Ace was sitting in the rolley chair in Nighteye's front room in the building, being questioned. He had good senses, perhaps even better than Mirio's, which he seemed not keen on admitting. He cared for Mirio a great deal, and they'd been working together long. Ace had been working there for two months, though one of those two weeks had been gone, recuperating from his mental breakdown.

"I noticed something. By the end of the encounter, there were spots on his face. They weren't there before. Like hives in a sense. He had said he hated filth. I took it as trash but then thought maybe he was speaking of some sort of specific filth. Maybe people, I'm not sure."

"What were his facial expressions like?" Nighteye asked, typing what Ace was saying as he spoke.

"He was a good liar in his voice, but his eyes told the story. Every time Freckles showed any move of suspicion or emotion, his eyes would narrow and he'd feel angrier. He was good at hiding his anger, though. I could tell he was livid with Eri. Perhaps that was why she was so scared other than possibly being abused in some way."

"How strong do you think he is? You're good at sensing how strong someone is."

Ace thought for a moment. "Not as strong as All Might felt. But stronger than anybody in the League of Villains. Which is alarming. But not as strong as the nomus. They are the top so far. And he used his hands for whatever quirk it was. He wore gloves, and when I felt the spike or murderous intent, it was when he discreetly took his left glove off."

"Did he make any gestures with it?"

"No, he just slipped it off. He didn't clench his hand or turn it into a fist. It was relaxed. If I wasn't looking for it or was on the right side, I would have missed it. Freckles was too emotional to notice and Mirio was on the right side."

"Did you sense anything from Eri?"

It was a question Ace hadn't thought about. "She didn't feel terribly weak, but any power she had was eclipsed by Chisaki. Sometimes the balance between people, if it's tipped in the scale, one will dim as the other becomes more apparent. So I know basically nothing about Eri's quirk."

"Did you get your emotions under control?"

Ace sighed. "Most of it, I feel I did fine. I feel like I did too much, but Mirio said it was fine. To be honest, when Chisaki wasn't looking and his gaze was on Mirio, I couldn't help but look sad. Even worse, when everyone had their backs turned, and Eri was looking over my shoulder behind them, I mouthed that I was sorry. I know I shouldn't have, but I didn't want her to think we were heartless, wanted to give her back. Freckles showed that, but I wanted her to know that Mirio and I didn't want to give her back. I know it was wrong."

Nighteye was quiet for a moment. "Was this your first time doing something like this? Resisting helping someone who needed it?"

"In these circumstances, yes. In my other world, it's kill or be killed most times. You can't trust a lot of people, so you avoid them. I help people sometimes, but mostly I look out for myself and those I care about," Ace answered honestly. It was foolish to lie to Nighteye.

"Ace, I like your honesty. Thank you for being truthful." Ace smiled and nodded. "And you are quite the actor."

"Oh no, don't start talking about my villain act," Ace said, rubbing his hands down his face. Nighteye chuckled, and said that it was impressive, and he would say nothing else of the subject. "Sir, did you mean it when you told me that having a license is not the most important?"

The man nodded. "That was the truth. After all, there are many uneducated heroes who couldn't afford any hero schools. You get more merit and opportunities if you have a license, for sure, but there are many helpers or even sidekicks who learned their trade outside of the school setting. So it is not so strange. You probably won't get any trouble from other heroes if you work on this mission more."

Ace was glad it was the truth, and he wasn't a complete anomaly in another way. "I'm going to give you the rest of the day off. You've worked hard and I'm mostly meeting with other agencies. Mirio is stuck at school today with a speech of some sort, so Bubble Girl and Deku will be fine to do patrol. In an easy place for practice for him. So, take a break and catch up on sleep. Coffee and soda en masse are not healthy." Ace chuckled and thanked him before leaving.

When he got back to school, it had ended already. He searched for the man and found him easily, leaving the meeting room. He walked up to him, and said, "All right, time to beef up. Your arm is back to normal. Didn't you say you'd get back to your old self?"

The teachers also leaving the room laughed. "I won't be a nice trainer. You may want someone else. I won't take any bullshit," Ace said strongly.

"You know I'm pretty much your boss, right?"

Ace shrugged. "I'm only trying to help my boss. Is that so bad?" The others laughed and wished him good luck. By the end of Ace's grueling work out session, it was clear All Might wanted a professional trainer instead of an overachieving exercise junky at heart. Ace, apparently, was a little too mean. And swore too many times. All Might was very sore by the end.

"I'm sure you're supposed to start out easy, Ace-san," All Might said by the end.

"Power through the pain!" the pirate shouted, fist up. "Surpass your limits! Isn't that how you've always been? You kept being a hero for five years after losing an organ. Is exercising enough to do you in? Last time, you cheated. This time you'll get your strength and body the hard way, through hard and painful work!" Ace exclaimed in a hard and determined voice.

He'd known some of the staff were watching the whole time. Present Mic was and so was Midnight. All Might looked at him with a hard expression, and for a moment, Ace thought he was actually mad at him. That he'd gone too far.

Then he sighed. "What has become of me? To need a pep talk like this about being strong. I will accept your terrible ways. I won't give up with something so trivial."

