Stormy1x2: Mirio is like his support in this my hero world. He doesn't judge Ace and is his friend and he can be honest with him. I had fun writing their relationship. Ace definitely needs a good friend there, even if he has a friendship with All Might, too.

Greer123: I made him overpowered in this world due to his abilities with haki and his devil fruit, but even he would probably lose to AFO. But I bet Whitebeard would have gotten him just out of sheer badassery lol.

Wickerstein: I'm confused about your review, as I refer to Thirteen as female throughout the story. Maybe there was a typo somewhere, but I do know she's a woman.


Very long chapter this time. It's very sad for part of it, so beware. And something everyone has been waiting for happens in this one, too! Features alcoholism and and other possibly upsetting things. So, beware the feels. Enjoy~


His brothers didn't know how injured he was. They'd be worried, but he was still visibly exhausted and pink. And he was in hospital pants. Very clearly not alright.

He left his room and headed straight to the infirmary, where he stumbled against the walls until Vista appeared, and shouted his name, catching him before he fell. "Infirmary. Take me to the infirmary," Ace said in an exhausted voice. Vista picked him up and hurried to the infirmary where he was laid down. Vista looked at him and saw the state he was in.

Even if it looked like he had no external injuries, he still wasn't fine. Whiskey hurried out and gasped at Ace. "What happened?!"

Ace said, "Big battle. I'm all red because I was covered in haki for at least an hour. I'll tell everyone after I'm better. It's a long story." It didn't take long for the room to be full of his brothers and father, all looking worried at his condition. Marco couldn't stand it and healed him with one of the blood bags he kept in the freezer. There were many of them now.

He felt much better only an hour later, and sat up. "Son, what happened to you?" Ace sighed.

"A lot. A lot of stuff happened. Too much for just two weeks," he said. He told them everything, from the summer camp disaster to the battle with all of the pro-heroes and All Might. They all sat like they were watching a movie, those moving pictures that were clearer than den den projectors. But, he still wasn't upset with coming home to less advanced technology. It was what he was used to, and he didn't like all of the lights of the city that drowned out the stars.

Once he was finished, they were speechless. Ace wondered what they were thinking until Thatch shouted, "You're so cool! Damn, I wish I had been there for the fight!" Ace chuckled, and agreed. They would have all competed for who could take out the most enemies.

Whitebeard asked how he was feeling about everything that had happened. "Tired. But at least things aren't boring there. It was all a good distraction. And I handled being there well this time. I… I was not well when I left. I had an episode about it."

The captain frowned. "Because of the sentence you left during?" Ace nodded. It was bad timing, really bad timing. "I'll say it again. We all love you." Ace started crying, hiding his face in his hands. Marco and Thatch walked over and sat beside him rubbing his shoulder or arm. It didn't hurt to touch. The skin just hurt.

"It's hard. I… it is okay when I'm there eventually after appearing, and I'm happy there seems to be a pattern now for when I jump from one place to the other, but I miss everyone. I won't stop missing you. And I've only been gone an hour again. Time moves so slow for me. Two weeks for me is one hour for everybody else. And we haven't gotten any closer to the island since I was last here," Ace grumbled.

Haruta looked down and said, "I know it's selfish, but I'm glad it's only an hour for us. I can't imagine having you gone for so long, not knowing if you're okay or not. All alone in a different world. It's not like it is when you go on missions, y'know?" Ace nodded in understanding.

He looked down as well. "I don't want to admit this, I know it's messed up, but I wish you guys missed me as much as I miss you. I don't want you to be in pain, but we've always dealt with things together. And knowing you guys sometimes don't even know you should miss me… it's unfair. I know, the world isn't fair. I just don't want to be the only one feeling this way," he confessed, hands gripping the sheets under him tightly.

Pops spoke. "We understand your feelings, son. And we wish we could share your suffering. It's not right that your family can't help you half the time." Ace looked up, and said it wasn't their fault.

Thatch spat, "I should have made you stop. I shoulda' been more insistent, and I wasn't." Ace frowned deeper, and said he didn't blame Thatch. Neither of them knew this would happen. "Still, I feel responsible!"

"Well, you aren't," Ace said sharply. The others nodded in agreement. "It was my fault for being careless. I wouldn't have known what was in the cave or what would happen but still, I should have listened to everybody else."

Jozu said, "There's nothing we can do to change the past. We can just make the present as good as possible." The others agreed. "How about we have a party? Still a few days till the next island."

Marco had fixed him up perfectly, way better than Recovery Girl could. The party was that night. "Hey Marco. I helped All Might out a lot during the fight, but you were the one to make him the winner," Ace said when he was a bit tipsy. "I haven't had a drink for two weeks!"

"Ooh, does this make Marco a hero? He saved one, right?" Thatch asked, just as drunk. But the night was only just getting started. They drank like there was no tomorrow, and Ace drank as if he hadn't in two weeks. Which was true. He got shit faced more than anytime before, and spent the next morning with his head in the toilet.

It was worth it.

The island came quickly. Too quickly. Ace wished time would slow down. He wanted to reach the island that started this quickly, but his two weeks felt like they were going by in a flash. He was conflicted. Time, slow down or hurry, get to the island!

His mind argued with itself a lot, and Ace started to grow concerned when he was having graphic nightmares about being ripped away from his life for good. Some were that he came back and found out that a hundred years had passed while he was gone. Where everybody would be dead when he got back. Or that Pops would pass and he didn't know. He was terrified of it, of the dreams that stuck with him all day and into the next night.

He didn't sleep anymore, trying to keep himself awake as long as possible. And then he started to regularly drink during the day. Downing multiple bottles of sake a day. His family worried about him, that he'd become an alcoholic from the stress of it all. Ace got angry whenever someone tried to take his booze away.

They were so concerned as Ace attempted to drown his problems in a steady stream of different types of alcohol. Sure, pirates drank a lot, but Ace didn't usually. When he was told that the alcohol was interfering with his commander duties, Ace had an episode.

"You don't need me anyways! You're fine without me! Everyone is fine when I'm gone! I'm all alone and you all are still together! You don't even know I'm gone, so what's to miss?!" he screamed. He had tears down his face, slurring his speech from being so drunk.

It was after that that Marco made the executive decision. They dumped every single ounce of alcohol into the sea while Ace was asleep. He slept a lot too, even though that was what he wanted the least. He was very upset when he learned that they'd all taken his booze away. Said it was the only way he forgot about problems.

