Greer123: I hope this chapter is satifying!

Stormy1x2: Thank you! I finish all of my stories and edit them before posting so I never leave anyone hanging if I have writer's block or something and have a consistent update schedule. I'm always frustrated when writers start really long stories and then just stop :( And I feel you about not reading other fandoms! I really want to be able to write other fandoms, but it feels impossible. I have no good ideas for other fandoms!


Exciting chapter this time! It was fun to write. And I learned something: I followed the plot line of MHA for multiple crossovers, and had to watch along and write. I totally should have just read the manga, since I'm following the plot of One Piece for Wano arc, and just reading is easier, even if the episodes for these parts haven't come out yet. But don't worry, I won't be posting that one until the episodes pass! After all, I have 9 stories waiting to be published! Anyways, happy new years and enjoy~


Ace was sick of being questioned. It happens too much. But, it wasn't just him. Everyone was being asked their story, what happened to them. Bakugo was being searched for still. He was obviously taken by a villain as he vanished, but no one knew where he was. Ace was still furious and wouldn't be part of the rescue team. It was Bakugo's fault he was taken. Ace wouldn't forget or forgive this. He put himself and others in danger.

"I did what I had to do to keep the kids safe. Eraser Head told us we could fight. And I kept the kids from fighting as much as I could. They don't need to be murderers this young," he sighed.

The police chief was there. They had the one that was left over in jail, questioning him about the League of Villains. It was a good gain, and they were all happy Ace had been able to take him alive. There were many pro-heroes. Ace had met multiple of them multiple times. He ran his hands through his hair.

"You killed one of them," the dog officer pointed out.

"Because he was about to impale Todoroki in the neck. If I didn't kill him, even injuring him badly, he could still reach him and have killed him. I prioritized his life more than the villain's," Ace responded in a hard voice. He was asked how he was able to plan that quickly, and then how he knew how to snap the neck without killing him. "I am a commander of my crew at home. I need to be smart and think quickly. It's life or death there. You can't understand it. All Might can back it up, he's been there."

All Might nodded. "There were multiple attacks on Ace-san's ship that they fought off. There are sea monsters as well. He's said it multiple times, but his life there is completely different from life here."

Ace sighed. "Doesn't saving innocent kids outweigh hurting or killing the villains who attempted murder them multiple times? Was I supposed to protect them instead?"

Endeavor was looking at him with a new light, as was everyone else. Like they were just now seeing him as something other than a nuisance or out of place kid. "Thank you for saving Shoto," the number 2 hero said.

Ace nodded. "He fought well and has fast processing speed. And he followed my orders well. He was instrumental to getting everyone I could to safety," he responded honestly. "What is happening about Bakugo?"

Dog officer said, "You were the last to see him. What happened?"

Ace sighed. "He has a horrible time following directions and his pride is as inflated as it could be. He didn't want to follow my directions and ran off while I was taking care of the gas villain. I couldn't find him after that, and instead went to the nearest group, which was Dark Shadow attacking Midoriya and Shouji."

"And you knew where everyone was with your haki?" dog officer asked again. So many names that it was so much easier to keep track of them by their quirks or looks. Besides the easy ones like some of the kids and all of the teachers. And some of the pro-heroes.

Ace nodded. "I found where the most concentrated groups were since those were probably the ones around the villains. One of them got away, I didn't see her quirk, but Tsu and Uraraka might have, they were with her. She had some sort of contraption on her back. I broke it into pieces, but now it's pretty hard to figure out what it was."

Someone was taking notes on everything that was being said. "Tiger said that you asked permission to fight first." Ace nodded, saying he didn't like it but would follow the laws and rules in this world. He didn't want to get in trouble for fighting when he had no permission.

He asked if he would have gotten in trouble for protecting the kids if he had no permission. "In this instance, you would have not gotten in trouble with the law. The rule mostly applies to situations where fighting is not a necessity. Picking a fight is considered unnecessary. Fighting for the sake of someone who is in harm's way is also legal to fight. But, the first thing you should do is try to get the person to safety before fighting. Then you call pro-heroes or the police to report." Ace nodded, understanding all of that reasoning. He said it made sense for this world.

