd snapped at Izuku a few times, but mostly about him being too loud while Ace was trying to sleep, or when he was in the shared bathroom too long. He always apologized afterwards, but Izuku never took the anger personally. He didn't disregard it though, and would quiet the sounds in his room, since he listened to rain forest noises, or took shorter showers. His family were so understanding and accommodating that it made going home every week one of his favorite times. Besides the Friday training. That was fun and productive, while being at home was relaxing and reassuring.

-x-

"It's been six months exactly since Ace left, so we're going on a trip!" Inko said at breakfast one Saturday morning while they were eating. The boys blinked twice, and Ace asked why. "As an anniversary! And for fun. You both deserve a day out," he explained brightly.

"Where are we going?"

"The fair!" Ace and Izuku both got really excited about going on roller coasters, and unhealthy food! They vowed to go on every ride even if they got sick afterwards. The one who couldn't manage had to give their won prizes to the other.

"Deal!" Ace replied brightly. They gathered things together, and both boys were in the car, excited. They'd never actually been to an amusement park before, so they were not knowing what to expect other than fun. Inko would go with them since they were still only ten years old and didn't have cell phones.

There was a long line in, and Ace was bombarded with different scents and sounds. It was distracting, but most of the smells were good, smelled of sweet food, desserts, and fried foods. There was also the smell of sweaty people and manure from the farm animal area. But he was fine with both senses overloading.

He would just find something close and important to focus on, which would be his mom and brother. They two got unlimited wristbands, and each got $50 to spend on what they wanted. Games, food, souvenirs. They both felt rich with actual paper money that they got to control. So, they went on every ride, and both of them thought that Ace got incredibly sick on roller coasters since he threw up after each and every one.

But of course he didn't tell them it was from pain after the vibrating sensations along his sensitive back. Still no bumps growing yet, so it looked normal. He got nasty looks from most people around because of what he was. Despite this, he did well to focus on the fun experience. Even when he hurt, it didn't take away the fact that it was fun, too.

He didn't show it, expert at hiding pain while in sight of others. "We don't have to go on each one if it makes you so sick, Ace," Izuku said, feeling bad for him. Ace waved it off. He wanted to ride each one. It was nice there were trash barrels everywhere so he always had somewhere to vomit.

Though he ended up spending most of his money on games and prizes, not food, as it just went to waste. So Inko started to buy some and put them in to go bags so he could eat them later, considerate of his disappointment with losing his food each time he ate. Quirks weren't allowed to be used near the roller coasters, but none of the Midoriyas had any quirky that could damage anything. So they didn't need to worry.

Inko wanted to see the animal area, so Ace didn't mention the bad smell, and went with the other two. Of course, he had to, they weren't splitting up. Both boys were mature for their ages, but still ten year olds. Surprising them all, the animals latched onto Ace the most. They crowded him behind the stalls, and Ace pet the cows and horses.

Then there was the awesome bunny farm. They were so fluffy and cute! Ace wanted them! But pets weren't allowed in their apartment, sadly. "We could smuggle it," Izuku offered.

"Ace is gone most of the week, and can't take it with him to school," Inko pointed out, and Ace drooped. That was true. The bunny wouldn't see him as the owner if he was around less than half of the week to play with and take care of it. Disappointing! Both boys were exhausted at the end of the day, and Ace's back was in so much pain that it was numb. There was a throbbing sensation in them, like it beat with his own heart beat. But no pain!

So, he could enjoy the rest of the day without pain. When they got home, Ace ate the sweets, even if they were all cold by now. They were so yummy! Izuku had gotten a rainbow snow cone, and of course they couldn't have saved one for later, which was a disappointment. They both spent most of their money on other attractions that weren't compatible with the unlimited wristband. Which they were still wearing, wanting to see how long they lasted.

The next morning, it seemed the pain caught up over night and manifested into rage. He'd never been angrier for no reason. When there was a knock on his door in the morning, he shouted at Inko that he was in a terrible mood and "don't fuck with me today!" It was the best warning he could give, and proved what he was saying was very true.

"O-okay! Sorry!" Inko replied awkwardly. Ace felt bad for yelling at her, but holing himself up in his room was the best for all of them. He didn't want to say or do hurtful things when he didn't mean them. So, food was brought to him all day, and when he used the bathroom, Izuku made sure to not be in the way or even in the hallway.

