UA was far from where the three of them lived, so Luffy teleported and Zoro and Sanji rode the bullet train. Their first day of school was here, and Luffy was so nervous he had trouble not shaking intensely. He'd taken some calming pills that morning, and was cleared to bring them to school by the school in case he started to get overwhelmed.
The meeting with the principal had gone well, and Luffy was welcomed. His teachers had learned sign language that summer. At least, how to read it so Luffy could communicate with the others fluidly. He hadn't met any of his teachers, though. He hoped the homeroom one was nice. He shared it with Sanji and Zoro, probably due to his request to make him feel more comfortable. He was happy with that. They'd been in every class together for that reason. They were almost therapeutic for Luffy.
They seemed proud of that, which made Luffy very happy. Not smiling happy, that was hard to achieve. But inwardly happy. Luffy timed his arrival of when Zoro and Sanji got there, appearing at the front gates when Zoro texted him. They were wearing their full uniforms since it was cool out today, so Luffy only had to wear a glove to hide his mangled hand.
He'd tried putting a concealer on his scars and burns on his face and neck, but it didn't work. It made his face look lumpy and the scars shone through regardless. He had to deal with them, but at least they only covered his face. The rest of his body was hidden. He was happy about that. He had the sleeves in his backpack though. Just as a precaution.
The three would be hiding the truth, saying he was in a house fire and fell on a lot of glass, cutting him up and burning him badly. It sounded plausible. As long as nobody found out about his torture, he'd be okay. The scars on his neck could play along in his pretending that it was damaged by falling on glass. Everything would be okay.
They walked to their class on the third floor of the huge school. There usually were two hero courses, but apparently they had been mixed this time, made into one class. According to Roger, he knew that many had pulled their kids after hearing anything about the villain team-up that was not in Japan. Roger kept saying "yet", but "yet" hadn't come.
When they found the class, they saw it had a huge door, but was easy for any of them to open. When Luffy was trapped at home, the most useful thing to do was train. And they made it more fun, doing sports in the huge backyard with Ace and Sabo, which usually become physically demanding, playing violent soccer or football. So they were very fit, even if Luffy's body refused to develop muscles at all. Looks really were deceiving on his power level. But his body and baby face matched his timid behavior.
They walked inside and luckily there weren't many people yet, so they got to pick their seats, how they always did. In the back row closest to the window. Sanji in front of Luffy and Zoro next to. Students filtered in, all of them looking very different. Luffy tried looking away, but couldn't help but want to see who there was.
There were two girls that seemed like they'd be very pretty to others. Luffy had never been interested in romance. He had enough problems as it was, and honestly didn't think he was capable of loving somebody else. It didn't make him sad, it was just a fact.
But Sanji grew very angry when three boys walked in. Two of them had their side bangs covering an eye, two wearing glasses, and one with green hair. They all looked related to Sanji, so Luffy and Zoro knew they were his hateful step brothers. All three were confused as to why people that cruel would ever want to be heroes.
Everyone was inside, sat down, when Yonji said, "Oh, it's Sanji and the little torture victim." The class went still, and Luffy was panicking as everyone looked at him, some more surprised than others. Law had sat diagonal to Luffy, but hadn't looked. He'd seen him before, after all.
"You are absolutely disgusting," a girl with orange hair spat at Yonji. She was the one that sat next to Luffy on the bus! He had ignored her, but she hadn't seemed to care. The girls in the class looked at the green haired asshole in plain revolt and anger. They were angry Luffy's big secret had just been thrown out there. Nobody would want others to know they had been tortured, even if their body was damaged badly.
A spiky red haired guy laughed. "Looks like we already have the most disliked student in here," he said in amusement. "That was fast!" Yonji's face was bright red, and Sanji was smiling lightly. Zoro was visibly furious, glaring daggers at Sanji's younger step brother.
The teacher then came in, looking completely cheerful. He had bright red hair, an easygoing smile, three scars over his eye and had a prosthetic arm on one side. It actually moved how he wanted it to, like a real arm. It was one of the most advanced prosthetic arms anyone could get, totalling millions of yen. So, he wouldn't be hindered with that arm.
