Luffy sat on the floor in front of his family and two best friends, who were on the couch or recliners. They probably didn't know why Luffy gathered them all. Inviting Sanji and Zoro over for it. Ace looked curious. Their conversation was only the day before. Now it was after school for all of them, and Roger had left work early.

I want to tell you all what happened to me. He swallowed loudly, and the others were all silent in shock, before Sabo said, "Go at your own pace." The others nodded, still shocked that Luffy was just suddenly going to tell them six years later. It was almost six years. A week until six long and painful years of being this broken form of himself. He sighed, though, knowing thinking like that was what the villains wanted. That's why they had taunted him during the torture. To make him miserable, enjoying it. By him being like this, hating himself, he just did what they wanted.

He wasn't strong enough to clear his trauma yet, if he ever would be. But… he wanted to try to be happy. As happy as he could be. I wandered off at the farmers market, and before I knew what happened, I was unconscious. I don't remember where we went - where they took me. I was asleep. When I woke up, I was tied to the rafters of a basement. It was dark except for the flood lights.

There were three of them. One of them was responsible for the cuts. He used a sword, and cut me everywhere. The one who taunted me, told me it was my fault I was there, he was blonde with sunglasses. That's all I remember about him.

They hit me with bats sometimes. They kept asking for information about you. I didn't have any. I told them I didn't know what they wanted. I think they believed me, but were just having fun torturing me. I cried and screamed a lot until I didn't.

Then… then they burned me. With some chemicals and fire at the same time. The chemical already burnt me but then they lit it on fire afterwards. I don't remember the pain of the burn after a bit. Only that it hurt really bad and then I could barely feel any of my left side. I can feel more of it now, but I wasn't able to move at all after the burns.

Then they left me there, and then I woke up in the hospital like this. I can't bring myself to speak, and I don't know why. I just can't. Not yet, at least. He finally looked up and saw that all of his family had teary eyes. Zoro and Sanji were angry, seeming angry at themselves. Luffy didn't like it, but had expected a reaction like this.

Ace was right, family worried about one another. He knew he'd be very upset if one of his friends or family went through what he had. "I'm so sorry, Luffy," Roger said in a quiet voice. "That I didn't find you sooner. I've never been more ashamed of anything but not finding you immediately."

I don't blame you. I shouldn't have wandered off. I don't even remember what it was I was doing it for. And I couldn't use my quirk when I was taken. I don't know why, but it abandoned me. It left me to be tortured until I couldn't speak or move anymore. Rouge got off of the couch and onto her knees to hug her youngest son.

Ace and Sabo joined the hug and Roger put his hand on Luffy's head. It was nice. He didn't hate the touch, since it was his family and he was expecting this. He felt comfortable and lighter, after finally telling somebody about what had really happened. It had been a mystery to everybody for years. Luffy never talked about it. Signed, not speak.

They let him go and Rouge wiped the tears away. "We're so proud you told us." I'm sorry it took so long. "Nobody is upset about that, baby. We're just happy you feel comfortable enough to tell us." It was hard. "I understand why. Why don't we have pizza tonight, and we can all eat together." Luffy nodded, and Zoro asked if both of them could stay, too. Of course they could, so they all ordered pizza.

Luffy shared his with Rouge, since he didn't eat much anyways. It was nice. He was glad he finally told somebody, even if he was still embarrassed and ashamed that it happened. Ace sat next to him and leaned against his skinny shoulder. "A first big step, right?" he asked quietly, only loud enough for Luffy to hear. He nodded back.

-x-

Three weeks later, and Luffy was still shy, mute, uncomfortable and depressed. His mom and dad both said it would take time, even if he made the first big step. He realized he had a long way to go. And it would be hard and he might get impatient, but… he could do this. Not alone, but he could do this. He hoped.

Bellamy was gone. He was expelled after his previous fight. Because of that, his expulsion, Dellinger had chilled a bit with his own bullying. No longer pushing people around, but still trying to scare them. And Luffy still was startled whenever he made explosions in his hands. They didn't know Zoro or Sanji's powers, but they knew Luffy's.

Chopper had asked if Luffy could teleport with him, very curious, but Zoro warned him that it had made him really sick, which turned Chopper off of it immediately. Maybe someday he could teleport with other people just fine. Maybe he just needed practice. But he'd have to have guinea pigs first. They would probably get sick often.