"Great!" Ace exclaimed. "I won't be easy, but you'll get there. I will give you two months to improve. You will work out every other day before switching to every day. And when I'm not here, you should follow the schedule I give you. I'm the boss now, mwahahaha!" he laughed jokingly. "And even if I'm gone, you're still going to follow through on my agenda."

All Might smiled sadly. "Do you still wish to never come back?" he asked in a soft voice. Ace looked down. It'd been on his mind for days. What everyone thought, and what he thought. Everything he thought was challenged by everybody else. The other teachers left, thankfully, to not listen in on their personal conversation.

"I'm just confused," he admitted.

"About going back?" Ace shook his head.

"I'm confused as to who I am. All of my family and the people here insist I'm a good person. That I can be a pirate and a sort of hero at the same time." He sat down and said, "I've always been a demon's child. How can someone with my blood be a hero? It's stupid," he mumbled quietly. All Might sat down across from him.

"Because of your father?" Ace nodded. He knew all about Ace's past. Not such personal things as Mirio, but he knew him well enough. "Your family doesn't think that. And this world doesn't think that. We don't know who or what kind of person Roger was." Ace knew that was right.

"But I know who I am. At least, I thought I did. I'm a criminal, wanted with a bounty on my head. I don't help people just on a whim. But… I felt bad for not helping that little girl who needed it. I felt more heartless doing that than every crime I've ever committed in my entire life. I've never thought I was a good person. Yet everyone I know says I am, insists it.

"I think the real deal breaker will be next time I go home. To see if I age in this world. I don't want to age slower or faster than my family. If I age four weeks worth of growth instead of two, then I can't bring myself to stay in this world." Then he leaned back on his hands. "But I guess it wouldn't matter much if that island isn't there and I have no way or any ideas how to stop the loop."

All Might was quiet. He knew Ace would speak more. "It's easier for everyone else. That's why they don't see it like I do. To them, I'm with them at all times except for an hour every two weeks. It takes me like, four days to get into the swing of it again, remember who I am there. I'm not supposed to be a criminal here, and I'm not supposed to be a hero there. It's scary, not knowing who I am or what I want to do."

He clenched his fists. "I don't want to change who I am to my family. I don't want to not like being a pirate. What if I look down on them for what they do? I'll always love them. But will I love what they do?" He didn't want that. He didn't want to change, not like his life back there, not love his crew and the adventures they go on. This adventure has been different than any before. For two main reasons. It wasn't a place in his world, obviously that was a big deal. But, he was alone. He's always been with someone, whether it be the Whitebeards or Spades. Or Luffy and Sabo. But never alone like this.

All Might acknowledged his concerns. They were valid. "Perhaps your values could change, but you're still the same person."

"Will my family get irritated with me? That I suddenly change to them. At home, I try to convince myself that it's that world that makes me a troublemaker, makes me fight people. But that's not true. I don't have to destroy marine bases. I don't have to be part of attacks on other pirate crews. I don't have to be a pirate at all. I could have just stayed on my island but that wasn't my dream.

"I'm not a villain. But I'm not a saint. I know I'm not. I'm supposed to be selfish, so why did I feel so bad for that girl? I should have thought 'oh, someone else could save her. It's not my job, I'm not even a hero'. But that's not what I thought. I was angry that I had to leave her. But I wasn't stupid like Freckles was. I had my emotions under control and I didn't let them overcome me. But I broke, just for a second. I couldn't help but apologize to her for not saving her." Ace scowled. "That's not me."

"Ace-san, I know you might not want to hear this, but people change their habits, but are still their person. A criminal could become a hero but still be foundationally the same. The same memories, the same personality, only their actions changed."

"It wouldn't be changing habits, it would be completely changing my life. Pirating isn't a habit, it's a way of life. It was always my dream, and I love what I do. I love being with my brothers and the excitement of fighting and being silly and stupid and maknig crude jokes and drinking myself to unconsciousness when we have our parties." He sighed. "So much of that isn't here. I can't fight for fun or I'll get in trouble. I can't make crude jokes or be silly in the work environment without being looked down on or losing credibility. And I sure can't drink a keg of beer in one night as a competition.

"Though I commend myself for not wanting alcohol here, even before my meltdown."

Then All Might smiled. "If you don't age here, wouldn't life back home be like a breath of fresh air? You could appreciate it there more, you could fall in love with your family and life all over again every two weeks. It would be paradise to you. You would get to be with your brothers and wish to spend more time with them. You could appreciate getting into trouble since you were finally allowed to. You could have a break from the stresses of behaving here.

"You'll still have the same amount of time there if you don't age. I don't want you to hate this world. I don't want you to be devastated when the time comes for you to come back here. I want you to be happy as much as possible. But you could be a different person here and go back home and be the same person you were before, there. Life as a hero and life as a criminal. You'd get to be both aspects! You'd get chances to try out vastly different things here."

Ace had tears down his face. All Might was right about a lot of things he'd just said. He felt himself changing here every time he came, but he went back home and was so damn happy. He still enjoyed pirating. Since he became more prominent and helped out, going back home, he hadn't changed. His brothers would tell him, and they said nothing about it.

