Luffy laid on his bed, waking just before his alarm clock. He was going back to school today, attending the whole day like a normal student would. He took a deep breath and sat up. He knew what today was, but wasn't going to let it do anything to him. It didn't matter anymore. It happened, and it didn't matter what day.

He took a shower and then got dressed. He had put the tape on the mirror back up so he didn't see anything but his face. He touched the scars, tracing his fingers along the pink, reflecting lines across his cheeks and nose. His ear as well. He went to his room and pulled the two sleeves on.

When he went to breakfast, everybody was silent and solemn. Luffy knew there was nothing he could do to change the mood for them. Even dad stayed home. He was still in bed. Ace and Sabo were on the couch, Ace trying to nap and Sabo reading, only his eyes stayed in one part. Luffy knew that they all wanted to stay together, which was why the brothers and mother were in the living room and open kitchen.

"You know they'd understand if you stayed, right?" Sabo asked suddenly, looking at Luffy with pleading eyes. I want to be distracted. I'll be okay at UA, and if anything happens, I'll come right back. I'll come home, don't worry. Sabo and Ace got up and hugged him tightly. Rouge kissed his head.

They were seeming to be more upset than he was. Eight years ago. Eight years ago, on September 26th, he was kidnapped and then tortured for three long days. Then weeks of hospital recovery, and months of recovery at home. If anything, the next two days should be the hardest.

Though his family had been in a very different situation, so the day Luffy went missing would of course be harder for them. They didn't know what was happening to him then. When he was gone, they didn't know the progression of the torture. Just that their son and brother were missing.

I'm gonna go now, okay? Luffy asked his family. They nodded, and he vanished, appearing in class. Zoro and Sanji were there, laying their heads on the desks. Luffy touched both of their shoulders. They looked up and he signed, I'm not going anywhere. You can keep track of me all day.

They nodded, and sat up. It looked like both of them got little sleep. Luffy sat down, and looked out the window most of the day. Zoro and Sanji both kept glancing at the smallest. He did his best not to move too much, make any facial expression. He didn't want to upset them even more. When lunch came, Sanji said he'd stay with him in the classroom while Zoro would get their food. Luffy didn't protest or argue. Zoro came back not long after with one meal. They didn't feel like eating, or had no appetites.

He ate under their constant glances. He didn't show any anger about it. But they were being watched closely, in confusion of many. Law was looking troubled and finally asked why they were acting like this, so worried and on edge. Luffy thought for a moment before he signed, It's the anniversary of my kidnapping. "O-oh… I'm sorry."

Luffy didn't respond, but the classroom was very quiet with those who had heard. The Three Jis mostly left them alone. Perhaps because of the downright murderous looks they were given by the two best friends. Nobody else knew about it. Not the school, not the teachers, not anyone but Zoro and Sanji, Law and a small handful of other students in the room.

It became apparent to everyone that they would not be going near Luffy today when Zoro and Sanji both gripped his arms tightly. He didn't complain, understanding their trauma about that day.

When they went to hero training, Marco caught on immediately that something was off. The class was pretty much silent, and Zoro and Sanji looked distant and angry while clinging on to Luffy's arms. He didn't protest at all. But when Marco asked what the problem was, Luffy's arms were released to sign to the man what the issue was.

"Oh. You three can be a team, then." But Luffy interrupted him. "Yes?" Things might be like this for the next two days. I wasn't found until three days later. They might be clingy and snappy, so please don't punish them. "I understand and will act accordingly," he assured Luffy. He nodded in thanks.

The objective was to be stealthy. Again, a stealth mission practice. This time, it wasn't with sound. There would be five people standing on the top floor of one of the buildings. The rest had to sneak and not be seen to reach certain marks. The closer someone got to the most important mark, the more points they were awarded.

Zoro and Sanji failed all three of them. They were distracted, so they were spotted immediately. And instead of crawling away from them to try and continue to get far, Luffy stood and made himself out of the game, too. Zoro and Sanji had been with him through everything. He was going to do what they wished and not go far from them.