"Yo, everybody! My name is Shanks, your homeroom teacher. You can call me Shanks, I hate my last name. We'll be working together a lot in this class, especially during Marco's training sessions. He won't take any bullshit!" He was grinning. Luffy got a very good feeling from him. "So, let's go around and introduce ourselves. Don't share your quirks, having them be surprises if more fun, after all."
They went around the class. Kid, Killer, Nami, Vivi, Hiyori, Kiku, Robin, Hancock, Tashigi, Niji, Ichiji, Yonji, Franky, Law, Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy signed his name, Shanks announcing it for him, knowing sign language. Nobody seemed surprised that Luffy didn't speak. It was embarrassing, but he was happy he didn't have to have somebody explain it falsely.
He was still upset that Yonji had just told all these strangers about his biggest secret. The one he'd tried to keep to himself as best as he could. Even if they all knew, he would still cover his burnt side. Nobody would want to see that, and he didn't want them to either.
"Okay, tradition is to do a quirk assessment test! You've probably done it in junior high, but this time we'll use your quirks," Shanks said happily. Luffy worried, not knowing what to expect. He hoped he did better than average, not wanting to seem weak. Especially now that everyone knows and might think he was weak physically because of the torture.
They were told to change into sports clothes, and Luffy was glad he was wearing an undershirt and there were changing rooms. And luckily the bottoms were pants. Though his arms would show. He went to get his sleeves and put them on before going back to the group of changed students.
When they walked out, Nami walked over to him and said, "I know sign language if you ever want to talk!" Luffy nodded, and signed, That's nice. Zoro and Sanji won't have to translate for me. "Yeah that must be annoying. Unable to talk with people." Zoro and Sanji were watching closely.
When they got to the baseball field, everyone stopped when Shanks did. He had a ball and a bunch of equipment outside. It seemed like this would take a while. There was a lot to do. "There are no consequences if you're in last place, just do your best." Then he suddenly got serious. "If anybody laughs at someone else, detention immediately. We all start at different levels, and not all quirks are suitable for physical activities.
"But, you all passed the entrance exam, so you are good enough to be here despite how you do now. We'll be doing this again further in the year to see your improvement!" He was back to being cheery. Luffy only found there were a handful of students with quirks that helped with the ball toss. Zoro, Sanji, Kid, Yonji and Franky. The rest were average.
When Luffy's turn came up, he looked at the ball, wanting to be better than many of the others. He needed a lot of momentum. So, he did a rapid flip and brought his arm up with him, throwing it as hard as he could, the momentum helping him out.
"101.2 meters!" Shanks declared. Luffy walked back to the group. The edge of it. He was happy he surpassed a lot of the other students. They looked surprised at him. Hiyori, someone who already seemed to be enemies with Hancock, asked him if he worked out.
He nodded. Martial arts and gymnastics. Zoro said it for him. "Heh, that's surprising," Kid said. Luffy nodded but didn't sign anything else. He saw Law was looking at his hands closely when he signed. He wondered if Law knew sign language, too.
The other activities were easy. He wasn't worried. Sit ups, push ups, testing grip strength. Since he couldn't use his quirk for any of this stuff, he was glad he was relatively strong and so he didn't lose at everything.
He did use his power for the distance and jumping one. Nobody called him a cheater, as Law did something similar. But his was more complicated than Luffy's. He opened some blue dome around the area and suddenly he was somewhere else, looking like Luffy's power. He was surprised at this and wondered what else he could do.
Luffy's was the simplest out of everybody. "Did you use that power to save Lami?" Law asked, going to Luffy, but staying a good distance away. Luffy nodded. She ran into the street and I somehow saved her. I hadn't used my quirk in five years, so it was surprising. He only said this cause he thought Law wouldn't understand. He was technically telling somebody, even if they didn't understand.
"She used to run into the street a lot," Law replied. His voice was flat, but not exactly mean. Luffy looked confused. "I learned sign language over the summer." Why? Law looked away, frowning. "I don't know anybody here. I at least wanted to be able to talk to somebody I know," he explained honestly. ...Thank you. "Yeah." And then he walked away.
