"Ready?" Rouge asked. Luffy was trying to calm his breathing and heartbeat. He didn't want to be freaking out during the written exam that he'd studied days for. Zoro and Sanji were in the back, also nervous. Though Zoro was grinning in excitement. Luffy took one more deep breath and nodded.

The three got out of the car, but Rouge took Luffy's hand and gave him a big smile. "Good luck, honey." He nodded and fiddled with his fidget attached to his belt.

"I wonder if we have to fight people. I might kill them," Zoro said casually, though he looked very nervous as well. Sanji said, if they were fighting people, then there was no reason he should use his most extreme slashes. "Still. I want to use my quirk full force!"

Sanji said they didn't know what they'd be doing. "Ace and Sabo's entrance exam was over five years ago, surely things have changed since then. I doubt it will be fighting against each other like it was for them. After what happened with that, and all." Luffy nodded in agreement. Since it was summer, he was wearing shorts, but had his leg in what looked like a single legging, with his arm the same. The sleeves were both skin colored, though. Nobody would notice it without looking too closely. The three walked up the steps into the huge building, and it already looked intimidating.

Zoro patted his back and smiled, saying things would be fine. Luffy nodded, though he was still scared. What if he really wasn't enough? What if he was declined. Or if he did pass, he was enrolled but shunned when he just wasn't good enough? Or after the meeting he and mom and dad would have with the school regarding his problems.

With Rayleigh, when he learned of his issues and being mute, he'd learned how to read sign language. And Brook had as well, his second year home room teacher. Maybe he had been lucky with that, and UA wouldn't be that way. Maybe they were tough on their students and didn't like weakness?

But his family, who had attended and graduated from UA, told him things weren't like that there. That the principal was understanding and kind. He wouldn't shame Luffy about being mute and jumpy.

Yes, he'd improved over the two years, but he still was nowhere near "normal". He still couldn't talk without having a bad, BAD flashback. He still wasn't good at smiling without forcing it almost painfully. But, he could stand loud and sudden noises. He didn't like them, but they weren't detrimental anymore. And he was able to be struck or cut without having an attack. It still felt overly painful, but he could handle it if he worked hard at it.

They'd gone with him to the doctor about it, but he had nothing wrong with his feeling of pain besides his burn areas, so the extreme pain of a small cut was all in his head. They didn't say it like that, but that's what it was. It was all in his head. A lot of things were in his head.

When they entered the building, there were so many kids that Luffy was uncomfortable about being touched by so many. So Zoro and Sanji stood on either side of him, tightly packed. He didn't even need to ask for them to do that. They were all ushered into a big room with hundreds of desks. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to the scars and burns all over Luffy's face and arm. He only hid the burnt arm since it was most drastic and scary-looking of them.

Having four sleeves on was just too much so he only covered his burnt side. He sat down, a good three feet away from everybody else. The test was abnormally easy. He felt anxiety about finishing it so early, worrying that he got everything wrong and that's why he finished so quickly. He gripped the fidget in one hand, rubbing his thumb into it and taking practiced calming breaths until his anxiety was under control.

He saw Zoro and Sanji finished quickly, as Zoro was napping in his chair silently, Sanji looking at some of the girls around. Luffy wanted to roll his eyes at that. Once the bell rang that the time was over, nobody seemed especially upset. Did that mean that it was easy for everybody else, too? He hoped that was the truth.

Zoro and Sanji said the test was abnormally easy, too, so he felt much better. He nodded in agreement and signed that he was worried about that. "I'm sure it's cause they prioritize the practical exam more." They were funneled into an auditorium. Again, it was packed and so Zoro and Sanji stayed on either side of him.

He was jostled in the bottlenecked entrance, and saw someone he recognized here. He'd moved away so he hadn't seen him in a long time. He bravely reached out his hand to Law's shoulder, who turned around with a glare until he saw who it was. Luffy waved to him. He said hello back, a little curt, before asking what Luffy's name was.

Luffy tapped Zoro. "Luffy," he said easily, yawning. Luffy nodded that that was his name.

"You don't speak?" Luffy shook his head. "Okay." And the conversation was over as they were separated and Luffy sat between his friends. Zoro asked who that was, and Luffy signed that it was Law. They'd never met him and then he'd moved somewhere else last year. Luffy never got to know him, but was still grateful when he told his sister to leave Luffy alone.

