AMurder0fCrows: Lol, I honestly can't tell if you dislike the story or not. Ace is not being used by them. At first he was exchanging his work for shelter and food, a job. Then he got to be friends with them, and WANTS to help them now, not pressured into doing it. Plus, doing this work is a lot more interesting than just milling around U.A. like he had been at first. He doesn't want to be a hero himself, but he wants to help the people he grew to care about. And it would be useless for him to try and set out to make is own life. He respawns at the school each time. And he doesn't want to get attached even more to this life because then he might have second thoughts about attempting to go back home for good. Plus, it would be a lot of work and might only be temporary. Plus, without the heroes, he knows jack shit abut how to live in this world. Ace is definitely not U.A.'s dog. Maybe a guard or something, but it's his choice to be helpful now. He enjoys working with Mirio and being friends with All Might and the kids. So, Ace isn't just here to do their work because they're forcing him to. Plus, he likes being a badass in any world he goes to.
CrazyMax1: Lol she'd be so terrified. I bet most people would, to be honest. Especially if he brought his bisento around, some giant man, muscled as fuck with a bunch of scars and a massive weapon. Terrifying.
Galaxy Creator of Pisces: Yeah, I most likely won't write that story. I've tried doing other crossovers with two other fandoms, but they aren't finished. I have so many MHA ones, but I am tired of doing those lol. I still have a handful already edited and waiting to be submitted, though.
Only 4 chapters left for this! Nearing the end here. Enjoy~
Mirio had contacted him in the morning that he'd be introducing themselves to 1-A that day and to meet at the gamma gym. Well, one of the gyms, he never remembered. He was sitting on the roof, waiting patiently. He hoped his friend was okay after last night. Ace had been saddened, but had seen much worse. Mirio probably had never been around deceased kids. What a terrible experience for him.
The class came over finally, all in their gym outfits, with Mirio in his own. Ace was in his regular shorts, boots and hat. He said nothing but gave a thumbs up to Mirio, who returned it. "You know him?" Freckles asked hesitantly.
"Yes! We're good friends and work together at Sir Nighteye's agency! We solve crimes together," he said cheerfully. He sounded perfectly fine, but was he? Ace saw zero hint of sadness. He was always looking forward to tomorrow. Maybe he'd put it behind him already, or had blocked it out emotionally.
"It's weird thinking of Ace-san outside of school," Iida said.
Ace called down, "I may live on campus, but it's not my entire life here." He said nothing else as the kids watched Mirio stretch. They we're probably worried about what was going to happen. They didn't know his quirk, only that he was one of the top three strongest students in the whole school. The fire user watched in interest, wondering what would happen.
The young man then looked down and away from where he was sitting on the roof. Amajiki was there, not looking at anybody and muttering under his breath. Well, looks like Mirio described him perfectly.
Ace chuckled when the students started telling Mirio not to go easy on them. Well, he wouldn't have even if they asked. But since they did, there was no way they could complain. Mirio accepted it just fine, telling them to come at him with full force. From anywhere, anytime. It threw the students off.
Mineta started mumbling. "Wait, if he works with Ace, then he's strong too! We're screwed!" he lamented. Jiro told him to shut up. "You didn't see him!" he insisted, still talking about the provisional license exam. Ace sighed, but said nothing. Mirio just looked at them pleasantly, waiting for anyone to strike.
Finally they did. And Ace sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. Like he'd told him happened sometimes, Mirio's clothes slipped off. Not exactly a good first impression. The girls started screaming and Ace held in laughter at their reaction. But the pants were on and Freckles attacked him full force. His leg went right through Mirio's head, who never lost the pleasant smile of a marshmallow.
Then more attacked when he asked Freckles a question, but they all went right through his body. Ace saw him drop into the ground, feeling his presence move to behind them all before he jumped out, naked once again, and went after everyone in quick succession, taking them all out with a painful punch to the gut.
He was really trying to make a first impression. Even Ace rarely punched them that hard when they were training. He wasn't going easy on any of them, like Ace rarely did with his haki. He just knew who to go soft on and who would be angry if he didn't go hard on.
