Ace sat up and sighed, knowing his trip was not just a detailed dream. He rubbed his hands down his face, and looked at his right arm, pulling it to his chest, holding it with his left. Ace balled his fists, and put his right arm back down onto his lap, glaring at it. He'd fooled himself and his mind into thinking he was a human. A smart body, almost seeming on autopilot in how to function.

When Ace first looked into that mirror, he'd changed himself into a human and had removed two arms, ears and a tail. He clenched his teeth, and imagined himself discarding one more arm and regrowing it. It didn't get absorbed into his arm like a horror scene, but he wanted as a sort of sharp feeling went through his shoulder and down.

It burnt, but he was feeling something in that arm! He forced that pain to continue all the way down his arm and to his finger tips. He moved his arm around, but frowned and flopped back down onto his pillow. Well, he couldn't have everything. His arm didn't change, but he had felt something.

But that feeling was gone, along with all feeling. He stood up, throwing the blankets off of himself. His arm was still numb, he was expecting too much from himself. He walked to the attached bathroom. One door was to Sabo's room and the other was to Ace's. So it was shared between both of their bedrooms.

He looked at his face closely in the mirror, leaning over the sink. What had made his non-human mind come up with freckles? Had he observed people before and just liked how they looked? He liked his freckles, but really, why were they there? And then there was the mark on his left thigh. A supposed birth mark.

Had his human body been like a blank canvas for his old self - original self - to just come up with what he wanted? He went downstairs to find he'd been sleeping for awhile, and it was past dinner. They looked up, and Ace sat at the table. "How are you?" Sabo asked. Ace shrugged and said he was confused about things.

"You're still Ace, have always been Ace," Rouge said from the bar counter. They were all waiting for him to wake up to comfort him. Ace wouldn't be telling anybody about this other than those who were in the room. Not even Marco or Midoriya. Nobody else needed to know, and he didn't want anyone else to know.

Ace just sighed and nodded. He wish he knew how he had learned speaking so fast, the ways of the human world. He didn't feel that smart, but he had to be to adapt so well. So, he should be impressed with himself. But he felt detached from his early years. He didn't remember even the first years of his human life, he just knew he'd been to a lot of shelters.

"Do you wish we hadn't gone?" Roger asked, sounding guilty. Ace wasn't sure how he felt. He knew he would have been hung up on it for a long time if they hadn't gone, but he wasn't happy with the answers he'd gotten. So he said he wasn't sure. And that it was nobodies fault but his for asking.

"Thanks for taking me. And being understanding about why I wanted to go," Ace said sincerely while he ate the food they'd already had as left overs, heated up in the oven and not microwave. They nodded, but were all nervous, worried about how Ace was feeling. Rouge had him sleep with his door open out of worry something would happen. He didn't know why, but he did so to make her feel more comfortable. Even though she only checked on him before she and Roger called it a night, too.

The next morning, Ace was back at school, ready to continue life despite this new, shocking and confusing information. He wouldn't let it interfere with his life, especially when things were really getting good. He could be a fulltime hero with a concrete sleep plan and medication, able to use his arm well enough to do daily tasks relatively easy, and also having new parents while still having Sabo with him.

-x-

"Sabo? Do you think that pit has been used before? By people?" Ace asked on their way home one evening. Roger was still at work, but they were both let off. Sabo said humans couldn't go in, seeming confused. "What if people actually came out, and I'm not the only one?"

"Hmm, I don't see why that couldn't possible. I don't know if it's likely, though," Sabo said carefully, not wanting to get Ace's hopes up. "Why do you ask?"

"Katakuri-sensei is having us do that report about the possible origins of quirks. I want to look into it. I mean, that's not what I'll be writing about, of course, but it was making me think," Ace explained as they landed in the front yard and went inside. Sabo nodded. It was their first project assignment in weeks. Everyone was upset when it was given, to be honest. Out of the loop of schoolwork, since they did the work studies so often and for long periods of time.

Ace went to his laptop and took it downstairs to the living room, and started to search for any information that could hint anything strange in the way Ace was thinking and wishing. To not be the only one. He googled all about the origins of quirks. He found nothing useful before he started googling Indonesia quirk appearances, which also started at four years old, like all generations before. Like everywhere else.

There was limited information before he took some filters out of blocking any information and came about some less than ideal and safe websites. Well, he'd fix up anything bad that came from them if any did. This was a government website for the islands in Indonesia next to the island he knew the pit was in.