They were handed cards that had information on them about what their task was. Luffy found that he was given a different area than his friends. They both had different areas, too. Where they would be tested. Luffy swallowed before he internally scolded himself. He couldn't depend on them. He was strong enough on his own.

But the exam was worrying. It only used brute strength, using your quirk against something. In this case, robots. They were different point wise. Some were more points than others. How would Luffy destroy them? He could teleport one other person, an adult, and two children, tested by Rouge's nephews. He could teleport something as big as a car, but it made him tired. So, he couldn't take the bots and drop them from above.

Maybe he'd have to improve on the spot. Well, it was a good incentive. He had to do this to pass. Even with influence, if he didn't pass but was let in, that was wrong. And he hadn't been recommended by previous instructors, so this was his only way in. Zoro and Sanji looked at him in worry. I'll figure something out. Don't worry about me. You have to pass, too.

They nodded, and wished Luffy good luck. He returned it. He had a mildly troubled face on, no reassuring smile, not that they expected it. He looked at his card, and looked for the door that went to the bus waiting for him. Bus #3. He found it and saw there was another bottleneck at the exit. So he teleported ahead of them, and got on the bus.

He sat in the front, pressed to the side of the bus uncomfortably. The one who sat next to him was a girl with short orange hair and brown eyes. Luffy didn't make eye contact or show any sign that there was somebody sitting next to him. He saw Law get on the bus and walk to the back. He wished nobody had sat next to him.

When they got to the "arena" it was just a fake city surrounded by tall walls. They had ten minutes. So the moment they got off the bus, Luffy teleported to the first bot, observing it for a second before teleporting out of the way. He had to try, it was all he could think of. He was physically strong, but not strong enough to punch a robot and destroy it. He'd just hurt himself if he tried.

So, he focused on teleporting into the very middle of the bot. If it was solid, Luffy would be bounced back. He couldn't merge with solid objects or people by teleporting right where they are. But it wasn't solid, and he was in a tiny cockpit. It seemed to have been made for those like Luffy, if any were like him, as there was a self destruct button.

He pushed it and then quickly got out of the bot, watching it from a distance as it exploded. This should be easy. He went from one bot to the next, manually disabling them from the inside. He landed at one that was already destroyed and saw Law's spotted hat on the ground. He clearly wasn't around, so Luffy picked it up to give to him later.

Luffy went back to peacefully destroying the bots. He lost count, and it became cathartic, he didn't even need to think about it. When the buzzer went off that the ten minutes were up, Luffy teleported back at the gate. He saw Law, looking very troubled, and popped out right next to him and handed him his hat. Law took it and sighed, thanking him. Luffy nodded and walked back to the bus.

Law sat next to him this time. The other girl was somewhere else. There were a lot of kids on the bus who were very upset. They might have gotten zero or very few bots. Luffy was silent and looked out of the window. Law was quiet, too, and didn't look at Luffy either. The bus was much quieter on the way back than the way there.

"I hope you passed," Law said before getting off of the bus. Luffy nodded, even though it was too late and Law couldn't see him, and then went to find Zoro and Sanji. He found Zoro first, grinning like a crazy person.

"Luffy! How'd you do?" he asked, hurrying over, his grin gone and a look of worry now gracing his face. Luffy put a thumbs up. I destroyed them from the inside. I got 26, I think. They had cockpits in them with a self-destruct button. Zoro started laughing and told Luffy that he got rid of over 30 of them, slicing them to exploding pieces. "There was some guy that was smashing them together. Man, he was crazy. Oh, Sanji! How'd you do?" Zoro and Luffy ran over to him.

The blonde grinned and said he got 29 of them. Luffy sighed in relief. He would have smiled if it wasn't still hiding away. Sanji found Luffy's method hilarious, and the three got their things from the lockers and then left. Looking around, there were more unhappy people than happy people. Many were crying quietly or hugging their friends.

Luffy felt bad for them. But UA was prestigious. So they only accepted so many. Hopefully he made it. He was the one with the least amount of the three, but hopefully that was enough. He went mostly for the three point ones. They were driven back to their homes by Rouge, who was looking worried and nervous until Luffy told her that he got a good amount. She grinned instantly. Not as wide as Roger or Ace's, but big.

The three swore to message when they got the letters back. After the two non-mute teens went home, Rouge took Luffy back, who was tired. He hadn't slept very well out of nerves. But he hadn't been completely useless. He did what he was supposed to, even if it wasn't like most of them.

