Last chapter, I hope you enjoyed!
"Hi, Luffy. I'm Makino," a nice looking woman said. She had dark green hair held back by a headband. She wore a green outfit that didn't look too much like hero clothes. But she looked and sounded kind so far. She didn't try to shake his hand, which he didn't like to do if he could avoid it.
Nice to meet you. She smiled and nodded. They were at Roger's agency, Law there, too, meeting his guard, Olivia. Luffy's guard looked much kinder than the other. To Luffy, it felt like they were kids, meeting their big buddies at school. It was the day before school started again, over a month after the kidnapping of all the students happened.
No more dorms. Zoro and Sanji were nervous about going back, as well. Not knowing how the class actually all actually felt, not what they texted. Luffy knew better than anyone that you can sound much more confident and friendly through a screen.
"I'll be going to school with you and will wait around, out of your way. Your protection is very important to many people, and I'll do my best to look after you," Makino said. Luffy nodded. He couldn't hear what Law's body guard was saying, but he looked very grumpy and not happy with this.
How will you get to school? Luffy questioned. "I'll be staying in the guest house on your property." Guest house? "One was just built. I'll stay out of your way, but I do have a way to protect your home from any intruders." Luffy wondered how. "My quirk is creating solid, invisible walls. I can use it for defense and offense. Look, see," Makino explained, and made a motion in the air.
Luffy reached out and found it was there, a solid, invisible wall. "It'll be around your home to keep you all safe." Luffy's eyes widened, and he glanced at Roger, who was grinning. Luffy thanked him. "Of course. My family is everything to me. And your worries are very justified." Luffy felt glad, and that this might work. As long as there were no portals.
Those mirrors hadn't shown up in a long time. Not since all of the attacks on schools across the planet. But nobody should know his house, right? That portal thing was gone. Germa 66 was over, their tech couldn't harm Luffy anymore, right? He hoped so. He wondered if she could make it into a box.
"Yes, it will be covering the whole home. The top, sides and below," Makino replied. She really seemed very kind. But there was another problem. How would he teleport with her? "I've gone through training to keep myself from becoming nauseous. Similar to how some people in the military go through simulations so they won't grow sick on planes or jets." It made sense, and Luffy nodded, hoping she was right.
He would feel bad for making such a kind person sick all the time. She asked if they could try it right now so they could see if her training was enough. Luffy nodded and touched her arm to teleport both of them a foot to the right. She looked perfectly fine, not sick at all. Luffy was glad of that.
Looking back to Law, he still looked unimpressed and cranky, but Olivia didn't look offended or upset with his attitude. Law's parents were in the waiting room, and Luffy walked to the window between the waiting room for civilians and the main lobby for the heroes. They seemed a bit down, and Luffy felt bad. Law followed him down. But they had been happy he saved him the first time around. When nobody knew what would happen to those kidnapped. He didn't want them to hate him.
He actually hadn't seen Law in a while, only texted with him. And still, he didn't feel what all those articles said he should. He didn't feel an increase in heart rate, he didn't feel "warm". Once, he'd wanted to hold his hand, but it was after a flashback, if he was remembering right. He gave nice hugs and nice smiles and said nice things.
But… he just couldn't feel. Love was supposed to be something humans wanted, right? He just had a feeling it wouldn't be easy, maybe impossible, for him to ever feel that way. They all like being in love. He could see it every day with his mom and dad. Could there be something else wrong with him? Maybe this was a different problem.
He wouldn't know. He was now mostly having counseling over Zoom so he could be at home. It had been erratic for a while, but he was getting it more regularly for the past couple of weeks. But, the counselor noted that he acted much more closed off now than before. It wasn't really something nice to hear. Not at all. Rouge had been angry when Luffy was crying and told her what the counselor had said. It wasn't something he needed to hear.
Luffy walked to Law, and looked down. He asked if he could talk to him in private. He had something he needed to tell him. Law looked worried, but nodded. Roger said they could go into his office, nobody was there at the moment. The two walked there instead of Luffy just teleporting them.
"What's up?" Law asked, no longer looking annoyed or irritated with the situation. I can't feel it. I'm sorry. I don't feel anything like everybody talks about. "Just cause you don't like me like that doesn't mean you won't ever like anybody. Maybe I'm just… not right for you," Law said, though his voice was slightly strained at the end.
He was so nice to him it was almost painful. Somebody like him shouldn't waste his time liking Luffy the way he did. I wish I could feel it. It sounds nice. But scary, too. Law smiled at him, a sad one, but a true one, too. "I'm not mad and won't be mad if you never like me like that. I'm happy to be friends. I don't want to mess things up, I want to stay with you as good friends. I know I'm not Zoro and Sanji, but I like being your close friend."