He was happy nobody asked much about his job or life in his world. They were reasonable, and knew that nothing he did there applied here. "Will this be made public?" he asked.

The police chief said that the gist would be revealed to the public, but Ace's name would not be included as he wasn't a pro-hero. He was happy with that. "You say you don't want to be a hero, and that is fine, but we thank you for your selfless help in this situation. You might have saved the lives of many children."

Ace slowly asked, "Why am I allowed to do hero activities if I am not a professional or don't have a provisional license?" He didn't know what the answer was, but was shocked when he'd heard it.

"You've had 13 pro-heroes endorse you as trustworthy, responsible and strong. That is more than enough for now to do simple things like patrolling and helping out at the high school, even if things have gotten lively while you've been here." Ace blinked twice and looked at All Might, who gave him a thumbs up.

Ace smiled and said, "Thank you. That really makes me happy." He was excused and left the meeting with a smile. 13. That meant most of the staff had said so. It made him happy, feel valued. Not just some guy that popped up out of nowhere.

It was afternoon of the day after the attack, and he went to take a nap. There was a knock on the door halfway during his nap, and he could tell it was Mirio. Ace walked to the door and opened it. "Yo. Heard you got into another troublesome situation."

Ace laughed. "That's an understatement. Let's go on a walk. My room is a mess," Ace said, his clothes on the floor and bed unmade. Mirio nodded and the two walked outside and around the wall. "So you looking for the whole story?" Ace asked, hands in his pockets. Mirio nodded, so Ace told him everything in detail, as he had with the pro-heroes.

"Wow. That sounds very stressful," Mirio said. "But you saved so many people! That's amazing, Ace!" Ace smiled and thanked him.

"It was very tiring. I've never had to protect kids before. They've always been adults who weren't so weak. I mean, many of the kids here are strong and all, but the villains were pretty strong too. And I didn't want the children to become murderers at this age," he explained. "God, I can't believe how stupid Bakugo is. I had a plan that protected everyone else, but he ran off when I was busy because he didn't want to follow directions."

Mirio agreed that it was a stupid thing to do at that moment. He should have put his pride away to get to safety. Ace nodded. He was still angry at him. Now everybody was looking for him when they could be doing other important things. At his age, this couldn't be explained as "oh, he's young, he didn't realize the consequences". No, Bakugo was 15 and he was not stupid. An idiot, but not stupid.

Here, he was a dumb shit, prideful idiot causing trouble for everyone. Ace didn't want him dead or hurt, but hopefully scared so this never happens again. But who was he kidding, Bakugo was probably having fun trying to kill the League of Villains. He always said he wanted to kill people, after all.

Killing people, especially the first kill for most people, is awful. It wasn't for Ace. He was disturbed, and didn't believe that human life was worth anything. After all, his life wasn't worth anything, why would any else's be? But, he remembered Sabo's first kill. He was distraught and couldn't sleep well for weeks. That was before meeting Luffy.

Ace killed, but Sabo didn't. He injured them beyond recovery. Ace only stopped killing like it was nothing when he truly became Luffy's brother, and wanted to set a good example for him. Killing good people shouldn't be fun. And Ace didn't take fun in killing indiscriminately. But was Bakugo a good person? Ace wasn't sure. Hadn't known him long enough to judge. All he'd seen of him was his terrible attitude and violence.

They heard shouting from outside the wall. They both walked over and listened. The media. People with the fancy cameras that put the videos on screens. TV screens. That's what they were called. The people outside the gate were all shouting questions, as if somebody was just going to answer all of them.

"Is someone going to answer them?"

Mirio said, "They'll go away eventually if nobody comes to address their questions." Ace nodded, saying it was like the press in his world but only way more intense. Since they didn't have TV's or radios, they got their information from the newspaper. "Birds seriously deliver the newspaper?" Mirio asked in interest and surprise.

Ace nodded. "But you can't trust what they say all of the time. The newspaper goes by the World Government first, and they have a habit of lying about anything that makes themselves or the marines look bad."

Mirio said, "So, lots of misinformation?" Ace nodded. "Wow. What kind of things do they lie about?"