He was walking home one day when he saw a little girl and her mom, and he froze as realization washed over him. He'd teleported with somebody already. Lami, the toddler he'd first used his power with. And she had been fine, she didn't get sick and throw up. She cried about the scary moment, but had not grown sick.

Did that mean he could only teleport with kids? He could only save kids? Well, it wasn't his job to save people or kids. He had only himself to worry about. Nobody should go through what I did. Luffy rubbed his hands down his face, and continued to walk. But while he walked, he couldn't help but think.

Luffy had not been happy when he saved that girl. He had been angry that his hated quirk activated when he didn't want it to. Then he hadn't felt much when her big brother had thanked him. Mostly surprised and detached. Maybe heartless inside. But, he only could worry about himself.

But, rich people gave to charity to make themselves feel better, right? Mom and dad did that all the time. But helping people - kids - out was much more than charity. He'd never wanted to ever be a hero before. He felt they were insufficient when he hadn't been found at all besides when dad finally found him.

But the image of his whitish-red skin, bubbling and damaged. Skin grafts were there, but the damage was obvious. He didn't want what happened to him to happen to other little kids. Kids who were alone, scared, hurt. He knew first hand how that could ruin your life. And it had. For six long years. He was still broken. But he felt he'd finally made one big step in the right direction.

Kids shouldn't go through what he had. The world would be a better place without people like Luffy. Without people suffering in silence. Literally. And his power, so far, took him where he wanted to go. He went to Sanji's with his power. He went to Starbucks with his power. He'd even attempted going someplace he had never been to and only saw in a photo, but ended up off the mark by a lot. He only practiced his quirk for his own convenience. And he used it less than walking to places.

When he got home, he went into the garage and sat on the mat, looking down at his arms. Both of them, damaged in different ways. He looked at his legs and feet and remembered being unable to walk on his own in the beginning. Trapped and vulnerable. So dependent on others. He still was, and knew he needed to be. He needed help. He did wish he could be more independent, but he knew that just wasn't what was best for him right now.

The young teen laid on his back and looked at the ceiling. He… wouldn't be a good hero. He was unable to speak to any other heroes, and would have episodes at important times. He would be a failure and liability. A burden. So, he didn't know what he'd ever be able to do in his life. What career he'd want. How he'd live as an adult.

Hopefully by then he'd be better. He sat up and balled his fists. He had to try harder. It might be hopeless, he knew that. Ace was right, this could last a long, long time. But it would last longer if he didn't do anything to help it actively. Not just making big steps one at a time. He needed help more often. He'd always hated going to counselors. Never said anything of his feelings. His thoughts.

But he'd unlocked something in himself. The ability to share his trauma. Maybe going to a counselor wouldn't be a failure now. Maybe he had a chance. He at least wanted the flashbacks to stop. He didn't want to be in danger or endanger others. For not speaking… well, maybe it would get better if he got the PTSD under control.

He went inside the house and found Rouge wasn't home yet. He'd wait to talk to her. Roger usually got home the latest, so he'd be the last for Luffy to see. He was nervous while waiting for her to come home, and when she did, he went right to her. They had leftovers from the night before, so nobody had to make dinner. Can I talk to you?

"Of course," Rouge replied, and put her shoes in the spot by the door and put her things in the office. They went to the living room and sat on the couch. Luffy didn't wait. I want to get better faster. I want to try counseling again. Rouge looked shocked, but then her eyes got shiny, but she didn't cry. She hugged Luffy, and said she was proud of him. It was like a switch was flipped, Luffy wanting to actively help himself heal, instead of just letting whatever happened happen.

His mom said Roger knew good counselors that he recommended for victims of certain incidents, those he saved. And they'd done that already, but he had been unwilling the first time around. Hopefully this time it would go better.

-x-

How'd it go? Zoro texted an hour after he knew Luffy's first session got out. It had been hard, but they didn't talk about anything very important. Just getting to know one another lightly. He wanted to get fixed sooner, but knew he would do better when comfortable instead of just leaping into it with a near stranger. Otohime seemed kind.

