Poseidon3000: Thank you!
"When are you coming out?" Hawks asked, on the carpet with Luffy in the bead staying inside and on the carpet as well. He wrote, When I'm safe. "You're going to stay in there forever until whenever the sickness goes away?" Yes. I could have killed someone. "You'll starve in there."
Luffy could use this power to its fullest extent. A Clone who waited in the bedroom to be of any use came out and brought bread to him where Luffy turned it to a bead, rolled to it like he was a hamster in a hamsterball and combined the beads to eat his bread.
"It's not fair how you can use every quirk so perfectly. I'm jealous," Hawks said conversationally. I'm sorry to cause you trouble. "Why do you act like I just now picked you up and am now on the fence about returning you? You've been with me almost 8 years and I got your parents to go to jail personally. I like having you here. You're family, and family takes care of each other." It's always you taking care of me. "Who watches my diet and makes me go to sleep on time most nights? And tells me to be careful or not be stupid. Who keeps me company when I'd otherwise be all alone. Hmm? Merry?" Luffy frowned, slumped and defeated.
When my wings fall off, then we'll know I'm safe to come out.
Hawks' face crumbled for a second. "I'm not letting you stay in there until that might happen. We don't know if they will go away." I don't want to hurt anybody. I can't get the quirk suppressants, which are the only things that keep me safe. I don't want to hurt you or Merry or my friends or our house.
He rested his jaw on the ground. "Are you sure you can handle the isolation?" I have to. And I can make a clone turn on the tv or something. Get me around so I don't look like a hamster in a hamsterball. "In any other situation, that would be hilarious," he sighed in disappointment. "I want you to talk to me, talk to your friends. Do you want to go around with me? Go out on patrols?" he asked.
How? I'll just be in a pocket.
Hawks got up and walked away before getting a piece of wire from the tools drawer in the side of the bar counter and turning it around the little bead and then putting it on a chain. "Ta da! You'll be a necklace. That way you can see everything around and still be safe. And if you start to feel sick from bouncing around, you can just use your gravity quirk to float around and not touch the sides."
It was a good idea and would keep him distracted, so he nodded. The clone disappeared and Hawks put it around his neck. "Let's get to work," he said cheerfully. Watching Hawks working was entertaining. He went out of control inside, but didn't break out of the ball. This really was the best plan he had.
He did bounce around a bit but it didn't make him nauseous. He ate the bread in the ball as the day went on. He had his visor on, but the speaker didn't work so tiny, and neither did his phone. He didn't know what anybody was saying about him, if they were scared of him. He hoped they weren't, but could understand if they were. Maybe others at school would realize his quirk was a curse. Not something to ever be jealous about.
He and Midoriya were similar. Their quirks weren right for their bodies, only, Midoriya had not been breaking his body anymore and he didn't need surgery. Luffy needed outside help to control his quirk and it was embarrassing.
It happened a lot. Never happened this much before, but he'd also never let it get this bad before seeking help. He screamed in the ball, but was glad no sound got out to worry Hawks. And he couldn't talk to him directly with other people around because they had to be wary about the people harassing him and how completely vulnerable he was now.
Some noticed the strange necklace Hawks had on, but they didn't see Luffy inside. His sidekicks that he rarely worked with but depended on asked about it. "Little kid gave it to me in thanks. Felt i should wear it if they worked so hard on it," he lied smoothly, demeanor relaxed completely, hands in his pockets.
When he wasn't with Luffy, the teen always knew he went so fast people didn't notice him until he was gone. Not as fast as Luffy could go, but his feathers did most of the work for him as he flew past people. Luffy couldn't hear the police scanner in Hawk's headphones but knew he heard something when he'd suddenly swerve in a different direction, feathers catching up to him when they were done with their tasks.
Luffy needed to try and sleep but it was impossible right now and he didn't want to make Hawks have to go back home when he was on patrol. So he tried to let the rhythmic thumping lull him to sleep. It ended up working, and he didn't wake up to the next episode, much less painful and scary than the previous. Foam came out of his body and filled the ball.
