We are Heroes ~ Portgas D. Ace

Grand Line Academy

Every child dreams of becoming a hero. Every child has a hero they look up to, and idolize. Like everyone else in her country, Reese loves All Might. He would rescue people and defeat villains with a smile on his face. He is the strongest man in the country, some would argue the world. Reese would sit in front of the small television in her grandmother's living room and watch the news show clips of All Might latest battle. Her island was so far away from the sprawling metropolis that All Might fights in, but she dreamed of the day he would come to her tiny island.

Reese's grandmother, Liz, is a retired hero now raising her late daughter's child. Liz has the power to control plants, a strong quirk, especially in rural areas. She didn't know what kind of quirk her granddaughter would end up with since she had never met Reese's father. She hoped for a fun simple quirk for her granddaughter so she could continue to live peacefully on Okunai. But everything changed when Reese had two quirks emerged, an eraser quirk and a float quirk. Reese could take away someone's quirk by just touching them and the effects could last hours. It even worked on people whose quirk had changed their physical appearance. Four arms? Now two. Invisible? Not anymore. Wings? Like they were never there. Liz knew if the wrong people found out about Reese's quirk they would take her away. Both the Hero Public Safety Commission and Villains. So Liz registered her granddaughter under only her float quirk, planning to hide her away from hero society.

However as Reese began middle school, villains were attacking towns on neighboring islands. A group known as the Donquixote Family has several homicides and kidnappings traced back to them. A smaller group calling themselves the Fishmen was also stirring up trouble west of Okunai. Liz knew she would not be able to protect Reese by herself if anyone came for her. Reese was surprised when her grandmother told her she should apply to hero schools on the mainland. Reese decided on her grandmother's alma mater, Grand Line Academy High School.

Liz reached out to trusted old friends at the school to request them to protect Reese and explained her situation. GLA said they would accept Reese into their hero course through recommendations and she would have a dorm room on campus.

So just as Reese turned 16 she left Okunai for the first time and traveled by ferry to Suncho City in Miyazaki prefecture. Liz watches her granddaughter take in the city with fascination. Reese has never seen such tall buildings or so many people in one place. It looks just like the places she saw on tv. Grand Line Academy is located at the northern end of the city surrounded by forests and mountains. It is still close enough to the ocean to smell the salty breeze. It is a small campus as they only have a small number of students. Dorm buildings line the eastern side with the main building in the middle, fields to the west, and a training dome to the north. All students live on campus as most travel far from home to attend this school.

Reese follows her grandmother quietly into the main building and walks to the principal's office. After a short wait, they are invited in. Reese is surprised to see a young woman sitting behind the desk. Her green hair is pulled back with a colorful bandana. Her face may have looked young but her eyes seem ancient as if they had already seen centuries. The woman smiles at them waving them to sit,

"Hi, Liz! It's so good to see you! Welcome to Grand Line Academy! I'm the principal here, Makino." The kind woman turns to the nervous Reese,

"I was friends with your mother, so I've known Liz almost my whole life." She explains.

"You lived on Okunai!" Reese exclaims surprised to meet someone else from her home island.

"I did. I'm actually not the only one, another first-year body was born there, but moved away when he was young." A knock sounds at the door and Makino calls them in. A beautiful woman with long jet-black hair and tan skin enters waving and moving to stand next to Makino,