Based on what his friends said, everyone was just destroying the things from the outside with brute force. Luffy didn't have to do much, but it was using his quirk. That's what the requirement was. When he got inside, his brothers ran over immediately, asking, begging, to know how it went. They cheered when Luffy told them he thought he did alright.

"They had cockpits?! Just for people like you, huh?" Sabo laughed. Luffy nodded, though he didn't know if anyone else knew that. If that was the more abnormal. I was scared, since I can't use my quirk as an attack like Zoro and Sanji can. But it worked out. I saw Law, the brother of the little girl I saved a couple years ago. He lost his hat but I got it back to him. He was nice. He said he hoped I passed.

Rouge put her keys on the wall and locked the front door and said she was glad somebody else was there that he knew. I don't know him, I've just seen him before. We did talk once, but it was only him thanking me and then leaving. "I remember him. He didn't give his name or ask ours. Only said thanks to Lu."

They went further in the house, and Luffy collapsed onto the end of the couch. "I baked cookies," Sabo announced from the open kitchen.

"Ew," Ace replied.

"Hey, I didn't burn them this time! You have to try them at least," Sabo said defensively. Luffy stood up and went to try the cookies. He looked at Luffy nervously, since they all knew Ace would just mess with him and Luffy would be the one to give the truthful opinion. It was suspenseful for Sabo, since Luffy didn't show many positive expressions, but he gave a thumbs up.

They're crunchy. I like them. Sabo smiled and gave Ace a challenging look. They had a standoff before Ace sighed. "I give. They tasted great." Sabo smirked and Luffy took a few more off of the plate and onto a napkin and went to the couch to take a nap afterwards.

-x-

"Luffy," Sabo called, knocking on his little brother's bedroom door. He sat up, Zoro and Sanji still passed out on the floor from the night of gaming and horror movie watching. Luffy got up off of his bed and tripped on Sanji, who just grunted. Luffy picked himself up and then went to the door and opened it.

The blonde brother had a letter in his hand. "It's from UA," he said. Luffy's eyes widened and he shook both of his friends awake, maybe a little too hard. Sabo repeated the news and they both jerked up and all three were silent. Luffy swallowed before opening the letter neatly and pulling out the disk.

"It's a hologram? Should we be waiting for our own?" Sanji asked nervously. Sabo replied that it should be the same for all of them. Ace came in, and all five of them sat around it before Ace pressed the button that turned it on. The moment it turned on, Ace exclaimed, "No! That's not fair!"

"Shush, Ace," Sabo scolded. The three soon to be high school students were watching with wide eyes.

"Hello, Luffy. This announcement is to tell you that you have passed. You have zero hero points, but 77 villain points. Your method of outting them sure was unique, and I look forward to teaching you. Here is the score," Phoenix Marco said casually, showing a chart. It had a bunch of names, and Luffy's was the number sixth place. Out of forty, he was in the top ten!

Zoro and Sanji were the top four and five. Law was at number two, Robin was three and number one was someone named Kid. "We got the top ten! We all passed," Sanji cheered. The loud noise didn't bother Luffy, since he'd been expecting it. The only one who was not cheering was Ace, who was laying on his stomach dramatically, his face smothered in the carpet.

"Why'd we get stuck with All Might and you got Marco? That's so not fair," he lamented. Ace still desperately wanted to work with the Whitebeards. But they didn't take interns and it was hard to get a job there starting out. So he was working with Roger's agency, trying to get recognized in the public and brought the Whitebeard's attention.

Maybe I could talk about you to him? Luffy offered. He knew Ace was happy for him, but just sad and jealous about who the guest teacher was. I wonder why he's here, though.

"As you can see, you passed as well as your three friends who came with you," Marco said. His voice was sounding sort of bored, but he did seem genuine. "School starts August 21st. You'll be designing your costumes and they should be submitted before August 10th. You have three heroes in your household, but I'll say it anyways. Don't use anything detrimental to your performance on your suit. There are periods through the school year where modifications will be expected."

Then he looked up and smiled. "Enjoy your vacation and be ready to jump into things." And then the recording cut. It was quiet besides Ace moaning in sadness at missing his chance, even if it had been five years ago and there was nothing he could do.