"Luffy? You okay?" Hawks asked quietly, stopping in an alleyway so nobody saw him talking to his "pendant". No response since Luffy was sleeping. Hawks tapped on the glass, a loud thudding noise that woke him immediately. He sat up, the foam moving around him.
He put his head out of the top of the foam and gave a thumbs up and pretended to rub his eyes. "Sleeping?" Luffy nodded and Hawks asked if he wanted to go home. Luffy looked to the side, and Hawks knew that cue, when Luffy wanted to lie but didn't. So, he flew Luffy back home and put him in a coaster, right in the middle groove so he didn't move around a lot.
Merry was locked in Hawks' room since his room had a bathroom that had a litter box. Locking her in Luffy's room wouldn't have let her use it if she needed to. They didn't want to risk her trying to play with the ball and messing something up or putting Luffy in danger.
He came back later with food they were trying out to help cleanse Luffy's blood on his own from other restaurants, trying things out, so Hawks went someplace they'd never been before and ordered dishes with healthy ingredients. He put the food in front of him and Luffy merged two beads together to give him the bowl. He gave Hawks a thumbs up in thanks, and ate the food. It was delicious, just what he needed on a shit day like this one.
Luffy was able to get a pillow inside the bead, but by the end of the night, it was ruined, ash, proving nothing was safe with him out of control like he was. How long would he be stuck here? He didn't want to hurt anything or anybody, the thought of being in there for however much longer it took for his body to get rid of the illness sounded terrible.
Hawks brought him to school since they didn't know if the clone could fly. If the wind would injure it. When they landed, Luffy made a clone and Hawks gave it the necklace. Hawks said goodbye to Luffy, who waved sadly. Hawks' whole demeanor radiated sadness and sympathy. He felt bad for Luffy. Of course he did; Luffy did, too.
The school looked at the clone with nervousness, and Luffy slumped in the bead. When he got to class, everyone looked up to him and ran over asking if he was okay, having seen him lose control and then just disappear. "I'm a clone. The only way he's safe is in this," Clone Luffy said and took off the necklace and held it up. Luffy waved to everybody.
Air got inside even though sound didn't get out. He could hear them, but they couldn't hear him. They looked at him in pity. He wasn't offended by it. Aizawa walked in and Luffy was set down on the desk to be able to look forward. Clone Luffy took notes, which was good since Luffy kept losing control and had a terrible headache from the pain in the back of his neck.
Hawks said he'd called Dr. Ito when Luffy was asleep and she said that as long as he didn't absorb any more quirks, he would not be permanently harmed from the compressed quirk nerves and that they would only hurt. Very badly. And they did, but he was happy that there would be no long term damage.
Todoroki kept looking over at him, seeing what was going on in the bead, and looked upset at seeing it. Luffy was either trying to get back in control, passed out from the pain or dazed and looking up at the ceiling, exhausted. This was so tiring, and he eventually fell asleep for a while.
At lunch, he already had it in a bag with him inside the bead. He ate it, filling him with his tiny body now. Bakugo and Tokoyami apparently both knew what it was like being in these after the camping trip that Luffy had missed. He felt bad for them. He was lucky he chose this. If he hadn't, he would have been terrified.
After class was over and he was waiting for Hawks, safe in the teachers' lounge with the window for Hawks to pick him up from. While he was waiting, he felt something tickle his arm, since it was hotter out now and he had no long sleeve shirt on. He looked down and saw it was one of his feathers. His face went pale and his heart started to beat quickly. He touched them and more feathers fell out, landing on the curved bottom of the bead.
He froze, eyes fixed on them in horror. Then he noticed Aizawa saw it. "Don't look at it, Luffy. It will only make you more upset." He said it in a sad voice, one he rarely heard, if ever. But Luffy kept looking, unable to not.
Luffy hated this. He had a feeling that this was a response to his body's reaction to the pain and fear from losing control of his quirks. He wanted a hug, to pet Merry, but it just wasn't safe. He wouldn't fry or poison Hawks. No matter what he said or did, Luffy wasn't leaving this bead until he was ready to have the surgery.