"Well, my brother and his friends broke into a government base where their friend was going to be brought to Impel Down and tortured the rest of her life, and the marines wanted to get rid of them so badly that they called a Buster Call. It's when ten marine ships arrive and shoot at an island until it burns to nothing. They did it while their own people were still there, and then blamed it all on my little brother and his friends.

"They're twisted and sick," Ace explained. Mirio was shocked and horrified. "It's pretty bad, yeah."

Mirio asked hesitantly, "What do you do if you're not a marine? What do other people do?"

Ace said that they either lived on their islands, or they went out to sea. Many times they oppose the world government, keeping them at arm's length so they don't interfere with sailing and adventure. Mirio asked if he was against the government. "Yeah. If they got ahold of me I would be executed, so of course I am against them," he said simply. Mirio looked down, but Ace didn't think it was because Ace went against the government. He was smart, he would know that the situations were completely different.

"That's awful. Being executed." Ace told him dying was better than going to Impel Down. "Wow. I'm glad I don't live in your world. No wonder you're so strong." Ace laughed and said it sure was more exciting there than here. There was almost never a dull moment between marine attacks, fellow adventurers who attack, storms and sea kings.

Ace jokingly said, "It sure keeps us on our toes."

"Sounds like it."

-x-

The day he had 4 days left was the next day. There were news channels and newspapers bashing U.A. for not protecting their students well enough. Ace didn't like it, but said nothing about it. He was to be with Mirio on patrol for the next few days he was still there. Nighteye had praised his efforts to save as many kids as he could.

"It wasn't enough. There were still so many hurt," Ace had replied, looking at the floor. Nighteye pointed out what All Might had, he wasn't a pro-hero so it wasn't his job. He just did it for the kindness in his heart. Ace was tired of hearing it, but he no longer protested. They'd keep pointing it out, why try and get them to stop?

Mirio came out of the changing room dressed, and the two of them started their patrol. Luckily, Ace wasn't in the papers, so was not flocked all over again. "What's it like to be known by the public?"

Ace shrugged. "I'm kind of used to it in a way. But the opposite really," he laughed. "Nobody thanks me, they run away. I always look angry and my fire doesn't help. I'm very well-known in my world."

"You know, I think we've become good friends." Ace said he agreed. "And I'm good at reading people I know and care about." He was speaking slowly and stopped. Ace wondered what he was going to say. Hopefully not tell him he was a hero again. "The way you talk about your other life. Are you a criminal, Ace?" Mirio asked.

Ace's face went white. He didn't know how to answer, Mirio would know if he was lying for sure. But he was so worried that Mirio would tell someone. "I don't think that counts here. You're not a criminal here, seeming the opposite. But what are you in your other life? I won't tell anyone, I swear on my hero future."

The older young man looked away. "Yeah, I'm a pirate. That word isn't in this world. Basically, I fight other pirate crews, fight marines, go on adventures and cause a lot of trouble. My crew doesn't kill for fun. We fight for fun, but we don't kill. We're one big family, one of the most powerful crews out there.

"It's the only dream I'd ever had. To be the freest person alive. And that's how it would happen, by being a pirate. I have a bounty of over 500,000,000 in our currency, so people are constantly after my head."

He sighed. "My family keeps trying to convince me that I'm a good person, who sometimes does bad things. That I could be a help here, since I'm nice and can control myself, my temper and my powers."

Mirio put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "I won't tell a soul." Ace said that All Might knew and had been there with him, and had thought his family were all good people. "Is being a criminal in another life what keeps you from being heroic in this one?"

The guy could read Ace too easily. But he knew he was being honest, that he wouldn't tell anyone. If there was one thing he was absolutely positive about, it was that Mirio was honest. "I think so. It's nice to help people. But I'm afraid I'll change here. I'll go back home to a completely different person. It feels like I'm two people at once. A pirate and nice guy who helps other people.

"I'm still selfish. I won't save people I don't know. But still. I just don't think I'm hero material. It's nice that people here trust me. But I don't feel like I deserve it."

"You're life here is separate from your life there. You've proven that you're a good person while here. Perhaps not a hero, as I know nobody would be able to force you. But a good person. Your family was right. You can be a good person by sometimes doing bad things. I and everyone who knows you knows you're not a villain.

"There's a difference here between a criminal and a villain, and one is much worse than the other. As long as you commit no crimes here, it's nothing to worry about," Mirio assured him with a genuine smile.