They've been with me through my long nightmare, and you've been there for my more recent ones. You're a best friend, too. They both agree. Don't feel left out. Law smiled, one of relief. He must have felt like a fourth wheel. He was at first, but not anymore. Zoro and Sanji would never forget that Law saved Luffy and got his quirk back.
Who knows what Dolfamingo would have done to him if Law wasn't there. Even if they hadn't fought back, the former-villain was sick, and might have found Luffy when he was vulnerable and repeated the past that ripped him apart. He still wasn't anywhere close to being taped back together.
When they got home, Luffy found that there was a guesthouse now. He didn't know how they got it there so fast until he realized it was a manufactured home and they just moved it there. They didn't build it from scratch. But it was still nice looking and left plenty of room in the backyard. It was no problem.
Makino was moved in, and had dinner with them. Rouge wanted to welcome her and Ace and Sabo were scouting, to see if she could really protect Luffy. Ace was going back to work. The villains were no longer able to target students. Plus, he could see Luffy at home every day after work. He was no longer desperate to do anything to stay with him.
The family ended up liking her. She helped do the dishes since Luffy never unloaded the dishwasher that day like he was asked to. So he did it after dinner. Makino said she would see him tomorrow and to come get her when he was ready to go to school. Okay. She smiled and bowed to his parents and then left out the back door and went to her new little home.
When the next morning came, Luffy was scared and nervous. Not knowing what to expect at all. He dressed in the uniform he hadn't worn in so long. It still fit, meaning he hadn't lost any weight, which was surprising. He put everything in his backpack and then went to the guest house and knocked on the door.
Makino opened it, already looked ready to go. He took her hand and teleported them to the front gate. He found Zoro and Sanji waiting outside for him and they hurried over. Zoro smiled, and Luffy nodded. His way of telling them he was okay. Makino introduced herself, and said she wouldn't interfere with anything.
"Thanks," Sanji said with a bow. Makino smiled and said it was no problem. He was thanking her for looking after his best friend. Luffy felt like he'd pulled away from them, even though they said he hadn't, and they didn't feel like he'd left them. They waited for Law, Makino staying at the gate and looking around, though she still looked happy. Luffy liked her demeanor. It wasn't so happy that it made him jealous or sad, but more relaxed.
Law came with Olivia following after him. He didn't look happy at all with the arrangement. Luffy wondered if it wasn't worth it to protect Law from the alliance's anger. "Let's go," he grumbled. Sanji raised his brows and asked what his problem was. "I don't like having somebody following me around that I don't know or care about," he said in an angry voice.
Luffy felt bad, since it was him that gave the idea to Roger. But he didn't sign anything about it. They walked to their classroom, Olivia and Makino waiting outside both doors and not entering. Luffy hadn't heard a word of the other hero. But based on their demeanor and appearances alone, Luffy was happier to have Makino.
The class looked at them when they walked in. Law and Zoro closed off, staring at everyone with angry expressions. Based on their abandonment and ignoring Luffy, probably. Luffy wanted that to be over, but was still hurt about it. The Three Jis were looking pissed at them. But they should be pissed at their father. He chose his work over his kids. They should hate him, but they were instead mad at Luffy and Law.
There were a handful that were more upset than the others. Ones that mirrored Killer's demeanor and position. Luffy assumed those were the ones who did not get their quirks back. At least, not yet. Law said he knew Killer's quirk was gone. And nobody knew how to get them back. But Law didn't say anything to anyone about the guy's quirk. Luffy thought that was for the best.
Luffy looked down at his sleeves. He hadn't worn them at all at home, so going into public with them sucked, but it was only for a short amount of time. Now, he had to be in them for 6 hours at least. They'd be hot and itchy. It would take a bit to get used to wearing them so long, and so often.
The four sat down in their usual seats. Nobody bombarded Law with questions about how he got the quirk fruits back. But there were bows and some thank yous from those who already received theirs back. The lucky ones. But now they had to retrain their quirks. The Japanese students might be the weakest in all of the students kidnapped and harvested. They went without them the longest. At least, so far.
Shanks was not as excited as he was before the whole mess started. Maybe because he'd lost all of his students to villains. Maybe that really scared him. Luffy knew how freaked out he had been since he could hear him on the call with Ace moments after they were teleported away. "Class as it was is now over. We will focus much of the day on reclaiming your quirks. Those who have not gotten theirs back yet will be training physically. It's become clear to many that you need to be strong without just your quirk.
"I know everybody wanted to come back to normal, but for at least the next two weeks, things will be very different. This year has been derailed, but we'll fix it up. It'll just take time and some patience for difference. You've all been very good at adapting this semester," Shanks said sincerely.