When Hawks picked him up and saw the blue feathers surrounding Luffy, he bit his lip and picked the bead up, putting it in his pocket. When it was pitch black, Luffy noticed the glow of his wings had dulled significantly. He curled into a ball, unable to deal with the feathers falling out and sucking them back in.
When they got home, Luffy made a clone to take him to his room and put him on the bed. Hawks followed, sitting on the bed next to tiny Luffy. "How'd today go?" he asked, though his voice was obvious asking, "How bad was today?"
Luffy was able to have the clone speak for him if it was close enough, holding him. "I couldn't focus all day. Kept losing control, Todoroki was watching me so sadly. A clone took notes, at least. After school my f-feathers started to fall out and aren't glowing as much anymore."
Luffy knew it was bad and good news. Bad because his wings were dying again and he couldn't help them, and good because it seemed like the sickness was going away. "I think that my body is burning the illness faster now that I'm hurting and out of control."
Hawks asked if it hurt him, the quirks working to get him healthy again. "I don't think so. It doesn't hurt my body to regenerate. Just the other quirks hurt more... I hate my quirk so much."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I wish we could find a solution to this situation this time, but the only ones are to risk your health, and that's not okay. But as of now, we can't do anything about it," the pro-hero said. Luffy said he knew that, and just had to wait it out.
"You should get back to work," Luffy said. Hawks asked if he wanted to be on patrol again, but Luffy declined. He asked if he was sure. "Yeah," Luffy replied. "My clone has to do homework and I can only control it when it's very close, like this."
It was weird, talking in third person like that, but this clone was not him. It didn't have a name or identity. It was just a bunch of smoke in disguise. Ectoplasm was happy that Luffy was able to use his power like this. He honestly never expected people to be glad he used their powers, even if it was just once.
Though those who were used during the nomu attack, the first one, were glad they could help against it, even if it wasn't them using their quirks, and Luffy using them, showing it was possible for them to be very strong. He could see why for that reason, even if it was unexpected. Hawks got an alert in his headphones and Luffy told him he should go, he didn't want to hold him up. The pro-hero looked conflicted, but nodded.
He left hesitantly, and locked the door behind him. Luffy shoved the feathers out of the bead, making his clone add them to the feather box under his bed. Then they went to his desk, and clone Luffy did the work based on Luffy's thinking, looking over the notes that were made in his own way. This clone was a complete copy of him.
After homework, he watched TV, which was like being in a huge movie theater. If he weren't in there for a stressful reason, this would be cool. He started to have another episode, this time uncontrollably switching between people, shapeshifting like crazy, unable to know who he was changing into. It wasn't painful, but annoying. It went on for a good half an hour, which was absolutely infuriating. He tried watching the TV, but his height kept changing, so it was difficult. After the half hour was over, he stopped, grumpy and irate.
When Hawks came back, he asked how Luffy was doing. "Better for now. I spent half an hour shifting between a ton of different people, so it was annoying. But not painful," the clone answered, Luffy in the necklace so he could control it a lot better.
"That's good! I can see how it could be annoying. I'm cooking something actually healthy tonight, so don't judge me too hard when it's terrible," he said. Luffy would have laughed any other time, because he knew the food would be iffy at best, and indelible at worst. "The Billboard Chart is happening again soon. If you're not better by then, do you still want to come?"
Clone Luffy nodded. "I've been there for each one. Why stop now?"
Hawks laughed and said, "Remember the first time you said my speech sucked out loud and everyone around you heard?"
"Don't remind me of that," Clone Luffy said. "But your speeches can be pretty bad."
"Well, you're right on that, I'll admit. But I'm not so bad anymore," Hawks replied. Clone Luffy gave him a deadpanned look and reminded him about last time. "I had to say something special, All Might had just retired!" Hawks defended himself. It was nice, to have a lighthearted moment during Luffy's misery. "Do you want to come in the necklace or clone?"
Clone Luffy replied, "Definitely a clone. I don't want people thinking I'm not showing up just because of health problems." Hawks nodded, seeming to already know his answer. "Besides, this clone is pretty helpful. And I know it's safe since Ectoplasm uses it all the time."