Ace thanked him sincerely, and they continued their patrol. Mirio got a phone call though, and answered it. It was All Might. Which was weird, but it could have been routed from Nighteye. "It's for you, Ace," Mirio said in surprise. Ace took the phone and answered it.

"Ace-san, I would like you to accompany me on a mission. We've found the League of Villains' hideout. We need you in case there are any nomus there. And if there aren't, we need your help for other things. Can you do it?" All Might asked seriously. Ace was shocked. He was being asked to go on a mission with pro-heroes? Not just help out as a part-time intern or camp supervisor?

"Y-Yeah. I'm at- where are we Mirio? - at Hover's street outside of a building with an M- a McDonalds. I can get to Nighteye's if I run."

"No, I'll be there soon. Stay where you are," All Might said and hung up. He handed the phone back to Mirio, looking shocked still. He asked what had happened and if everything was okay.

Ace nodded and answered, "They found the hideout for the League of Villains. They want my help. To deal with the nomu since I'm the only one that can. I can't believe this. I don't even have a hero license."

Mirio gave him a smile. "You were endorsed by many heroes, right? Then that's all you need, at least in their eyes. Good luck, I know you can do it and not die." Ace laughed.

"Well that's encouraging. 'Don't die'. I won't. I'll be really careful. It's lucky I'm a good fighter and a leader. I can switch into super responsible mode immediately," Ace bragged. Mirio said he was lucky that he had all the parts to be able to take care of himself in a foreign world. And to stay calm about the huge changes he saw. Ace thanked him.

All Might wasn't lying when he said he would get there quickly. Mirio wished them both good luck, and Ace was told to climb onto All Might's back. They jumped from roof to roof. "Ace-san, I need to tell you something. I am losing my powers, and I may lose them tonight if I fight too hard. Do not be shocked if my appearance changes."

Ace said, "I already knew that your powers were leaving. I can tell whenever I come back. I won't be surprised, promise."

"Thank you for taking up this responsibility."

They arrived at a police building, and Ace soon stood at the end of the row of pro-heroes, feeling awkward, but portraying his determined and serious side. Nobody rejected him being there, not even Endeavor. Maybe saving his kid changed things for him about Ace.

"We've gathered some of our finest heroes here today. Now, let's begin our strategy meeting," the police guy said. Another one he couldn't remember the name of no matter how many times he'd been in the same room with him. They sat down, Ace sitting between All Might and Tiger, two people he both knew beforehand other than in meetings and interrogations.

He barely spoke until the end. "Firefist, can you scout how many people are inside before we enter?" Ace nodded. "And if there are nomu, take them out immediately. They are the most dangerous and you seem to be the only one that can dispose of them quickly." He looked down at his notes. "You've also shown the ability to make a fire wall multiple times. Can you create one around the entire building so nobody can get in and nobody can get out?" Ace nodded. "Then create a fire wall the moment we are discovered."

"I can do it from the inside, so that won't be a problem. And the outside of the firewall won't be hot so it won't burn any nearby buildings." He said only what he was asked.

"Alright, thank you. Your presence will be helpful," he said. Ace wasn't scared, he could pull off those tasks easily. He would wait outside while counting and then they would head inside, Ace in the middle, depending on how many were inside and where they were. Ace would guide them through the building with haki.

Endeavor was supposed to look after U.A., which he was pissy about but didn't protest much. The policeman turned to the heroes and Ace, who was standing in the back of the group and said, "It is possible that this incident will become the impetus for the destruction of the hero society. We must give it our all to make sure we resolve this successfully."

Best Jeanist said he'd had Bakugo as an intern at his agency to fix his behavior. Like that would ever happen. He said Bakugo was no doubt fighting due to his pride and attitude. And Tiger said Ragdoll, one of his group members, had also been taken and that this was personal for him.

Momo had made a tracking device but apparently it could lead to multiple hideouts. But they knew where Bakugo was. The bulk of them would be going there to get him back as the first priority. Ace would be with that group. The others would be going after the hideouts that didn't have Bakugo. That little shit better thank them for this.