It wasn't a good feeling, being so angry. Maybe he out-happied himself yesterday and it wasn't the pain that made him act like this. So, it was a wasted Sunday, and the next morning he felt terrible in the car. He wasted a whole Sunday with them. "We understand, and you warned us," she said kindly on their way to the school. "It's just how things are, and that's just fine."

"I'm sorry I'm costing so much money," he said, completely off topic.

"It was a one time treat," she said, referencing their family outing.

"I mean for my back. The doctor's visits, the medication, physical therapy. I'm sorry I've turned out to be so expensive," he explained, wanting to get it all out there. "And I'm not even there long so I can repay you by spending time and all-"

"Repay?" Inko asked, sounding surprisingly and genuinely angry. She pulled over and turned around in her seat. "You do not need to 'repay' your mother for taking care of you. When I adopted you, I knew that things would be surprising and I did it anyway, because I knew you'd be a wonderful son and you deserved somewhere that would give you love. There's nothing about this that you need to repay me for."

Tears poured down Ace's cheeks, and he nodded, speechless.

"We love you very much. All of you, pain and cranky attitude included. And anything in the future that would be bothersome to some people is nothing we look down on you for. I promise on my life," she said firmly, rarely taking this tone with them. "We love you very much, and always will." Ace was still crying quietly and nodded.

"I love you, too," he said.

"No more apologies. I can tell you were going to again. None of your situation is on purpose. And I want you to face all your changes head on. Never how you did with your horns," she said. Ace touched the sawed off and uneven horn and looked down. He truly did regret doing so. It was irreparable now. They wouldn't grow back out.

He was caught in the act when he was sanding down his teeth, not getting too far before he was put in time out and anything that could do that was taken away and hidden. Even wooden pencils were confiscated. It was a messy time, but he'd moved on more from them. Inko had considered it as self-harm.

When she dropped him off, him carrying his suitcase of clean clothes, he felt lighter. He had really needed to hear everything he was just told. He had the best family ever.

-x-

"Oh, a bump is forming," Sabo said while they were walking to class in the morning. "You can tell there's something, now." Ace nodded. He'd noticed it. The skin was taut on it, like how the skin of a heavily pregnant woman's belly was tight around the baby. "Well, now people will know there's something there!"

Marco snorted. "Did you think nobody can tell what Ace is without the back bumps?"

"Of course that's not what I meant!" Sabo said back angrily. Ace laughed.

"I bet it'll end up looking pretty bad in the future, though," he said, interrupting the ensuing argument between both blondes. They were successfully distracted. "I mean, once they grow bigger, the skin wouldn't be tighter. It could bruise badly. And thicker feathers are damaging to have in. They're kind of how it would feel to push a thick feather base through a sheet. It's really just something stabbing through the skin. So I can see some getting red and inflamed, maybe infected as well. I'll no doubt be covering them before enough feathers grow to block the nasty sight."

The other two were silent. "What? I'm hypothesizing."

"You really take your problems in stride, don't you?" Sabo asked in awe, making Ace blush.

"W-well, you do too! You deal with a flaming arm all the time, always have, right?" Sabo pointed out that his wasn't painful or looked down on, really. "Well, it sucks, yeah, but I'm not gonna let it ruin the next six years of my life. It is what it is," Ace finished. Marco smiled brightly, and put his hands behind his head.

He said, "Well, I think I have it the easiest out of the three of us. I'm not impared day to day, every moment. You guys manage your stuff constantly. So many of us do, here. Honestly, the kids in this place are probably more tough than actual heroes." Sabo agreed, and Ace thought it was a valid point as well. Those who know suffering can grow stronger from it. Or break. But Ace hadn't met a single person here who had completely given up. It was amazing.

They sat down in their seats, and once again, Bakugo didn't speak to anyone, and just glared out the windows. Ace noticed that Bakugo had zero friends here. Or even followers. Everyone here had the potential to be bullied, so they didn't do it to others. So Bakugo didn't have anyone to see or be disrespectful to together. Ace wondered if he was lonely.

But he had no desire to be friends with Bakugo. They wouldn't get along, and Ace still didn't forgive him deep down for driving both brothers out of daycare. He didn't remember it personally, but he knew that he was the reason, and that it had also been his fault that he had to go to the emergency room.