"That's it or the long distance fighters!" he said, a hint of determination in his voice. Those he had attacked in only a couple seconds couldn't even get up off the floor. Half of them were out in an instant. "All those that are left are the short distance fighters, right?!"
The remaining students listened to Freckles as he made a plan. Mirio was unbothered and felt no threat from them. They didn't understand his power yet. They just thought he could warp and that was all. They should have realized after that show he did that he wasn't only strong with a quirk. Even if he didn't have his neat quirk, he'd still be able to beat them. There was no magic power with his punches, only trained strength.
He seemed to fall into the floor, pants gone again (really? Are you serious Mirio?) and then popped out behind Freckles, who seemed to be anticipating that. He thought he had the upper hand with a kick, only his leg and body slid right trouble the upperclassman, who shouted, "Blinder touch eyeball crush!" and put his hand through Freckles' face, making him close his eyes to protect them from Mirio's feint. It did nothing but he then went under the kid and punched the stomach again, giving him the same rough treatment he had everybody else.
Everybody was down in an instant. And somehow, the pants were back on. "I tried to make it so you wouldn't see my willy, sorry girls!" Ace snickered, but had stayed quiet the whole time. It wasn't his class, he wasn't working with the students, he was just observing. "So, you know now? You think my quirk is strong?" he asked, fully dressed now.
The students started shouting about how strong and overpowered he was, comparing him to Ace's monster strength. Mirio offered to explain before Hado interrupted and asked if she could explain before just saying it without a response. "His quirk is permeation!" When he explained the rest, Hado pouted. The other two of the "big 3" were exactly how Mirio talked about them.
He explained his "warp" power simply, how he fell into the ground but got repelled back up. When he was told, again, that his quirk was strong, he said, "No, that's not it. I made it into a strong quirk." Ace couldn't really understand why you would tell anyone you don't trust your weaknesses, but Mirio said this, "When I activate my quirk, I can't take in any oxygen. The air would go right through me, wouldn't it? In the same way vibrations go in my eardrums, and light goes through my retinas. I can go through anything, which means I can't feel anything. I just fall, even if I don't have mass. That's all it is. Does that make sense?"
"Oh, so you're not invincible like Ace!" Mineta said in relief. Ace didn't know why that mattered. Maybe so he thought Ace was only strong because he didn't have a quirk, but a devil fruit, so nobody else could be as strong as him. It was a flawed thought process.
"Nope!" Mirio said cheerfully. Then he continued, "So if I want to go through a wall, I activate everything but one leg then I release the other leg and then land on it and activate my other leg and go through. Even for a simple action like that, there are a bunch of steps involved, right?
"As expected, I was always behind. In no time I'd dropped to dead last. I dropped my clothes, too." Well, at least he'd explained that much. The reason he was naked. "In order to get to the top with this quirk, I couldn't just stay behind. Predictions! I had to think faster than those around me! Sometimes I had to be tricky, and above all, I had to predict what would happen! And what made those predictions possible was experience! I built my predictions on what I knew. It ended up being kinda long but that's why I wanted to fight you all! I wanted to show you through experience instead of just words.
"In our hero's internship, we're not guests! We're treated as one of the sidekicks and pros! That's really scary, though. Pros will sometimes end up… seeing people die," he just barely made a pause before being cheery again. So, he hadn't moved past it completely. Of course not, nobody moves passed seeing dead children instantly. "But those scary and painful things you'll go through, all of those are first rate experiences you wouldn't be able to have at school.
"I changed the experience I got during my work studies into power and took the top spot! That's why I think it's something you should do even if you're scared, first years!"
Ace clapped first and everyone else followed. Ace sent him another thumbs up. Eraser Head called them to leave. Ace dropped down to walk after Mirio, and grabbed his shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked sincerely. The other top two looked curious.
"I'll be fine, don't worry!" Mirio said cheerily. Ace could tell it was a facade, but said nothing. "I'll see you later, Ace!" The older man nodded. He would be introduced to the other two when they weren't heading back to class.