Okay. It was kind of awkward, but we just mostly talked about one another. She said we'd start out easy. I hope it goes okay.

As long as you do your best, hopefully things will go better than last time, right?

Yeah.

When he got home after a silent car ride with Rouge, who didn't want to push and could see Luffy was in his own world, Sabo hurried to him and pulled him to the couch in the family room to ask how it went. Luffy told him what he'd told Zoro. That they only talked about their interests. Nothing deep or emotional. I don't know if I'm biased, but I like her more than the other one.

"That's a lot better than if it was the opposite. If you disliked her. Going slow is good." Luffy nodde, but signed that he wanted to hurry. "Why rush? Slow and steady wins the race." Luffy looked down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs. Ace walked in and sat next to Sabo. He asked what had happened, and Sabo recapped the small discussion.

Ace also wondered why Luffy wanted to rush. Jumping into it too fast might undermine the whole goal of it. Luffy didn't want to answer, not wanting to get their hopes up about the hero thing. But, why did they want to be? So he asked.

Sabo answered first. "I want to be like dad. And I want to be able to help people. That's really it. I have no desire to be a top hero, number one. Nothing like that. I just want to do good with my life." Ace agreed, but admitted being high up in the hero world would be awesome. "Why do you ask?" Luffy shrugged, and signed that he was just curious.

He had no doubt his big brothers knew that wasn't the truth, but they didn't push. He was thankful for that. Sanji messaged him, wondering how it went just like Zoro had. Luffy explained it. That's great! Luffy replied he hoped it would last.

Ace said, "I'm done with my homework if you want to spar, Lu." Luffy nodded and stood up, changing out of his normal clothes and putting on his exercise ones. He went to the garage with Ace, Sabo still having homework he had to work on, which he pouted about. Ace laughed at him and Sabo flipped him the bird before the two black haired teens went to spar.

Luffy was into it, and avoided being hit, like usual. He tried out something new. He was able to jump high enough to kick off Ace's shoulders, grabbing him under the arms and throwing himself down Ace's back, throwing him over his head and a hard away, hitting the mat on his face. He knew his brother would be fine since he was made of fire and couldn't have broken bones.

He groaned and rubbed his face, looking at Luffy, who was tired from the move. He'd had to twist and jerk more than his other moves. "That was intense. Did you make that up on your own?" Luffy nodded. "That's impressive. Maybe don't use it on anybody but me? Pretty sure it would have broken some bones." Sorry. "Don't worry, I'm fine, see? I want to try something with you." Luffy raised his brows in interest and surprise.

Ace explained what he wanted to try, and Luffy thought it sounded interesting. He agreed to do it. He went running at Ace, only to teleport to behind him and punched him in the back. "Nice! Try flipping while doing it." Luffy nodded and did a front flip and halfway through landing, he was behind Ace, facing him. It looked like switching directions was not impossible. Meaning he had an advantage in fights for confusing his opponent.

It was pretty cool. He would admit his quirk was cool, even if he still had a part of him that hated it. It was getting better after he explained what had happened, but it would take a while for it to be better completely, if ever. They finished after both of them were covered in sweat, and then went inside.

-x-

Luffy was sitting in a ball in front of the damaged wall of Inazuma's dojo. Luffy had used his teleportation attack, but it faced the wrong direction and he only went closer to the wall and ended up kicking his foot through.

It was bleeding while Sanji was fixing up the cuts. Luffy was rocking back and forth, trying to fight any PTSD attack about his feet bleeding. Zoro was rubbing his back while Inazuma was in the other room, already calling the repairman. He wasn't angry at all, saying it was an honest mistake and Luffy hadn't meant to do it.

It took a good twenty minutes for Luffy to stop rocking and stand up shakily, eyes red in embarrassment. He was able to walk, but the cut stung. It wasn't deep, but had bled. Not much, but it didn't matter. There was blood, and that was all that mattered to his brain. "You okay?" Zoro asked. Luffy nodded and apologized. "It's fine. Inazuma isn't upset, and nobody else saw. You don't gotta be embarrassed."

