Wishfull-star: (─‿‿─)


The next day, during class, he noticed more people were looking at him. He was irritated and uncomfortable. Zoro's stares of death were doing nothing. Luffy just looked out of the window. Zoro finally - loudly and angrily - demanded to know why everybody was staring at Luffy. Many looked away besides his friends and the two class-bullies.

Bellamy was still pissy that Luffy had rescued one of his victims. "You don't know about the video of you? That everybody saw?" Dellinger taunted. Sanji asked what he meant. "Someone took a video of that weakling flipping around and using his quirk. So, all you can do is run away? It's not a very powerful quirk."

Zoro immediately went on his phone and searched for the video, finding it easily. He sighed, and Luffy grew worried. But then Zoro, after watching the whole thing, gave a look of relief. "You can't tell who it is. The sleeve is on and it was taken from a distance. But damn, that's pretty cool." Luffy blushed at the compliment, not very used to or comfortable with them, since he usually disagreed with whatever it was.

Chopper said it was cool, too. Sanji just smiled. Then class started and everyone went quiet, even though he knew Bellamy was glaring at him. Luffy really pissed him off. Hopefully it didn't lead to anything troublesome.

But it did. When he was walking home, Chopper was staying after school, and he was approached by Bellamy. Zoro and Sanji already left on their bikes. They were going to meet at Luffy's house to spar later. Late enough that Luffy had time to walk home. He heard someone behind him, noisy. He turned around, and saw Bellamy had a sadistic look on.

He knew he was going to try to attack Luffy. He was ready. Maybe this was a good test to see if he was strong enough to defend himself. He knew Bellamy would follow him if he ran. And he didn't want to use his quirk to escape without even trying to deal with it himself. Since Luffy couldn't speak, he just stood there with a blank look. Wanting an explanation.

"I want to see how weak somebody who can't even speak is." Luffy didn't take the bait. But he did take his backpack off and dropped it to the side. "Oh? You're not going to run?" Bellamy asked. Luffy didn't have much room, as they were on the sidewalk, and he didn't want to fall into the street, even if it wasn't very busy. He still didn't want to risk it.

He waited for Bellamy to attack first, running at him before he used his springs, startling Luffy that he would use his quirk when complaining about Luffy possibly using his own. He dodged a step to the side. It surprised the bully. After all, he probably was never dodged with his swift attack. But Luffy had trained his senses ever since the kidnapping.

If he'd heard or seen them before, he could have avoided the whole thing. When Bellamy sprung again, Luffy lifted his foot at just the right moment and kicked him in the face, knocking him back with a bloody nose. The impact of being hit in the foot was not triggering since it was his own doing.

He got up, furious now, and ran to attack him without his quirk. If Luffy continued to dodge, it would just waste time and energy. Luffy dodged each punch gracefully before deciding he just wanted to go home, and used his personal favorite. He fell on his back and then sprung up, wrapping his legs around Bellamy's neck and grabbing the back of his shirt and twisting, slamming him down on the ground hard.

Bellamy was groaning, clutching his arm. Luffy put his backpack back on and walked home. He was proud of himself. He'd never actually been in a real fight that wasn't against friends or family. Maybe Bellamy would leave him alone, now.

When he got back to his house, he put his things in the bedroom and changed into exercise clothes, taking off his sleeve. He was wearing shorts, so his damaged leg was visible. It usually wasn't, since the uniform had pants and not shorts. He waited for his friends, and when they knocked on the garage backyard door, he opened it.

They had their exercise clothes in their backpacks, having brought them to school to use later and change. They stretched on the mats, Luffy the most bendy of the three. I got in a fight with Bellamy, he signed, shocking the other two. I won. Zoro started to laugh and Sanji grinned.

"That shithead will be so humiliated, now! You're the least scary looking one in class and you defeated him. How'd you win? Did you go full out on him? I wish I'd seen it!" Luffy explained the fight and how it had ended. It was his first real fight. Zoro got in fights all the time, so he had lots of practice. More than the other two, by far.

Luffy thanked him, but didn't smile, even if he was happy inside. He liked not being totally useless. Sanji said, "I was thinking. Maybe it would be good if we trained with our quirks. We can see the extent of them. With Luffy having used his for helping people out, it kind of makes me want to learn my own to help myself out, or others."

