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He stayed in his room the rest of the night, but didn't sleep right away. He unfurled the wings after growing them from his shoulder blades and touched the room from side to side with the long feathers. They took up the entire bedroom, which wasn't too small itself. The wings would be impractical to use inside, but that was a given. He was just glad he could make them go away, too. More convenient that way.

On the day that marked a week since coming there, the tutor finally said something about his dedication and speed. She said something he wasn't expecting. "Do you have a quirk that enhances intelligence, Luffy?" Luffy furrowed his brows and shook his head. Where was this going? "Your understanding of math and writing already exceed any students I've tutored. If you keep up this speed, you can clear first grade material in only a few weeks, when it would usually be months."

Luffy looked surprised, and asked why she said that, "You learned multiplication on your own from the look ahead section of your packet." Luffy awkwardly said he wanted to do well at school. Didn't want to be a burden. That part had slipped out and he pressed his lips together. She said nothing at the last sentence. "I am impressed with your progress," she said with a true smile.

The boy asked if he could have some homework to look ahead for the next week. He had a weekend, even if he didn't know what he'd be doing to pass the time. She nodded, saying she'd prepared one, expecting him to want to look ahead just by how much homework he did and went over.

For the tracing letters and numbers, he'd done it so many times the paper had almost ripped open. She gave him two packets. He thanked her on her way out, staring at the packets at the coffee table. She said he was smart. Smart, and powerful. Why was he abandoned? He sighed, knowing he'd never know and there was no point in thinking about it.

While he waited for Hawks to come back, he played the video game. It felt more personal now that he was using the player's quirk. Really, it was kind of ridiculous. But convenient. And stupid. When Hawks did come, Luffy asked if he could try making food. Hawks asked him if he knew how a stove worked. "No," Luffy replied honestly. Hawks said "maybe he will be next".

Luffy huffed and went back to the couch, still not sitting on it. "How did the tutoring go?" Luffy was embarrassed to tell him, but it wasn't something to be ashamed of.

"She sorta said she's never tutored someone who caught onto stuff so fast and that I might be able to finish earlier than she expected," he said quietly. "She gave me extra homework cause I asked for it."

"That's great," Hawks said earnestly. Luffy's face was red. "Is there a reason you try so hard? You don't need to go 120%, you know," he pointed out.

Luffy replied that feeling smart was nice. That it made him feel like he might be worth something. Hawks frowned deeply. "You are worth something, Luffy. I know it's hard to stop thinking of yourself in a negative light, but you're worth something, I promise." Luffy looked down, his face still red in embarrassment and shame.

Hawks was making breakfast for dinner, whatever that meant. But after he was done, Luffy knew what he meant. Eggs, sausage and bacon. In huge servings to accommodate Luffy's appetite. He'd put his school work away in his room so everything was clean and the coffee table wasn't cluttered with papers and pencils.

Luffy slowly asked him if he shed his feathers, having seen feathers in a bin in his room when he walked past the door, making sure Hawks knew he hadn't gone in his room. "Yeah, some come out naturally. Not alarmingly, it's how it's always been."

After dinner and desert, which they finished off the tub of mint ice cream, they were back to the roof and Luffy got to fly in circles around the top of the building in a much more relaxed length of the cord. He was able to turn one way and would practice the other by stopping, turning around and then flying up into the air again.

He was grinning the whole time, and challenged himself by flying up vertically and then flying at a higher elevation, putting his arms out and able to fly. He almost laughed. Almost. Hawks was then next to him. "You are a fast learner. Looks like not just in academics. I'll take you to a more deserted area on my self-proclaimed break day tomorrow and we can try to have you actually fly."

Luffy was surprised. "So soon?" he asked over the wind, wearing sunglasses since Hawks was wearing his own. He told Luffy he'd no doubt get bored of only using the roof and rope. "Boredom is the worst." Luffy knew that was true. Some boredom was better than others. Like being bored on his bed was not too bad, as he was comfortable and relaxed.

He landed heavily, still not used with how to land. Hawks landed perfectly next to him. They went back inside and Luffy ended up eating a peanut and butter sandwich before going to bed. Hawks said, "Be ready for tomorrow." Luffy nodded, wondering where they would be going. He hoped he'd fly and not fall and embarrass himself. But even with his wings out, he was lighter than Hawks, who he knew could help him get to the ground safely. He had trouble sleeping, excited for something for the first time in awhile. He had looked forward to the flying sessions, but he was being trusted not to totally screw it up.