Zoro, Sanji, Luffy and Law all looked uncomfortable. The only ones in the school who got away with their quirks. Or got them back in time to use them normally again. All thanks to Law who got both of their quirks. And Luffy saving all four of them. But that wasn't much. Well, it was, but he didn't really feel special about it anymore.
Now he felt guilt for not helping everybody else. They had their quirks, most of them besides a few, but they were still starting at square one. They lost ten or eleven years of progress. Would school ever be the same? Would they ever make it to be heroes? Luffy didn't like thinking about it, but he couldn't help it. It was a heavy subject.
They left the room, and found everybody else in the school was outside somewhere. It wasn't just the hero course that lost their quirks and it wasn't just them whose mattered in life or their future.
The four friends sort of stood around, watching the frustrated teens try to use their quirks to the best they could. Killer and Kiku were those in the class who hadn't gotten theirs either because it was not found or it was used already. They sat with a large group of students that weren't in their class who were in the same situation.
"You four should practice, too," Marco said, one of the supervisors. "Just because you four are the lucky ones doesn't mean you shouldn't better yourself while the others have a setback."
Luffy looked down. If I saved everybody…
"There will rarely be a situation where you can save everybody. Nobody died, that's what mattered the most. Lives are more important than anything else. There is no point in wishing to change the past. You can only work on the present to make the future," Marco said, his voice firm but also understanding.
The four nodded, and asked if they could go to a more secluded space. He gave them permission, but to not go far. Makino and Olivia walking with them, but at a distance. Luffy had forgotten they were there, which was nice. They weren't distracting to him much. It seemed they were to Law.
He touched his sleeve. Try to ignore them. They're here to help us. Law sighed. "I know. I just don't like being followed," he said honestly and in a grumpy voice. Sanji and Zoro agreed that it must be annoying. Luffy didn't think so, but he didn't sign that since Law was so irritated and upset about the setup.
Well, it was necessary for now. Luffy was working with Law, who had a sliver of sharp metal from the building, a piece that had been pried off. Luffy was teleporting away and then bringing back things for him to cut up. The powers he showed at the fighting scene during their kidnapping had been very helpful. So Luffy was helping him.
Zoro and Sanji were fighting outside of the ROOM. Luffy backed out of the blue dome, and Law slashed the air, cutting things up into near chunks. Sanji commented on how creepy it was to cut people up like that. "Well, it saved our asses." Luffy nodded in agreement. "I want to try something."
What?
"I can move objects right? Why can't I move them up?" Luffy understood what he meant, and walked into the ROOM. He trusted Law completely to not hurt him, and he wasn't using the sharp object anymore.
He brought a finger up, and Luffy gradually floated up, a few feet off of the ground, kind of moving around so he wouldn't land on his feet. He was levitated on his stomach. Flying felt nice. Law was smiling at him, and Luffy wondered why. Then the ROOM disappeared, the time limit up after using it for other things so long.
Law hurried over and caught Luffy easily before putting him down. Luffy could have teleported and landed, but he saw Law coming over and didn't want to embarrass him by catching nothing. He put Luffy down. It was nice being hugged by him, though it was also incredibly uncomfortable. It was strange having both emotions, but he was weird like that.
The class ended for lunch, and everybody walked to the main building, almost all of them seemed to have rain clouds over their heads. Luffy really sympathized with them. But he'd not used his quirk willingly. It was a lot more different with them. Law must understand how they felt because he'd lost his and had to fight on his own for a bit.
He really had been amazing then, when he was protecting Luffy while he couldn't do it himself. He pulled on his sleeve. Thank you for saving me. Law smiled and said he was welcome, and he'd do it again, if needed. Luffy nodded, smiling inside, but still unable to break the surface. Zoro and Sanji grinned and put their arms around him. He relaxed a bit, and they talked about going to get ice cream a bit later.
Makino and Olivia were still there. Makino had not gotten upset about Luffy leaving the area since it was a place that was easy to see if she moved a few feet to the side. Law did his best to ignore his bodyguard, and Luffy felt he was doing a good job.
Lunch was subdued for everybody. Their classmates picked at their food. Nami spoke first. "What was it like? You never went into much detail." They knew what she was talking about. Luffy looked to Law, since sign language would be difficult and they wouldn't know what it meant. The tallest teen siged and then explained.
"We were put in chairs and drugged. I was able to stay awake. I knocked out the guy who injected us and took our quirks, which were little glowing balls. I got Luffy out of his chair and tied him to my back. There were a lot of people there, but I managed to get in pretty far without being noticed. I was searching for our quirks.