While Mirio was clearly bothered by something, Ace was another. There was a lake somewhere on campus where they practiced any water rescues. He had to know, so he walked to that area, and took off his shorts, leaving his boxers on. He slowly walked deeper into the water before he sat down. No weakness.
He inched his way deeper until he was submerged but his face. He didn't feel weak, even though he was a bit afraid. He used his devil fruit, making the water around him superheated and having steam erupt. He wasn't drowning. Ace wasn't drowning. He hadn't swam in five years!
He waded in more, tempting fate for him to die out there, all alone. But he swam to the other side of the shallow area. He got out and backed away, looking at his hands. He clamped his mouth shut and dried himself off before going back to head to work. He was distracted the whole time. When he arrived, he failed to greet Nighteye at the door.
"Ace?" the boss asked when he saw the young man looking so confused, lost, and quiet. "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah," Ace replied shakily. Out of everything, this was freaking him out. Why did this world's water not make him drown? What was the point? He couldn't let himself think he was invincible. There were still infinite quirks out there that could harm him. He had to be kept on his toes. Yes, he didn't have his main three weaknesses, any devil fruit user's weaknesses. But he was not invincible. "Sorry, I found something out and it freaked me a bit. I don't mean to space out."
Nighteye nodded and did not press. Instead, he asked, "Do you know how Mirio is doing? After yesterday?" Ace looked down with a frown.
"I think he's not okay, but needs to look cheery for everyone else. It really bothered him, of course it would," Ace replied. Nighteye asked if it bothered him. "It wasn't anything new. Still horrible, but I've seen dead children many times before. And these ones at least looked like they were sleeping," he answered honestly.
"Ace, what kinds of things have you seen?" Nighteye asked in concern, almost. Ace was honest, though. None of this information would paint him badly, as he didn't do most of these things. He'd just unfortunately seen them.
He looked at his hands and began. "Dead people. Mangled, bloody, suicide, starvation. I've seen countless murders since I was a kid. Villages burnt to the ground, people laughing around their kills. I've seen a lot, and so that's why it didn't hit me as hard as Mirio. I've seen so much worse, I think some things have dulled for me." He looked up and saw Nighteye looking horrified.
"And you're only 22, right?" Ace nodded.
He gave a sad smile. "I keep saying it: my world isn't always pretty."
"You've probably seen more than many pro-heroes, and I'm so sorry for that, Ace," Nighteye said sincerely. Ace just gave him a smile, saying there was nothing he could do to change it. It would forever be in his memories. He'd never forget it. He didn't want to, it made him who he was now.
He finished with, "If I am not living that life, and haven't for my whole life, then I wouldn't be the real me I am today." Nighteye looked at him strangely at the wording, but didn't ask. Ace was glad, he didn't want to explain how he felt like two different people slowly being peeled apart. He worked with his boss about how to plan the next mission.
When Mirio came by, he walked straight into the locker room to change. When he came back, he had a forced smile. "Good day, sir!"
"Good afternoon, Mirio. I heard you beat up your underclassmen today," he said conversationally. Ace was glad he didn't bring up the night before. Mirio laughed, and said they were all interesting.
Ace asked, "Who did you think was the strongest?" He was curious.
"Hmm, I wasn't there long enough to see who was strongest, it was over so soon! I don't have haki, I need to learn from experience. But a smart one was the boy with green hair and freckles. He predicted where I would appear," he explained.
Ace nodded. "Freckles is probably the smartest of the class. At least in battle strategies. He works harder than the others most times. I've helped train him a couple of times. What? It's not just him. If anybody else asked I would help them if I had time," he explained. "Oh, his name is Midoriya Izuku. I just call him Freckles since it's easier."
Bubble Girl suddenly burst in. "Sir! The young master behind the crimes lately, Overhaul, is he's on the move." Ace and Mirio exchanged serious glances.
"What about the Shie Hassaiki?"
"It appears they've had contact with the League of Villains!"
-x-
"I'm so sick of the League of Villains. Why can't they just crawl back into the dumpster they seemed to have come from?" Ace grumbled. "And now they're recruiting even more villains. Nighteye told us we're not doing anything yet since we don't have enough information. But shouldn't we be scoping, trying to find them?"