"Yeah, you've had much worse ones than this. And you seemed to have fought off the worst of it. You didn't have a full blown flashback." It wasn't a flashback, it was a panic attack. "Oh. Well you still did well." He hadn't. Panic attacks for him didn't involve screaming. Rocking back and forth and uneven breathing was how he usually dealt with panic attacks, unable to hear what others were saying while it was happening. So, nothing had improved. He was just glad it wasn't a flashback.

He went home after that, apologizing to Inazuma again, who didn't seem angry at all. He wasn't angry or upset with Luffy, which was a relief. Luffy was angry enough at himself, having other people mad too would make things worse.

When he got home, he went inside and found Ace and Sabo playing video games in the movie room. He walked inside, his shoes and socks off to show the bandaid, and sat down next to them. Sabo paused the game and asked what was wrong. Luffy looked more sad than usual at the moment. I kicked the wall in at the dojo and had a panic attack about the blood. "Oh my god, are you okay?" Sabo asked.

I only got a small cut. So it didn't trigger a PTSD attack, thankfully. Ace hugged him and Luffy loosely returned it. I'm sorry I always cause you trouble. Make you stressed and upset.

"Nobody blames you, Lu. In fact, I'm less stressed knowing you are talking to us and are seeing a counselor," Ace replied honestly. "We're proud of you." Luffy didn't respond other than a curt nod. "Want to play with us?" Luffy thought for a moment before nodding, and taking the third controller to play with them, looking up at the huge TV.

-x-

Luffy was walking home from school, earbuds in and listening to soothing music, when he saw a little dog running down the street. It had a leash dragging after it and a collar. Luffy was sure it had run off from his owner. He looked around before appearing right in front of the small dog and catching its leash.

It tried pulling away from him as he pulled it to the sidewalk. He held it from behind, twisting the collar so the tag was behind it's head. He saw the address, and knew what street that was on. He held the dog in his arms and teleported to that street. The dog was barking, but didn't seem ill like Zoro had been.

He put down and looked at each house, trying to find the right one before he saw the right number, and walked to the door before tying the dog's leash to the beam holding up the porch. He'd rather not have to be spoken to and not answer, so he rang the doorbell and then moved down the street and behind a car.

A man pulled the door open and shouted in happiness to see his dog. Luffy teleported back to where he'd found the dog, continuing his walk home. He helped somebody again. But man, that dog was far from his home. Maybe he'd been on a walk somewhere nearer and ran off on its owner. He hadn't read the name, just the address. It felt nice to help it. When he was going to turn down his street, he saw two familiar faces across it. Lami and her brother. Lami was drawing with chalk while the brother was reading a book behind her. Luffy wondered what it was like to be the older sibling.

He still didn't know his name when the toddler looked up and screeched, looking and screaming and pointing at Luffy. "It's him, it's him! Law! It's him!" Lami shouted excitedly. Luffy's face turned red, and he heard Law tell Lami to leave him alone.

"He doesn't like the attention. Respect his wishes, okay?" he asked in a patient voice. Lami had a frown in her voice when she agreed and didn't shout at Luffy anymore. It hadn't been mean shouting, but it had made him deeply uncomfortable. He quickly walked the rest of the way home, hands in his pockets and earbuds back in.

He was glad he knew Law's name now. And he was happy that a stranger had acted like that. Though, it should be fairly obvious by his body language, lack of conversation and expressions. But it made him feel good that there were people out there who didn't need to be told to leave him alone.

When he got home, he texted his best friends about him helping out a lost dog and then the thing with Law and Lami. They were happy about both things. He did his homework and then went to the garage to train. They were planning on going to Sanji's house the next day to do intense weight lifting instead of HIIT workouts by themselves.

The next day at school, Luffy found Rayleigh in the staff office and asked if they could talk. Rayleigh nodded, and they went into a private room, sitting on two chairs and facing each other. Rayleigh looked at him, but did not stare and would periodically pretend he had an itch or was adjusting his clothes to give Luffy even a couple seconds of focus.

I wanted to tell you that I'm going to counseling and talking to my family more. You seem to care about me, so I just wanted to tell you.

The teacher beamed and said he was very glad to hear that. He didn't shout or raise his voice, which Luffy would flinch at, loud noises were bad, but in confined spaces, they were even worse. Luffy also had something else to ask. He hadn't asked anybody else about it since he didn't know what he wanted to do for sure. He didn't want anyone to form any opinions of him. Rayleigh seemed to know this was not the only thing he wanted to say, and waited patiently, an easygoing look on his face. Luffy took a deep breath and signed his question.