They saw it, too. That's why they convinced him that this was a different adventure, that he could be a hero and a pirate. They saw this as an opportunity for him to try new things. And Ace knew that he'd be happy for his brothers to go on new adventures. He'd be jealous, but still. And they were all so happy when he came back.

Maybe not just because he'd been gone for an hour, but because he smiled and hugged them and laughed and sang with them the days after he went back. Thatch and Haruta were always so cheerful. He hadn't noticed it, but he saw more smiles when he came back. Maybe it was the same for them. They were happier when Ace came because they knew he would be leaving. Even if it was for an hour.

Did this make everyone happy more? He didn't want to continue this just to make his family happy. Seeing them happy was wonderful. But he was always happy as well. And they had had plenty of fights since he'd started this journey that he still didn't see an end to. He hadn't felt guilty for hurting marines. He hadn't felt guilty for hurting villains.

He would take to his family more about this, but was pretty sure what their answer would be. If it made him happy, then they would encourage it for him. Family tried to make each other happy. At least, good family. They always loved his smiles. When he'd smiled on the ship the first time, they threw a party.

Then he remembered. He'd been miserable there, for months. But look how that turned out? He had a wonderful, caring family that would fight to save him, save his smile. He had hated it here at first, but slowly it was growing on him and he barely noticed most of the time. That was how it was on the Moby Dick.

Would things end up like that this time? He already had a great friend that he honestly didn't want to say goodbye to. He didn't need to hide from the authorities or risk going to jail by fighting even more. And he couldn't help but enjoy the pleasant, safe atmosphere here. The government of this world ran smoothly, he didn't need to worry about sea kings or killer storms.

He was confused, but not as much as he was before. "I need to talk to my family about this. But… thank you. You don't know how much this conversation means to me," he said in a choked up voice.

All Might put his hand on Ace's head. "Whatever you choose to do, you are a good person, and deserve to be happy, even if that means you never come back. I'd rather never see you again and have you be happy than seeing you here absolutely miserable. Don't think too hard about how everyone else would feel. Think of your own happiness. I think this world could make you very happy."

Ace nodded and put himself back together before they went to get something to eat. "I'm thankful for that conversation, but I'm still gonna put you through so much pain. Be prepared," Ace said with a grin, feeling much, much, much better now than he was before. Maybe it wasn't so bad. To like it here. Maybe he shouldn't feel guilty. But, it all depended on one thing. The most important part. Will he age here and leave his family behind? Or they leave him behind? That was the deal breaker that he worried about.

-x-

Ace waited with Mirio outside of the building they were sent to, waiting for the others who would come. Some from class 1-A. How were they always the ones to do things? Poor class 1-B. But before any of them came, Mirio's fellow big three came. Hado, the girl, was very excitable it seemed. The moment they met, she started asking questions. Ace answered all of them, and this just made her more and more excited before he pointed out she was speaking too fast.

But she seemed fascinated with him, and let her poke her finger into his flames while he tried to speak to the other one, who really didn't seem like he wanted to talk. Hado stopped poking him and said that Amajiki was shy. Ace wasn't used to shy people, but just smiled and said he understood.

"I want to learn more about your cool quirk so talk whenever you're ready," he said cheerfully. He was in a good mood. He was being included in the meeting. And he'd given Nighteye all of the information he had, so he didn't need to tell it to everybody in person.

"You're sure in a good mood today," Mirio pointed out. "For the past 3 days, really." Those days had been after his enlightening talk with All Might, that really changed his perspective. He wasn't a hero in the normal sense anymore, but he sure helped Ace when nobody else could. Once he was buff again, maybe his confidence would come back.

"Just had a talk with All Might that went pretty well," Ace said honestly. He rarely lied about anything other than his other life and what he was there.

"Hey, hey, I heard you were training him. Suuuuper hard!" Hado said excitedly.

Ace nodded with a grin. "I'm putting him through hell. He needs to get back to a new normal soon. Nobody thinks he's strong anymore because he looks weak. So I'm helping him out after he helped me out. I don't think he likes me after the work outs, though. I'm kinda mean," he admitted.

"Well, as long as it helps him, then being temporarily mean won't be a problem, right?" Mirio asked. Ace agreed. That was what he was going for. After their talk, Ace was sure he couldn't easily make All Might dislike him, which was nice. When he was talking to Hado and Mirio, getting along well, some of the other students arrived.

"Ace! You're here, too?" Kirishima asked.

Ace grinned. "Am I not strong enough to participate? And I heard about you on the news. That was pretty cool."

Kirishima grinned. "Not as cool as fighting with All Might, but it was pretty awesome. Everyone else is jealous of us. Especially Bakugo." Ace wasn't surprised. After all, Freckles had an internship while Bakugo didn't. He'd also lost to the calmer one with the provisional license. He was probably furious still. But, he was leaving Freckles alone in class lately. Which was a weird change. Maybe it was about that fight a while ago.

Ace looked at Midoriya. "How are you holding up?" he asked sincerely.

Freckles frowned. "Just hope we can do something soon. It's been bothering me all this time." Both Ace and Mirio frowned and nodded. All of the others wondered what they meant, but Ace said they'd probably find out with this meeting. A lot of pro-heroes were there, and the students were nervous.