Mirio shook his head. "I doubt they'd let us even take part in something of this magnitude. His quirk is disturbing. It might even work on you. You're not invincible," he said and then Ace stopped walking, looking down. They were supposed to be on patrol again, with no real mission scheduled, but Ace was distracted. "What's wrong? Is it about last night? I'm bothered, too."
Ace felt guilty for saying that wasn't it. "You know how I said devil fruit users drown and can't swim?" Mirio nodded. "I swam last night. And I didn't drown. I'm just confused. And a little scared."
But Mirio was angry. "You went on a swim by yourself?!"
Ace recoiled. "I had to know as soon as possible!" he argued. Mirio was angry at the recklessness, and Ace could see where he was coming from. "But I'm just so confused. None of my known weaknesses are in this world. I… am I invincible? But there are so many quirks that might work against me. I don't want to turn reckless, thinking I'm invincible."
Mirio said, "I promise I'll stop you if you start to become more reckless. I'm not gonna let you get yourself hurt or killed by being too confident." Ace pointed out that he sometimes didn't even realize when he got too confident, or better a word was cocky. Ace could be really cocky, even if it was less in this world due to expectations.
"Is that why you want to go after Overhaul? Because you think you'll be fine against him? You're right, we don't know how many quirks work against haki or the flames," Mirio insisted. Ace nodded. That was why he felt like going after him without all the information. "I won't let you. Not unless we have permission."
Ace nodded, knowing he'd stop him. "If I do think like that, or start to talk about me going off on my own, tell someone who can stop me," he said, in a determined voice. He wouldn't mess this up. He was already in a precarious position. He wasn't an official anything but was still treated like a hero.
"I will. And if I ever get reckless, you stop me." Ace promised.
"That's what friends are for, right?"
"Exactly." Then his face turned a bit sad. Ace asked what was wrong. They were still not walking, standing at a deserted corner of a street. "I will miss you if you end up leaving for good." Ace frowned. He'd miss Mirio, too. "Do you think you'd stay like this by choice?" he asked slowly, seeming afraid by the answer.
Ace looked at his hands. "I don't know anymore. It's hard, being with my family only half the time. Marco's doing an experiment. He measured my nails and hair to see if my body actually ages here. And I'm afraid sometimes that I'll go back home, and 100 years will have passed and everyone is dead. That's my worst nightmare," he confessed. "There are some things I would miss in this world. Like you and All Might and some of my life here. I don't know."
Mirio was frowning sadly. "How much longer until you reach that island?"
"If everything goes right, then three weeks. But I'm not getting my hopes up anymore. I can't. I have to think that this is permanent. The New World is messed up and makes no sense. Entire islands have sunk or somehow changed positions. It could have moved somewhere and we have no idea where.
"Or the plan just wouldn't work at all. Maybe the cave can't be destroyed, or doing anything would do jack shit, or make things worse." He looked up at the blue sky. "I'm confused," he finished simply.
Mirio was still frowning. Then he smiled. "Well, let's make the most of the time you have left here. It's very different from your other life, after all. You won't get a second chance to be in another world. Probably. Maybe?" he wondered. Ace said it was more like a maybe.
They started walking again, keeping a look out for anyone suspicious or familiar from the list of villains they carried around. When they arrived at an alleyway, Ace froze, putting his hand out and stopping Mirio, who stayed silent and his face was serious. Ace felt a disturbing presence in that alleyway. Not nearly as bad as One For All, but almost as bad as Hand-Guy. They couldn't deal with it with no back up.
He felt like a coward, but they walked a bit away from it. "There's a powerful presence in the alleyway. Multiple people, but one is dangerous, I don't know who it is, but we can't safely take them successfully. Let's report a dangerous presence here. I think we should get away," Ace explained. Mirio nodded, trusting his haki. It hadn't been wrong so far.