"I got cornered in a room by the main villain in that place. The wall was full of hundreds of thousands of the quirk fruits. Ours were closest, so I ate mine and Luffy ate his. We managed to teleport all of the quirks to Roger's place. Luffy's quirk stopped working for some reason. But we made it through the place a bit more before we were able to teleport away.
"It was a mess, but we came out pretty uninjured," Law finished and went back to his food. The others were silent before they asked if they were scared. Luffy nodded, but Law didn't say so. It was assumed that it was scary. He saved me.
Law looked away, his cheeks a little red. Nobody commented on it. After lunch, they did a small lesson on the normal things, which were brief and most explaining some homework they were given. Then they went back to their quirk practice. The four would be so bored for the rest of the school year.
Luffy wasn't practicing with Law anymore. Now he was fighting with Zoro and Sanji was working on his own. Even if they wanted to practice with the others, it'd be completely unfair. With the four of them miles ahead in skill now, it would be a one-sided beatdown with even those who had once been able to easily keep up with them.
The mute teen was trying to fly, sort of. Teleport fast enough high in the air to move along. It worked, and was pretty fun! His friends ended up watching him with grins. Luffy didn't return them.
After school, after a very sad day, Luffy offered to take Law home. That way he didn't have to be annoyed with Olivia riding the train with him, walking behind him. She and Makino were perfectly patient. Makino was kind and was always smiling when Luffy looked at her. Genuinely kind and with a real smile. He sensed nothing fake about it.
"Yeah, sure," Law said. This time. Luffy took his hand with his left and Makino with his right. Olivia was on the far right. He teleported the three to Law's home. Nobody was sick, which really impressed Luffy. Makino and Olivia didn't look ill or uncomfortable at all.
Law held Luffy's for a second too long, and realized, yanking it back and putting it in his pocket. Luffy was unbothered, and said he'd see him the next day. Law's face was red and he nodded. Luffy took Makino and brought them home. She went with him into the house when he offered. Are you hungry?
"No, I'm fine." Luffy asked if she was sure. That Rouge had made cookies to share with her. Makino didn't refuse again, and ate some of the chocolate peanut butter cookies. She enjoyed them, and Luffy gave her a glass of milk.
Luffy sort of understood why Law had liked him so early. The mute one liked how quiet Makino was. She didn't really initiate conversations, but her silence wasn't awkward, and she didn't look uncomfortable with it. Once Rouge got back home, Makino said she was going to take a shower in her little home.
Rouge thanked her for watching over Luffy. "It's no problem. Having somebody quiet is nice. He's very nice and it's refreshing. Sometimes you get stuck with unpleasant people," Makino replied with a smile. She walked out the back door, and Rouge said she really liked her.
Me too. Sometimes I forget she's there because she doesn't interfere with anything. Law doesn't like Olivia even if she acts like Makino. Though her smile and voice isn't as kind. Law might think he would be babied if he was watched over by Makino. Rouge said she could see that.
"Law is a nice boy. I'm glad you made another friend, Luffy," she said while Luffy had two of the cookies. The two smallest on the place. The teen nodded in agreement. "How was school?" Luffy recounted the day and the differences. Rouge was sad.
"I'm just so relieved you and Ace still have your quirks," the mother said. Luffy nodded, but signed he felt a bit like an outsider. "You have three others in your boat. You won't be an outsider to them." Luffy nodded, but still. Still, he felt like he wasn't one of the class anymore. He wouldn't share their troubles.
He was going to go into his room when both Rouge and Luffy's phones went off with the emergency tone. It was blaring at them to prepare for an earthquake. They both ran under the kitchen table. Luffy could see Makino in the doorframe, safe there.
The house shook, but it was barely felt. Nothing fell off of the walls, nothing broke. He immediately texted his friends and brother. They all messaged back immediately that they were fine. Rouge turned on the TV by her phone, or tried to, but the signal was out. So she opened the news on her phone.
Luffy watched the news, both of them staying under the table because the warning was not lifted yet. Footage from a helicopter showed a huge hole in the ground in a region of Russia that was mostly empty. The land around it was absolutely destroyed. The ground was broken apart, like a bomb had been dropped.
It was felt all the way in Japan. And there were no tectonic plates there. Luffy knew that from geography. Somebody stepped out of the hole. Luffy wasn't surprised to see who it was, based on the earthquake. It was Whitebeard, holding his bisento that nobody had seen for many years. He never needed it, and never needed to use his destructive quirk.
Hopefully the earthquake didn't hurt everything too bad or cause any tsunamis. That would be bad. Others came out after him. Fifteen people, his commanders that were just under him in status of their agency.
One of them, Jozu, Luffy thought, had a huge chain and pulled out a massive crowd of people all trapped in his diamond prison. Nobody had ever successfully gotten out of one. By the time everyone was out and then diamond was settled, they could see just how many there were.