Now there were five people in class who could understand him. Zoro, Sanji, Shanks, Nami and Law. Having translators was always embarrassing, even if they were necessary. He walked back to Zoro, who was having a standoff with Kid. He had his own friend trying to get him to stop and Sanji was trying to get Zoro to stop.
He frowned, walking over and asking what happened. "He claims he's stronger. That's bullshit," Kid said with a scowl. Was Zoro really making an enemy so early? Sanji and Luffy's enemies were the Three Jis, as he'd now call them as saying their first names would take too long. They did seem cranky that their plan backfired and now nobody was paying any attention to them. Not a good way to start off the school year.
Shanks didn't give them any rankings of who won and who got the least. So the more inflated ego guys claimed to be the best without solid evidence. Those who did were the Three Jis, Kid, Zoro and Franky. Zoro usually didn't care about this stuff. After they went back to the class and changed, Luffy asked what he was doing, why he was acting like that.
"I want everyone to know I'm the strongest so nobody messes with you. I'm one of your best friends, I'll retaliate if anybody makes fun of or hurts you." Luffy felt touched, but also guilty. I don't want you to make enemies because of me.
Sanji said, "That doesn't apply to me. I hate those assholes anyways, before they were terrible to you." Luffy knew that was reasonable, as they'd always been jerks. Still. I want us to be friends with everybody.
"We've never been friends with everybody. Remember Bellamy and Dellinger?" Zoro pointed out. Luffy sighed. If you get into arguments and fights, please don't let it be about me. "I can't promise that." Luffy stopped pressing, knowing that it was a moot point. Zoro wouldn't be changing his mind.
When they were back in the classroom, the normal ones resumed. Shanks said he couldn't wait to see them again the next day, and passed to the next teacher, the english teacher. The other teachers weren't nearly as enthusiastic as Shanks, but they all seemed good.
When the time they were most excited about came, training with Phoenix Marco, they were sent to the changing rooms after they took their costumes from the rack in the wall. Luffy hoped he looked like how he wanted. It was more complicated than Zoro and Sanji's. Theirs were super simple.
He changed in the booth, putting on the skin tight bodysuit with the boots and face shield. It covered every trace of his torture. The face shield was easy to see out of, but others couldn't see his face. Even his neck was covered. The fabric was strong but thin, not making him hot.
He left the changing booth and saw everyone's costumes were very different. The girls all had more skimpy costumes besides Tashigi. Some looked bulky or cheesy, like the Three Jis costumes. They looked stupid, to be honest. Law's was simple too. His wasn't a body suit, but matched his hat's spots.
They glanced at Luffy's unique design. On the back and arms, there were patterns of bright yellow and white. The patterns you'd see on poison dart frogs or other poisonous animal warning signs. He didn't like people touching him, it was only natural he wanted a costume that had to do with distance.
Franky, who he hadn't talked to yet but seemed to have already made good friends with Robin, one of the more quiet of the girls, asked what the colors were for. I don't like people touching me. These patterns are warning signs on poisonous animals. I thought it would work. Sanji translated for him. Everyone looked surprised, but only Vivi commented. "That's a smart decision. I wouldn't have guessed it, though."
Luffy nodded. At least they all now knew he didn't like to be touched. The class, now all in their hero clothes, walked to the correct place. Well, Luffy teleported there. He landed a few yards from the gate, with Marco sitting on the large wall. He dropped down, not even letting out his wings, and landed lightly next to the mute student.
"Hey, Luffy," Marco said casually. "Ready for hero training?" He nodded, but was nervous. Then he signed, Can I have your autograph after class? My brother really wants to work in your agency. Marco looked amused just barely, but nodded, saying that was fine. "What's his name?"
Ace. He went to UA two years ago and has been working on getting recognized.
"Ah, Gol D. Ace, right?" Luffy nodded, hoping he said something nice about his big brother. "We aren't taking any new heroes for a bit. He'll have to wait a while if he wants to come." Because of the villains' alliance? "Yeah. We don't want to drag new people into it if they go after the Whitebeards." Luffy was surprised he was being so honest. "Everyone should know about what's going on. I won't keep secrets." The teen nodded.