"Oh, shit," Ace whispered. "Call the police, one of their presences just disappeared." Mirio knew what that meant. Somebody had died. He brought out his phone and called the police. For things like this, it wasn't a hero's job. It was the police who handled normal criminal matters. The person who died had been stabbed, Ace had sensed the movement of someone thrusting their hand to the other guy.
The two of them headed to a more busy area. "At least we got something," Ace said with a sigh. He and Mirio were about to go the other way when a little boy ran up to Ace. "Uh, can I help you?" he asked awkwardly.
"Can I have your autograph! You're super cool! You fought with All Might like 'whoosh!' and 'bam!'," the kid said. Looked around eight or so. He already had a pen and paper ready. Ace took it, but didn't know what to write. For some reason he didn't want to write his name or epithet. So he drew the Whitebeard mark with flames on it. "That's not your name," the kid said curiously.
"It's not my name, but it's my mark. See?" Ace asked, turning so his back tattoo was visible.
"Cool! Thanks, Firefist!" and the kid ran off back to his mom. Mirio laughed at Ace's dumbfounded face. Ace scowled at Mirio.
He said, "It's not like wanted pirates are used to giving their signature." Mirio asked why he'd used the mark instead of his name. "My mark means more to me than my name." Mirio's eyes widened and he smile.
"You have one nice family if their symbol means more to you than yourself." Ace pointed out that it was being with his family who had shaped him into what he felt was his best self. He didn't say it, but he was sure Mirio knew. Ace would choose his family over him. And he knew Mirio wouldn't take it personally. He knew enough about Ace's real life to know his family meant everything to him.
-x-
Ace was irritated that they hadn't been allowed to really know anything about the situation with Overhaul, but he tried not to focus on that. There had to be reasons… There were reasons, Ace just didn't know. Maybe they thought the guy was too strong and they needed the pros.
But Nighteye knew that if it was a stealth mission or at least used any stealth tactics, then Mirio and Ace would be the best for that job, getting in and out safely. And now that Ace knew he could be pulled through tight spaces as fire, it made his getting inside safely easier as well.
Freckles was going to try to apply to the Nighteye agency, and Ace wondered how he'd do. Ace wouldn't be his mentor or guide here, it would all be Nighteye or Mirio. Ace just tagged along on patrol, he wouldn't be tutoring him on this.
Bubble Girl was giving him a report. "Let's see… the site where the contact occurred was already empty, but there appears to be evidence that there was blood being wiped up. Based on the massive destruction of the building, we can assume there was some kind of fighting there. It is most likely the League of Villains-" she explained. Ace scowled, hating them. It was their fault All Might lost his powers when he did. It's their fault Ragdoll was no longer able to be a hero. They're fault that all of the kids were stressed out and scared.
"Bubble Girl," Nighteye said strictly. Oh, she was giving her report in too boring a way. "I think there is no future for a society with no energy or humor." That was totally something the Whitebeard's would say. Nighteye was harsh looking and could be strict, but he was a good guy underneath the unsettling glare behind his glasses. She started to protest when she was going to be tickle-tortured. A tactic that world well on Mirio, but not on Ace.
Tickling worked on him mostly with haki. He was tickle immune. It was just lucky he had energy and a sense of humor so he didn't need to be forced. Just that moment, Mirio and Freckles walked to the door and slammed it open. Mirio was smiling and announced that he'd brought the first year he'd told him about the day before.
Poor Bubble Girl was crying she was laughing so much. It happened to her a lot specifically. She couldn't make him laugh much of the time while giving reports, so she suffered the torture. "How loud can you raise your voice?" the pro-hero asked in annoyance. Ace watched with raised eyebrows as Freckles grew scared under the man's cold gaze.
Then, he attempted his intro joke and imitated All Might quite well. Both Mirio and Ace looked at Nighteye with raised brows and tight mouths. Speaking about All Might was a hit and miss most times. Sometimes you talked about him too much, other times too little.
And Nighteye didn't like this joke. "Are you… trying to ridicule All Might?"
He didn't like the joke. Not a good way to start. Ace had made him laugh with how blunt and honest he was about knowing nothing other than inappropriate and vulgar jokes. Plus, he already was interested in him. After all, it was a trip to his world that healed All Might, his former close friend.