He heard Gran Torino, an old hero that apparently knew All Might well, and All Might talking about the presence of someone specific that might be there. He didn't hear specifics, but knew there was a strong guy they'd be dealing with. Ace would be able to see just how strong.

They talked about their plans a bit before Ace, All Might and Endeavor ran to the building they were going for, with armed police men with protective gear. More heroes followed from behind them.

Ace closed his eyes once they were outside the target building. "One child, seven adults. One feels different, is the one who can warp. Shigaraki is in there, and the villains we weren't able to catch are in there, too, all in one room it seems."

"Alright, let's go!" All Might said, and Ace jumped to the roof, and once everyone was inside, All Might went to the wall that was shared with the room the villains were in. Ace made sure everybody was inside before he raised his hands and created a wall of fire that wrapped around the building.

Ace broke off a window in the second story and dropped down, looking for the stairs before he came to the main room. The wood guy had trapped all of them in his wood, the warp guy trapped as well.

Ace made a fire around the inside walls so they couldn't break out. It licked the wood guy but didn't light him on fire. Ace stood behind. "Oh, look! It's the cutie who broke my weapon!" the high school creep said. She honestly was the picture of insane.

The moment the blue fire user, which he noticed back at the camp was not as hot as actual blue flames, they just were colored that way, let out flames, Ace sucked them out right in time for Gran Torino to kick him in the face, knocking him out. Ace surrounded the fire guy in his own flames to make sure he didn't get out.

Paper-thing man showed up from another door, and Ace wasn't really paying attention to everybody's dialogue. "Where is young Bakugo?!" All Might demanded.

"All Might, he's in that guy's pocket!" Ace said, pointing to the man with a mask. Not Hand-Guy. "He's small, tiny, but that's Bakugo!" The villains glared at him in hate, letting off angry auras. So Ace let out his own, and the high school girl whimpered. The others weren't much affected. He had been told not to use haki to knock them out or it would affect everyone in the room.

And if any nomus showed up, he needed to be able to utilize it in full force. But he felt no nomu here. At least not yet. They had a warp man, he could get out and release nomus like he had at USJ. "Firefist, up the stairs!" Paper-thing guy said, and Ace rushed past the police and stayed on the second story.

He felt Bakugo's presence come back to normal, so he was free. He couldn't see what was happening, though. He went back down and heard Hand-Guy shout at warp-guy to bring nomus. "There aren't any nomus coming!" Ace called. "If there are I'll take care of it!"

That made a few rest easier, especially those who weren't heroes. He reached out his observation haki so far that it was able to find one of the closer hide outs. It wasn't too far away, so Ace's haki reached alright. A little dim, since it was near the edge of his field, but he was still aware of that area. That one was full of nomus, but they were all stuck in one place, and he felt the heroes who were there. They'd taken care of them. That was great! Ace didn't need to do that!

As Ace watched the pro-heroes work, he thought of how watching his own people fight was more enjoyable. They laughed and joked as they beat the shit out of others. But this was pretty interesting, even though he was also focusing his haki on the surroundings, counting continuously how many people were supposed to be there at this time.

No new comers, and nobody had left. Everything was going as planned, but he didn't get his hopes up that nobody would get hurt. And there was the guy All Might and Gran Torino had been worried about. Plus the possibility that the number one hero would lose his powers at the worst moment.

Then nomus appeared. Ace leapt in the room. He did his duty and told them to rip their own brains out again. The fastest way for them to do so. "No! Kill him!" Hand-Guy shouted, and Ace hid the smirk and backed in between the pro-heroes as the nomus screeched as they killed themselves, splattering blood all over Hand-Guy and the counter. More came but none of them moved.

Like the two he dealt with with Mirio, they cowered from him, shrinking into themselves. "No, nomus, attack them!" Shigaraki called. The nomus looked pitiful.

"Nomus, rip out your brains," he said calmly. Soon the floor was covered with them, so Ace let out a burst of flames that burned to ash in a matter of seconds. Now there was more room to fight and nobody was hurt by the flames.

While they were distracted, Bakugo suddenly started vomiting black substance, the same that the nomus had come out from. And then he was gone. His presence was nowhere near. All Might screamed, "NOOO!"

Ace said, "There's still time, stay calm!"