It wasn't returning the favor, but being an understanding and accepting friend. It was quiet that day. It seemed that everyone had realized that Zoro and Sanji could be dangerous if they got too close to Luffy while they were in this state of mind. It was like this every year. And it might be like this every year long after this one.

If that was the case, then he'd be understanding then, too.

The next two days were much of the same, with both his family and friends. And he patiently waited it out until the fourth day came and went. Things were different for Luffy, truly. Next week was when he'd suffer from the past. He only rememberd snippits of the torture. The most painful parts. But not the whole thing. For him, the worst day was the day he woke up and realized his life would never be the same.

So, Zoro and Sanji were fine three days later, and things went on normally. The Three Jis were back to being annoying, Luffy was back to normal, his family was back to normal. After Zoro and Sanji left to get food, leaving Luffy in class, Law sat next to him on Zoro's desk. "My date was December 14th."

Luffy was surprised, since Law was usually closed off. Well, he had been shut out by two very protective friends for the last few days. "You seem well." He said it hesitantly, clearly worried he'd stepped over a line. Luffy did wonder why he was so friendly with him. Maybe it was because Luffy understood Law in ways others couldn't. And vice versa.

October 7th. That will be my hardest. That's the day I woke up and realized my life would never be the same as it had been before, Luffy signed, looking out of the window. I'll probably skip school. I don't think I can still handle it.

Law wrote something on a piece of crumpled paper on Sanji's desk, and handed it to Luffy. "If you ever want to talk to someone about it that sort of went through something similar." Then he looked down and a face of shame came. "Though mine was nothing compared to what happened to you." Nobody was close enough to hear what Law was saying. "I don't have wounds or scars or burns like you do. I'm sorry for seeing," he added.

Better you than anybody else. You didn't say anything and give me your shirt. It was really nice and made me feel better. Then Ichiji taunted me about it. He gripped his left arm, scowling before he took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, his expression relaxing. I shouldn't get upset about that… people like them don't understand others' feelings.

"No, they don't. I don't think they're even capable of empathy. I wasn't for a while, but that changed," Law mumbled. Why are you being so nice to me? It is cause we're torture buddies? "Maybe. I don't know." He glanced around and saw everyone had left, and sat down in Zoro's desk. "Quiet people are easier to be around."

Luffy wasn't offended. He agreed that quiet people were easier to be around. Just… not most were mute. He pointed that out. I'm not just quiet, I'm mute. A little too quiet.

"I guess. Do you never talk?" Law asked carefully. Luffy visibly closed off, and Law apologized for prying. It's fine. I don't want to bring it up. "Okay." Then Zoro and Sanji came in. Sanji wondered what he was doing. Luffy answered that they were just talking.

"Oh. Well, one of the soda machines broke so go get some free soda while it lasts," Zoro said, and then opened his bag to see he had at least nine cans of sprite. He grinned at it. Luffy asked if that was heavy. "Psh, you should know me better than that. This is nothing." Luffy nodded, knowing his question was dumb.

Zoro could lift and benchpress the heaviest weights. He could do pushups with Luffy and Sanji sitting on his back. Some soda cans would be nothing. Law walked off eventually, leaving Luffy feeling confused and curious. Well, at least he'd made a friend because of his condition. He put Law's number in his phone, and then texted him his name with his own number.

-x-

"Pleeaasseee," Kiku begged, wanting to see Luffy do a series of flips. They were sitting on the lawn outside of Ground Beta, the gates closed and not opening when the button was pressed. Marco was over the other side, attempting to get it open while the students were bored and waiting on the grass.

He didn't really want to do it, but he knew he wouldn't mess up. Maybe they would be impressed. Nami begged him, too. Tashigi scolded both of them, saying Luffy clearly didn't want to. But he stood up and just gave a nod. He walked away a bit and took off his boots. His sleeve was more like a massive sock than a legging, actually. Since it closed over the foot, too. He put his arms up and then ran before doing his most complicated and taxing routine.