Ace watched in horror as Freckles stalled. He had never been known for his humor, but he was nice and dedicated. Needed more confidence, but once he grasped more control over his quirk, Ace was sure he'd be helpful in his own way. He shared a worried glance with Mirio, who had sweat beaded on his face, and wasn't smiling.
"You little… what's with that face?" Nighteye continued. "What are you trying to do?" Bubble Girl was no longer being tortured, so that was good. The miracle laughter didn't really fit with the feeling in the room right now. "You committed this outrage knowing I'm All Might's former sidekick?"
Then, he walked forward and tried to "fix" Freckles' inaccurate impression. While he was doing this, Ace slowly went up and set Bubble Girl free.
"This is very unpleasant. Please leave," Nighteye said coldly. Ace bit his thumb nail, hoping the hero would give Freckles at least one other chance. But then, the All Might super fans started to seemingly have a competition on who knew more facts about the former pro-hero. Ace had a dumbfounded expression on, and went back to sit at the desk, though he was still watching, not knowing how it'd turn out.
Mirio inched his way over to Ace. "Is he always like this?" Ace nodded, that Freckles was a true super fan. "I was concerned at first, but now it seems he's made a good impression. That's good, I was worried there for a minute!" Ace nodded, agreeing. Freckles was a dedicated person. "Why do you call him freckles?"
Ace said it was a habit. He wasn't good with names, and he called those he didn't know well by their appearance. "Shigaraki is Hand-Guy for me. No matter how many times I say or hear it, he's still Hand-Guy. It's mostly you, All Might, Sir Nighteye and Bakugo that I think their real names. It's silly."
Mirio agreed with that statement. Ace, Bubble Girl and Mirio were standing a bit away as Freckles told Nighteye why he wanted to intern there. He wanted to become stronger. "You have a contract from the school-"
"Of course I brought it with me!" Ace winced. Nighteye had a real pet peeve of being interrupted. That's why those who interned or worked there always waited a few seconds after he spoke to reply so they know for sure he was done speaking. Freckles was going to have to adapt fast. Ace was just good at it from experience. And it was lucky he had experience on both ends. Having been an underling while also being a superior. He had a taste of both worlds, and it was another helpful thing to live in this world.
"You will not interrupt me when I am speaking."
"No, sir!"
He took the contract and said, "Once my stamp is on that paper, the work study contract will become official. A hero work study is not like the weeklong internships of normal workplaces that you can participate in casually. You must work here for at least a month, and of course you will be paid." He pointed out that Freckles would miss a lot of classes, and need to work harder and on a different path than the other students. It was only because Mirio was a senior and didn't have a full schedule that he could work most days.
"I understand! But if I match my pace with everyone else, I can't be at the top!"
Nighteye had a hard look on, more than usual, and slammed the stamp down next to the paper. Not on it. Freckles cautiously pointed out he'd missed. "That's because I don't feel like stamping it. I understand the merits you have of working here for you. But what merit is there in my employing you? With two sidekicks and two work study interns, this agency runs smoothly, so to add you… What benefit is there in that? How can you contribute to society?" The three workers in the room exchanged glances.
Everything he said was accurate. The agency did get things done, and after adding Ace, missions were completed faster when he worked with Mirio than they did before. Mirio and Ace already worked seamlessly together. What would Freckles add?
"How can you be useful to others? To be acknowledged, you must make those things clear. All Might showed it with his humor and power. He gave hope to those who lived in fear of crime. That's why people acknowledged him."
Freckles looked distant. "How can I contribute to society…?" Sir Nighteye stood up from his desk.
"In order to show how you can benefit in company, you should show it with your actions and not your words." He lifted the stamp up. "Three minutes. Try and take this seal from me in three minutes or less. If you want to work as a hero under me, then stamp the seal yourself."
Ace hadn't had to do this, as he'd shown he was capable before and Nighteye was already told of his observation haki. Meaning the fight would have gone on for forever. The pro-hero didn't like to draw things out. Freckles was confused and trying to hide some alarm that was easy to see. "I'm saying that even though you don't possess a single funny bone, I'm giving you a chance. Well, don't you think I'm a nice guy?"