"Yeah, it is pretty convenient. I just wish all of your powers were helpful and not harmful." Clone Luffy nodded in agreement. "So for the Billboard Charts, guess what? They took my advice and now are going based on approval rating! See, my speech wasn't so bad, it changed it up." Clone Luffy could smell something burning, but nothing was on fire and he didn't want to upset Hawks since he was trying so hard.
"You could have said it more professionally."
"Who wants a boring professional speech? Plus, all the other ones besides Mirko were all boring and professional. Mine spiced things up before Endeavor's speech." Clone Luffy asked if that small amount of words counted as a speech. "Hmmm, I'm not sure. It was pretty short."
Clone Luffy said, "It was so funny when you were the only one clapping in the room. Everyone felt awkward about it except you." Hawks said he didn't regret it.
"I messed it up." Luffy said he'd still eat it. Wasting food was stupid. "Are you sure? It's pretty burnt." Luffy knew this since he could smell it through the bead's wall. Clone Luffy said he was sure. He took the plate and took off the necklace putting both on the table so Luffy could work his magic and get the food inside. Oh no, that smell was going to stay in there, wasn't it? It couldn't, it would go away. It had to!
He ate it without a look of disgust. He commented, "You had the stove on too high and didn't move it around as much, so it congealed," Clone Luffy said while mini Luffy ate. Hawks asked why he didn't want to be a chef. "That's so boring. Cooking for a living? No way."
"Yeah, I'll agree with that. Being a hero is the best job. The only contender are people who test out water slides for a living." Clone Luffy actually laughed, which Hawks beamed about. The night ended well, even if Luffy had another episode going to bed. Well, not in bed, on the coaster on his dresser with a fluffy pillow inside. When he woke up, it wasn't charred.
It was a Friday yesterday, so Luffy went on patrol with Hawks and Tokoyami, who was excited to show the fruits of his and Luffy's training. They hadn't done it too recently, but he was clearly practicing on his own and before he was in the bead he asked for some advice for how to do it better.
So when Tokoyami said he wanted to try and fly today, Hawks was excited and nervous to see how he did. And he did well, flapping a few times but mostly gliding. Hawks cheered for him enthusiastically, making the bird man smile a real smile. "Luffy has been helping me practice and I've been doing it myself when he's not around," he explained.
They flew for a bit before coming across a car doing circles on pavement. It wasn't a big crime, but still frowned upon. Hawks just landed and looked at the driver with a pointed look, arms crossed. The guy got tense and before he could turn around, a feather opened his door and pulled him out, another feather taking the key out of the ignition.
"Whatcha doin there?" Hawks asked.
Luffy was smiling in amusement.
"I-I just wanted to relieve some stress," he said.
"So you did it in a Khols' parking lot in the middle of the day when there are shoppers around?" The guy stuttered that he'd looked around. Hawks shook his head. "If you're going to do this to relieve stress, you need to find something else, man. You want to go to jail?"
"No!" the guy said in fear. Hawks told him that if he did that anymore, he could hit someone and go to jail for a long time. "This is a warning. I'll recognize your car if I hear about or see a car doing donuts. Find something else for stress relief. I recommend getting a hobby or becoming an exercise junkie. Safely, of course.
"There's a good running path near here, and many gyms around pretty cheap," he said.
"Y-Yes, sir!" the guy said, and Hawks looked at the license plate, memorizing it as he drove away, going exactly the speed limit. Tokoyami asked if there were a lot of incidents like that.
"Yeah, but it goes unnoticed a lot. Heroes are usually busy with bigger crimes, but stop by if they get a call or see something. They gotta do the small stuff, too," Hawks explained. Luffy was happy to have something to distract him. Hawks asked how he was a lot, and Luffy always put a thumbs up, since there was nothing he could do to help him. The patrol was a nice distraction.
Later, Luffy stood in the bead on the bathroom counter, looking in the mirror while his clone stood behind him. He brought out his own wings, and found a ton of feathers falling out, being pushed out like water dripping from a drain. He collapsed onto his knees, surrounded in feathers as he saw the skin of his wings cracked and very unhealthy.