Thousands of people were trapped in the diamond prison. Whitebeard stood over them, terrifying even in his old age. Whitebeard had never caused an earthquake before in Luffy's lifetime. Not for years, since it was so dangerous.
I wonder if those are the beast villains? Kaido's, right? Rouge nodded in agreement. She thought that as well. But there were no large people. Nobody under Big Mom and Kaido wasn't there in the huge group.
The helicopter flew around the scene. They watched in awe as Haurta, the youngest commander, covered the entire diamond structure in some sort of green liquid coming from his hands. The diamond prison carrying almost 5,000 men quickly began to shrink under it was the side of a briefcase. Jozu put another coating of diamond around it.
The hole in the ground collapsed inward as the Whitebeards walked away from it, not looking back as the ground caved and made huge crashing noises with tons of dust into the air. That was amazing. Ace would be gushing about them for weeks. Not that Luffy could blame him.
There was still Big Mom to worry about. Makino came in and asked if they were alright. The warning was lifted, and the mother and son came out, nodding. "Did anything break?"
"No, I don't think so. The cable is out, though," Rouge replied. Luffy went to the couch and put his phone on, while working on the little homework he had. The Whitebeards took the case of diamond criminals, who couldn't get out unless Diamond Jozu willed it. Kaido would not be getting his men back, even if he used his quirk.
The Whitebeards boarded a plane back to Japan. The helicopter, of course, couldn't follow the plane. The news had been in another language but with subtitles. Breaking news all over the world, as everyone felt the earthquake. Damage control was working on assessing the damage. But Whitebeard had had that quirk for a long time.
Even if the rest of the world shook, it was not destroyed or damaged badly. Based on satellite images coming up in the last two hours, there were cracks in Siberia, where the base had been, no doubt using a portal to get to other countries. Nobody lived in that area, which was both an advantage and disadvantage.
An advantage since their base wouldn't be easily found. Disadvantage because there was nothing to hold back heroes from going all out. And it paid off. Now all that was left was Kaido himself and Big Mom's group. And the small time villain groups that would no doubt defect now that Whitebeard has gotten involved.
When Roger came home, he looked tense. Should he be? Whitebeard wiped out a lot of Kaido's men, if not all of them. Ace came home looking energetic, high off of how amazed he was with the agency members he wanted to join. And he wasn't deterred by their strength. He was absolutely confident he'd be accepted one day. Luffy really admired him.
Rouge asked what was wrong with Roger. "I'll be away for a bit. There's news of where Big Mom is hiding. Myself, Whitebeard, Garp, Dragon, Shanks, Oden and Rayleigh, who is coming out of retirement to help."
The three brothers were shocked since Sabo came home moments after Ace. That was probably the strongest alliance between heroes in Japan's history. Especially including Dragon and Whitebeard. Rouge looked fearful. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Luffy was shocked Rayleigh was coming out of retirement for this. It had been years since he retired, yet he was still seen as so strong he'd be joining them? And Shanks never seemed especially strong, but maybe it was because he was a teacher now? But they couldn't lose a teacher like him after everything that's happened.
Luffy nervously texted his friends, who did their best to assure him that things would be fine. Roger was strong and would no doubt be a huge help to everybody. Then the class joined a group chat over Shanks, shocked he'd be going to help. It really looked like Luffy couldn't tell who was strong. Rayleigh was powerful enough to be on this mission, as was Shanks. It was surprising.
But Luffy was afraid for his father. All three were. And they were going so soon. Already knowing the plan. Whitebeard had been a distraction and the first deploy for taking out the alliance.
The next day, Shanks was gone, and the class was uneasy. They all had their phones in their pockets, checking constantly. Marco was gone as well, replaced by one of their underlings who was strong but not as important as Marco. He'd be going with Whitebeard. So, three of Luffy's teachers were going to be gone. Along with his dad.
He felt very personally connected to everyone involved. Well, not everybody, but four of them, including Oden, who he took a liking to during the internship that felt like it happened years ago.
Days passed slowly as Big Mom and Kaido retaliated. One night, in a city in a smaller European country, everyone found lifeless bodies around with random objects having souls. Using Big Mom's power of ripping out people's souls. She did that as a warning. What if it happened to his dad? It was so scary.
He had faith in him, but it didn't mean he wasn't terrified for him. So, when the day of the expedition that the world knew about, it was not a secret ambush, class was canceled, and everyone had to stay home in case there were any more earthquakes. Dining room tables were given to households that didn't have any.
Zoro and Sanji would be staying with their family, as well as Law. He wanted to keep his little sister comforted. She was scared with the first earthquake. She wasn't a toddler anymore, but she was still a little girl and wanted her big brother. Luffy knew what it felt like, and was glad Ace and Sabo would be at home with them.