Zoro said, "You sound like a hero. Gross." Sanji shot a glare at him. Luffy didn't think they would be heroes, but having a convenient quirk would be nice. Sanji's mostly good for fighting, though he didn't use it against the two of them or Inazuma.

The tallest one's quirk was the most deadly. Luffy's was the most peaceful of the three. Silent and not directly harming anybody. But he agreed that it would be good for them to learn theirs more than they did now. Which was little, considering that they didn't really use them. Backyard? They nodded. Luffy's backyard was massive. Two times the size of the big house. He didn't use it for sparring because falling on the mats were easier than on the grass or dirt.

"So, what do we do?" Zoro wondered. Sanji said he could use his quirk in the sky so it didn't damage anything. He nodded, and Luffy watched him use it for the first time in a long time. His arms glowed a purple color up to his shoulder, and pulled one fist back and then shot it forward, releasing a slice of purple light. It sped through the air, but it didn't hit anything and kept going until it was out of sight.

"Your quirk is so scary," Sanji said. That slice could have chopped something in half easily. Like a sword slash, only it was from his bare arms. Zoro laughed proudly. "And inconvenient."

Zoro replied, "I don't disagree with that," honestly. Then Sanji used his own, coating his whole body into a substance harder than any metal. Well, so far. With the fighting he knew, he could easily break bones.

They each worked with their own quirks, Sanji destroying some of the grassy area at the back of the yard while Zoro was working on how fast and big he could make his slices. Luffy just teleported around the yard, sometimes up in the air and dropping down. He felt wrong using it, but he also felt right. His mind didn't like it, but his body did.

They worked for a long time before eating dinner that Sabo and Ace had made since Rouge was busy right now. Once Sanji and Zoro finished eating, they said they should get home before it got too dark. Luffy nodded, and signed he'd see them tomorrow and they biked away from the house.

He had forgotten to tell them about the mystery guy. Who didn't give his name. He knew the sister's name, Lami, but not his. Oh well. He wasn't too curious.

-x-

The next day, Luffy got to class early, and Chopper walked up to him and told him about his helping his dad out the day before, able to tell he was sick before any symptoms came. "He said I could have saved his life!" Luffy gave a thumbs up.

That's really cool. I'm sure you must be so relieved. "Yeah! I helped him out a lot, and he said I'll make a wonderful doctor. I still have to go through so many years of college and all, but I feel like I have a head start by working with my dad and also having this quirk!" He was super excited. Luffy really was happy for him, even if his face didn't show it.

When Bellamy walked in, he met Luffy's eyes and then looked away and sat down. Zoro saw this when he entered the room and started laughing loudly. "Finally met you match, huh, Bellamy?" he taunted. Bellamy shouted at him to shut the fuck up. "Nobody likes a sore loser," Zoro added and sat down.

Luffy had to say he was satisfied and that it seemed Bellamy was afraid of him. Maybe he would leave him alone. Then all he had to deal with was Dellinger's terrible attitude. Apis, a girl Luffy had never talked to before, asked what had happened, what Zoro meant.

"Bellamy got his ass kicked by Luffy," Dellinger sneered when he walked in. "Saw the whole thing. Bellamy, you're pathetic." Luffy wondered why Dellinger didn't seem angry with Luffy's obvious and hidden strength. "That's why you shouldn't think your quirk is what will keep you winning every time."

"You're in a weirdly good mood," Zoro said. "Thought you'd be blowing up cause Luffy is secretly a good fighter. Besides, you think your quirk was fuckin' blessed to you from a god." He was in a good mood, too. Sanji walked in on Dellinger glaring at Zoro. "All I said was the truth."

Sanji wondered what had happened, what was going on. Zoro told him about Bellamy's reaction, even though it was clear. He snickered behind his hand and Bellamy's face went red either in anger or embarrassment. Or both.

Class started, and nobody said a thing about Luffy and Bellamy's fight until Rayleigh called both him and Bellamy out during break. Luffy was scared he would be in trouble for defending himself. After all, he could have just used his quirk to get away without a confrontation in the first place.

But it was Bellamy's fault. He was the one to pick the fight like an asshole, like always. Luffy was just the first to fight back against his violence. They were led to the staff room, Bellamy walked a bit behind Luffy. He could hear his footsteps, so would know if he started to run at him. He'd be a real idiot if he did that with Rayleigh there.