Nighteye had assured Ace that not all heroes had licenses, and he'd proven his worth and skill by the three events that had occurred. The big ones. The incident at USJ, the training camp, and the fight against All For One and the League of Villains.

The eight of them entered the building, seeing many heroes in it. Ace and the other students weren't weathering their costumes (which Ace refused to call that black bodysuit a costume or even clothes).

"There are a lot of pro-heroes here. Is it safe for them to all be away from work?" Ace wondered. Many of the bigwigs he knew were there. The nearest hero replied for him that there were plenty around to make up for them not being there. The pros weren't the only heroes who saved people and took out villains. They were just the most well known.

Ace noticed some heroes glaring at the first years. Not at him or the big 3, but the first years. After all, they were pretty much unknown and hadn't proven to anybody that they were strong and useful. Ace was glad his involvement in hero world were known publicly so he wasn't looked down on as well.

There were so many heroes here that he had to work hard to remember their names. If he had to speak, he couldn't call them by their disrespectful and simple nicknames he came up with, lazy to not actually remember their names. He had to work on that.

Finally, everyone was there and Nighteye began, Bubble Girl beside him. "Thanks to the information we received from you all, the investigation has moved forward substantially. We will now have a conference to share what information we have gathered regarding what the small organization, Shie Hassaikai, is planning."

They all went into the next room to sit around a large table and listen to the briefing. Ace sat between Mirio and Freckles. Bubble Girl started first. "Those of us from the Nighteye agency have been conducting an independent investigation into the designated villain group, Shie Hassaikai, for about two weeks."

Someone asked, "What prompted this?"

"An accident involving a gang of thieves called the Reservoir Dogs. The police wrote it off as an accident, but there was a number of points that didn't make sense, so we began tailing them." Next was the sidekick Ace hadn't seen much, Centipeder. If Ace didn't grow up with all sorts of bugs, he would have been disgusted, honestly.

"I, Centipeder, conducted a follow up investigation. In my investigation I found that, in the past year, the members of Shie Hassaikai have increased contact with those outside their organization and other groups involved with shady businesses, moving with the aim of expanding their organization and increasing their funds. And soon after beginning the investigation, he was in contact with a member of the League of Villains."

They had been very successful in getting the public's attention. Ace heard their stupid club's name so many times it was irritating. He wished they could just take them all out. And he had hoped some would die from the burns, but it seemed none had other than the one he killed at the camp.

"Jin Bubaigawara, villain name: Twice. They were wary of being tailed, and I was unable to follow them. For him at least, he does not seem injured from the severe burns that all of them have acquired after the battle against All For One." A few gazes flicked Ace's way, but he continued to watch the speaker. "Even though they were wary, with the help of the police, I was able to confirm that an altercation occurred between the two organizations."

Gran Torino then spoke. "Since the League was involved, they also reached out to Tsukauchi and me." That was the police guy's name! He met him, during the plan to attack the villains bases that ended in a tragic victory for heroes as a whole but a loss for the world. Somebody asked where Tsukauchi was. "There were other eyewitness reports to look into, so he went to check them out. Kid, I didn't think it would end up like this," the old hero said, looking at Freckles. That's right, he was first interned under Gran Torino. "I'm afraid I've pulled you into something troublesome."

Freckles replied that he didn't think it was troublesome. He explained to Mirio when he asked that Gran Torino had been his mentor for the first internship. They didn't notice the not-so-nice looks that were sent their way for having a small conversation in the middle of a large meeting. Was Freckles even supposed to reply to that? Ace had been in so many meetings, but he had always been a leader. Now, he was below most of the people in that room besides the kids. Well, he might not even be above them even though he'd proven his strength.

Nighteye said, "Please continue." Bubble Girl was speaking again.

"So after this all happened, we put out a request for help on the HN-"

"You can skip that part," Centipeder said. Then Hado and the other two girls were talking, pissing off a dark-skinned hero with yellow sunglasses… or goggles? Mask? He didn't know what to call them. But his name was Rock Lock. Incredibly easy to remember.

He asked, "Even if they're from U.A., why are there kids here?" Ace and Amajiki were the ones to stay silent. Ace because he knew when and when not to speak. When you are spoken to is when you should speak when you're in a meeting and not the leader. Amajiki might be just because he was shy and quiet anyways. "We'll never get anywhere with them here. I can recognize Lemillion and Firefist, but these are kids." Ace exchanged a glance with Mirio, but neither said anything.

Ace was glad he wasn't under fire, but did feel bad for the others. "The sun will set before we get to the actual plan."

But Fat Gum (another easy name to remember and possibly a nickname he would have come up with) stood and defended them. "That's not true! These two have important information!" Then he looked around. Seemed like a cheery guy. "Anyway, I think I'm meet'n a lot of you for the first time, so I'm Fat Gum! Nice to meet you."

Nighteye was not happy with all of the interruptions, Ace could tell. And so could Mirio as he looked tense. An angry Nighteye was not pleasant for anybody in the vicinity. "We suspect one of Hassaikai's main sources of income is from unauthorized drugs. So I requested help from heroes who are well-versed in those matters." Ace was still silent, barely moving other than breathing, keeping his hands in his lap. Honestly, surrounded by this many pros, he didn't want to bring attention to himself when he shouldn't.