His family had let him down by allowing him to go this far. To drink this much. Nobody was mad at him about losing the sake, they cared more about his mental health than their own love for alcohol. Ace drank so much he didn't have to deal with hangovers, so when he finally had no more drinks, he was incredibly sick and in withdrawals.

Nobody blamed him. Nobody hated him. He had a mental collapse and felt none of them could help him, so he turned to other sources of "help". There was no way to stop it for another three weeks.

Ace was so afraid to sleep at night that Marco started sleeping with him. Giving him sleep pills before bed, and staying awake all night, keeping his flames open to help Ace feel better. He didn't bat an eye with cuddling Ace to keep the peaceful flames on. It was necessary, and they'd do anything to help him.

While he was trying to go back to normal, he couldn't really control his emotions well, and cried a lot. It was hard for everyone, and Ace didn't notice their concern. He didn't notice their worry about what would happen when he went back. And when Thatch said that, Ace had started crying again.

"I don' wanna go back!" he sobbed. It broke their hearts. They were all seriously considering sending someone else with him this time. And when Ace was sleep deprived, he said it would be easier for everyone if he was just gone for forever. Then he wouldn't need to cause problems for them.

"Ace, we love you. We'd do anything for you. And we will wait for you to return no matter how long it may take," Thatch said strongly. "We don't want you gone for good!" he insisted.

"Liar. Everyone's a liar! I'm not a good person, I don't want to be that person! I want to be me! Me, not some stupid hero! That's not me! I wanna party, I wanna drink with my brothers, I want to be loud and obnoxious! I want to be me and I can't!" he shouted.

Finally, the crew came to a decision. Marco would be going with him. If things persisted, then they'd be gone for an hour. Ace hadn't protested like he did before. He knew deep down that he needed somebody with him, at least this time. He needed help from someone who could actually give it to him.

Mirio was awesome, but he didn't know the real Ace. He knew his world's Ace. So, on the fifteenth day, Marco was attached to Ace all day, carrying a medical backpack that had anything Ace needed to be better, including sedatives, antidepressants, and something for intense bouts of anxiety.

When they finally disappeared, Ace landed on the ground with Marco landing on top of him. Ace looked around and then hugged Marco tightly. Marco pat his back. "I'm here for you. Why don't you show me where you sleep? And we can find All Might and let him know I'm here this time." Ace nodded, and he and Marco walked to the main building, heading for All Might's presence. It seemed to be the same day, and there were no students around. Luckily. They found All Might still in the infirmary. Ace entered and Recovery Girl asked who Marco was. "My brother. Can you leave us alone with All Might?"

She nodded, and All Might looked up. "Marco. What are you doing here?" Ace's face turned red and he looked down when Marco replied.

"The two weeks weren't good back home. He needs someone to be with him, so I came for him. I'm sorry if it causes problems, but I'm not leaving him," Marco said simply.

Ace spoke. "I'm sorry. I… need a break. I just need a break. I don't want to be around the students or heroes or anything for a bit. I need to get better with Marco," Ace said in shame. All Might was sad for him. He was still injured but gave him a smile. Not those crazy grins he used to have, but one that was more sincere. His smiles had been sincere before, but he had always been smiling. It wasn't much of a change.

He asked if he could know what had happened. "Bad nightmares… and drinking a lot. They had to dump all of it off the ship. I had a lot of problems then, so I need to reset with Marco here. Don't tell anyone about the drinking. I don't want people thinking I'm an alcoholic. It was only for a week. And I acknowledge that I wasn't well, and I won't be touching alcohol for awhile. I promise," he said firmly.

All Might said he understood, and said that he would call the principal over to know what was happening and who Marco was. The phoenix bowed to him in thanks. "I'm happy to see your wound is still healed. Have there been any complications?" All Might shook his head, and said that Marco's treatment had saved his life.

Nezu entered and looked surprised to see Marco. He looked at him with a respectful nod. "Who might you be?" he asked, sounding perfectly pleasant.

"I'm Marco, Ace's brother. For this time, I will be staying with him. And he needs some time to himself." Ace was humiliated, but didn't want to speak for himself. All Might added that Marco was the one to heal his fatal wound.

Nezu said, "Then you're welcome to stay with Ace. Everybody needs support through hard times. I will tell Nighteye you are ill and cannot come over." Ace thanked him and apologized for the inconvenience. "Ace, your role in the fight against the League of Villains was instrumental to a win. I'm sure everybody will understand that you need recuperation after that. You did more than expected. Two times in two weeks you were put into a position you didn't need to be in.

"Two weeks of being absent will be fine, I assure you," Nezu said strongly. Ace smiled and thanked him. Marco bowed as well, thanking him for understanding.

"Should I stay in the building Ace stays in for this time? So nobody knows of my presence?" Marco questioned.

Nezu said that he just needed to stay away from the students. But since he was trusted by Ace and had healed All Might, that he was free to roam the grounds where students weren't around. "I assure you I won't be separated from Ace. I'll go where he goes," Marco replied with a smile. Nezu gave a pleasant smile back, and welcomed Marco for his two week stay.

Ace and him walked to Ace's dorm area. Marco didn't look especially interested in anything, keeping all of his attention on Ace, arm around his shoulders. Ace said nothing, so embarrassed and guilty, putting everyone through trouble just because he had a mental collapse and turned into a temporary alcoholic.

When they got into Ace's room, he opened it and showed it to Marco. "This is where I sleep," he said in a flat voice. Marco commented that it sure wasn't a commanders' bedroom. "Yeah. I got used to it eventually. The bed isn't very nice and there's no attached bathroom."

Marco said it was fine since nobody else lived in this area. Ace sighed. "I put everybody through so much trouble." Marco sat next to him, putting the medical bag that also had changes of clothes on the floor.

"You're not causing anyone trouble. You deserve a break from being a voluntary hero. Ace, you may be strong, but you're human. You're a human who needs and deserves support and love. And I'll be the one to give it to you now." Ace nodded, and wiped his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with crying when I'm around. You know that."

Ace nodded. "I know, but it doesn't mean I want to." Marco sat on the bed next to Ace and pulled the younger's head to rest on his shoulder. "I shoulda' come on my own. I don't want to get in trouble here."