What would I need to do to make it into UA hero course? And would I be able to be a hero in this state? With the issues I have? Rayleigh smiled, and for some reason didn't look surprised.

"Well, you'd have to have very good grades next year. You already have good grades this year, but you'd need to have A's in everything. You'll have to fill out a form next year, like every student for any school. And I'm not sure if you would be qualified for going with your difficulties." Luffy nodded and bit his lip. "I'm sure they'd give you a chance, even if it was only because of your family. Your father being Roger and both of your brothers are top students currently in UA."

I haven't told anyone. I don't want to disappoint them in case I change my mind. I… want to help people not be like me. I don't want other kids or anybody to go through what I did. I want to do something good and not just be a burden to my family and friends, he explained even though his hands were shaking a little bit.

"That's a very noble wish. I'm sure you'd be let in just for that goal. And I doubt your loved ones see you as a burden, but I won't talk about that right now unless you want to. But I'll tell you this: compared to the beginning of the year, which was almost six months ago, you don't jump at Dellinger's explosions anymore. You make more eye contact with the students. You don't like to be touched, but don't shuffle away as much anymore. They might be little things to you, but I noticed and I'm sure others have noticed as well."

Luffy's face was red. He didn't notice any of that stuff, though. But Rayleigh wasn't a liar. "Even if you don't make it into UA, you can still go to a university afterwards when you're an adult. Not all heroes start as high schoolers." Luffy nodded, glad to hear this. The bell rang and Luffy realized he hadn't eaten anything.

He bowed to Rayleigh in thanks for this conversation and then went to class. Zoro asked where he'd been. Talking to Rayleigh about some stuff. "Oh. Did you eat?" Luffy shook his head. Zoro handed him an apple and Luffy thanked him, eating it quickly and then putting the core in the trash before the english teacher came in. "Damn that was fast," Sanji chuckled. Luffy nodded. He'd been hungry for once. Well, not for once. Once he started therapy, he had also been referred to a dietitian when Luffy admitted that eating made him feel sick. So now he was eating more. He didn't want money spent that did nothing.

He hadn't gained any weight, and his doctor said he would probably always be skinny and small for his age. Luffy didn't really care about looking tall and threatening. It might be weird. As long as he would be safe regardless, he was fine being small. Maybe he wouldn't be scary to kids if he stayed short and small.

But he was sure his burns and scars would scare kids. Well, he knew kids thought something was wrong with him, but little ones didn't really understand, it seemed. Lami didn't care about his scars and burns. Well, he'd wear a full body suit and a mask. Then he wouldn't be scary looking.

Stop it, he told himself. He shouldn't get his hopes up. He wasn't even sure yet. He wanted to stay with Zoro and Sanji, and neither had ever said they wanted to be heroes. He wouldn't go to high school alone. He couldn't, and he refused to. If they didn't want to be heroes, then he would wait until he was older. When he was an adult, and would go to the high school they wanted.

They were with him until now, he wouldn't split after everything they went through for him. That they go through daily. "You okay?" Zoro asked quietly, while they were supposed to be reading. Just thinking about stuff, Luffy signed under the desk so the teacher couldn't see. "Bad stuff?" Not bad stuff. "Good."

"Zoro, it's your turn to read," the teacher said. Luffy gave the page number with his hands, and Zoro read his part, as if he had been listening when he hadn't. After class, Luffy and Chopper walked with them to the bikes, which Chopper now used since he was biking to the hospital lately to help with his father's patients who wanted him. So Luffy usually walked home alone now, not that it was upsetting.

When they got to the bikes, Chopper left while Zoro and Sanji didn't touch theirs. "What's wrong?" Zoro asked. Luffy signed that nothing was wrong. Zoro looked hurt for a minute, as he knew Luffy was lying. He covered the look up but Luffy had seen it. He looked down, ashamed. He didn't want his friends to hurt, but he also didn't want to tell them.