Fat Gum was angry, and said, "I crushed tons of guys like that back in the day! And then Red Riot's debut fight the other day… a type I'd never seen before was shot into Tamaki. A drug that destroys quirks."

Everyone but Ace, of course, freaked out. Even if they didn't shout, it was clear everybody was alarmed. Ace was just glad his power was definitely not a quirk, and wouldn't be affected if they were tailor made for the powers from this world. But how horrible. He saw how it affected All Might, he would feel so sorry for anybody that had that happen to them.

But Amajiki said he was fine after he slept when Mirio loudly asked if he was alright. Rock Lock said, "I feel better knowing that you can recover from it. So it's not gone for good?" Ace thought that they should all assume that it was permanent, and not fall into a false sense of security. Drugs could be manipulated easily based on testing and trial. Especially if they were illegal and not being run through proper tests. But of course he didn't speak up, many probably already knew that.

Nighteye responded, "No. We will hear from Eraser Head on that matter." The focus of the table turned to Eraser Head, looking exhausted, like always.

He started immediately. "It seems to be a little different from my Eraser since I dont attack quirk itself directly." He explained how his power worked and ended with "I can stop it from working temporarily but cannot directly inflict damage on them." Fat Gum was up again, and said that Amajiki had had the hospital look at him after being shot, and that his quirk genes were damaged. "Thankfully, they healed on their own, and he's back to normal, though."

Nighteye asked another question, and Ace was wondering how many had known what to say before the meeting, if anyone. Nobody was asking many questions. But nobody had been asked. But they were pro-heroes right?

"What about the analysis of what was shot into him?" Fat Gum replied that there was no damage to the rest of his body, but only the quirk. The guy who did it wasn't saying anything either.

"The gun's in pieces, and the only bullet we had was the one that got shot!" he said angrily. "But thanks to Kirishima's brave actions that lead to one bouncin' off his body, we were able to get one still filled with the drug! After analyzin' the contents, we discovered somethin' that made me sick. Human blood and cells were inside!"

While the others were disgusted, Ace was freaking out. "Eri…" he said. Mirio looked at him harshly. Nighteye turned to him and asked what he meant. Ace was put under the spot, he didn't like it. "A little girl who was with the leader of the Hassaikai was running from him… we met them on patrol. He was very possessive about her, and she had bandages all over her arms. If she were the one he was using, then he would never want her to get away. Which was why he was so angry about her leaving. He wanted to get away and not talk to us," Ace explained.

Ace looked at Mirio and Freckles, who looked horrified. Someone asked how he would come up with that. Ace defensively said it was just a sudden hunch, and wasn't proof or anything. "I apologize for speaking out of turn," he said with a bow. A few looked at him with a praising look, and the conversation was directed away from him, thankfully.

Ryukyu said, "So that effect came from a person… someone's quirk? A quirk that destroys quirks…"

"I'm not following this. Aside from Firefist's hunch, what does this have to do with Hassaikai?"

Fat Gum replied that, "The guy Kirishima caught and the illegal drug he used! The distribution channels for things like that are complex. It's gotten a lot smaller these days, but various people and organizations sell them wholesale until they finally reach the end user. There's no proof that the Hassaiaki handled the goods, but they didn't interact with one of the intermediaries."

Nighteye said, "The other day, when Ryukyu's team broke up the fight between two villain groups, controlling one of the groups was the intermediary dealer organization." This segwayed into the dragon hero speaking.

"One of the two that turned giant had been given and inferior drug that didn't last long." Someone who had a mask or helmet on spoke, but Ace had no idea who'd said it. "There have been a rash of gang-related crimes recently, and most can be connected to the Hassaikai if you tried hard enough."

"It sounds like you're trying really hard to make the Hassaikai guilty. Don't you have something that implicates them more obviously?" Then a photo of Chisaki appeared on the screen, and Ace worried so much that his hunch was correct, that Eri was being used for this and they just let her be taken back. The rational side of him knew that was the absolutely right thing to do in that moment, but the annoying empathetic side regretted it.

"The young head, Chisaki's quirk is overhaul. His power lets him disassemble and restore things. Disassemble, a quirk that lets him break things and then fix them. A terrible power indeed," Nighteye said, making eye contact with Ace, who had hypothesized that his quirk was not something only to heal. But if he could disassemble, he could kill people in violent ways. Torture them.

What if he did that to Eri? If she misbehaved, she would be punished and then restored just fine! It seemed the other two came to this conclusion as well. They all looked horrified, though Ace had been thinking it before, and were all ashamed, their heads down and faces looking hateful and so guilty. They let Eri be taken.

Nighteye continued though he had to have noticed his interns' demeanours and auras. The other two didn't seem to be paying attention anymore, but Ace was at full. "Chisaki has a daughter named Eri. There are no records or details about her birth, but when Mirio, Ace and Midoriya encountered her, as Ace said, she had a large amount of bandages around her arms and legs."

Ace's hunch was correct, sadly. Eri wasn't valuable as a "child" but as a source of income and power. "Don't tell me something so horrific," Ryukyu said quietly.