Marco put his hand on Ace's head, rubbing circles against his scalp. "You weren't okay, Ace. Nobody was going to let you come here alone how you were. Now, there's no way for me to get back on my own right now, so there's no use saying I shouldn't be here. I am, there's not anything either of us can do."

Ace took a nap for a couple hours while Marco read some of the magazines and reading materials strewn about the room. When he started to breathe quickly, Marco ran flames against his cheek, his face reacting and the nightmare at bay. Ace reached up and he held Marco's hand.

When the younger did wake up, it was to a roaring stomach. Ace said he'd get them both food. "Is there anyone else here today?"

"Just some teachers probably. Nobody really goes in this part of the building or the cafeteria when there aren't students. Do you want to go out?" Marco said he'd like to stretch his legs. The hero kids were all gone with internships, so they could roam the campus where the hero courses usually took place. The only ones who were still there were the ones who were in trouble.

Ace led him through the more empty part of the building to the cafeteria. "There's food behind there," Ace said, and led Marco to the area behind the counter and shutters, reheating some food in his hand. He didn't use the microwave, not knowing how it worked very well. Plus, he did everything he could to not use the tech here. No matter how small it may be.

He and Marco ate at a table. "This isn't a very cozy place, you weren't kidding," Marco said lightly. Ace chuckled and agreed. It definitely wasn't home. After they were done with their disappointing food, Ace showed him around campus. There was a lot to introduce, so that kept him busy and distracted.

Ace's voice was monotone as he showed Marco around. When Ace just drooped, stopping talking and walking, he asked his younger brother if he wanted to go on a fly. "After all, there's nobody here, right? Who would see us?"

It sounded nice to Ace, so he agreed. He climbed onto Marco's back when he turned into full bird form, flying around the campus, seeing everything from an aerial view. One their second time around, Ace felt and saw Mirio standing at the gate, which was closed, before he walked right through it.

Marco noticed where he was looking, and asked, "Is that Mirio?" Ace nodded. "I want to meet your friend," the phoenix said before he landed in front of the teen, who looked shocked before Marco turned back into human form. "You're Mirio, right?"

The high school student nodded, looking confused to Ace. He didn't make eye contact.

"My name is Marco. I'm one of Ace's brothers," Marco said, and put his hand out for Mirio to shake. "It's nice to meet someone Ace likes from here." Mirio smiled and said he enjoyed Ace's company and he didn't need to act so formally.

He had an easy going smile and said, "Ace talks about you a lot. And you're the one who healed All Might, right? Nobody knew about his injury before but now everybody seems to know." Marco smiled at him, and Ace could see he approved. "So what brings you here this time?" After all, Ace had told him he wouldn't bring any of his family here, not wanting to risk getting in trouble for it.

Marco replied, "The past two weeks were a bit difficult, so we all decided someone should come this time to keep him company." Ace's face was red.

"Oh! I understand. Well, I'm here if you wanna hang out. I know I don't seem the most emotionally deep guy, but still. We're friends so I'm here for you," Mirio said earnestly. Ace sensed no pity from him in his voice or demeanor. He was just stating a fact, friends help their friends. "When Nighteye was called about you taking a break, I was worried. But you have your brother with you, so that's great. You're a commander, too, right?"

Ace looked to Marco and said, "He pretty much figured it out on his own." Mirio had been the one to bring up Ace being a criminal in the other world. Ace felt sad, though. He made a great friend, and he'd be saying goodbye for good soon. Well, what he hoped was for good.

"Yeah, and the first mate of the ship, second in command. I have to deal with all of these idiots and their pranks. Ace included. He likes to prank, too," Marco explained. Ace chuckled and looked away, smiling for the first time since arriving.

Mirio said he had heard about that. "He said that he came here covered in paint once. I thought it was pretty funny," he said lightheartedly. His company made Ace feel good. Marco and Mirio both being there was nice, a support from both worlds.

Ace said, "It wasn't funny. I was only lucky that no one was around besides some of the teachers!" Marco said it wasn't his fault, and Ace huffed. "Mirio, will you show Marco your power?"

"Sure!" Mirio said, and went to the wall, putting his hand through it and disappearing completely before walking back out. Marco was impressed. Ace had been, too. His brother said that it looked like a handy quirk for stealth missions. "Yeah, that's what it's best for. And surprising people. Just sticking your face out of the wall and scaring people is fun sometimes. As long as it's not in a place that they could fall and get hurt. Or an old person who could have a heart attack."

Marco scoffed. "Ace, why can't you be this responsible? He doesn't take other people's health into account when he played pranks," Marco said, though it was lighthearted. Ace was happy. He had known Marco would get along with Mirio if they ever met, he just didn't know it would go this well.

Ace said, "Are you concerned for yourself? You're one of the oldest on-" Marco hit him on the head. "Don't say stupid things. I'm not that old. My life isn't even half over yet," he said. Ace laughed, a big smile on. Mirio chuckled, too.

"You guys do act like brothers even though you aren't related," the youngest said. "It's nice to meet you, Marco. Well, I know Ace is safe, so I'm gonna go back to work. Nighteye isn't upset about you missing work for a bit. It was a huge mission, after all." Then he grinned. "I can't wait to hear all about it when you want to talk about it."

Ace smiled. "I'll tell you another time."

"Sounds good!" and he walked through the wall and back off of campus. Marco laughed, asking why Ace couldn't be responsible like Mirio. Ace shot back that he was responsible, but then his face crumbled.

He sighed and pressed his lips together. "I wasn't a good commander for the last two weeks. I'm so sorry, I made life harder for everybody," Ace said softly. Marco bonked his head softly.

"Your feelings were understandable. Remember what Thatch was like after Teach's attempt? Was he upset about something traumatizing wrong or a bother?" Ace opened his mouth to argue before nothing came out. Marco was right about that. With Teach's betrayal two years ago, Thatch took it the worst, as he was the one who was almost murdered. The only reason he hadn't been killed was because a button popped off of his shirt and he bent down to pick it up, unintentionally dodging the knife.

He'd become a drunk as well, only he stopped when he was told he wasn't allowed to cook while being an alcoholic. Like Ace had been for the last two weeks. "And remember what happened then? With the support of all of us?"

"He got sober, and was happier than before," Ace muttered. "But, this situation is a lot different, Marco, you know that."

Marco nodded, "I do know that. And I know Thatch is strong. Ace, I think you're stronger. Not because of your devil fruit or natural talent. You've been through so much but can still smile everyday. Ace, it took you four trips in an unknown world to get to you. You know most on our crew would be panicking, a mess." Ace wasn't making eye contact. "You already charmed everyone in this freaking world. Except one brat. You don't even have to try to be strong and a good person."