They both sat down, Luffy's hands in his lap. "I heard about your fight. Bellamy, I've spoken to the principal about your behavior and fights. One more fight, and you will be expelled from this school and its district." Luffy glanced at the guy and he looked horrified. Then Rayleigh turned to Luffy and he stiffened. "Luffy, I know you didn't instigate the fight, but you should not get into any more fights. You could suffer suspension."

Luffy signed, He's always beating people up and not getting expelled.

"That's because the victims are too scared to report. We've found out about all or most of the incidents of violence. I don't think you would purposely attack anybody like he does, but you should still not get full of yourself about the strength you showed. I saw a video of it." Luffy was incredulous. By now, Rayleigh should know there was nothing Luffy was full of himself about.

"I don't think you are an instigator. I doubt you'd ever hurt anyone unless it was self-defense. I just don't want you to ever purposely attack somebody who is mean to you. Self-defense is a last resort, of course."

Luffy looked down and signed, It's not like I could have called for help.

"I understand that very well, which was why you are not getting into any serious trouble about it." Then he turned to Bellamy, and said, "One more fight and you won't be welcome here anymore. Remember that the next time you get the urge to beat somebody up." Bellamy was red in the face, but nodded silently before shoving the desk and pushing his chair back and then storming out of the room.

Luffy looked at the door and was unable to not flinch when it slammed closed. His face went red and he blushed in shame. "I want to tell you that it's not wrong to have trauma. It's a human thing. It's how people react to certain events. It's not shameful. And if you ever want to talk to someone unbiased, not knowing your situation or past, I'm always open."

I don't talk about it. "And that's your right. It's your decision when you feel comfortable telling anybody. But I'm open regardless." Luffy nodded and then was dismissed and left the room. He had his hands in his pockets, looking down and distracted. He sighed and just wanted to go home. But there was still half the day.

And he was distracted the whole time. Bellamy left him alone, and hopefully wouldn't beat anybody else up. After the school day was over, Zoro asked what had happened. Bellamy was warned he'd be expelled if there were any more fights. I was just told not to fight again. Unless it's self defense. "So nothing super new?" Luffy shook his head.

Sanji asked if they wanted to go get drinks at Starbucks. Luffy signed that he just wanted to go home. Zoro was frowning in worry, but didn't ask anything. Luffy was going to teleport to go home, not wanting to be left alone to his thoughts the whole walk home. It was a long walk, even if he did go at a fast pace.

He teleported just as Zoro tried to hand him the keys that had been dropped from Luffy's pants. Then, he and Zoro were both standing in Luffy's garage. Zoro was shocked before he turned green in the face and Luffy just barely managed to get a bucket for him to throw up in. Luffy was very worried as Zoro sat down and put his head between his legs.

The mute teen rubbed his back and asked what had happened with his expression. "I feel so dizzy and nauseous. It looks like you can take others with you, but it made me really sick. Ugh…" he groaned. Luffy signed he'd be right back and ran in to find Rouge home on the computer. She looked tired.

Can you drive Zoro to his bike? He accidentally teleported with me and got really sick. She sat up immediately and got her keys. She asked if he was alright. Luffy nodded, and the two got to the garage, the door left open, and saw Zoro laying on his back and breathing deeply, eyes closed.

"Zoro, I'm going to drive you back to the school, okay? Are you able to ride home by yourself?" He said he wasn't sure, being surprisingly honest. Sanji called them, and Zoro answered. He said he was okay, and was coming back. Asked to guard his bike. Luffy heard Sanji say he would. Rouge observed Zoro in the passenger's seat of the car while driving and when they got to the school, said she wasn't comfortable letting Zoro ride his bike home. The green haired teen knew she was right, and Sanji helped load his bike into the back of the SUV.

It became clear that this power worked only for Luffy. Zoro had texted them, three hours later, that he was finally not nauseous anymore. Luffy apologized about it, but Zoro said it was only an accident, and wasn't a big deal. Luffy was both glad and a bit upset about this news. He couldn't evacuate Zoro and Sanji with him if it was ever necessary. But somebody also couldn't latch onto him without being out of commission for a period of time. Long enough to take advantage of the momentary weakness, or long enough to disappear.