Ace was an expert by now for not laughing when the situation was inappropriate to do so. He didn't even crack a smile. Bubble Girl and Mirio didn't either, all three watching with stoic faces. "Mirio, Ace and Bubble Girl, go outside. And Ace, don't tell them how the fight went. I acknowledge you can't help it for yourself. But don't tell the others."
"Yes, sir," and the three of them stepped outside and out of the building.
"Did you two have to go through that training, too?" Bubble Girl asked. Ace shook his head while Mirio said, "Sir asked for me specifically, so I didn't…"
She said, "He really likes you two, huh? Man… I'm jealous, you know?" Ace said he wished he had gotten to since it sounded fun.
"All fights are fun to you," Mirio commented. "Even life and death ones, it seems."
Ace said, "That's not all true. I like fights mostly where I don't need to be worried about those around me. The fight at the summer training camp was not enjoyable since there were so many people that needed help, and Bakugo just ran off and messed up my plan. And the fight with the pro-heroes was satisfying at first before things got real messy. And All For One, quite frankly, had the worst presence I have ever felt. Even worse than the most horrible people in the New World at home."
Mirio said that he wished he was asked to help, but was also glad he didn't need to be around the major villain, since everyone at the scene said he was terrifying, even without having Ace's observation haki to tell better. "Plus, battles are always more fun when you win. We didn't really win. We got Bakugo back and All Might took care of All For One, but at what cost? We lost him and the hero society is messed up for that. Even when All Might gets back in shape - which I will force him to do if necessary - he won't be a superhero anymore."
The other two looked sad, agreeing with him. It was a heavy loss.
They sat at a bench in the far hallway while Mirio got a drink from the vending machine. "He really is toying with him, isn't he?" Bubble Girl asked. Ace nodded, sitting next to her and leaning back a bit. He wasn't paying attention to the fight much. He would have had a hard time not sharing it. He wouldn't share it, but he didn't want the feeling of really wanting to.
"Yeah, right?" Mirio replied. They could all hear the squeaking of Freckles' shoes, and they were frantic so he had to be trying hard and missing each time.
They went in after hearing a big explosion. "Excuse us! We heard a big crash at the end!" Bubble Girl said.
"Are you done?" Mirio asked. Ace was the only one to point out the mess.
"Ah, the room is a mess, and I organized all of that paperwork, too," he grumbled. Mirio patted his back and said don't mind. "You're helping me, too." Nighteye finally said something, ignoring the small banter.
"I'm taking him, Mirio," Nighteye said.
Mirio pumped his fist. "Alright!" while Ace grinned, giving him a thumbs up. However, Freckles was shocked, since he clearly hadn't gotten the stamp or done anything Nighteye said.
"I told you to take the seal and stamp it yourself, but I didn't say you would be rejected if you didn't do it," the pro explained.
Ace said after Mirio congratulated him, "I won't be tutoring you here, Freckles. That's up to Mirio, Bubble Girl and Sir Nighteye." Mirio turned to Nighteye, happy and said that the youngest must have made him laugh.
"I had already decided to take you on when I heard you were coming. I also knew you weren't completely useless. But I hadn't accepted it. Right now, with the symbol gone, the people want not a dim light, but a dazzling one. Even if it goes against his will, I'll make you realize who is the most worthy of that power right now by having you work alongside the pros."
Then something clicked. He knew, basically, that All Might's powers were transferred to Freckles. And Nighteye just said someone else should have gotten the power. He could be talking about some other sort of power, but Nighteye was close to All Might and seemed to have rekindled their friendship a bit after All Might was healed.
It was interesting, and he wondered who Nighteye would rather have this power. Well, he wouldn't ask. He wasn't supposed to know about it in the first place. The puzzle was just pieced together for Ace. Nobody else seemed to have realized, as far as he knew.
Freckles finally stamped the contract and looked up with a determined face. "I look forward to working with you!"