He walked forward and said, "If we know anything about you from all these years, it's that you're resilient. I'm sure, if things don't work out, that you could grow to smile in both places. Make friends in both places, you already have."

Ace was sniffling. "I don't want to…"

Marco smiled. "You may not want to, but you can." Ace wiped his tears away, not wanting to cry out in the open. "Let's go back to the room, you look exhausted. I know being upset causes more sleep attacks." Ace nodded.

As they walked, he said, "You're too nice to be a wanted criminal." Marco laughed. "And you aren't?"

They both smiled, and Ace was thinking Thatch was probably the best of them all. The nicest. It was part of him that rubbed off on Ace. Wanting to be in another family. And making friends. Was Ace good at making friends? "Marco, am I good at making friends? I can never tell. And it took months for me to accept you guys. After all of this, I'm finding it hard to really think about my qualities." He looked at the sky. "I'm all jumbled up."

Marco replied, "You are good at making friends, even when you don't try. Or even want to make friends. You naturally pull people to you, once you finally open up. Everyone on our protected islands love you." Ace nodded, knowing that was true.

"Probably only because I don't wear a shirt and am ripped," Ace said, joking. He did get a lot of stares from women on islands where the citizens knew if Ace will hurt them or not. Marco laughed, admitting that was probably some of it. "Hey, I was joking!"

"Well, I wasn't," Marco countered. Ace was in a better mood. Marco was a life saver. When they got to the room, they saw there was a sack on the floor in front of Ace's area. He picked it up and there was a note under it that Marco read.

"'You were caught on camera while fighting with All Might. You've got fan mail'." Marco laughed.

Ace was shocked. "I… got fan mail? The fuck?" he asked, opening the bag to see there were indeed tons of envelopes. They entered the room and locked the door before Ace dumped the contents of the sack onto the bed. He counted them and realized there were 33 letters, and four packages. "What is going on...?"

They both started opening the letters, saying aloud what they were about. Many of them, the handwriting was terrible, showing that it must have been a child who wrote it. Lots of them expressed how "cool" he was while fighting with All Might. Telling him he must have been really scared. He was confused. He was a wanted pirate, this was wrong.

But he didn't stop reading the letters.

A couple had drawings in them. One was of him being on fire, but with the distinct Whitebeard mark on his back. At least that part was visible. Even defacing his family's cause, he was glad people saw it.

"This is weird," Marco said. "I wonder what's in the packages," he mumbled and opened them. "Hah, someone actually made you into a toy."

"What?!" Marco handed him the plastic figure of himself. It was actually really nicely made. Mirio told him about something called a 3D printer that made some of the costume pieces heroes have. In the other three packages was an embroidered… handkerchief?... with a fiery pattern on it, and one had a framed photo of a little boy dressed in a mock version of his outfit. Even with the freckles on him.

"Well, looks like you can't do shit about people thinking you're a hero now," Marco said bluntly. Ace wasn't listening as he read one of the last letters.

I was born without a quirk, and everybody laughed at me. But I want to be a cool hero, or even a side kick. And you weren't only using fire, you were beating them up super cool, too! It was amazing! Maybe I can be a hero if I learn what you did? I never thought being police would be fun, but if I can work and learn from heroes, then I'll gladly be a regular hero! You're really cool. Thanks.

Ace gripped the paper tightly, almost ripping it before his hands relaxed and he gently put it back in the envelope. "I don't understand. I didn't do anything special. All Might was the one to do the most work."

"Well, you fought with him, right? And you've fought with him twice already. Once against him and once with him. And you look pretty cool when you fight, you show off," Marco said lightly, putting the letters back in the bag. Ace pointed out that he was exhausted and worried, not exactly showing off. "Can you not show off with you work with fire?" Marco replied.

He sat next to Ace, and asked how he felt about this. He was still worried about Ace, even if he tried to lighten the mood as much as he could without being insensitive. Marco was always like that, always knowing when somebody was upset. Always there to help.

Ace was quiet for a little bit. "I don't know how I feel about it."

"Did reading them make you feel happy?" he wondered. Ace was holding the figure. It didn't have the hat, sadly. But it had been lost at the original hideout at that time.

Ace replied, "Made me feel kinda cocky. Like 'fuck yeah, I looked cool' but more toned down." Marco asked again if it made him feel happy. Ace's face turned red in shame and embarrassment. "...Yeah," he said in a tiny voice. "I don't know how to feel, Marco. I don't know who to be."

Marco leaned against the wall the bed was up against. "Does it matter? We're pirates. By nature, we do what makes us happy, right? Maybe you could be real slick and have a double life or something. You made a good friend here, right? Mirio seems like a genuinely nice guy."

Ace looked at him. "Why are you doing this? Do you want me to stay like this?" he didn't sound accusing, just confused.

"I want what makes you happy. I know if we destroy that cave, it might not work. We should all be prepared for that. If you can't go back to how it was before, and this back and forth lasts, do you want to be miserable while you're here? In this other part of your life?" Ace shook his head, and knew Marco was telling the truth.

The cave plan might not work. They didn't know what about it made it different. What about it had caused this to happen in the first place. There may not be a solution. Rarely did the universe ever give Ace a break. And the New World defies expectations. Hell, they might arrive there and the island could have sunk. It could have teleported somewhere. It could have dissolved, or a giant monster ate it.

There was no such thing as a guarantee in the New World.

"I… can't keep whining and crying and moping about it. I don't want to be weak like that. I'll do my best to stay strong, even when I'm lonely or… or scared. I'm a commander, I can't be weak or a burden," he said, voice getting stronger the longer he spoke. "What happened for the last two weeks will never, ever happen again. I promise," Ace finished.

Marco grinned. "That's our Ace. I'm still gonna watch over for now, but I'm not your parent or caretaker." He put a hand on Ace's shoulder. "I'm you big brother, and I got your back no matter what." Ace grinned and nodded back.

Ace did as he said. He stayed away from the students, able to go anywhere they weren't with his haki. He and Marco mostly stayed inside except at night or while school was in session. After the whole All For Once incident and All Might deflating, the world was in chaos and the school was being scrutinized. Ace was glad he didn't need to deal with it.