-x-

Luffy sat up abruptly from a nightmare, breathing quickly, shallow breaths. He tried to calm down and turn the lamp on, but he fell off of the bed. He couldn't help the groan and small moan from hitting his hand on the bedside table. "Sh-," he said, about to speak for the first time in almost six years.

Then things got even worse.

"Gyaa! It hurts! I'm scared! Help meee!" Luffy's young voice screamed before the crying and sobbing and shouting for help and screaming at the pain went through his head. It felt like it was echoing and was deafening. He curled into a ball, but when he bumped into the bed, he screamed, the flashback becoming more and more real.

He was back in that basement. He was alone there, bleeding, burnt, bruised. He was left there, bleeding on the ground. The cold and dirty ground of some random building he didn't know the location of, and didn't really want to know.

"Luffy, Luffy, you're okay, you're not there. Shhhh," he heard his father's voice say in a gentle voice. "Get some water, Ace." His voice was in the back of Luffy's head until his voice went over Luffy's childish screams. That high pitched voice. He honestly didn't know how his voice sounded now. Was it deeper at all?

He finally opened his eyes, seeing he was in his room, bright and warm, not cold and dark. The floor underneath him was carpet and not concrete. He sat up and his face crumpled, no longer screaming, just crying. Ace hurried in with a glass of water, and Luffy took it, wincing when he saw his left hand.

He drank the whole glass and Ace and Sabo took each of his hands. Roger asked what had happened. Rouge was in the doorway. Luffy took his hands out of his brothers' holds and signed his answer. I had a bad dream and woke up. I started to say something, and then a flashback of me screaming and crying happened. I can't talk, even if I wanted to.

His face was red in shame and hurt at how much the past still impacted him. He hadn't had that bad of a flashback in a long time. Even the one when he got hit by Zoro wasn't nearly that bad. Hearing his voice screaming and crying, so clearly as if it had been in the same room, was horrible.

Roger frowned deeply and hugged his youngest son. Luffy eventually cried himself to sleep like a baby. Roger put him back in bed, Rouge with tears down her face and Sabo and Ace frowning deeply. He was tucked in and kept the lamp on his desk on low. There was another glass of water on the bedside table for him if he needed it.

It was lucky the next day was Saturday. He didn't have school. And he canceled his session with Inazuma. He just couldn't handle that after his nightmare and PTSD attack. Zoro and Sanji asked if everything was okay, and he answered immediately since he knew they were worried.

I had a nightmare and fell off of my bed. I started to say a swear word for some reason and then my voice triggered a flashback. Hearing myself scream and cry and plead for help. It was horrible.

He was in the treehouse he hadn't been in in years. It was from a time where he was that happy person. Sanji messaged back quickly, then Zoro. Both of them said they were sorry he had such a terrible flashback. Luffy sighed and brought his knees up to his chest. He didn't know what to reply. He didn't want to apologize again, for being this way. But he also didn't want to talk about it anymore.

While he was trying to come up with a response, Ace climbed up the mossy ladder and entered the small space, barely big enough for both of them. He settled across from Luffy, partly out of the window. "You okay?" the oldest brother asked. Luffy looked down and shook his head. He was not okay. Ace frowned sadly and reached out to take Luffy's burned hand. "I don't want to fool you, or be overly optimistic. Things might not get better for a while. It might be hard for a long time. But you have to try and live regardless."

It's not that easy. "I know. And we can't understand exactly how you feel. We know it was painful for everyone else, but you were alone and nobody can sympathize with you. I… I wish I could help you better. I feel useless."

It's not your fault anything happened. "I still feel guilt." I don't want you to feel bad over me. Then Ace looked suddenly stern. "We are family. We will always be sad we can't help you. It's how good families work, Lu. You can't stop worrying if you love somebody." The mute teen looked down and nodded, signing that he understood. "I didn't come here to scold you, I'm sorry. I just want to tell you that life is different for you, harder than many others', but you have a future. And all you can do is do your best to make it as bright as you can.

"Love life, even if you don't love it right now. Love yourself, even if you feel you're broken. Being miserable will only give your captors satisfaction," he finished in a firm voice, still holding his hand. Tears were down Luffy's cheeks, and Ace hugged him. "We're always with you." Luffy cried quietly into his shoulder. Ace was right. Luffy hated himself, and hated his past, but he had enough problems. He didn't need to make them worse by himself.