He should have known it was too good to be true. The universe didn't gift him with something like regrowing his wings. It was late, and Hawks knocked on the door. Clone Luffy opened it to Luffy's will. Hawks looked at the counter and saw Luffy's ball full of feathers with broken, cracked, and dying skin at the base.
He took the bead in his hands and apologized to Luffy sincerely.
Clone Luffy said, "I don't know why I should have thought a miracle would happen. Why did I have to have this quirk? Why couldn't I just have a quirk like yours?"
Hawks slowly said, "Your quirk is what allowed you to have wings. There are a lot of negative consequences for this, and it may feel like they outweigh the good consequences, but good has come from this quirk. You're wings, you're dream of being a hero sidekick, how you survived on the streets with it."
Clone Luffy didn't respond. "You can stay if you need." Clone Luffy shook his head, saying the reason he'd brought them out was to see if he could have them out at the event. Obviously not, people would worry. "Are you going wingless?"
Luffy nodded. Clone Luffy said, "If necessary, I'll bring your wings out. A clone can handle them being out and stationary. Since I use that quirk the most, it can use it, too. Nobody should know it's a clone." Hawks nodded slowly.
"How should we get you there? If the clone can't fly…"
"Just carry clone me. My wings won't get in the way this time. It's lucky your wings turned blue, even if they look different."
"Your wings," Hawks reminded as he put his visor on. Clone Luffy disappeared suddenly and another one formed in his costume. The one before had been in pajamas. Luffy was in Hawks' pocket for safety instead of the necklace as he carried Clone Luffy there, landing in the back so nobody saw him being carried.
Hawks gave Clone Luffy the necklace, and thanked him. Luffy made fog in the necklace to hide him alright. When they entered through the back, Hawks went one way while Clone Luffy made his way to the crowd, only to be stopped by a worker of the event, going by her uniform. "You'll need to stay here, too," she said. The clone frowned as Luffy did so in the bead.
"Hawks doesn't need my support from behind, I'm fine in the crowd. I can see alright back there." The woman frowned.
"Someone should have told you by now," she said. Luffy was confused and Clone Luffy showed it. "Since we're going based on approval rating, you're part of it, too." He froze and went pale.
"What." She looked uncomfortable but sympathetic. She said he was number six in approval for the time after that last one. The last six months. "What? Why me, I'm not even a pro-hero," he insisted. He called for Hawks, who hurried over. "She told me I'm number six!"
Hawks was shocked as well and demanded to know why they weren't alerted. "A letter should have been mailed straight to you." Clone Luffy and Hawks shared a look. They must have thrown it away if it was addressed to Luffy without any markings on it. Due to the annoying spam mail or threats or whatever they were.
"Come on, into the dressing room," the woman said, and hand on Luffy's back to guide him. Clone Luffy said he didn't know what he was supposed to say or do. He was just a high school student, why was his approval rating so high? When he'd been absent a lot, too!
Hawks gave a hesitant smile. "I guess your deeds skyrocketed you. Plus, you're an up and coming hero who has pulled a lot off and is kind while doing so. I'm upset we didn't read the letter, but proud, too," he explained, putting a hand on his head. "But man, number six! I'm still number two, thank goodness. Can't have my future sidekick more popular than me," he joked.
Clone Luffy nodded stiffly. "Remember when you were at the sports festival and you came up with a good speech?" Clone Luffy pointed out that it had been a school event with regular fans and other kids. Not in front of hundreds of heroes, a lot of pro-heroes and much of the world.
He and his Clone took a deep breath and said they'd manage it somehow. "Maybe I'll become a meme again," he said dryly.
Soon the announcer explained that they were based on overall approval by the public voting and based on how much attention they get. Luffy had gotten a lot of attention since the fight against the nomu the first time, then the League of Villains and all of the baby Felix stuff caught on fire and everybody knew about both, showing he was both strong and compassionate.
The other heroes made their way onto the stage when they were called and both Luffys' hearts were beating rapidly. Hawks had his arm around his shoulders in comfort, still smiling, even if he seemed a bit nervous, too.