Marco trailed him, and if Ace ever got distant or quiet, Marco would interrupt it and make sure he didn't fall into a hole. And that only happened two times. It was a quiet week of healing for Ace, and Marco was there the whole time.

More fan mail came, and Ace didn't know what he was supposed to do with all of it. There was just so much. "Where does this go? Do I reply? Do I burn them?" Ace asked, hands deep in the pile of fan mail he wasn't even reading anymore.

Marco was reading a book on the bed from the library. They weren't allowed to leave the building, and they weren't. "Do what you want with them. If burning them feels right, then do that. You could always just stuff them somewhere to hide them. I mean, the figures you were sent could finally put some life in this boring room." Ace nodded. He had gotten a figure of himself beside All Might, when he still was buff. These printers were really talented.

It was late at night, and he saw All Might out on a stroll, shoulders slumped. "I'll be right back," Ace said, and dropped down from his window and hurried to the more emaciated man. He looked so depressed, how Ace had been. He lost everything. That's what he felt like most likely. His image, his place in the world, his quirk, his job.

"Oh, Ace-san. How are you feeling? How's all that fan mail?" He sounded entertained.

Ace replied, "I'm feeling a lot better. Marco's a huge help. The fan mail is… weird. I've never gotten mail before. Ever. And people keep sending me drawings and figurines and stuff. I never even saw the video that triggered all of it." Then he paused and looked up.

"How are you feeling?" All Might looked down, and didn't answer. "You're feeling sorry, for yourself, right? I can recognize it, it's easy to see," Ace said in a nice voice. All Might slumped even more. "Are you doing anything about it?"

"What can I do? I lost my power to be the symbol of peace. I'm just a weak teacher now." Ace was surprised he was opening up to him. Well, they had gone through a lot, and he felt they'd formed some sort of friendship.

Ace huffed. "You saw my crew, All Might. And there are only three of us there beside Pops that have devil fruits. Do you think you need a quirk to be fit? To be strong? You should be pumping iron, not moping. Sure, you don't have your super strength anymore, but you can be strong in a normal way.

"You're not ill or dying, there's no reason you can't get back the image you were before. You're perfectly fine and have no excuse not to get strong the hard way. You don't even have any high cholesterol or any underlying health conditions."

The former pro-hero looked surprised. Then he touched his injury. Well, where it had been and no longer was. "You're right. I've been moping and lax. I can do more if I just get back into it." He smiled at Ace.

"It's not gonna be easy getting so fit and also doing your work duties as well," Ace said with a grin. "But you were balancing hero work with your job, so it shouldn't be too hard to find time. I need to keep in shape, too. We could be work out buddies," Ace laughed. All Might chuckled as well.

"You have a kind heart, Ace-san. Never lose it." Ace smiled and said he wouldn't. "Have you decided what you want to do?" Ace looked down and nodded.

He said, "I can't whine or lament what used to be anymore. I can't think only about the past. And it's hard thinking about the future. But, even if I can never go back to normal, I'm not gonna be miserable here." He looked up and asked, "How are the students? The ones who were directly involved it the fight?"

All Might smiled again. "They want to see you. And thank you. Apparently they all knew about the kids going to rescue young Bakugo. They are all in trouble, but those who came are in the deepest trouble. The staff have been leaving you alone and we've kept the media away due to your wish to have time to yourself, but everyone wants to thank you. You kept the kids safe even when you couldn't get them to leave. And none of them got hurt. We are eternally thankful for that."

Ace sighed. "I'm still pissed that they did that, but it saved Bakugo. And I was able to keep the villains from following them. Any sightings of them?" he asked seriously. All Might shook his head. "Well, I burned all of them pretty badly. Hopefully they are really feeling that."

The teacher also mentioned how he'd broken their bones in other ways, so they needed to recover from that as well. "All For One has been arrested, but the League of Villains is still out there. And they are most likely furious with us. Yourself as you have thwarted them over and over by taking the nomus out, and myself for getting their leader in prison. The kids in general most likely as they'd been the ones to take back young Bakugo."

Ace nodded. He'd faced plenty of enemies, these ones wouldn't be too bad. "To be honest, I think you will be one of the main targets. If it were anybody else, we would have moved you off campus for the safety of the students. But you've protected them multiple times, and are part of our establishment, so you will be staying, of course," All Might explained.

He blinked twice. "You are now my official assistant. You'll be getting a salary as well. Not a full salary, but you will get paid for each class you help with. And you are also working with Sir Nighteye's agency. You'll be kept pretty busy." He paused. "Have you accepted the world calling you an unofficial hero? There is video of you fighting alongside me, even if we weren't fighting together."

Ace nodded. "I can't just tell everyone to screw off and leave me alone. I don't want to go through school, but I'm fine with helping out in other ways. Patrolling with Mirio has been great. I should really talk to him, I'm feeling better now and I don't want him to worry needlessly."

All Might told him he could use the school's phone system to call since Ace didn't have a phone. "Thanks."

"You're brother works wonders, not just in the medical sense. You've changed completely since arriving last week. I'm sorry for how bad your two weeks sounded," the man said sincerely. It was weird having All Might look like this. But, with a ton of work, he could be how he was before. It was true, he had no reason he couldn't work out and regain his image the hard way.

Ace nodded. "It was hard. It finally all came crashing down on me at once. But I won't fall into that pit again. I can't do anything about this situation but hope it will stop one day, so I shouldn't mope or worry when there's no point."

All Might agreed with that. "Well, I am going to retire while I am still feeling good. Thank you for the talk, Ace-san." Ace gave him a smile and nodded. He walked back to his window and rocketed himself back inside. It was the third story, so safe to have open but also easy to get up and down from.

Marco grinned at him. "You gonna be the former superhero's personal trainer?" he joked. Ace smirked, and said if he was then All Might would hate him. Maybe he'd just exercise with him and then build that up. Ace was still very fit. He just wanted to stay that way. He'd not exercised at all during his nightmare two weeks on the Moby Dick.

They both went to bed, Marco in a sleeping bag that was given to him while Ace was on his bed. He was surprised when there was a knock on his door the next morning. He sensed it was All Might. Weaker though he may be, Ace could still feel it was him. He opened the door, and the man wished both of them good morning.

"Since the camp got ruined, the class will be working on getting the provisional licenses here, where it is safer. I wanted to ask if Ace wished to join. And Marco has permission to watch if he stays out of sight," he explained. "It will be a return to a new normal. I think that's for the best, for both of us."