The wood man told Ace there were nomus outside everywhere, and Ace jumped out the hole in the wall and ran into the middle. Again, at their sight of him, they cowered and a few started to run. He let out another burst of haki, glad he'd gotten a good night's sleep that night and had plenty of lunch. "Nomus, rip out your brains!"

And like inside, he burnt all of them to ash. Where would they appear next? Where were they coming from? The fire around the building was still going, but Ace suddenly froze. He was feeling fear. There was a terrible, terrible presence at the other hide out that the nomus were confined to. He'd never felt such evil before, and shivered.

But he didn't let it consume him. He had a job, and he had to warn All Might. Maybe this guy was the one All Might was worried about. He flew to the opening with his fire. "All Might! Really, really bad guy at the other hideout!" All Might glared and shared a look with Gran Torino.

"Ace, let down the fire shield. You need all of your energy now," All Might said.

"But what about-!"

"He doesn't need to walk through doors!" All Might said.

"Okay!" Ace said, and let down his fire wall, giving him a bit of strength left. But, he felt the presences disappearing and jumped Shigaraki, covered in haki, stopping the warp. It burnt him, but his body was covered in haki. "You're not going anywhere!" Ace said darkly. Hand-Guy struggled before Ace was covered in it, too. All Might's big hand grabbed Ace and pulled him away just as Shigaraki disappeared.

Ace punched the wooden bar down with a fist. "God damn it! Now what?!" The nomus that had appeared again were now cowering as well. He commanded their deaths like usual, and then turned back to All Might. "What can I do?" he asked.

"Where is the presence? Where is he?" All Might asked.

"Still at the hideout. Everyone else isn't moving anymore, but none have disappeared, none are dead! I'm keeping count!" Then he froze… "Oh no."

"What?! What did he do?!" Ace looked horrified.

"There are students there. Five of them. They're right next to the building! And all of the villains are there, with Bakugo, too!" Ace shouted. All Might grabbed Ace around the middle and shot out of the building. He was going so fast the wind was whipping around his face and he had his eyes closed.

When he was close to the building, but not in sight yet, All Might apologized and chucked Ace hard onto the neighboring street. He landed in a mess of fire, but it wasn't painful, thank god he was a logia. The horrible presence was so close, but the kids were closer. He could get to them. He ran to the alleyway.

He saw them all struggling under the fear. He changed his body into fire so he fit just fine in the alleyway. He gripped Freckles' hand. He couldn't afford to get angry right now, he had to get them to safety. "Come, I'm getting you out of here. You're fine, c'mon. The building is crumbling and you can be crushed. Don't use your powers," he whispered.

Freckles' resisted. "We have to save Kacchan," he whispered.

"Do you think you can get him out without anyone seeing? All Might just got thrown away and crashed into multiple buildings. You can get away while he's distracted," Ace insisted. He couldn't knock them out with haki or they'd be found immediately.

But then they all heard the terrible voice tell Shigaraki to leave and take Bakugo with him. They needed to stop that from happening. "If All Might is having trouble and the other pro-heroes are out, we're all that's left. Us and you." Then they all heard the fighting start. They were trying to catch Bakugo and leave with him.

Ace may dislike him, but he'd do what he could to save the brat. "We're not going anywhere," Todoroki said. They were all trembling. "We can't use our powers but we're not giving up" Ace hissed out a swear before he asked if they had a plan. They were surprised by this. "I won't let you get hurt, I promise," Ace swore.

Their plan was reckless, but he could be useful for it. "Okay, I'll tell you when he's far enough from the enemies. You're going to have to be successful or it's over. You won't get burned by my flames, but it will be hard to see through them. I'll know the moment you blast off. I'm gonna get in so much trouble." Then he smiled a reassuring smile. "You better not get me in fucking trouble."

He turned away from them, Iida and Freckles holding onto Kirishima. He closed his eyes and waited. The evil guy (he was pure evil) was distracted with All Might. The right moment came and Ace jumped up, letting out a blast of the hottest fire he could, white flames. While they were all freaking out from the sudden flames, which was burning them based on their screams. Iida and Freckles blasted off. The fire was like a thick smoke screen. Bakugo was at the very edge of it, and shouted in shock before he saw the three above him.