Maybe it was a petty grudge, but Ace was only ten. While his grudge didn't have hate or dislike, it just didn't make him want to be friends. There was only so much he could be mature about.

They were working in groups when Ace started to feel a tingling sensation in his arm before it suddenly and instantly morphed into a thick white arm with strong fingers that ended in talons. His group went silent before they started shouting about it. There were no feathers on this arm, only white fur.

Feathered dragons had layers of fur, but the bigger parts of them were mostly covered in thick, strong feathers, which was why they were so uncomfortable to grow out. He turned the arm around and looked at the palm. The fingers were strong, not made of flesh, but a hard substance.

"Whoa! It finally happened!" Misaki called, a girl who had horns growing out of all of her body. She was there because they caused infections, so she had daily treatment on them all.

They were all excited to see Ace turn into a full dragon, but Shanks reminded them that they were still in class. "But! A full dragon!" Sabo protested.

"It's just one body part. Rayleigh told us that it would be at least a day later. We can all see tomorrow, if Ace lets us. Now, try to get back to work, finishing the assignment." Well, now Ace couldn't do his part. His was to draw the figures on their poster about rodents. It was a group assignment where they had to do research and present a reason that a certain animal should be deemed illegal to hunt.

It was a way for groups to work together at researching. It was nearing the end of the school year. Then Ace would return home unless he signed up for summer session. He wasn't going to, he was spending the summer break with his family. And friends, of course! Sabo and Marco were his best friends. While his brother was mostly all alone.

The dragon hand disappeared by the end of class, and his drawing was done with his left hand, so it looked terrible. But it seemed the whole class was distracted with Ace soon transforming into a dragon. There were none that lived in this area, so they weren't seen from the campus. He was followed around, and predictably snapped. Then they left him alone when he was in a visible bad mood. He wasn't going to be some sideshow!

The next morning, nobody saw him change because it happened in the shower, and the glass shattered with the horns on his head growing and piercing the glass door separating the stalls. He squeezed himself out, and the room was very cramped. He was only the size of a pony. Small but not tiny.

He got himself over to the mirror, and freaked out a first grader brushing his teeth. He ran from the room, screaming about a monster. Well, whatever. But looking at himself, he saw he was covered in mostly downy fur. What his arms used to be dotted with. So, he would grow all of the feathers in the future. Meaning he was weak and vulnerable as a dragon as of now. Young and fragile.

His snout was short and rounded. He definitely looked like a baby dragon. He was in the hall when he transformed back into a human, without his permission. He realized he was butt naked in the middle of the hall, and zoomed back to the bathroom to get dressed, face flaming even though nobody had seen.

There had been no wings, so he didn't look like a real dragon. On the shoulder blades, behind the neck, it had actually been bald. No fur or feathers there. Man, why'd that have to take so long? It should totally be the other way around! Well, nothing he could do about that. He didn't tell anyone in class about it, and the first grader was clearly not taken seriously.

The rest of the school day was normal, and he didn't tell anybody about it, not wanting to be crowded again and be a spectacle, even if he did understand their curiosity. Didn't mean it wasn't annoying. He only told Sabo and Marco when they were on the playground after class. Ace was standing on the swing seat, holding onto the chains.

"So, this morning I changed in the shower. I turned into a furry dragon," he said bluntly.

"What?! Why didn't you tell us?!" Marco demanded.

"Was I supposed to announce it to the class?" he asked in irritation. "Besides, it might make me naked when I transform and ruin my clothes!" Sabo snorted and Ace glared at him. "You know how awful it would be?! To turn naked after every transformation? Then I could never, ever use it in public, you know!"

"Why would you want to?" Sabo asked, not apologizing for laughing. Ace said it could be easier to carry groceries or something. He could lug heavy things around. "Doesn't sound too practical yet."

"I know!" Ace snapped, face red in embarrassment. "Let's not talk about it anymore." He shut it down completely, ignoring when Marco pressed until he gave up, looking cranky and disappointed himself. Someone overheard them, so by the end of the day, it was the talk of the school. A real dragon could be around them. Ace was thoroughly annoyed, feeling he was looked down on as some side show.

He was snappy with everyone and went into his room early and stayed there, stewing. He only stopped being angry when he called and vented about it to his brother. It was impossible for him to see it right now, so he didn't ask. But at least there was only two weeks left of the school year, and he wouldn't be bothered again about it for a few weeks.