Ace looked at Marco. "Hey, you're the one calling the shots here. I'm just a visitor," he said. Ace nodded, saying he'd like to take part. Class wasn't for another two hours so he and Marco had time to shower and eat.

"I wonder how they'll react to you," Marco wondered while they ate. The students ate in the dorm nowadays and so the others had the cafeteria to themselves. Ace asked what he meant. "Well, you haven't properly talked to any of them since before the camp. You saved their asses twice in the same week."

Ace had forgotten about that. After all, to him, the camp was a month ago. To the others, it was a little over a week. Time would always move differently to Ace. But Marco had a plan, an experiment he was going to do when they got back home. If the cave didn't work out, then he would take measurements of Ace's hair and fingernails to see if his body aged while he was trapped in the two weeks that lasted an hour.

"I don't know how they'd react. I guess we'll see," Ace replied before Ace headed to the correct gym, where the other teachers were waiting. Marco flew up and stayed on the roof, planning on napping so he stayed out of sight and didn't cause trouble for anyone.

When Ace arrived, he made sure to do it a few minutes earlier than the whole thing was gonna start, just in case something happened. When he came into view, looking normal and not worn out and dirty like the last time they'd seen him, those that he'd saved from the forest went running over and thanked him.

It was uncomfortable, but he said they were welcome. "And thank you for helping them with the Bakugo rescue," Tokoyami said.

Ace replied, "I made sure they didn't get hurt." The bird kid asked how Ace was feeling after the fight. It was a huge one, and All Might was still recovering, but Ace was perfectly healthy. "I'm perfectly fine. My brother healed my wounds for me. Anyways, focus on what you're doing now. I don't want to distract you."

He heard Mineta whisper, "He's so cool," under his breath. Ace zoned out as Eraser Head talked about the provisional license. Ace just knew they were what you needed to become closer to being a certified hero. Super moves… those should be fun to watch. He didn't know what his part would be in it, but he was interested in seeing how this went.

To sum it up, the kids needed to learn super moves or they wouldn't succeed in life as a hero. Ace glanced at Freckles. What would he do? He could move better, but he'd shattered his bones again after the camp nightmare. All Might had told him personally that Midoriya's arms would be permanently damaged if he didn't find a different method.

It was obvious to Ace. If he couldn't use his arms, then all he had left were his legs. And while Freckles could be smart, he could also be clueless, so he wondered if and when he would catch on. Well, Ace wouldn't give him hints this time. He had to figure this out on his own. He still felt bad he was unable to train with him the second time and Todoroki again. He felt like he was breaking his word, but so many things happened all at once or at least close together.

Apparently, Ace was just going to supervise? Ectoplasm clones were doing most of the tutoring, so Ace was left to sit and watch. He wished he could fight with them, actually help them progress. Sure, he'd saved some of them twice in the last two weeks (for them), but he hadn't helped them really in the long run.

He looked up when he sensed All Might, who still had a broken arm. He had it out of its sling last night apparently. He looked so uncomfortable, and Ace felt for the man. Everyone's image of him had changed. Well, he'd go back to normal with intense exercise and a hearty diet.

Ace had been watching Bakugo, the closest in view of where he was sitting. Though he disliked him (very much), he was strong and used his quirk well. He would be a terrifying villain to a lot of people. But he'd declined an offer from the League of Villains, so Ace was sure that had convinced most that he wasn't "bad". He just had a bad temper and liked to say "die" and "kill" a lot.

As he watched them and listened, he noticed Freckles looking a little sad and lost. Still hadn't figured out his legs were the only things he had left to fight with. All Might walked up to his favorite to give him some advice. Ace felt Marco move and looked up to see him peeking inside, upside down.

Nobody saw him, too focused on their own training and Marco was hard to see at that angle. It was boring, and Ace didn't know why he was invited and ended up taking a nap. The next three days were just as boring with the training, but he did call Mirio on the school phone. It was a landline which felt more comfortable to him. More familiar, like a den den mushi. He still sought out things that he knew better, even if it was a bit different.

"Ace! How are you?" Mirio asked. "It's weird to talk over the phone, you usually avoid it like the plague!" Ace laughed.

"I'm doing much better. I've come to terms, finally, that this might not end. If it doesn't, I can't mope and pout my two weeks every time, right?" If it was a den den mushi, Ace knew it would be nodding. "I've got fan mail. It won't stop. I have no idea where to put it or what to do with it," he said in a flat voice. "There's too much."

Marco was in the library, finding books and reading them when he wasn't with Ace. He was incredibly patient, but Ace should have known he would be. And he let him be on his own, but made sure they spent time together to make sure Ace truly was past that horrible time he'd had. Putting that behind him.

"Well, you were seen clearly fighting almost all of the remaining members of the League, right? That's bound to get a lot of attention," Mirio said logically. Ace sighed that he knew that, but he just had nowhere to put all of it.

"I feel like it'd be wrong to throw them away or burn them, but still. I can't read all of them either. They're just going to waste," Ace explained. Mirio said that there might be somewhere on campus he could store them. He pointed out that there were a lot of empty dorm rooms around his own that he might be able to use as storage. "That's a good idea, I'll ask about that. When were you planning on meeting class 1-A?" he wondered. He couldn't wait to see their faces when they face Mirio's power.

"Some time after the provisional license training. Man, you're lucky you didn't need to go through that," Mirio said honestly. Ace pointed out that he hadn't asked to be a hero, they just sort of sucked him in. "Plus, you already have a lot of experience fighting and being a leader. All you really need is to be taught how to act like a hero, but everyone knows you don't want to be a perfect one." Ace nodded.

He replied, "Yeah, I'm glad people have stopped asking me. But the public assumes I'm a pro-hero now. I was just an extra tool. I never expected to be part of the major fight. I'm just glad I could help out in the end, even if All Might still lost his powers at the end of everything," he said sadly. "But, I've convinced him to start building back up his muscles as soon as he can. You don't need to be a superhero to have a fit and strong body."

"That's a great point! He looks ill right now, but if he builds up himself to the image he once was and can be again, the public will see him differently. Right now, I think his appearance is hindering him more than being quirkless," Mirio replied. Ace agreed with that. Appearance was important in this world as well. He assumed it was just a human thing.