When he was done, he ran back to his shoes, and the class cheered. Well, the girls and Sanji. Luffy's face was red when he returned. "That was so cool! Are you tired now?"

A little dizzy, he replied to Nami. But not too bad. "Can you two do that, too?" she asked Sanji, with Zoro napping. The blonde shook his head. "Luffy's the only flexible one." He was a bit embarrassed, and wishing he hadn't done that. He hoped they didn't bug him about doing it anymore times.

Marco flew over to the students, who were more spaced out. The Three Jis were alone together, like the usual. It was fine since everyone disliked them and the three disliked anybody who wasn't snobby and rich. Kid and Killer were both lying on the grass not too far away, but also not too close.

"Looks like it's completely jammed, and we won't be getting in. Since that was what we were going to be doing for a couple of days, I'll figure out something else. So, class dismissed early today, sorry about that, guys." They stood up, and Luffy shook Zoro awake. Sanji said they were going home now.

Luffy walked to Marco and tapped his shoulder. I'll be out of school tomorrow. I told Shanks already. I'll be back on Wednesday. "Are you sick?" No… I just can't be around anyone but family tomorrow. I'm sorry. "I understand, I didn't mean to pry."

Luffy turned and hurried to Zoro and Sanji, with Zoro arguing with Kid for some reason and Sanji talking with Franky. It seemed like they had made friends with the others. It was the third week of school, and things were going alright.

"Zoro-san," Hiyori said.

"Hah?" Zoro grunted. She blushed and he frowned. "What do you want?" Luffy was laughing inside. It was obvious to everybody, even Luffy, that Hiyori had a crush on Zoro. And he just didn't see it. He was his normal self to her. Grunting answers, glaring. He honestly didn't mean to come across that way, and Luffy knew he wasn't a mean person, by any stretch.

"I- I was wondering- do you want to go to a movie?" Luffy's eyes widened, and everyone went quiet. She finally asked him out! These moments… It made Luffy feel normal. Well, as normal as he could feel.

"There's nothing I want to see right now," Zoro answered honestly. Sanji put his hand to his face, and Kid snorted at his seeming-rival. "What's your problem?" Zoro demanded.

"You're an idiot," Kid replied. Killer told him to not get in a fight. Vivi was comforting a very embarrassed Hiyori while Nmi and Kiku were glaring at the blunt teen. "You don't notice anything going on around you. A true moron."

Luffy was starting to feel angry at the way he was talking to Zoro. He was frowning in deep disapproval. His hands balled into fists. Law quietly said, walking next to Luffy now that Zoro was in an argument with Kid, who refused to say why he was an idiot, getting Zoro all riled up. "I don't think he'd want you to fight his battles." He fights mine. Law didn't know what to say for a moment before asking, "Do you always like that?"

His gaze dropped and he took a breath, knowing Law was right. Zoro, as angry as he got at Kid, wouldn't be happy if Luffy intervened. But it wasn't equal. Not in any way. Zoro was confident and independent wirth his problems, taking care of them himself. Luffy was unable to do that. He needed support and emotional help. He was just lucky he got it from so many people.

When they all got changed out of their hero clothes, which they ended up wearing for no reason, Luffy said goodbye to his best friends, who rode their bike to the bullet train. He wished he could just take them home, but they got really sick with his powers. He had his earbuds in and was about to teleport when he felt someone touch his shoulder, and go with him.

He landed in his living room and saw Law there, his hand still outstretched. "Shit," Law said, and had his face scrunched. But he didn't vomit or get dizzy. Luffy was confused. Do you feel sick? "No…" Luffy was baffled. Everybody he'd ever tried to teleport with had gotten sick right afterwards. "Maybe it has to do with my quirk. I can teleport, too, only it's only possible in my room." Luffy wondered what he needed. "You forgot your phone."

Luffy was shocked, and felt his pocket, realizing he had indeed lost his phone. Law handed it to him, and said, "I didn't mean to tag along. I tried calling your name." Sorry. I had headphones in. Thank you. I'll take you home, now. Law nodded and Luffy touched his arm and brought him to his house, wherever it was.