He finally fell asleep and got to sleep in until 9:00 before getting up and walking to the bathroom in a haze, forgetting Hawks was there. When he came out in new clothes, he put the dirty laundry in the hamper that was in his room and went to get food before jumping when he saw Hawks on the couch.

"Forget I was here?" he asked in light amusement. Luffy blushed and nodded, going for cereal. He asked where they were going, still embarrassed. "Nikko national park. There's a large body of water that I'll have you flying over first. Not many tourists that deep in, but I can fly you in pretty far," he explained.

Luffy was interested, never having been to a park before. But that meant if he fell it'd be into a lake. Better than on sharp rocks or trees. Hawks packed some food and water and gave Luffy a shirt that had a cut out back where the wings could come out from without tearing the fabric and ruining the shirt.

He thanked him and put it on, taking off the shirt he'd put on. They went to the parking lot that Luffy saw had an interior parking garage, and they were using a different car than before. Luffy didn't ask why, but Hawks explained. "This car is one that fans don't know I have. Tinted windows so no one can see it's me inside." Luffy nodded and they went into the car.

Luffy really was small but the roof was tall for Hawks' wings. It looked stupid from the outside. He was wringing his hands in worry. "You don't need to worry, nobody is gonna be watching and I'll make sure you don't fall and die." Luffy frowned at him but didn't reply. The drive was silent, though not awkwardly because Luffy wasn't in a bad mood, looking at everything out the window that they were driving past. The world he didn't remember ever seeing.

Maybe if he'd been brave enough to venture out of the slums, he might have had a better life. Still a street rat, but not surrounded by terrible smells and terrible people. Soon the city life faded away and they were driving into the park on a more rural road. There was a parking lot that they parked in. Hawks got behind Luffy, and asked if he was ready. Luffy nodded and Hawks picked him up before flying into the park and to the water body he was talking about. It was huge, plenty of room to fly safely. Luffy was excited.

They landed on the shore and Hawks put their stuff down before sitting on a rock. "Do you want me to fly next to you if you fall?" he asked in an easy going voice. Luffy shook his head.

"If I fall, I'll get wet. I don't care," Luffy replied. Hawks pointed out he'd still need to fish Luffy out of the water. Luffy shook his head, saying he could take care of getting out. "Saw someone having bubbles on the soles of their shoes to stand on water. So I can use that," he said. He formed his wings, nervous to fail. He took a few deep breaths and then flapped the wings hard enough to raise him off the ground.

There was less wind here, but that didn't matter. He was slowly flying and gliding until he pumped his wings harder and was at the other side in an instant confused and falling into the water with a huge splash. His wings got soggy so he made them go away. Hawks flew over. "That's probably due to All Might's power. You went too fast. Try going slower like we did on the roof," Hawks said, right above the surface of the water.

Luffy nodded and climbed out of the water, standing on the surface and forming wings that weren't wet anymore. He raised himself again and flew much more slowly, matching Hawks pace. He was smiling and looking down at the water as he saw himself flying from below. It was amazing. Hawks told him to try a spiral above the water, still flying next to him.

The child nodded and slowly inclined and went in circles, spiraling up higher very slowly. Hawks flew next to him, grinning. "Pretty cool, huh?" he asked. Luffy was smiling and nodded.

"Really cool," he agreed, speaking loudly over the wind in his ears. He increased the steepness of his incline and got higher and higher until the water was smaller. The wind was higher up here and Hawks told him to come back down a bit before he was blown away. Luffy nodded and angled downwards and spiraled downwards, running his fingers in the water as he cruised above it.

It was nice having a shirt on, it wasn't too cold this way. Though the shirt with the back cut out felt a little weird, it was better than being shirtless. And to be honest, he couldn't care less if people saw his scars. They were on his arms and legs as well. He couldn't hide those, so why hide any of them?

The ones on his back were in full view if the wings weren't in the way. He looked to the wing tips, seeing how the end feathers just barely moved. "I think this will be my dominant quirk. And using All Might's strength when I want to," Luffy announced once he crash landed, landing on the ground on his knees. They got skinned a bit, but nothing concerning or painful. He got rid of the wings.