Sanji and Zoro were cheering still, and Luffy was sitting silently. "How do you feel, Lu?" Sabo asked. Luffy signed that he was happy, but wondered why Marco thought he had brought three friends. He only came and left with Zoro and Sanji. "Maybe he meant Law?"

Maybe. But I only saw him on the bus. We barely talked.

"Did you interact with him during the practical exam?" At the end, I returned his hat. Maybe they had cameras in the area? I'm glad he didn't think my way was wrong. Of not fighting them. "Clearly not, if they made the insides open. Well, not open, but into cockpits. Since nobody was inside controlling them, they were probably there just for your purpose."

Luffy nodded, and Zoro and Sanji had finally stopped cheering and took big gulps of their now flat soda bottles. They had cheated, were eating snacks and sugary drinks since they'd been training so hard. They deserved some major cheats. They were all happy before they heard thundering feet up the stairs.

Roger was there, looking disheveled. It was early in the morning, earlier than he usually got up. He looked very worried and uncomfortable. "Whoa, what's wrong?" Ace asked, sitting up, his moping seeming to be over for now. Roger sighed, eyebrows pinched.

They were all getting bad feelings. "Luffy, I don't want you going anywhere besides school. Teleport there and back, okay?" Okay… but why? What's wrong? "All of the major pro-heroes have been told that there is activity between multiple international villain associations." The five were all getting worried.

"Who?" Sabo asked.

"They're not based in Japan, but they have been here before and have beef with Whitebeard." Sabo again asked who they were. "It's an alliance between Kaido and Big Mom. Kaido seemed to have already been paired with the Donquixote Family. There has been no activity in Japan yet, but we're already bracing."

Ace asked if that was why Marco was at the school. A major pro-hero, but not a big wig. Was he there to protect the students? "Yeah. A pro-hero has been stationed at each of the main hero schools to watch over the hero course students. It's a precaution, but necessary. I don't want you to be scared, UA and home are safe. This is all just precaution over something happening in other parts of the world."

Zoro asked why school was even happening during this. "We can't stop high school for students and wait until things get resolved. The alliance, if it's real, could continue long after now. We can't keep the system on hiatus. If it was college, it would be fine. But high school is for teens, who grow up quickly." They understood. Stalling school didn't stall aging, too.

Luffy was worried and nervous, but he still wanted to go to UA. He just might become a hero in a mess. If he ends up good enough to be a hero. "What will I be doing? I'm not one of your top guys or a top hero. Neither is Sabo. What do we do?" Ace asked seriously. All signs of his little spout of whining were gone and now he was serious.

"We still need regular heroes around, so you'll both be doing regular duties."

"But-!"

"No. Just because you are my sons doesn't make you more experienced on the job. Don't argue with me on this," Roger said seriously. Ace deflated and agreed.

"Is it safe for me and Sanji to go outside? I mean, we hang out with your family all the time. Our classmates know it," Zoro said slowly. Roger shook his head.

He said, "You're as safe to go out as everyone else. This is all precaution. I just want you to be aware. Not panicked or terrified, but aware. Besides, it's only the beginning of the summer. This could be resolved by the time school starts again." He then left to go to work, taking Ace and Sabo with him.

It left the three teens in Luffy's room, silent. Luffy was worried that the villains who went after him… if they came back. But, they had no reason to do that again. Right? But he shut that whole train of thought down. He would not fall back into the pit out of fear of something that might never happen.

"Well this sucks," Zoro huffed. "Ruined our happy mood about being accepted!" He was angry. All of them were angry and irritated. Why couldn't he have told them after they were happy for more than two minutes? Luffy was stewing, too. Upset and worried and disappointed.

Sanji sighed and stood up. "At least we learned of it early. When the public finds out, it'll be a shit-show for sure. Panicking left and right. Small villains wanting to be included with the big name villains. Like The League of Villains. They made a real mess, too, but that was only in Japan. This is international. This is way bigger."

Luffy curled up more, resting his chin on his knees. Zoro sighed and said, "Well, maybe once we're heroes we'll have work just waiting for us. It makes me wonder, though. They can't be forming three huge villain associations just to go after one guy. Whitebeard is a strong guy, and his agency is the strongest in Japan, but still… three villain groups joining together for that?"

It is weird. Big Mom and Kaido are already really strong, why would they both join together and leave their own home countries to go after Whitebeard? There has to be something else, right? I doubt we'll ever find out. But still.