Sanji asked, "Is it something with us? You've been kind of distant the last couple of days…" Luffy blinked widely, not having noticed that. It's nothing against you! he signed rapidly. I've just been thinking about something and don't know what anyone else would think. I haven't told anybody…

They nodded in understanding, but Sanji offered for them to go to his house, since it was a Friday. Luffy agreed to and texted his family, who said it was fine. He teleported there, too uncomfortable with sitting on the handlebars. He didn't want to get hurt. When they got there after he waited for a while as they rode his bike, Luffy saw them laughing and happy until they got to Luffy and then their laughter quieted.

It seemed like they didn't even notice it. They just naturally turned their voices quiet in his company. Sure, they laughed and joked when he was around, but it was never piercingly loud or surprising. They were there for him through everything, and if he kept secrets that didn't have to do with such big things as his trauma hurt them… then that was not okay.

I want to help people. I don't want anyone to go through what I did. I don't know yet, and I didn't want to say anything about it. I don't want to disappoint everybody by changing my mind, he signed, getting straight to the point. Zoro and Sanji looked perplexed and curious. I'm worried about how you two will react. They both frowned deeply.

"You know we don't judge you for stuff, right? We're always there for you to talk to," Sanji said firmly. That was the problem. What if they ended up not being there for him? What if they disagreed with his wish. What if they thought he'd make a terrible hero? Well, he would never know unless he told them.

But it seemed like Zoro got the gist as he had stopped talking and was just looking at Luffy in a weird way. But he signed to them anyway. I want to try and be a hero. I want to make something good out of what happened to me. To help people not turn into me. I know I have to change a lot to ever be a hero. I just don't see anything else I could do meaningfully as a career. I don't know.

"I think that's great! Why were you worried?" Sanji asked.

"He doesn't want to be alone. If we don't want to be heroes, too, he'll feel alone," Zoro stated. Luffy's face was red, feeling weak and stupid. "I've never really wanted to be a hero, but the world would be a better place without people going through what you have." Then he grinned. "We could be a team or some shit. Then you won't be alone. You could be the sneaky one and we'd be the fighters. You could pop somewhere and see what's up and then we would barge in and kick some ass."

Luffy was in shock, not knowing if he was serious. "Sounds fun. I'd get to use my quirk more. What you think, Sanji?" Zoro asked, turning to their friend.

Sanji shrugged one shoulder. "Why not? It does sound fun and fulfilling. I mean, we'd also be pretty well off. Even though your mom makes up a lot of the financial situation, we'd still make a lot of money."

They all went quiet when a smile formed on Luffy's face. Showing his teeth it was so wide. He didn't even notice it before Zoro's eyes got teary and Sanji smiled. Luffy cocked his head, losing the smile. "You just grinned, Luffy," Sanji said. Zoro blinked a couple of times, clearly trying not to tear up. When was the last time he smiled? He couldn't remember. And especially not one like that, not a grin.

Luffy was surprised when both of his friends hugged him. "More improvement. If being a hero helps you, makes you happy, then how could we not join in with you?" Sanji asked. Luffy cried some more, but out of relief and happiness. They would stick with him forever. And he smiled! Was he really improving? Would he ever get better?

He felt another small sliver of hope take place in his heart and mind.

-x-

Roger and Luffy's brothers were elated when Luffy finally told them about his and his friends' wishes. Luffy signed that he didn't want them to get their hopes up for him. "Well, I can't agree to that," Ace said firmly. "I will always hope for you to have a happy future." Sabo nodded his head in agreement and Roger just blubbered about how wonderful all of his sons were. Luffy felt relieved, as nobody seemed to think he was incapable of becoming a hero. He would just need to work harder. Work to fix himself up as best as he could in the time he had until he could actually act on this wish.

Dad had come from UA, so Luffy might just get in for that. But, he didn't think that was necessarily bad. It gave him a good shot. Even if he got through on bias, it's not like he'd graduate if he did a terrible job just because of who his dad was. Well, not all great heroes came from UA, like Whitebeard, who had come from Sphinx, which was now closed. But UA was closest and the boys had a link to there.

He went to bed happy, but hadn't told them about his smile. He tried to replicate it again when his family encouraged him, but it stayed hidden. His smile was like a scared turtle, hiding in its shell until it feels safe and comfortable. But, now he knew he had the capacity and ability to smile. That was enough for now.