Marco seemed like a good guy so far. It took awhile for the others to get there, but they eventually arrived. Marco introduced himself to everybody. "I won't be going easy, but I won't destroy you. As the school year goes by, it will get progressively harder. You should start preparing already for the school events that will happen this semester."
They were all curious, Luffy standing in between Zoro and Sanji. "The training camp UA does every first year, then the provisional hero license training that will allow you to work with pro-heroes. Before that, you'll have the sports festival-" everyone got excited about that - "and that will get you ready for your internships with any heroes that offer for you to come. You'll have to make your mark during that."
Luffy was happy he was being so transparent and honest. Nothing would be a surprise it seemed. Both Shanks and Marco sounded very honest so far. It was good, Luffy didn't like surprises. The first activity, jumping right into it, was a tournament. Groups would work together to find each other throughout the fake city, taking the flags from each group. "You'll need to communicate with one another and figure out the best ways to get the most. Quirks allowed, of course." Luffy frowned deeply. How would he communicate with everybody? He wrung his hands together.
The groups were made, and Luffy was luckily in a group of four with someone who could understand his way of communication. Nami, Franky, Luffy and, unfortunately, Niji. Zoro and Sanji gave a warning scowl at Niji. Everyone was already glaring at him, and he didn't seem to really care his brother had sabotaged all three of them.
All four groups, one with five members, went to different spots in the huge city, choosing a building to start in. "We should explain each other's quirks," Nami said, not quietly since there was nobody else around their group yet. And they had to be doing the same. "I can create disturbances in the air that leads to clouds and small storms."
"I have weapons in my body in various places," Franky said proudly, an enthusiastic guy.
I can teleport anywhere silently. I can't take other people with me. And I knew martial arts. Nami said those for him. Franky wondered how he'd used his power to defeat bots. I went in their cockpits and destroyed them from the inside. "Hah! I didn't know you could do that!"
Luffy put his finger to his lips since Franky's voice was echoing around the building. Niji flippantly said his power was that his body could charge electricity. It couldn't leave his body, so he got close to people to electrocute them. Nami asked if any of them had a plan. I can be a distraction. Go from place to place and make a bunch of noises and then leave before they find me.
"What about us?" Franky wondered. Nami answered, saying they'd be the main fighting force.
"I can be the one to get the flags once the battles are started. They won't have a chance." Franky said it sounded like a plan. But Niji didn't approve, apparently.
"That's too boring. I can do the whole thing myself. You can all stand by." Franky and Nami glared at him while Luffy was frowning in irritation. Nami said that wasn't the point of this exercise. They'd be doing it together.
She said, "If you don't want to participate with us, go do it by yourself and piss off Marco on the first day. You really aren't making a good first impression." She was scowling at him, and Niji returned the glare. "Now, let's get going," she said in a firm voice. They all stood up and the three of them walked to the windows, looking out, but staying in the corners to not be seen.
Niji was scowling behind them. "How do we find them?" Franky asked. Luffy raised his hand and signed that he could go looking for them. I can teleport to each person and find where they are. "Nice. Your quirk is weak in strength, but pretty handy, huh?" Luffy blushed and nodded. "See you soon." Luffy nodded again. He heard a scoff from Niji when he left.
He found the team Hancock was on. He found where he was by popping to the windows. He knew which building they were in. Then he went to each other's group. He was only spotted by Law, who looked bored. Before the other teen blinked, Luffy was gone. He appeared back in the building, but found the others were gone.
"Hey! Stop it!" Nami shouted.
"Fuck off." He hurried towards the voices and saw Franky looking at Niji disdainfully, arms crossed. Nami was trying to get him to stop leaving. But he left, going outside. Well, he didn't know where the others were. Nami made an annoyed sounding screech. She huffed and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself.
"Well, we'll do it ourselves." She asked Luffy if he knew where everybody was. He nodded. They went out another exit, and went from building to building silently. Even Franky was quiet. Nami had taken off her boots with heels, now barefoot. When they found them, they hid behind the walls. Luffy went to the other hall and took his helmet off to bang the back of it on the wall and then smash one of the not broken windows.