Ace hadn't noticed, but apparently Bakugo actually had a friend, Kirishima, who reached out his hand. "Come!" he shouted, and Bakugo grinned, blasting off with a huge explosion that added debris and smoke into the mix of flame, and they were gone. Safe, not having used their powers to fight at all.

His flames dissipated, and he stood there in front of the villains, covered in white flames over the armament haki coating his whole body. His shorts were in tatters and his hat had been forgotten at the other hideout. He'd get it later, he promised.

"You! He's always the one that foils the plan!" Shigaraki shouted in rage. Ace couldn't help the grin, he just couldn't help it.

When three of them were getting ready to go after the kids, Ace shot forward and punched each one of them in the gut, kicked their crotches, chopped the back of their necks and slammed a booted foot into their ankles. The kids were gone and he'd keep his promise. All three of them were down, unconscious from the chop and unable to run from their ankles.

With the one who could shrink people, Ace slammed his hand down so hard on the guy's wrists that the bones shattered. The pain woke him up but Ace got him in the face again before dodging perfectly when crazy high school girl attacked him with a knife. She was no longer laughing.

Ace kicked her side in, grabbing and breaking the knife with his hand, surprising her. He slammed his fist into the front of her throat, making her scream and cough blood. He grabbed the scruff of her shirt and slammed her into the stone roof. He whipped around, ready to fight again.

All For One, the evil villain, was about to launch an attack when All Might was seconds away, but Ace easily evaded the extended fingers. Shigaraki was too angry to do anything, leaving his own men to cower.

He heard screams from below, and the moaning sound of nomus. "NOMUS!" He roared, releasing a burst of haki that just barely reached them. "KILL YOUR OWN PEOPLE!" And the nomus became another problem for the remaining villains. Four left, he'd taken out three and three of their previous ones had been arrested or killed. And they were all burned. It was probably only adrenaline that was keeping them conscious. Unless they had a healer, those burns would last a long time if not the rest of their lives.

It was hard to fight both Ace and the nomus, who didn't hurt Ace at all. The blue fire guy's flames didn't hurt Ace and the nomus didn't respond to his flames as well. They were the perfect army. All Might was just barely keeping All For One at bay, distracted enough that he didn't target Ace. Finally, his strength was depleted, and he had no other way to help. "All Might! I'm sorry!"

"You've done enough, Firefist!" he called. Ace looked so regretful. He ordered the nomus to fight to the death and after it was over to kill themselves. Then Gran Torino showed up. He saw all of the damage Ace had done.

"Protect him!" Ace shouted before he jumped off of the roof and turned into fire and sped down the street, following where the kids had gone. They'd flown very far away, out of sight from where the final battle was. He found them and the very last moment his haki was still reaching out, he felt Shigaraki and all of his beaten villains disappear into the warp.

Ace walked right up to them, struggling to walk. "Everyone okay?" he asked, sitting down. He was on the verge of passing out.

"Thanks to you," Iida said. Ace laughed tiredly, and said they were welcome, but were going to get in so much trouble later.

Ace stood and took a few shaky breaths. "Let's go. I promised I'd keep you safe, it's not over yet. But I don't know the city well enough. Call the others. I didn't sense them in the area anymore," Ace said. Freckles' nodded and called Todoroki and Momo. When Ace stumbled, Iida supported him on one side. "Sorry, I'm gonna pass out soon. Get us somewhere safe and then I'm out."

Kirishima asked what had happened after they fled. "I fought them off. I got four of them that tried and go after you. Then the nomus attacked the others. I couldn't help him anymore," Ace said, sounding ashamed.

"You saved us, and then kept them from coming after us. The nomus also started acting weird and killing themselves before you found us. All Might wouldn't want you to die helping him," Freckles said, telling him that the remaining two had gone into the public to hide. Ace was in no condition to hide in plain sight.

Bakugo was looking at him angrily. "You still angry about me giving you orders?" Ace asked, voice flat and tired. Iida was tall enough to be a good crutch. Bakugo looked down, looking ashamed. Ace knew his pride was too much for him to thank Ace. "You're welcome," Ace said simply. Then he passed out, falling forward though Iida was able to catch him. He was covered in dirt, his shorts a mess, his hair a mess. He just looked so exhausted. His skin was also looking pink. He was clearly not fighting anymore that night.