Ace yawned widely. "Well, I think I need a nap. Sleep attack is coming. It was nice talking to you again. Sorry about this and all," he said honestly and sincerely. Mirio made sure Ace knew he wasn't upset and was happy Ace was feeling better. They said goodbye and Ace made his way up to the bedroom and collapsed.

When he woke up, Marco was there and Ace had a note on the dresser that wasn't fan mail. He looked at the note that said "Meet me in the meeting room once you awake. - All Might" Ace sat up and woke Marco, he was also sleeping.

"Morning sleepyhead. No, you didn't sleep all night, I was just saying," Marco said with a laugh at Ace's reaction.

Ace wondered what the note was for, and put his shoes and hat on, he and Marco getting up and heading to the meeting room. He wondered if All Might was there waiting for him for a while. When he entered he was there, reading, so not super bored. Well, doing something on his phone, maybe not reading.

"Ace-san, Marco-san. I have some good news," All Might said. His smiles didn't look that good anymore but he still had the kind voice. Even if his appearance was shocking to everyone (and him), he was still All Might. Hopefully those focusing on his appearance will realize that once he's back to looking how he used to.

Ace and Marco both sat down at the table, wondering what it was. "There's a room in the teacher's corridor that had been remodeled. It's at the end of the hall with two windows on the fourth story. Would you like it?"

Ace beamed, and asked if it was any better than his current room. "Much. It's bigger, has a closet and an attached bathroom. It is ridiculous that the children all have those perks yet the staff don't."

"Thank you!" Ace said with a bow. All Might even offered to get him a better mattress. They all knew the one Ace slept on was shit. "Even if I don't stay here permanently? Well, you know what I mean."

For Ace it wasn't permanent, but for everyone else it was. He was gone an hour for everybody else, so to them, he was there pretty much all the time. "Even if this isn't permanent we'll have an extra room for any incoming teachers or more assistants. Maybe it could be a guest room or something of a sort," the retired pro-hero said. Ace thanked him again. "It will be done before your time here is up again."

Ace was happy. He wouldn't be in a shitty, tiny bedroom anymore. An old one, not renovated. His room in the Moby wasn't renovated or anything, but it was kept functional and nice. This one was old. The Moby's was old but everyone took care of the ship well.

"How's the fan mail?" Ace sighed, saying it never ended. "Don't worry, you can put them in the room where we put all of the fan mail. We're heroes, so we get a lot of fan mail as well. There is a storage room for all of it." Ace asked if they didn't read them. "There are too many. And we can't respond to any of them without upsetting anyone. We do open the packages after they are checked by the postmen who deliver our things," he explained.

Ace nodded, glad to have a new room and a place to put all of the envelopes. He wondered how much All Might had. When he and Marco walked into said room to look, they saw a massive, massive mound of mail in one corner, all addressed to All Might. In the other corners of the room were letters to the other teachers that worked and were also pro-heroes.

Ace dumped his sack in an empty spot next to Eraser Head's pile. His sack had he smallest amount in it. All Might was by far the largest, though it wasn't surprising. He noticed there were no packages, meaning those were all opened and not dumped in here.

He would miss Marco the next time he jumped, but he wouldn't be the mess he was the time before. He'd never get that bad again, and he knew his family would never allow a repeat of that dark, dark time. One of the darkest he'd had in many years.

On the fourth day of the kids provisional license training, All Might was there again, giving advice to the students. He was sad for the man with everyone looking at him as if he were completely helpless and weak. Ace would be furious if that happened to him.

When Ace was working to take the large chunks of broken rock to one corner so it didn't get in the way of others, he noticed one of them falling far off and saw All Might would get hit. He raced over, but Freckles was there, and kicked the rock out of the way! Finally, he figured out how to use his legs!

Ace grinned and jokingly complained, "Freckles, you just gave me a ton of rocks to pick up." He grinned at Ace, looking completely proud, a face he rarely wore. Ace looked up, sensing the anger, and saw Bakugo glaring down. Ace sighed, wishing they could get along. He didn't see it happening anytime soon, but hopefully some day.

Freckles didn't seem to mind being called that, and he had less creative and endearing nicknames for others. When talking to them directly, their names are there, but thinking is mostly nicknames based on their abilities. He and All Might were talking while Ace picked up the pieces quickly and carried them to the pile of rock.

He looked over again and saw Freckles had moved away, and All Might had an air of sadness and embarrassment about him. "Once you're buff again, nobody will feel the need to protect you. My normal brothers can punch through stone, there's nothing you can't do when you challenge yourself to the max."

All Might smiled at him. "Once my arm is healed, I will get right on it!" Ace beamed back, and went to continue collecting the rocks, the most boring job on the planet. Well, less boring than cleaning as he got some exercise.

Ace noticed the new outfit for Freckles and commented on it. "Makes you look tougher to be honest," he said.

Freckles eyes sparkled. "Ace-san is telling me I look tough!" All Might chuckled and Ace barely heard Marco laugh from outside, head peeking just barely to see everything upside down. Ace put his hand behind his back and flipped Marco off. "Well, I'm just being honest. Your costume looked kinda incomplete to me. Now it looks much stronger."

Ace went back to cleaning up the rocks, smiling at Freckle's reaction. It was funny. After he walked away and then came back, he found the teen getting complimented on his progress, and Ace felt happy for him. He was already friends with these kids, but it was always nice to have more support when you do things right to improve.

All Might told Freckles that that attack was very good for the provisional license test they'd be taking. Ace hoped he could have a part in it. He looked up to see Bakugo with a crazy expression on, glaring daggers at Freckles. Ace sighed, and he and All Might shared a look, Ace shaking his head slightly. He walked off to pick up other rocks that had fallen. Picking up at least three each time. They were heavy to any normal person, but they were fine for Ace.

The door slammed open and Vlad King was there with his class. Looked like it was their turn to use the gym. Ace picked up the last rock as Vlad King yelled at Eraser Head to get out. Ace didn't know if he'd stay for this class, but knew he was better off leaving when the guy gave Ace a nasty look. Well, he didn't like class 1-B as well either.

So he left with Marco, walking around the opposite side of the building so the students didn't see him. "I'm glad I brought a book," Marco said. Ace looked guilty, and asked if he was bored and angry. "Why would I be angry while you do your tasks? You get along well with everyone. I'm not surprised, though." Ace turned red.

"I can't help it," the younger replied. Marco smiled at him, ruffling his hair as his hat was resting on his back. But then he heard Freckles calling his name and running over. "Ace-san!" he called. Well, it was too late for Marco to leave and not be seen flying away.