They kept their phones on in front of them, sitting under the table. Makino was with them this time. And she was using her quirk that put a roof of solid air above them. In case the ceiling did cave, they had extra protection. It was really helpful and reassuring.
There would not be live coverage, as it was too dangerous to have anybody who wasn't a hero at the scene. They didn't need to find the hideout. They were being challenged. Someplace with a lot of room to fight. It was at a disclosed location, though it was a lifeless area.
The pro hero legends were flown there, but the footage was stopped once they boarded the plane to the destination that they'd agreed to settle things with Big Mom and Kaido. And anybody stupid enough to stick with them. They wouldn't be surprised if the three All Stars below Kaido fought as well.
The world would be waiting. These were the strongest heroes, and if they lost, then nobody would feel they could defeat the alliance. So, this was a life and death battle, but also for hope and despair. The outcome would decide what the world felt afterwards.
They knew when the battle started when the world started to tremble. Anybody close to a beach would be moved away. They were lucky the place that Luffy and his friends lived at was at high ground and not near a beach at all. The water shouldn't reach them. Hopefully. They waited in silence as they listened and felt the quakes.
Luffy had two anxiety attacks while under the table, rocking back and forth with his head in his knees. Ace and Sabo were comforting him, and got one of the chair cushions and gave it to him to squeeze. They lasted too long, but the earthquakes kept coming. Then there was the sound of Dragon's power.
The entire sky lit up with the lightning across the pacific ocean. It was so powerful, destructive and dangerous that nobody had seen him use it before. He was strong beyond belief even without his quirk to use. He had his own agency and didn't once use his quirk. Until now, meaning the fight was desperate.
Quakes continued, the sky kept lighting up. It was terrifying. How could dad be there and survive? Luffy was so scared, and his family felt the same. They were all scared for their father's life.
-x-
It lasted most of the day, and the power was knocked out by then. Sabo eventually fell asleep against Rouge, who had wide eyes the whole time. She seemed to be fighting off a panic attack, too. But, eventually the fighting stopped. The world was under control again. They waited for any news, but it did not come.
Only later than midnight did anything happen. The heroes were obtained, along with the dead body of Kaido, and the disfigured and trapped bodies of Big Mom's children, who was charred into nothing from Dragon's continuous lighting strikes. All of the other smaller groups that fought were dead. Rouge was angry it said nothing of the heroes, what had happened to them.
It was only said the next morning. The news showed the heroes, and a box that apparently had the soulless body of Oden. It was shocking, but the family noticed easily that Roger wasn't there. They all started to hyperventilate, but Makino was able to help them calm down. But they continued to shake.
Right after the heroes got off of the plane, the home phone rang. Rouge was frozen before she went to answer it. "Hello?" she asked in a frantic voice. Luffy watched his mother's reaction, despair and then anger. "Well search harder!" she demanded. "He's not dead!" she shouted, more angry that Luffy had ever seen her. But her entire body was shaking.
They said something and her face went blank besides the tears dripping from her eyes. Luffy was crying, knowing something terrible had happened. When the phone was put down, Rouge burst into sobs, sinking to the floor. Her sons stayed still, shocked and afraid of asking what had happened.
Finally, Sabo had the courage to ask where their father was. She was able to get herself in control enough to answer them. "He fell off the cliff of the island into reef waters and a violent current… they didn't fin-find him, other than h-his severed arm. Stuck out of the rocks that are too heavy to lift. If h-he wasn't already… he would have drowned by now," she said crying again.
Luffy started to sob, not silently, but loud, painful sobs. Ace hugged him as Sabo screamed into a pillow on the couch for a good minute before pounding his fists into the couch. Nobody told anyone to stop. They didn't tell one another to calm down, or that everything would be okay. Their father was dead. Oden was dead. The others came out injured but not dead.
But they could barely think of anything other than that their father was gone, and their family was broken again. Again, someone was gone, only this time it was permanent.
Luffy went to his room eventually, feeling dry and all shriveled up from how many tears had gone down his cheeks. He was surprised but not bothered when Law popped into his room. He no doubt heard about Roger, since his situation was announced only hours after Rouge was called.
He sat on Luffy's bed and hugged him while Luffy resumed his ugly crying. Law said nothing, but rubbed his back. He didn't tell Luffy he'd be okay. He didn't tell him things would get better some day. He just let Luffy cry. His brothers had been crying while they hugged him, but Law wasn't. He wasn't there to get comfort for himself, just Luffy.
The mute teen eventually fell asleep, and Law tucked him in before leaving, going back home. Nobody knew he'd been there besides Luffy.