He took his hand away and didn't notice Law's face was red. I'll see you tomorrow. "See you." Luffy teleported away. When he got home, he did his homework, the hero training homework taking the longest, and then messaged the news to his best friends. They were shocked, and jealous. That they couldn't teleport with him, too.

It's not like we hang out all the time, though.

Still. It would be so much more convenient for everyone if you could take others with you to places, Zoro replied. Sanji agreed. The three talked for a bit before Zoro stopped messaging.

Probably taking a nap, Sanji messaged. Luffy agreed that that was plausible, and said he'd see them tomorrow and then to Sanji's place to work out. Sanji said goodbye, and the conversation was over. Luffy went to his bed and laid down, feeling a sudden wave of depression wash over him.

He sighed and curled around his pillow, snuggling his face into it. He was tired. Emotionally tired. It was hard being around everybody. He was so used to Zoro and Sanji that they were fine, but everyone else were loud and rambunctious. He used to be like that, but now it made him uncomfortable. But he did well to push it away at the moment. He was doing well. But even with therapy once a week and trying to push himself, he was still improving too slowly. He took his phone from the bedside table and looked at Law's number. Maybe he would understand. He wasn't as damaged as Luffy, mentally, emotionally and physically, but he had been through at least some trauma.

Hi, Luffy messaged, not knowing how to start. He got a text back two minutes later, which Luffy was glad he didn't need to wait too long for, worried that Law didn't want to talk or thought it was wrong for Luffy to text him.

Hey. What's up?

I don't really know who to talk to about this stuff. You seem like you might have gone through it sometimes… Don't tell anybody else…

I won't.

Did you ever have depression? Like, for a long time or just short times? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I don't mean to pry or anything. I just don't have anyone to talk to about it.

There was a pause and Luffy was so worried he'd messed up. Yeah. It's gotten better lately, but I take some pills for it. Are you okay?

Luffy was happy he had somebody who felt what he felt, whether it was debilitating for Law or not. School is tiring. Everyone is so excited and loud. I just never had friends like this before. I mean, I like them and all, but sometimes it's hard. I just suddenly got really depressed. He was embarrassed, but Law seemed like he wasn't judging him, though it was hard to tell during texts. Sometimes it happens before a flashback.

The moment he sent that, he regretted it. Nobody was supposed to know about that! His personal, greatest weakness. I understand. I've never had any friends before. It's tiring for me, too. I'm sorry you have PTSD. I can't imagine how terrible that would be.

Luffy felt some tears on his cheeks. He had somebody who knew what loneliness and misery was. He wasn't happy that Law had had a hard time. But he was happy he was talking to him. Don't tell anyone. It's why I don't talk. Part of why. If I hear my voice, I have a flashback… to me screaming and pleading to stop the torture. Please don't tell anybody else.

There was a long pause, but he did message back. It was longer, so it might have taken longer to type. I'm so sorry to hear that. Mine was nowhere near as bad as yours was. I won't ever tell anybody else, I promise. My uncle had PTSD after an attempted murder. We learned how to deal with it. He's gone now, but I've seen how bad they can be. I don't mean to say I know everything or how to help. I just have seen how much it hurts the victim. I hope you can hear your voice some time.

Luffy's hands were shaking, and he put his face into his pillow, soaking it with tears. Of sadness and shame and relief. He texted back a simple, Thank you.

Anytime.

-x-

When he got to school the next morning, he saw Law at his desk, his head facedown. Luffy tapped his shoulder and gave him a cup of coffee he'd gotten from Starbucks. He'd heard once that Law liked black coffee when he was asked why he had so much trouble sleeping and what he did about it.

He looked up in surprise. Luffy set the cup down. You said you liked black coffee. Law took it and thanked him, saying he'd pay him back, and reached into his backpack. But Luffy shook his head. It's a thanks for yesterday. It made me happy, even if I don't show it. Law nodded, and Luffy almost caught a small smile.