He found nothing after hours of searching, so he gave it a rest for that night and continued the next day after class, since there was no hero job that day. He went back to looking, and found a heavy amount of children from the first generation of quirks had come from one island, an island right next to the one with the pit. All at four years old.

Being homeless and underprivileged wasn't that rare, when all those generations ago it was very under developed. So homeless children weren't that odd, but a lot of them were four. But it could be that their parents abandoned them once they showed their quirks. He wished he could get some pictures of them, but was unsurprised when he couldn't.

But there was also no record of what kind of quirks appeared there first. He had his imagination running wild. That quirks originated from that pit from Indonesia and spread somehow with nobody noticing where it originated from. That it was like him, who appeared as a human as a small child just like all the other quirks did.

There were large holes in his imagined story. How would children migrate around from that pit to other parts of the world? How did all four year olds get it near the same time? He was just grasping at straws, not wanting to be the only one who was like this. He wanted to go back and ask the creatures there. Ask them somehow.

When his father and boss got home, Ace approached him, and asked for permission to go back once again, and try to get more answers. "I want this answer more than any other," he said sternly. He wasn't going to say it, but he'd go on his own if he didn't get permission, even if he was grounded for a month. Roger looked hesitant, unsure if that was a good idea. After all, he had no way to see or get to Ace when he was down there. But this meant a lot to Ace. So much. He needed to know, at least find out in the only way he could think how to.

"Alright, I'll take a day off of work for this." Ace smiled and thanked him, getting a hug. "Anything to help you with it," the man said sincerely. So, a week later, they were both off on the same day, no school for Ace. Ace only made it all fourteen hours by staying transformed. It was the only way he stayed awake all that time.

This time, Sabo wasn't coming. He was a bit bummed about that, but understood why he wasn't going. This was something Ace wanted to do with his dad alone, and the blonde didn't take it personal. Rouge wished she could come, but her quirk was useless for anything helpful. Roger couldn't predict their future there, though. Only three hours, not seven to fourteen.

Rouge's quirk was to be able to create solidified rainbows in any shape she wanted. It made pretty decorations, but wasn't too practical. It didn't matter what her quirk was, though, for a job like being a nurse. So, they had food with them while Roger got onto Ace's back, and he flew them back to the pit.

They didn't speak, and Ace was glad Roger trusted Ace to not drop him in the endless sea that had pretty dangerous animals there for normal humans. It didn't feel like seven hours, to be honest, before he landed, changing into the huge tiger. Roger was put high in a tree to stay away from any predators who might go after him while Ace was distracted.

Ideally, he'd have gone on his own, but of course his parents wouldn't have that. He didn't wait to get into the hole and approach his original species again, this time, turning into one of them. He wasn't making this his true form, as if turning off his quirk in some way, he just changed from his human body into this.

"Am I the only one who left?" he asked. Didn't expect to understand them, but he did. It had a chitery voice, and he could hear them and understand their words! A miracle! Well, this had to be the language he knew before any human language, truly.

"My baby left! You are all selfish!" one scolded. Some nodded, and Ace asked how many left. "Too many to count, those selfish children!" Some other creatures gathered, and Ace asked them as well, and to them, the answer was the same. Many of the creatures from there left the pit, planning to explore the world as humans.

They left the pit and nobody knew. But there were many like him that had left this place over the years. One of those of his origin kindly said he was not alone. There were a handful that had returned once. To see them all. He wasn't the only one how he was. And they had varying powers once they left the nest, as when they returned, their powers had changed either a smidge or completely.

But Ace was not alone. "Did they have powers before leaving?"

"Yes. Though many had similar powers before they left." Ace was crying lightly in relief, and got a bunch of hugs from his original species. They were much smaller than a human, small enough to hug one arm by wrapping all limbs around it.

Ace spoke with them some more, asking about them, this pit, and if he should return. His family was gone, though. Both right arms, as he had two in this form, were numb, but he managed to hide that. After a good half hour of talking, he returned out of the pit, thanking them all. They went their ways, where they were before Ace came down.

When he got out, he helped his father out of the tree, big tear streams down his orange and black striped cheeks. "Good or bad tears?"

"Good. I'll tell you with mo- Rouge and Sabo." He was afraid to finally call them mom and dad. If he did that, maybe the dream would disappear. It was silly, even if they said he didn't need to hurry. He just should be comfortable. The ride back had Ace describing some of the creatures, but not what they'd all talked about.