He heard them running his way, and then they were all trapped under sudden snow, Franky creating a flash bomb from his fist. The three had their eyes covered. Nami snatched the flags and they ran away while the group tried to get out of the frost. It went from snow to heavy sleet. Nami's power could be really powerful. It was interesting!
They headed to the rest of the groups like that until the flags were seized. Luffy's group got some from Hancock's and Sanji's before all of the flags had been snatched. They weren't able to get their own back. Luffy's group got second place. Law, Hiyori, Tashigi and Killer were the winners. Apparently it was all from Law's quirk. He wondered, again, what else he could do.
Niji and Yonji were both standing to the side, apparently both having ditched their groups. They'd gotten no flags, and instead three days of detention. After, they were briefed and given homework, which was logging what happened that day. "I'll be comparing you to your group mates. Don't lie," he said, and dismissed them.
Tashigi said, "He seemed strict. Not what I expected…"
Zoro replied, "I like him. He doesn't take bullshit." He pointedly looked at Niji and Yonji. "Maybe you learned your lesson, but I doubt it." They fumed, and Kid laughed about it. Zoro shot him a glare, but Kid just sent him a challenging look.
Luffy was happy. His first day of high school actually hadn't been that bad. His secret was revealed in the worst way, but it didn't seem to have made the others hate him or think he was weak. At least, it didn't seem like they thought he was weak. They might privately think that, but they didn't show it at all.
When they were all changed and had their things, Luffy was about to leave before Nami asked him to exchange numbers. Luffy nodded and gave her his phone number, her texting him back so he could have hers. Franky also asked to exchange numbers. They seemed nice, like they liked him after their teamwork.
He hoped nobody wanted him to go places with them. He was more okay with his best friends and family, but big groups would be exhausting. He teleported home and did his homework, writing honestly about how Niji had behaved to them. His attitude and actions while they were supposed to be working together.
The mute teen was very descriptive, even adding that Law had seen him but he was gone too quickly. When his brothers got home, Luffy cursed inside for forgetting to get the autograph from Marco. But he had things to tell Ace, so hopefully that would be good enough for now. "How'd it go, Lu?" Sabo asked excitedly, though there was an undertone of worry in his voice, that it went badly.
It started out really bad. Sanji's step brother gave me away the moment he walked in. Everyone knows. "WHAT?!" Ace roared, making Luffy involuntarily flinch. "Sorry." Nobody was mean about it and everyone hates them now. It backfired. There are two other people that know sign language there! "Really? That's amazing! I'm happy for you, Lu." His voice was quieter than his eruption.
Luffy nodded and signed about the rest of the day. "Man, your hero course is so tiny. 17 people. Usually it's at least 40. I wonder how things will change with such a small class. But, more people might come as the next two weeks go by. It should be interesting to see how this plays out. So… did you see Marco?"
The youngest nodded. He's really cool. I talked to him about you, and he said they aren't accepting anybody new for a while, until the whole villain alliance is over. Ace deflated and Sabo rubbed his back in apology.
"So, tell me why Law learned sign language again?" Ace asked, wanting to change the subject. Cause I'm the only person he sorta knows and he didn't want to be alone. Or something like that. "Aw, that's adorable," the freckled brother said. Luffy thought it was funny. Sabo commented that he seemed to always have resting bitch face, from when he'd seen him a couple of times. Maybe he's just not good at socializing.
"Maybe. Well, I'm sure everyone will get to know each other well, even if you don't all get along. Highschool, especially hero courses, the students seem to be closer to one another. I don't know why, but dad said it was that way for him, too."
Hope so. But I hope they don't like me too much and expect things I can't give. Ace smiled at him sadly. "If people are your friends, I'm sure they'll learn the dos and don'ts." Luffy nodded. But it's different than with Zoro and Sanji. They knew me before. These people only know this me.
"And that's bad? They won't expect you to be how you used to be. Zoro and Sanji never had before, but now you know people won't," Sabo pointed out. That's a good point. "I guess we'll just have to see." Luffy nodded and got back to work before he went to work out. Nami texted him during it, and he was sweating when he went to his phone.
How many flags did we get again?
Nine.
Thanks!
And then the conversation was over and he went back to training.