"Ooh," Nami said from her seat, watching them. Luffy looked confused, but Shanks came in then, and Luffy went to sit in his seat. He again didn't notice Law's red face and now a scowl at Nami. Luffy took out his notebook and pencil, but Shanks said, "No need to bring out any supplies! We're going on a little field trip!"

The class got excited quickly, asking where they were going. "You'll just have to wait and see!" Shanks exclaimed. "You're not wearing your hero costumes for this, as they might get in the way. Get to the bus in front of the school as soon as possible! We'll be leaving in twenty minutes." And he left.

Luffy opened his backpack and pulled out his leg sleeve and went to the bathroom to change and put it on over his leg. The arm one was already there. When he came out, Zoro and Sanji were waiting for him. Hiyori was sticking close to Zoro, who didn't notice a thing. They all walked to the bus, everyone excitedly chattering about something new.

They met Shanks at the bus, and hurried aboard. The only ones who weren't excited were the Three Jis, who looked like this was an extreme bother, even though they didn't know what it was. Luffy was the other one who didn't look excited, but he never showed any positivity like that.

When they got out of the bus, they were at a huge building, with the letters "USJ" over the large door. Shanks was grinning, standing in front of everybody. There was somebody standing in front of the door that Luffy just noticed. He looked like a leopard, maybe. "This is Pedro, the rescue hero we'll be working with for the next two days."

Pedro started talking when Shanks looked at him. "This is USJ, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. You'll be practicing with disaster scenarios for the next two days."

"I've heard of him before. He's rescued more people than Thirteen did when she was in her prime," Kiku said. Luffy remembers she was the one Ace and Sabo worked with. The school had changed a lot since then. Luffy liked the people so far. There hadn't been one mean teacher yet. Mean students, but not teachers.

Marco landed next to Pedro, and apologized for being late. He'd be helping them as well. Luffy hoped he would do okay. He wanted to do rescue work, so he was worried he'd do badly. But it seemed like Shanks read their minds, as there were multiple people in the group of students that were looking nervous. But most seemed confident.

It had been multiple weeks since the first day of school, so everyone was closer now. Besides the bullies, of course. So, Luffy was sure most of the students could work together. Besides a pairing with Zoro and Kid. Pedro's quirk was teleporting people besides himself. So, he could get people to safety, but he was unable to himself. That sucked.

But he had a sword on his back, probably his offensive power since he couldn't really do anything with his quirk. But, it meant he was good at rescuing people. But, he said there was a limit. He could only teleport seven people in one hour. Then he regained his full power and could move seven more.

His quirk had a lot of weaknesses, and Luffy was glad his was so simple. Marco led then inside, and many in the class gasped. The building seemed much bigger on the inside than the outside. There were multiple sections that all looked different. They were all different disaster zones. Fire, water, landslide, storm, a gaggle of broken buildings. Those were the ones Luffy could see from where they were.

They were to get into groups, which was unsurprising with Marco. Always teamwork. Well, he said that the next half of the semester would be mostly individual work. Luffy didn't know if he was happy about that or not.

Shanks had chosen the groups. Luffy hoped he wasn't paired with the mean ones, but he couldn't see Shanks doing that to him. He was a good man and wouldn't purposely and knowingly put Luffy and his bullies together. Even if they didn't outright bully him, he still got nasty looks and passive aggressive moves. Like bumping into his shoulder, clearly on purpose, and not apologizing. Not that he expected them to.

Luffy was paired with both Law and Kid. The redhead didn't seem too happy with this, but didn't complain openly. Zoro was with Franky and Tashigi, and Sanji was with Hancock and Killer. Unfortunate, being paired with Hancock. Sanji thought she was beautiful, and it might interfere with their work. Luffy was sure Killer would not appreciate that.

The groups were assigned areas, and Luffy's group was not the fire area, thankfully, but the rockslide area. There were dummies around the building, victims that they were to save. They were all in dangerous areas, and they could "die" if they weren't reached in time.