When they got home, Ace took a nap, and then they went to the dinner table, Sabo texting with Hack over how their dad split up with his new wife, and Sabo couldn't care less. But he stopped texting when Ace sat down, and explained about what he'd learned. He gave a wide smile, a true one, and gladly declared that he wasn't alone.

Roger looked shocked, probably thinking that he could have come across somebody like Ace and have not even known it. But Ace was so happy. And maybe he could go visit those little guys sometime. They were cute and helpful and he had been one of them before. He had a real night of sleep, realizing he hadn't been getting enough lately, even though he was controlling his narcolepsy but for a few stray sleep attacks and sleep paralysis.

It was no longer scary, he knew he'd be able to move, and he was always surrounded by people to keep watch of him when he passed out.

When he woke up, he felt so happy, having an answer to the questions he'd had for awhile. Festering inside. It seemed everyone noticed. "What are you so happy about?" Kirishima asked in class. All the students had gotten used to the schedules, and no longer passed out in class like Ace sometimes did, for their own reasons: exhaustion.

"Just got a really good night of sleep and am happy with life right now," Ace said. It was the truth, but definitely not the whole truth. Ace found himself doodling the creatures from the pit on his papers. Marco and Midoriya asked what really happened at lunch. They knew there was more to it. And it was clear Sabo knew it. What really made Ace in such a wonderful mood.

"What really happened?" Midoriya asked.

Ace didn't want to lie, but he was also not going to spread out this truth. What he and his family had found out. It was their secret. For Ace's sake and others' who were also from Ace's original home. He wished he remembered that time better, but it was all foggy and just not clear. No formed memories, only the dreams, which had stopped when he wanted more.

"I can't really talk about it, but it's good, don't worry," Ace said vaguely. Both best friends looked peeved about not knowing. "It's a family thing, I guess." They still looked sour. "Please don't press me, it's really personal, I'm not sharing it."

Marco sighed. "Alright. I won't bug you about it. But you can tell me anything, right? You know that?" he asked seriously, looking Ace dead in the eyes. He smiled, and said he knew that. Midoriya piped up he could talk to him, too. "I know. You guys are the best. But I'm still not going to say anything," Ace replied with a smile, appreciating when they both seemed to drop it and not bug him further.

Todoroki sat next to Midoriya at the lunch table, which seemed to be a regular occurrence lately. Ace was glad the other freckled teen was branching out. Even if Ace, Sabo and Marco mostly stuck together, having Midoriya making other friends was good. Of course they were friends with their classmates, but there was something tight knit about the four. No doubt partly about them knowing all about Ace's secret former life.

Having seen him fall apart multiple times about how he felt the universe was against him. He didn't think that anymore, much. There was no way the universe could hate him when he was gifted with great friends and a family to take him in. Life was better right now than it had been for awhile.

Human or not, disabled or not, Ace had great friends, a great family and a bright future. After school, he and Marco headed to the agency. Ace smiled at him, and he asked what was up. "Just thinking I'm lucky. To have great friends and a new family."

"Well this is a welcome change in attitude," Marco replied brightly, both of them taking the long way to fly more. They hadn't been going on regular flights much at night nowadays. And they were busy on most days. But they had the short time while flying to the agency from the school to hang out in their own way.

Ace smiled somehow, in his bird form, and bumped wings with Marco before racing him to the agency. Marco won, and then landed in front of the building. "Thanks for being my best friend, Marco. And helping me through everything. One day, maybe I'll tell you-"

"You don't need to. If you don't want to, you never have to tell me. I'm not upset," the blonde said sincerely. Ace sniffled a bit, and Marco worried suddenly. "What's wrong?"

Ace said, "It's cheesy. But I'm just really happy. I hope it lasts. But I have a feeling it'll all be okay," he finished quietly.

"I really like this Ace. I'll help you be happy if you're sad when you need it, 'kay?" Ace grinned and nodded, both of them heading inside to see Ace's dad and get to work. For the first time, Ace greeted Roger with a hug and not a respectful nod. The pro-hero was very happy with this, and hugged his son back.

"What's wrong?"

"Just happy… dad," Ace said, testing out the word slowly.

"I'm glad, son. Today should still make you happy. No crime chasing, we're practicing to be part of a hero parade for kids. And you know what your role will be, right?" the man asked with a huge grin. Ace nodded, looking forward to showing off his ability to some little kiddos. It wasn't actually a quirk, so he wouldn't think of it as one. It was just him. It had always been him, and always will be.

He was Ace, baggage or not, no matter what.

The end.