Finally, six was called and he walked out, remembering he should show his wings and they burst from his back gracefully. The crowd made a noise at it and his Clone Luffy's face grew pink, mirroring regular Luffy, who had fog still in the pendant.
"And Luffy, an up and coming student working with the number two hero, Hawks! Is he following his footsteps to become successful at a young age?" He felt embarrassed and the mic was put in front of his mouth. He knew what he wanted to say. He felt his voice was shaking, but at least he didn't have to hold the microphone.
"Um, I'd like to say a thank you to the public for not ostracizing me because of my overpowered quirk. I was most worried about that, which was why I've hidden it all my life. So, thank you for being understanding. It lifted a very heavy weight off of my shoulders. So, thank you," he said with a bow. He got a round of applause, and started fidgeting, wanting to get off the stage as soon as possible. He didn't even hear everyone else speak, not even when Hawks did. His heartbeat was too loud in his ears, both Luffy's and Clone Luffy's. There were a lot of photos taken, and Luffy looked nervous the whole time, biting the right side of his bottom lip, fidgeting obviously.
The moment that the event was over, Luffy was the first to walk off stage, followed by a grinning Hawks. When he got into the curtains, he started taking deep breaths. "Your speech was great! And you didn't even prepare it beforehand," Hawks said proudly.
"That was terrible," Clone Luffy sighed. "I think this clone did pretty well considering I was pretty much incoherent up there." Hawks frowned. Clone Luffy just said, "Another episode, not too bad. Didn't hurt, but was uncomfortable."
The other heroes came in and clapped him on the back, Endeavor seeming angry that Luffy placed higher than he did. Clone Luffy averted eye contact, not wanting to talk to anybody about it or get any attention for it. Mirko came out and slammed her remaining hand on Luffy's back in what was supposed to be congratulation, but was too hard and made the damn clone disappear. Hawks caught the necklace with his good reflexes, and Luffy formed another clone, looking awkward.
"You were a clone the whole time?" Ryukyu asked. Hawks held up the pendant, and Luffy waved to everybody. "Why?"
"Luffy's still having health problems and this was the only way he could come safely," Hawks said easily. "The clone was still saying what he was saying, though. Please don't spread this around." The heroes in the room nodded, and Endeavor wasn't looking so angry anymore. Usually there were a lot of interviews and press after, but Luffy stayed inside, wishing he could fly away. Clone him sat in a chair, waiting for Hawks to tell him everyone was gone, wings inside and the pendant around his neck.
Endeavor walked up to him, and asked what his health problems were. Looked like Todoroki hadn't told him, not that he was surprised. He ignored Endeavor at any possible moment that wasn't during work.
"I can't control my quirks if there are too many. I have to get surgery every two months to manage it. But I'm having other health problems that are preventing me from getting the surgery," he explained, knowing Endeavor wasn't the kind of guy to relay this information.
"You sure do have a lot of health problems."
Clone Luffy responded, "They're all connected to my quirk." He sighed, and said, "It's not a walk in the park." For some reason, talking about it to someone who didn't care felt nice. He pulled out his own wings, and a mass of feathers fell out, showing the dry and cracked skin. Endeavor actually looked shocked. "If I could have another quirk, I would take it."
He pulled them back in and collected the feathers, stuffing them into his suit or pockets. Hawks peeked his head in. "Safe to come out now. I told everybody you're coming out in the front," he said cheerfully. Clone Luffy got up and Endeavor looked at him before doing something absolutely shocking.
"I'm sorry that your quirk does damage to your body. That is the least ideal situation I could ever imagine," he said. Hawks' eyes were sparkling and Luffy thanked Endeavor before pulling Hawks out. He picked Clone Luffy up.
"See, I told you he had a heart!" he said over the wind. Luffy couldn't hear it well since he had the spare headphones and visor on, which he'd worn walking out on stage as always. Clone Luffy shook his head in exasperation but also fondness.
Luffy had his clone ask, "How much you wanna bet Bakugo will be livid?"
"A million yen."
"I don't have income, so you'll give me that money and then I'll give you it back." Hawks pointed out that he had to get a celebration gift of some sort, so he could spend money on that. Luffy didn't argue, knowing he'd get something even if he didn't want anything. "I'll think about what I want."