The three of them went to the rockslide area, and Luffy could see the dummies were packed deeply into the mound of mud and rock. Law and Kid said nothing, not planning. So Luffy tried helping them out. We could have Kid move the rocks and then me and Law could use our quirks to get the people out.

Law translated for him, and Kid seemed reluctant to admit it was a good idea, but he did go along with them. He used his magnetism power, which worked on almost all types of objects and living creatures besides water and fire.

The rocks were thrown aside, pretty much digging into the dirt. Luffy teleported to the dummies and gently pulled them out. When one of the dummies started wailing loudly, meaning it died, Law accused Kid of not being careful enough, since a rock had fallen on them. Luffy didn't like the arguing.

He put another dummy on the ground in the pile. They were arguing about it, Kid blaming Law and Law blaming Kid. It was weird to see Law so angry. Usually he was so calm and collected. Maybe something happened.

Luffy continued on his own, teleporting to each dummy he saw. He started digging them out, pulling rocks aside. They were very heavy, but he was able to do it. "While you're arguing with me, he's doing all the work, you know. You'd think you wanted to help him. Since-" and then Luffy heard a grunt and something hitting the ground.

He was shocked to see Law had punched Kid in the face. He teleported down and grabbed Law's shoulder, glaring. It wasn't right to hit people. Law suddenly looked surprised and seemed to realize what he'd done. He looked at Kid, who stood up and was furious. Luffy jumped out of the way when they got into a fist fight.

Marco flew over and shoved them apart. "The hell are you doing?" he asked in a hard voice. Both of the teens didn't answer for a moment until Law said Kid had killed one of the dummies and they'd gotten into an argument that turned violent. "You're both out. Luffy, I'll find you another group to work with," Marco said.

Law looked ashamed and embarrassed and Kid was irritated and pissed. Marco came back and told Luffy which group he'd be going to now. It was with Kiku, Nami and Robin. When he arrived, Nami asked what had happened. Kid and Law got in a fistfight.

Robin giggled behind her hand. There were many around, seeming to do the whole task herself. Kiku couldn't help much here since she could only turn any object solid and use them as weapons. So rescuing wasn't her forte. They were in the storm area, but Nami had been able to pause it, though she seemed to be having a hard time since she was sweating.

"Do you know why they fought?" Luffy shook his head. "Interesting," Robin said. Then they got back to work, Luffy getting the dummies that Robin couldn't reach, since she did have a limit on how many limbs she could bloom. It was creepy at first, arms and legs coming out of objects and people, but now it was kind of cool. To Luffy, at least.

Nami was still keeping the storm at bay, though she was near her limit. Kiku was moving the dummies somewhere safer. Out of the storm, in case it came back. But right when it did, and Luffy was drenched in rain, Marco entered the area through the door and told them time was up and the lesson was over.

They left, all soaking wet, and were given towels from Marco, which they were grateful for. They walked to the entrance, where everyone was getting praised on their work. Besides Hancock, Law and Kid. Zoro had done well with his slashing at the mountain zone, cutting open caves in the rock to get to the harder to reach dummies. It had worked well. Sanji had done bad with Hancock ordering them around and turning Killer into stone for scolding her.

It had been a mess. Now she was in detention with Law and Kid. Shanks was disappointed in them, which was a blow from the usually cheerful and encouraging man. But, he was against bullying fully.

They walked back to the bus and got on, with the four in the storm zone leaking water onto the seats, so they were sitting together so nobody else got wet, too. Zoro napped in his seat and Sanji was talking with Vivi.

Tashigi looked miserable, and Hiyori asked her what was wrong. Luffy could hear it, since they were one seat in front of him. "Zoro and Franky did all of it. I barely got to work at all." Hiyori felt bad for her, but said it seemed expected that Zoro took over when he could. He was independent. It seemed they didn't really understand Zoro much. Or at least, why he was like that.