-x-
Luffy did not go to school for the next week. He refused, and it wasn't like there was a need to. Shanks, back at work and mostly unscathed, just emailed him their work. He stayed at home, watching TV or staring at one page of a book for three hours.
Law came over, and neither mentioned the night of Roger's death. But Luffy did sit closer to him. Leaned against his shoulder. He didn't even notice he was doing it. His two longtime best friends and mother said nothing of it. Ace and Sabo were kept busy at work, fatherless, bossless, but still workers.
Rouge worked from home, holed up in her office, losing herself in her job and not letting herself have any time to grieve. They all dealt with the grief in different ways. Luffy was scratching his arms and legs before taking a xanax when he realized what he was doing. It never broke the skin, but would leave nasty red lines.
Sabo and Ace fell into training, beating the shit out of each other willingly. Luffy didn't train, remembering how Roger would encourage him, would watch and coach him when he was just starting out. All Luffy did was sit on the couch and attempt to do things he was no longer interested in.
His three friends didn't try to make him do anything. They let him be quiet, which Luffy was grateful for. He couldn't even bring himself to sign to them. He was completely silent and not speaking in any way.
The second week, he finally went back to school. Hiyori wasn't back. Her father was dead, too. Worse, in another way. His body was alive, but his soul had been consumed. Their family still hadn't decided on ending his body's functions since he wasn't there anymore. Not even brain dead, just gone.
Luffy's dad was dead, but his body was never found. Only his arm. They buried it in a cemetery, a funeral service that Ace didn't attend. Unable to handle it. Sabo had said he should go, but when Ace said he just couldn't, his family gave him a hug, and didn't push. He stayed at home with Law. Zoro and Sanji went with Luffy. Law didn't know Roger enough to go. Well, to go instead of Zoro and Sanji. They wanted somebody to stay with Ace.
The two friends could not help their own tears, having known the man for almost a decade. He was like a second father to them. He was important to them, and had always made it clear they were part of their family. Everybody had tears. Even Whitebeard, now in retirement due to his many debilitating wounds, shed a tear or two.
It was a hard service.
The threat seemed to be completely over, so three weeks after the battle, Makino and Olivia left. Makino promised to visit Luffy, who appreciated it. He really did.
The house was too big without Roger's obnoxious laughter. But they wouldn't move. This was home, always had been home. So, life was quiet. Only three people to talk now. And no laughter anymore. At least, not for the foreseeable future.
-x-
A month later, his brothers and mother were doing better. Luffy wasn't, but nobody could tell since he hid everything deep inside. His brothers didn't notice, his friends didn't notice, nobody did. But that was fine, he was the stupid one. He wasn't moving on like his family. He was broken, after all. Most days, he slept. That's what was the easiest. He took naps, pretending he was tired from training in the garage. Which he didn't do, he slept in there, too. Eat, sleep, homework, friends, sleep, eat, sleep. He was utterly alone in his grief, and he should be.
That's what he deserved. It was late one night, and Luffy was the only one awake. He was in the kitchen, drinking some sleepy time tea he used to give to Law in simpler times. When they were in dorms, everyone's quirks were intact, and his family was still whole. It was that night that he heard somebody trying to get in through the front door.
He ran to it and looked out of the peephole and backed away. Then he heard the four knocks, the secret knock known only by family and friends. He slowly opened the door, and saw an exhausted looking father, armless and pale. "Hey, Luffy," he said, voice hoarse. Luffy opened the door and caught his dad when he fell forward.
Luffy moved and started ringing the doorbell over and over and over until his family came running. They all froze, and then ran forward. Sabo called 911 for an ambulance. Rogue turned him over and saw he was breathing and sleeping. His arm was indeed gone, and he had bad scars on his other arm and side.
His skin was a pale color. How had he come back? They said his body was crushed! Ace moved the jacket off and saw the stump. It was sliced clean off, and looked badly infected. Had he cut it off? But how had he gotten home? And why did it take so long? And why didn't he check into a hospital?
Where had he been? Luffy didn't care, he just draped himself over his dad's side and cried. When he was taken into the ambulance, all four of them entered. All were crying at different levels in intensity. Rouge was the loudest, Luffy was quietest. They all held onto his remaining arm.
When they got to the hospital, he was wheeled to a room immediately, and only Rouge was allowed in. The other three waited in the lobby, all silent. Ace and Sabo paced while Luffy sat in the chair, silent and still. He was still shocked, imagining this was a dream. He moved the sleeve of his shirt up and scratched down his arm.
Then Sabo was holding his hands. "This isn't a dream, Lu. I promise," the blonde brother said, and moved forward to hug his brother. Luffy was afraid Roger had come back only to die. So, he didn't let it sink in. That his father was alive, not dead with no body recovered. They waited in the silence of the late night, barely any activity in the lobby, for two hours before Rouge came out.