Hawks sat down and said, "You already showed you could go faster by using All Might's strength. I think it would be a great combo. I'll teach you how to attack from above some time. After you're a pro at flying. You did awesome for the first time. It took my years to be able to fly once my wings were big enough to carry my weight," the hero explained as he ate a granola bar.

Luffy smiled a small smile before wiping it off when he noticed Hawks looking triumphant at it. "Is it wrong, to have a quirk that just steals others'?" Luffy asked quietly, looking at the sand below him, rubbing his boot on it absentmindedly.

"No. There are multiple quirks where someone copies anothers'. Yours just is long term and you can hold more than one. Besides, you've already made your own quirk by combining them. That person in the video game doesn't have super strength, and All Might doesn't have wings. That's your quirk now." He looked up at the sky and added, "A strong bird, huh? I'm sure we'll come with a name suitable. Could be a quirk with wings and the strongest body."

Luffy asked if there were huge birds that were that strong. "Maybe prehistoric birds, I'm not sure," Hawks replied smoothly. Then he changed the subject. "Want to try flying up the river? I'll fly under you just in case." Luffy was all for that and Hawks put the bag on, which was diagonal, the strap going between his wings.

They both got into the air, Luffy's body a lot smaller than his but his wings span around the same if not a little bigger. They flew over the river that led to the lake, and Luffy thought everything was amazing. It was so beautiful, he'd never been anywhere so gorgeous. He might want to make coming here a regular trip.

"How long do you think it would take to fly here?" he asked. Hawks says probably not as long as the drive if he went at his fastest speed. But he firmly said he wouldn't be flying somewhere this far by himself. He was okay with that. He was quiet for a moment before he finally outright said it. "Thank you for saving me. Even if you ever kick me out, thank you."

Hawks replied easily, "You're welcome. You can have a bad attitude, but I like you. I won't kick you out, though. Even if you accidentally burn down our building, I still wouldn't kick you out. Just make sure you don't do anything to go to jail." Luffy grinned, glad he couldn't see his face.

Luffy wasn't offended by him openly saying Luffy could have bad attitude. But the way he said it didn't sound like a reprimand, just a fact. "If I haven used any of my powers for crime, pretty sure I won't do so now that I'm not on the street." Hawks asked why he never used any of his powers to protect himself. "Didn't want to go to jail. I heard someone say using your quirk against other people was illegal," he said simply.

Hawks said, "Personally, I think there should be exceptions. Many times people would be safer using their quirk against someone aiming to hurt them. But you can still get in a lot of trouble even if it is self defense." Luffy hadn't wanted to risk anything. Living on the street in poverty was bad, but he didn't want to go to jail. "Besides, you're only 8. Pretty sure they'd make a case for you that you wouldn't get into any trouble."

Luffy hoped that was right, not that it seemed to matter anymore. They flew up the river and up a waterfall. It would be bad if Luffy fell into the rapids. Well, it would be bad for any human. Luffy wanted to know more people other than Hawks. Literally the only person he ever remembered really talking to.

He wanted friends, had always wanted friends. Now that he was out of that hell hole, he was in reach of friends. School. He wouldn't need to tell people about his quirk. His real one, as he'd decided to claim this one and the power of All Might that he couldn't turn off to be his quirk. It felt nice, Hawks was right about how awesome the flight was. Did he even need a car? He could just fly from places. But how would he carry groceries home? He'd probably need a car then.

But flying could definitely replace a bike.

"I promise I won't become a criminal. I've been around enough to be turned away from that line of work."

Hawks said, in surprise, "Wow, it looks like you do have a sense of humor." Luffy scowled but didn't reply. He was quiet as they left the river behind and flew up the mountain, Hawks still below to catch him if he fell. Then he told Hawks that he wanted to go to school. "I promise you'll have that opportunity. You just gotta catch up to your age group, then you can go to whatever school you want."

Luffy asked if he would have to drive him every day. He didn't want to be a burden anymore than he was. That was apparent in his voice. "An assisted flight to whatever school you want. Wings aren't just for show, even if you aren't a hero," he replied easily. "Why don't we go back down and get something to eat. I'm hungry," the pro-hero said. Luffy agreed and carefully turned around before going down hill.

"Can I try going fast?" Hawks was hesitant, but agreed he could try it. He said Luffy seemed a natural at it, so he didn't see much of a risk. Luffy took a deep breath and then pumped his wings as fast as he could, jetting down the mountain, over the river, and to the lake. He slowed as best as he could, but ended up crashing into the lake again. He just laughed at himself. He didn't notice this was the first time he ever remembered laughing in his entire life.