Gran Torino said, "It's a society of superhumans. If you can dream it, you can do it." Kirishima expressed confusion, and Rock Lock rudely said, "Are you sure we need the kids? I'll say this only once. We're wondering if this Chisaki bastard is turning his daughter's body into bullets and selling them." The girls and Kirishima gasped in horror.

"We don't know if he's actually selling the bullets," Nighteye said. "At their current stage, their efficiency is still too uncertain." Ace slowly raised his hand. "Yes?"

"If they are being passed out or sold to people, and they are being made by Chisaki, then should we assume the ones they use are permanent and work fully? The one that got Amajiki was temporary, and wore off. Would the masterminds give the proper bullets to smaller groups that are more likely to waste them? Or keep them for themselves to use?" Ace asked.

The others nodded, agreeing that that was probably accurate, if Chisaki was involved at all, which they still weren't sure of. They didn't know for sure that Eri was being used, but still. "If that isn't true, and they are not fully completed, if they are in the test stage, and he's using them as samples to gather more to his cause. There is no hard evidence. But he's gathered people and funds from across the nation. If the completed drug would be able to completely destroy someone's quirk… I'm sure they'll have many ideas for crimes using this."

Rock Lock, now Ace's least favorite hero in there, blamed it all on the three who'd met them personally. Nighteye stood up for them and said he took full responsibility for what had happened. "Please do not blame them. Even though they didn't know the full story, they acted to save the girl."

All three were unable to make eye contact with anybody, eyes shadowed as they looked down at their fists clenched in their laps. "Midoriya was willing to bear the risk of taking her then, but Ace and Mirio thought ahead and acted to try again when the odds were better." Ace touched Mirio's arm, and gave him a sympathetic look, showing they both carried the blame, not just him. "The ones most frustrated right now are these three."

Ace sat with his face in his hand while Mirio and Freckles stood up and said, "We'll definitely take Eri next time! And protect her!" Ace hadn't stood, but he nodded into his hand.

"We'll save her and make up for this," he swore.

Nighteye said, "That's right. That is our goal." All three were determined to make up for their huge mistake.

Rock Lock couldn't redeem himself in Ace's eyes the more he spoke. The more he belittled people who could possibly help. "It's fine for the kids to show off, but if it's what we think, that girl's the crux the young head will want to hide, right?"

Ace would be able to recognize Chisaki from a distance, how he did with All Might. It was easy, his presence was like the smell of sewage. Hard to be near but easy to identify.

"She got out because of some kind of trouble. On top of that, some three new heroes saw her! You think he'll just keep her at home? I wouldn't if I were him." Ace nodded, agreeing. Chisaki would keep her someplace safe and hard to find or get to. Ace would find him. He'd find all of them. "Even if we push our way in, it won't matter if she isn't there. Have you already identified where she is?"

Nighteye said, "Ace will be able to help greatly. He can tell when people are at a certain distance around him. And since he's met Eri and Chisaki before, they'd be easier to find. We'd need to find the general area first, though." All heads turned to him, and he kept a stoic face before saying, "I can do that."

"But it's a big issue. Since we don't know how far their plans have gotten, we have one chance to strike when it counts," Nighteye said. "To that end, we have found groups with connections to the Hassaikai, or land owned by the Hassaikai, and made it as thorough as possible. I would like you all to investigate each place and narrow the list down to possible locations."

One of the heroes pointed out that they, smaller heroes, were there because they worked closely to those locations. It was convenient.

Fat Gum grew angry. "For someone who was All Might's former sidekick, you sure are careful. We're going about this too round about! While we're takin' our time, that little girl, Eri, is probably cryin'!" All three who met her winced.

Nighteye responded smoothly, of course, "We cannot all become All Might." Ace felt that they really put too much stock in one person to be the symbol of peace. It could have been the duo, or squad. Having one person accentuated how badly it depended on them and how bad it would get when they were gone and unable to be replaced or promoted smoothly. Now the heroes were all scrambling about with the absence of All Might. He was one person. They made him sound too perfect, undefeatable, invincible.

All Might was a human as well. He got injured. His body grew weaker. He was going to die so he started to give away his power. If only Ace had come sooner. Maybe things would still be how everyone wanted them to be. But they'd never know. Ace couldn't time travel.

"That is why we must put together our analysis and predictions and try to make the possibility of saving her as close to 100% as we can."

Fat Gum was still angry when Gran Tornio said, "We can't rush. If we make a big fuss about this and then don't get her, this could be kindling for something bigger. Like how Stain's capture became an ad for the League. In fact, that might have been the intent behind distributing quirk- destroying weapons for those hoodlums!" Fat Gum accused him of thinking too much.

This guy was too emotional. He was a leader, he needed to have a clear head. "If you keep sayin' stuff like that, you won't be able to do anythin'!" Eraser Head then raised his hand and asked if he could ask a question. He asked why Sir Nighteye couldn't just use his foresight, seeing someone's future for an hour, on everyone and see how the mission would go.

"I… cannot do that," he replied, sounding guilty. "My foresight requires a 24 hour interval between activations. In other words, I can only use it on one person for one hour for each day." He explained that he could see the film of an individual's life, but the future he sees is from the perspective of the person and all he can see is that person's actions and close surroundings.