Her face was red, wet with tears, but not with a frown, only a shaking smile. Luffy sat up straighter, since he'd been starting to doze while Ace continued to pace. "He should make a recovery," she said, her voice cracking. Luffy hurried forward and hugged her. Ace asked what the hell had happened. "I don't know the full story, he's still asleep."
She sat down and said, "I don't think he'll be able to be an active hero anymore. He had severe nerve damage to his other arm, and his legs are damaged as well. He'll probably have a limp and a shaking hand. But he should make a full recovery otherwise." Ace and Sabo's faces fell at hearing their father wouldn't be a hero anymore. At least, not an active one who went out on the street.
The same was for Whitebeard, which Ace was very sad about, but no one was more sad than Marco, who had only returned to say goodbye to the kids. He said he wasn't in the right state of mind to be a teacher, and was replaced by a lower one of the agency. Luffy admired his blunt honesty, and how he took care of himself. Luffy wished he could be like that some day.
The other heroes were fine, though Shanks and Rayleigh returned to their peaceful and fulfilling lives as teachers. It was only lucky that the villain alliance was dead and gone. They didn't have the tech to continue their operations at such a scale. All of their bases were found, and destroyed.
There were still the smaller villains out there, who fled when it was smart to, but there had been no sign of any of them. Probably because they were all known faces around the world. If somebody saw them, they were to report it immediately. It made being a villain a little hard if you were too afraid to break the law in any way.
Roger woke up later that morning, the four family members asleep in the lobby. They were notified when he was awake, and hurried inside. He looked very tired, but grinned at the sight of his family. They hugged him and Rouge kissed his forehead for a long time. "Dad, what happened?" Sabo asked for them all.
Luffy sat in the chair in the corner while Sabo and Ace sat on the bed and Rouge on the doctor's rolly chair. "It was a long swim!"
"You swam back?!" Ace shouted in shock. Rouge shushed him, since it was a hospital. But Roger nodded. He explained that his arm had been crushed, so he sawed it off with a jagged rock. He was able to make it to a boat, but that sunk since it was a rowboat. Then he swam across the ocean. It should have taken him over six months if the conditions were perfect, but it only took him a little over seven weeks.
Mostly due to his quirk. He had an endurance quirk. Gives him abnormal strength, speed, endurance. So it was an all around super-boost. "Your arm didn't get infected. Even though it was sheared off," Sabo said in disbelief.
"Your old man is pretty cool, huh?" Roger asked. He still sounded tired, but his face sure didn't show it. "I know I won't be able to be an active hero anymore due to my injuries that went too long without treatment, but I'll still run my agency. Just like Whitebeard. I am sad about what happened to Oden - I saw it. I will not speak of the battle. I'd like to forget it," he said when Ace was about to ask. "Please respect that wish."
Luffy understood, and he nodded. The other three agreed, though Ace sounded reluctant. They spent the whole day with Roger, who would be in the hospital for at least another week. Luffy texted his best friends, who were overjoyed. He could tell over text just how happy they were even without any emojis.
Luffy was in a better mood than he had been in a long time. Even before the battle. He felt at ease. More than he usually was. His dad was alive, the villains were gone. Things were neutral now. Nothing was going wrong. And the people who tortured Luffy were gone as well.
In the evening, his three friends came with a box of donuts from Roger's favorite donut shop. He was supposed to only eat healthy foods for now, but they sectrely snucked the donuts in and everyone ate some. It was miraculous that Roger actually shared the donuts.
Law looked a bit awkward, but Luffy linked his arm with him to make him feel more welcome. He relaxed a bit, and Luffy was glad he could help. His friends and family had been his lifeline, and he knew he had not been a good one. But he was glad things worked out, now. Things were back to how they should be.
Everyone was still practicing the quirks, but there was no blanket of fear over Luffy and the others like there had been for so long. The longest for Luffy. That fear had been clinging to him, sometimes noticeable, but always there, since the moment he woke from his coma.
When they got home a week later with Roger, he held Luffy's arm with his remaining, always trembling slightly, hand. "I am so proud of you ,son. You may think you are not strong, but you're the most resilient person I've ever met. And I'll help make sure you stay that way."
Luffy had tears in his eyes and he hugged his arm, a tiny smile tugging at his mouth. Things would get better. He'd be resilient, even if that was harder than anybody could imagine. But he had so many people who believed in him. His friends, family, teachers. It would take work, but someday he'd believe in himself like that. Even if it wasn't as a hero, some day he'd get better.
Even if he was never normal, he thought his future would get easier. He'd do his best to make that true. He wanted to live a happy life, and someday he would.
The end.