"What's up?" He looked at Marco questioningly. "This is my brother. He came along this time for a personal reason." The kid asked if he was the one to heal All Might and Marco nodded. Freckles bowed and thanked him sincerely. The phoenix said it was no big deal, and he was glad the man was doing well. "So, what's up?" Ace repeated.

"I wanted to ask if you could help me learn kicks? I'm not sure how to do it well yet. And it's going to be my main attack now. I can't use my arms," he said, sounding sad and looking at the limbs he'd damaged so often.

Ace said he wasn't too good at kicks, but then something popped into his head. "You know, Marco mainly works with kicks. Maybe he could help you out," Ace said with a smile. "You would be able to go as hard as you can on him and not worry about injuring him." Freckles' face lit up.

Marco said, "You didn't even ask me," but it was in a joking voice. "Well, I'm totally bored, so why not?" he asked.

"Thank you!" Ace told him that no one else could know about Marco's presence, and to keep this a secret. "I swear I won't say a thing," the kid promised. Ace offered to do it right after class, meet in the park away from any sight. There were so many places they could practice. "Okay, I will!"

Ace smiled and said he'd see him then.

It was three hours later that Freckles came running into the park area just outside of one of the forest areas. The campus was just way too big. Well, maybe it was needed for all the crazy shit they did, but still, it was huge.

He was wearing his hero costume. "Ready?" Marco asked, not waiting for any pause. He had a backpack on with a notebook open to take notes, which was not surprising and a good thing to do. Keeping notes was keeping organized. "Kick me as hard as you can without injuring yourself."

Freckles nodded, trusting that Ace and Marco weren't lying about Marco's immunity to the kicks. His leg lit up and he kicked as hard as he could, knocking Marco to the side a bit. He asked if Marco was okay. "I'm completely fine. I'm a phoenix, I can't sustain injuries. That kick was in the wrong place. Since your short and many enemies will be bigger than you. The easiest parts to get for a bigger enemy is not high on the body.

"Aim for the tailbone, if you break it, it will be incredibly painful. Another good place to kick or hit is the kidney. It will cause a lot of pain too. And with the power of the kick you did, it would inflict serious injuries. Always go for the nearest debilitating kick. The groin, of course, is a sensitive place, but I know most people think it's playing dirty. Except for Ace, but still.

"The back of the knees, which I'm sure Ace told you about. Kicking the back will usually make them fall, but the front of the knee will shatter upon a heavy strike. Here, aim for those spots right now," Marco instructed. Ace was taking notes for him. Freckles looked over. "I got it, just pay attention to this, okay?" The teen nodded and aimed at the places Marco told him about. He was controlling how hard he went, not breaking any bones. Though Marco was easy to kick, he kept himself more solid so the painful points were hit.

"Nice! You're good at aiming. I saw you jumping off of the rock cliff earlier. Why don't we try that and you can go on my head and face?" Marco offered. Freckles was a bit nervous about that before Ace reminded him that Marco was pretty much invincible. "Okay."

They went to the highest point, which was a tall hill, and Freckles stood at the top, with Marco at the base, facing sideways. "Ready?"

"Any time." The kid jumped off of the cliff at high speeds, and slammed into Marco's face with one leg. Marco grabbed it. "React instantly!" he said, and the kid used his other leg to hit Marco in the back of the head, and then dropped down.

Ace said, "Nice! Quick response time is a must when fighting any skilled enemies. You have to assume they will stop you and you have a back up plan. An instance of hesitation could be your downfall." Freckles was red in the face but smiling.

"Try that again, but I'll grab you in a different place," Marco instructed. He nodded and went back up the hill. He muttered something about percentage and shot off again. He kicked Marco in the front of the face again, only he grabbed his foot and pulled him down. Freckles used the moment of being lower to kick the tailbone. "You're a fast learner. That was great," Marco praised.

They practiced response time and being in the air over and over before it seemed to be muscle memory. "So, I'm sure there will be some sense of dodging in the test, so we'll try that. Then we can work on how you can angle your kicks for the most damage," Ace explained. "I'm not sure, but to me, that would be a must."

Freckles was tired and got some water, but continued to practice as hard as he could. It was impressive. He was able to dodge the fire guns Ace sent at him mostly, but he got hit a few times. They weren't hot enough to do damage, but they were good to practice with. After about an hour of that, where he started to use his powers to get away from clusters, they finally got to his kicking. He was good and stretched for this.

"Aim for my hand," Marco said. Freckles nodded, and just barely missed. But he tried again and did well. After aiming for both hands at different heights. Marco showed him in show motion his own kicks.

"Coming from above is the best way to damage an opponent in the head. You've become good at jumping with your power, so now use that power to give you the chance at attacking from above. Like this," and Marco threw his leg up and slammed it down on Ace's head, right in the skull. "With those heavy boots, you could possibly crack the skull if you're in a desperate situation." Ace stood since he was shorter, and helped Freckles control his aim.

He lifted his leg with one hand to show how high he'd have to jump, releasing him so he could kick down. "Nice! You can also go for the shoulders, but the head is more damaging. So, you can jump now. Quiz time! Where is the best place to hit when an opponent is bigger than you?"

"The kidneys and tail bone."

"Where on the leg is the most damaging area to kick?"

"The front of the knee so it will break."

"What move do you do if you are grabbed by the leg high up."

"Us my other leg to get a hit in and then drop down while they are surprised."

"Is it better to kick head on or from the side?"

"The side of the head. You can hit all parts of the face at once, and then aim for the back of the head. Use the front to damage ears."

"What part does the most damage from above?"

"Down on the head for most damage, shoulders for less damage but still a good place to aim."

"Do you remember how to dodge the best?"

"Use all my senses the whole time. Something might not just come at me in the front. Keep flicking my eyes around to make sure I keep track of everything."

"Great job! I wrote all of that down for you and made some pictures. Now, go get some food and rest. I'm not a teacher, so showing you this stuff shouldn't get me in trouble. I would help anyone if they asked."

Freckles promised he wouldn't tell anyone about Marco or their practicing. Ace smiled and said he'd see him tomorrow. He went running off happily, though he looked tired. Ace smiled at Marco. "We did well."

"I haven't trained someone that weak since you,'' Marco said jokingly. They headed back to the main building to get something to eat and then go to the room.