The glasses had cracked from the pressure of the wind against them. His hair was a crazy mess, and he climbed out of the water and ran to the shore. It took another two minutes for Hawks to arrive, Luffy dried off by turning into fire and evaporating the water. Hawks landed next to him and asked if he'd crashed.

Luffy nodded, saying he couldn't figure out how to slow down. "I won't be using that speed unless I'm somewhere safe," he decided.

"That's a good idea. C'mon, we still have to fly back to the car." Luffy nodded and brought out his wings to fly with him this time instead of being carried. He really could get used to this. But always having these huge wings out, would it be annoying and hard to get used to? Hawks had them since he was a child, he grew up with them.

"Was it hard, when you got your wings? At four?" Luffy asked once they were in the car.

"Yeah. But I got professional training from a hero and government organization. It was annoying at first, I remember that feeling. But I know it didn't take long for me to start liking them, even when I couldn't fly. You don't have to have yours out all the time, since you can suck them back in." Luffy wondered if people would think it was suspicious. "Probably not. Mutants might be jealous since some have trouble from their own body deformations."

The child nodded, saying he wouldn't have them out all the time. They went to a restaurant that he seemed to know well, since the employees there brough the two to a table out of view from most. "This is a restaurant heroes come to a lot for privacy. Photos aren't allowed to be taken here, and you have to give them your cell phones to make sure," Hawks explained while Luffy looked at the menu.

He was looking at the pictures since he couldn't read. There was something he recognized that he decided was a safe bet. He pointed to the spaghetti and meatballs, since he'd had spaghetti before. "You should try new things," he advised.

"I don't know what anything is. I don't recognize any of the pictures," Luffy said honestly. He'd decided. Hawks was honest with him, seemed sincere. Luffy would be honest to him as both a way to repay his own honesty, and because he felt like Hawks wouldn't make fun of him unless it was something stupid.

"I'll buy us a lot of stuff then, so you can try. Don't try and stop me, I like to eat, too," the pro-hero said when Luffy started to say he didn't need a lot. So he nodded. While they waited for the huge amount of food, Hawks asked him if he had any hobbies. An innocent question that Luffy didn't have an answer to.

"I don't know," he said simply. "I don't know what my interests or hobbies are, if I haven't any. It never mattered." Hawks frowned at that. He looked at him in pity, and Luffy bristled as a knee jerk reaction, but didn't say anything about it.

He took a sip of his coke and replied, "Well, I guess we'll figure out somehow. Maybe you can draw or some shit. You don't seem overly interested in the video games so far, maybe you'll like to read once you can."

Luffy said he didn't want to have unnecessary spending on him. "Luffy, I'm the number three top pro-hero. I think I can spend some money on you if I want to." Luffy's face turned red and the food came. Luffy had gotten a lemonade that he was drinking too quickly. He was asked if he wanted a refill, and Hawks saved him from looking stupid and asking what she meant.

"Yeah," Hawks said for him. "I'm glad I don't need to worry about you making a mess with food," he added. Luffy served himself a bit of each dish, asking what they were before tasting them. They all tasted good, he didn't know food could taste so good. He'd never been able to make anything but simple food. Food that wasn't nutritious, but kept him from starving.

After they were done, they headed back to the Hawks Agency/his new place of residence. He fell asleep on the way. Hawks chuckled at it, and said, "Man, you really are a kid. Sometimes I forget," quietly.

When they got back to the building, he woke Luffy up. "C'mon, we're back. Time to wake up, sleepyhead," Hawks said in a teasing voice. Luffy frowned and got out of the car and made it to the elevator, Hawks coming from behind and saying hello to his workers, even if he still had the rest of the day off.

Luffy really enjoyed the flying. It had been the most freeing experience he'd ever had, Hawks was right about if from the beginning. And he was glad he wasn't stealing his quirk, but some nameless actor from a videogame where he didn't remember the title.

He would make that quirk his, in his own way. Luffy would try it, merging quirks to make him the strongest he wanted in his own way. He had two down, All Might's power and his new wings.

It was later that day that Hawks named the strongest bird that had ever lived as "Argentavis magnificens." A huge and strong prehistoric bird. Argentavis. That was his quirk's new name. The strongest bird. He smiled, actually looking forward to what was to come.