Eraser Head was confused and said that his foresight should give them more than enough information and then asked why that was a problem. It did seem really powerful in practice, but like all quirks, there was some negative aspect. Everyone he'd met so far with a quirk had some sort of weakness with their power. Kaminari would short out if he used too much lightning. Mirio couldn't breathe or see while using his power. Eraser Head had to keep his eyes opened and if they closed then his power shut off, Yaoyorozu had a limit to her creation, etc.

Nighteye looked troubled. "What if in that person's near future, death… just a merciless death was waiting…" he paused but didn't really continue that train of thought. "My quirk should be used only after we have already drawn out the highest probability of success, where it can be used to ensure our victory. It shouldn't be used so haphazardly when there are still so many uncertainties."

"What?!" Rock Lock shouted, startling Ace. "But death is information, too! We could put together a plan to avoid it!" Nighteye said it wasn't the same as fortune telling. "I have only ever had one prediction that has not been inevitable." He looked to Ace, who didn't know why. "The only time any of my visions' outcomes have been avoided was Ace arriving and saving All Might. But that was an anomaly, I do not trust it will happen again."

The room all stared at Ace, who looked at his feet awkwardly. Well, he wasn't meant to show up anyway. But nobody else knew how he came. Nobody else knew All Might was seriously injured. "Any other vision I know cannot be avoided.

Finally people turned their attention away from Ace, who was the only one of the three who let Eri go that hadn't jumped from his chair. Rock Lock was again angry and making a fuss, "Nighteye, I don't get it! Fine, use it on me! I'll show you I can avoid it!"

"No," Nighteye said harshly. He didn't elaborate, and was stared at awkwardly until Ryukyu saved the day and said, "Anyway, let's do this. There's a girl in trouble. That's the most important thing."

Nighteye stood up and said, "Confirm the girl's whereabouts and take her into our protection with the most accurate information we can get as quickly as possible." Everyone was standing by now, as soon as Nighteye had stood. "I'm counting on all of your help."

After that, the youngest all gathered at a table nearby, Ace sitting there as well. Freckles said, "If only I had taken her back then, even if I had to do it by force, right now Eri would be…"

Ace spoke up. "It wasn't your choice that made this mess. It was mine and Mirio's. You wanted to save her, and we stopped you. It was the right choice in the short term, but the wrong choice in the long term," he said sadly.

Freckles asked, "How were you so calm in there? How did you come up with that horrible and accurate prediction about Eri chan?" He sounded upset. Mirio answered for him.

"Ace has seen a lot of horrible stuff. And he's more calm about the mistake with Eri because he's been through this before. He isn't being heartless," he said quietly.

The others looked at him and he explained, "I'm a leader back home. All of us have made at least one wrong choice that ended in a tragedy. Not always death, but some sort of terrible outcome. That's why I can accept the mistake of leaving Eri alone and only focus that upset energy to make the wrong right. That's all we can do for her right now."

They were quiet for a moment before the door slid open and Eraser Head came out. "Is this a wake or something?" His students said his name in surprise. "Call me Eraser Head out of school. But man, I was going to recommend that your work internships be suspended today." The students of 1-A were shocked, and asked why now. "You heard them say the League of Villains could be involved, right? That changes things."

"But we have Ace," Uraraka said. "He's fought them off three times!" Ace harshly said, "I'm not invincible, I don't want anybody thinking that. And they've come back each time. Somehow they're ignoring the severe burns I gave them in the fight against All For One. I don't know how. Eraser Head knows what I mean." He was referencing Himiko during the provisional license test.

"They are smart. And Ace is right. They are determined, it seems, to get to our class. I don't mean to scare you, but the highschool girl, the one who seems crazy, was at the provisional license test. Ace caught her, but we didn't notice at all."

Uraraka said, "That's why you took that girl? Because she was a villain?" remembering when Ace appeared in front of her and took the creepy girl away. Ace nodded, and said that she had ignored the pain of the burns they'd seen were there. "Why was she there?!" Kirishima raged.

Ace shrugged and Eraser Head told them that she had gotten away after they caught her. "But you know, Midoriya, you still haven't regained my trust yet." Ace assumed it was both them trying to save Bakugo on their own and then he and Bakugo sneaking out to fight late at night. "Unfortunately, I'm sure that if I stop you now, you'll rush out again on your own." He crouched in front of Freckles and said, "So I'll watch you. If you're going to do this, do this properly, Midoriya. Got that, problem child?"

The teen nodded, choked up. Ace had a small smile before he made eye contact with Mirio. Then he lost it. He was glad he stuck up for Ace. It made him happy. Mirio was looking back at the table, and Amajiki said, "Please lift your face, Mirio."

"Hey, I know about this. Hey, Togata, even if you regret something and get depressed, nothing will change. Did you know that?"

"...Yeah," the blonde said strongly. Ace smiled a little. Seeing Mirio upset was hard. Like when they found the children in the basement. But he bounced back. He had to.

Eraser Head said, "I'll say this to give you some peace of mind. The hand you missed grabbing onto did not necessarily mean despair for Eri. Face forward." His class immediately got excited and determined. Amajiki said Mirio's name, and he got up and said strongly, "We'll save her next time, Ace, Midoriya."