Zoro nodded and Sanji agreed. What do we do now?

Sanji replied, "Well, we want to be a hero team, right?" They nodded. "We should try to combine moves!" Luffy signed that he didn't have any moves, he could just teleport. "You're still a really good fighter, though. And it would be cool to go to UA already having attacks or something." He sounded really excited.

It was better than doing nothing, so they went out to the huge backyard and did nothing and everything.

An hour later, Sanji was asking if this was a good idea as Luffy was in boots with steel soles, standing on Zoro's arm. "It's just to see! If there's any danger, Luffy can teleport and be right back," Zoro said. Luffy saw Zoro's arm glowing beneath his feet before he swung it forward, the force of the projectile shooting Luffy high into the air.

His eyes were blown wide open as he was higher up in the air. It was amazing! He wished he could fly! Then he started to fall onto the property of one of their closer neighbors. He, of course, didn't let himself land, and appeared right back in front of his friends, falling on his butt, breathing quickly.

"You okay?" Zoro asked, grinning and happy his idea had worked. They'd never use it but it had executed as planned. Luffy nodded. Do you think you can just barely activate it to throw regular things? Before the slash leaves? "We could try. Better than nothing."

Sanji huffed, and went to get a baseball. "Why do you get the interesting quirk? You both have enhancers and I have a transformation. A boring one." At least you can do stuff with yours. All I can do is go from place to place. "Out the three of our quirks, I'd take yours first." Really? "Yeah. It has so many uses. It just sucks you can't teleport other people, too."

"As of now he can't. He only just started using it a couple years ago. There's still much to improve," Zoro replied. The three then spent the next hour with them chucking tennis balls as far as they could. Sanji and Luffy were physically fit and strong, but Luffy's throws were terrible. "You're just not confident enough!" Zoro encouraged, really into this for some reason.

Luffy was growing uncomfortable and embarrassed for doing such a poor job. "I suck, too, Luffy. At least you can pick up the balls easily," Sanji commented. Then he accused Zoro of showing off.

"You're the one that wanted to do this," Zoro shot back. Luffy stepped in, walking between both of them. Don't start fighting when we're all stressed and scared. They both looked ashamed and apologized. We should try and forget about the villain stuff. Being careful doesn't mean being terrified.

Zoro sat down and said, "But now we can't do anything over summer. You're not allowed to go anywhere other than your house and the school. You're on effective lock down." Luffy deflated, not really realizing. They had plans to go to the beach, go hiking. Try to help Luffy build confidence and have fun. Those plans were now ruined.

He didn't know what to reply, so he just nodded. "Well, maybe if Sabo or Ace goes with you we'll be fine," Sanji said, trying to salvage the mood. It did work, gave them some hope. Ace and Sabo were adults now. 20 years, though Ace was three months older than Sabo.

When they got home, they were frustrated. What's wrong?

"Feel useless!" Ace said angrily, balling his fists. "I want to help more, but dad has us on patrol only!" Luffy was sad for them, knowing they both only felt fulfilled when doing big jobs, which they were good at. They had to be if they wanted to work with the Whitebeards and Dragon. I'm sorry. He waited a bit before asking if they would go to the beach or park with them, supervisors.

Ace sighed and shook his head. "Dad said we can only do work and patrolls and then come home, too." The three teens deflated. "We're not happy, too, but know dad is right for being cautious. Especially when our family was already targeted once." They nodded, Luffy wrapping his arms around himself without even knowing it. "Please don't let fear take over you, Lu."

He looked at his arms and relaxed them, nodding. "Don't worry, we'll protect you if anything happens. We've been training our bodies and skills for two years," Zoro said firmly, Sanji nodding. Sabo smiled and said he believed them. As long as they were cautious and alert, they should be fine.

"Even if he has to evacuate both of you, you'll only be nauseous. It's not like you'll die from it." It was the truth. Luffy's power didn't harm them, it just made them feel sick and dizzy. A small trade off if they really were in such a dire position. "I'm sure you'll figure out how to make this summer fulfilling even if you can't go to vacation places. Besides, there are multiple breaks in the school year. By then, hopefully everything is resolved or at least the heroes are more confident in our safety."

They all nodded, hoping that was the truth.

It wasn't. Luffy was stuck at home all day, every day, unless he got to go places with Roger when he was off duty. Which wasn't very often. Summer felt ruined.