He woke up in an ambulance, laying on a gurney. He had to admit that using cars to get people help was much more productive than taking an ill person on foot to a hospital. He saw Iida and Todoroki inside. "He blinked a few times and tried to sit up. Iida pushed him down. He was so tired and spent that he was solid, completely vulnerable.

"The doctors and Aizawa-sensei told us to make sure you rest. They said you're so exhausted you might make yourself ill if you don't rest." Ace asked if they called Eraser Head, and they nodded. "The others are in police cruisers heading back to the school, where would be the safest right now."

Ace asked, "What about All Might?" Iida looked away. Todoroki was the one to answer.

He said, "All Might won, but lost his power. He's really injured, but he's alive." Ace sighed. "You can rest easy now." Ace was out like a light again.

When he woke up again, it was the school infirmary. He saw All Might in a bed next to his. It hadn't been long since he passed out, he was still here. He wanted to go home to heal. To relax, the fight was very taxing. Using his conqueror's haki more than once was bad enough, but he had to use large amounts of fire, physical exertion, keeping his other haki up enough to manage. His whole body was a bit pink from how long he had it covered completely in armament haki.

All Might was awake and looked over. Ace saw his hat had been recovered and he took it off the nightstand and held it to his chest. Luffy would have thought he was awesome. "How are you feeling, Ace?" Ace could feel his powers were almost completely gone. And he no longer looked how he did before. He looked fragile and sick.

"Still tired," Ace replied.

"You did a valliant job. You saved us so many times by taking care of the overwhelming nomus, you used your haki too much, it seems. Then you protected the students. All under All For One's terrifying presence. You did more than enough."

Ace sighed. "Using conqueror's haki at least 4 times is too much. I'm surprised I lasted long enough to get away safely. I'm sorry I left, I knew I couldn't fight anymore. I didn't want to be a burden," he said, sounding ashamed.

All Might looked so different. The smile was gone, but he was still kind and had the same voice and feeling, only he was weaker now. "The hero community has been wishing to talk to you all day. They want to make you a real hero. I turned them down for you, don't worry. Young Mirio came to visit, very worried."

Ace looked down at his hat. "I did my best. I just hope it was enough. I injured some of the villains, but if they have someone like Recovery Girl-"

"Ace-san. Don't think about it anymore. Get your rest. You don't want to worry your family when you return." Ace nodded, hugging the hat closer. He was so glad someone had gone to get it. And it wasn't damaged at all. That made him so relieved. "I think I may have died if your brother hadn't healed me. I'm alive because of that, no matter how beaten and bruised I am." Ace smiled, saying Marco would be pleased.

His stomach roared, and Freckles came in right on time with a trolley filled with all sorts of food. "Oh, you're awake!" he said with a grin.

Ace replied, "You guys better be in a shit ton of trouble." Freckles assured him that they were so deep in trouble that he didn't even want to talk about it. He bowed and thanked Ace for helping them. He said he wasn't in trouble. Ace would have been mad if he got reprimanded or demoted or something because he couldn't force them to leave.

Ace sat up, the bed letting him sit upright more. He ate all of the food with his sore hands and arms. "What happened to All For One?" Ace asked between bites. He was glad when he was told he was now in prison. "Freckles is the next one, right? Since you lost your powers."

Both of them froze. All Might asked how he knew, but didn't sound worried that Ace would tell anybody. More like curious while Freckles was clearly internally panicking. "You're guys' powers are too similar. I didn't say this before, but every time your power decreased, his increased. It was too much to be a coincidence. And you clearly play favorites with him even if you try to make it look like you don't," Ace explained. "Plus, maybe Freckles shouldn't have his attacks be the same name as yours."

He then asked what day it was, just to make sure. "Day fifteen," All Might said. Ace sighed happily. He got to see his family again.

"When I disappear, I'll come back healed. You don't need to worry." He sighed, and as if he controlled it himself, he was instantly on another bed.


Ace didn't end up fighting All For One directly, because I feel he would definitely lose against someone just that strong and unpredictable. But he was super helpful and awesome, so I hope this was satisfying! See you next week or tomorrow depending on if you read my other stories. Happy new years!