Ace smiled and Freckles said, "Definitely."

"We won't make the same mistake twice," Ace promised, putting his hat back on.

Eraser Head spoke up again, "That being said, apart from the big three and Ace, who are at least as strong as the pros, the rest of you probably won't have big parts to play. Asui, Kirishima, Uraraka. You three aren't here of your own volition... What would you like to do?"

Uraraka spoke first. "Eraser Head! After hearing that, I can't say I'm not going to help!"

"If you aren't going to say we can't do it, then I would like to help!" Tsu said. Amajiki spoke next, and Ace would not be able to recognize his voice as he'd heard him say maybe two things.

"Since the heroes had you participate in the meeting, I think they have recognized you first years' abilities." Then he said Kirishima, a first year, shined more brightly than he had. Nobody really seemed to pay attention to what he said, which might be why he didn't talk much, did people usually interrupt or ignore him?

Kirishima loudly said he was going to use his power to help that little girl. Eraser Head nodded. "It's fine as long as you understand. Our goal this time is only to rescue the girl, Eri. We won't step in further than that." He said both the police and Nighteye thought that the League of Villains was not involved in this. The chances of them showing up this time was low.

"But in case they're wrong, and the League ends up being involved, then you guys are out." The first years agreed to this term.

After they all dispersed, Ace went and found Nighteye, standing with Gran Torino at a wall of windows inside the building. "Sir, why didn't you tell me that I was the only one to change one of the outcomes? I mean, it was a pretty big one, right?" Nighteye wasn't looking.

"I did not want to acknowledge it, for it might make me think all of my predictions can be avoided. This was an anomaly, and perhaps the reason I didn't see it was because it did not happen here. But, I don't want to think that is the new normal. I didn't want to bring any attention to it." Ace understood and nodded.

"How did you come up with the hunch? About Eri being the donor for the drug?"

Ace said, "It was the most horrible thing I could think of at the time. I had a lot of ideas in my head at that moment. The most horrible one is usually the one that ends up coming true," he said sadly.

Nighteye looked back out the window. "You and I can agree on that aspect. Go get some rest for tonight, Ace. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Ace wanted to ask how long the operation would take, but he had over a week left. It shouldn't take a week, and if it did, he would only be gone an hour. The island was three weeks away. That would be one more journey before they came across where the island used to be.

He would be there and make the wrong right, and save Eri. God, he was stupid. Why start caring about strangers now?

The next morning, Nighteye had Ace brainstorm with him about a plan. "Are you sure you want to ask me?" Nighteye nodded. He asked Ace what he thought of how the plan would go, once they did find the correct place, which would still take a few days.

"I think I should be at the front. I can alert others if anyone is nearby. Me and Mirio should work closely together since we're good at that. If I give him the clear, he'll be able to inspect rooms we can't get to without making a fuss. We're there to get Eri, not fight.

"But, if we do fight, I think I should not be the main force. If I get taken out, then everyone is put in a harder spot. I would like to fight, but many of the pro-heroes can fight and don't need my skills in that way.

"But nobody has haki like I do. I hate to say it, but I should be protected." Nighteye was writing this down and making his own notes. "I should wear that terrible costume, as well. Villains have to know by now that I'm more than just fire. So I think I should be unknown and in disguise."

Nighteye nodded. "Having you be obvious could be a problem. If they find out you're among the group, they may try to flee. I'm not saying you're overly strong, but in the media, you are portrayed that way. And if Chisaki didn't recognize you, then they should not be worried that you would help. They wouldn't suspect it unless they knew Mirio was coming. He and you are partners, so it would make sense for you to work together again."

Ace agreed with that. "There should be police waiting at each exit, and some heroes as well. I think it will have to be a small team that goes in so it doesn't attract too much attention. Heroes should form a perimeter around the area. In case any backup shows up."

Nighteye said, "The team will be small. What do you think of Midoriya? Can he be of direct help?"

Ace thought for a moment. "He's not especially strong, but he is smart and thinks quickly. His response time is lower than I think pro-heroes would be, but I help train him in that, so he might be of help. He's a kid, but he could be helpful to protect me with someone else.

"With the mission being stealthy, I think me and Mirio would be able to pull it off. If fighting comes, then we'd need strong people to go against Overhaul. His ability is alarming at the least. I don't know if I'd be able to be affected by it. He destroys things, right? Pulls them apart?" Nighteye confirmed this. "Fire can't be cut or taken apart. It's either lit or it's not. But I don't know if my logia would be able to stand it.

"So, I have no intention of getting close to Chisaki."

"Do you think you'll be affected by the bullets?" after all, Ace didn't have a quirk

Ace shrugged, but said he didn't want to test it out. He was then asked if his conqueror's haki would work. "I'd only be able to do it a few times before tiring out. And some people don't pass out if their will is strong enough, so I believe that it will most likely not affect him, but underlings and possible heroes."

They spent time planning while Freckles and Mirio were at school and Ace had already finished his two classes he worked with All Might. During one break between strategizing, Ace had told Nighteye about his grueling exercise regimen. It had made him smile.