He didn't really trust others to get things done, and often did everything himself. It seemed odd for him to do, but whenever he got paired with useless people to do projects in school before UA, he did all the work.

Luffy didn't know if it stemmed from his home life, or if it had to do with Zoro having no faith in heroes for years after the kidnapping. He thought they couldn't get the job done, but eventually moved past it. Obviously, since he was now in a course to become a hero, himself. When they got back to the school, they waited for Marco to dismiss them for the day, and then went home.

When Luffy got back home, Zoro and Sanji were coming over to spar for fun. They didn't get to spar at school, since everything was teamwork and not fighting against one another yet. It took half an hour for them to get to his house, and in the meantime, Luffy was doing homework.

He got a buzz on his phone and assumed it was one of them, but it was Law. I'm sorry I messed things up.

I forgive you. It's not a big deal. But you shouldn't fight or you'll get in more trouble.

I know. He just pissed me off.

I could see. Then the doorbell rang, held down to show it was one of his family members or friends. I have to go. Zoro and Sanji got here and we're sparring.

Okay.

Luffy hurried to the door and opened it to his friends. Their bikes were locked on the front gate, safe. They came in and flopped onto the couch. We gonna spar? Luffy wondered, since they both looked like blobs.

"Yeah. I just want a pause," Zoro said. "I got a question. What's up with Law? He was weird today." I don't know. I don't really know what made him punch Kid. He seemed just fine a few minutes before. "I wish I could punch Kid."

Sanji asked why he hated him so much. "His face pisses me off." He snorted and asked why. "C'mon, you have to see it, too. He is so full of himself. Casually - compared to the Three Jis. He annoys me."

Cause he's strong, too? He got ahead of us in the practical entrance exam. Is that it? Zoro scowled and his face turned red. Looked like that was what was really the issue. You're not usually jealous. "I'm not jealous." Sanji snorted again and disagreed with him. If there are stronger people now, then the rest of the year you can work to surpass them, right?

Zoro grumbled it was a good point, and that they should spar now. So they did, all three of them fighting at the same time. When Roger and his sons came back home, they looked uneasy. Zoro and Sanji were eating rice crackers at the bar counter when Luffy questioned what was wrong. "Just stuff about the alliance. It seems to have grown."

All three teens looked worried. "Are we safe?" Sanji asked. He stopped eating, even as Zoro continued.

Roger said that it was safe for them at UA. "That's good," Zoro said. "Do you still not know the purpose?" Roger shook his head. He said it was irritating and worrisome that they had no idea what their actual goal was. Why they were going through the trouble of this. "Do you know how many there are? Right now?"

"We don't know the exact number, but we have a general idea of who's involved. Kaido and his followers, the Donquixote family and their underlings, all of the Big Mom kids, the Arlong group, Bluejam, CP9, Moria's group, and then individual villains." Zoro dropped the crackers in shock and Sanji and Luffy were horrified. "It might get bad, but again, they haven't moved on Japan."

"But… don't the Big Mom villains have a lot of strong children?" Sanji asked. Roger nodded. Kaido also had a lot of men under him. "And Donquixote… aren't those the villains that are working on science stuff?"

Roger nodded. He sat on the couch and sighed, but was still talking to them. Ace and Sabo were saying nothing as they ate leftover food from the night before. They were far from happy, too. "That's one of the most worrisome parts. Apparently there have been reports of people with multiple quirks. We think he's behind them."

"What?! You can't have two quirks at once, it's impossible," Zoro said. Roger replied that they didn't have enough information, but the fact that there were villains with double quirks was dangerous in and of itself. Even if heroes got them, it would still throw things into chaos.

"You can't tell anybody this news. People will panic even more." The three nodded, and were silent and in a distant mood the rest of the time Luffy's best friends stayed. Luffy was scared the ones who hurt him were in this group. He knew little of them, his mind blocking their full faces. It was scary. But he was determined to not be afraid, not let it ruin him again.

Besides, they wouldn't attack him, right? He was already broken and useless to him. Right? He had to hope so.