"Oh my god, you accepted being offered a gift?!"
Clone Luffy huffed, about to say something before he suddenly poofed away, leaving Hawks to grab the necklace, showing Luffy was completely unconscious and not moving. But he was breathing. Hawks didn't know if he should bring him to the hospital. He had said he passed out a lot. He would keep watch over him as he flew home without looking, knowing how to get there immediately. Like a bird knowing where its nest was.
When he got back, he watched Luffy in the bead, unable to get him out at all. Going to the hospital would be useless if he was stuck in there. "Luffy?" he asked when his eyes opened and he looked okay before a bright light filled the bead and lightning was bouncing off of the walls. "Luffy!" he shouted when Luffy was soundlessly screaming.
It hurt, it hurt bad, but it would pass. He needed to get the surgery. He had to sacrifice something. He had to. His wings… were collateral damage. He could do nothing about them anymore. They were dying, dead already. Once he was okay, he sat up and gave Hawks a thumbs up, seeing he looked panicked, and so miserable.
After all, even if Luffy was not isolated in the bead, there was nothing he could do. Luffy created a knife finger and dragged it along his arm, seeing the wound wasn't immediately regenerating, but took it's normal time. He pulled out his wings and saw that the last of the feathers spilled out, showing the stumps there, barely there at all.
He looked down at all of his feathers and just stared before he made a clone. "I think I'm fine now. The regeneration is slowed and my wings are gone. I need the surgery, I can't take this anymore," the clone said desperately. Hawks nodded and put his visor back on before putting the pendant in his pocket and flying as fast as he could to the quirk hospital he should have been able to visit over a week ago.
He hadn't eaten breakfast that day, so he had already been fasting. He could have the surgery as soon as possible. When he got there, Hawks rushed to the receptionist, saying Luffy needed surgery immediately, and held the bead up to see Luffy laying down and breathing heavily. She scrambled to call Dr. Ito, who hurried Hawks to the operation room, and Luffy was coaxed out of the bead, all of his feathers poured on the ground and went back to their normal size. He was given quirk suppressants, and had oxygen with them in case there were any complications. They also had a regular ER doctor now.
He relaxed, but showed no signs of negative side effects. Definitely wasn't having heart failure or anything looking like it. She still had to give him an x-ray, and when she came back, Luffy was still coherent if not a little saggy. She came back with a troubled face and both Luffy and Haws' grew worried, wondering what would go wrong next.
"Your major quirk nerve is damaged and crumbling. You are having so much pain not only because you had to wait so long, but the damaged quirk nerve had caused an infection." Luffy knew his major quirk nerve was his wings. His wings, not his version of Hawks' wings. The pro-hero's face fell. "We have to remove it or it will affect the other nerves and cause a worse infection. It hasn't gotten in an alarming stage, but it will if it remains untreated."
"Okay," Luffy said dryly. "Just fix me. I give up. They won't come back, and I don't want my beloved wings to cause me pain in the end. Please… just get rid of it," Luffy said in a broken whisper. Hawks was clamping his lips shut, not usually one to cry about things. But the haunted look on Luffy's face and the red and puffy eyes were hard for him to see.
"If I take it out, it will create a lot more space for the other quirk nerves, and you may not need surgery again if you don't absorb any more quirks," she said, the only ounce of good news. "Hypothetically, it would cause all of your quirks to grow thicker and stronger. That would up their performance, safely this time. Not to fight off a disease like your doctor from the ER sent me."
Luffy didn't care, but nodded. "Please, just do it," he sighed. She nodded, looking truly regretful as she gave him another suppressant and had Hawks leave the room. Luffy was even crying after being given anesthesia. The sight was heartbreaking, and Hawks went to the bathroom to compose himself.
Luffy woke up feeling much better than he had before. He was laying on the bed, no longer on his stomach. He knew this song and dance by now. Dr. Ito or a nurse would be in the adjacent room and he would take a sip of water from the glass left next to the bed. He pressed the nurse button despite them being so close.
Suddenly, his ears made things so loud he put his hands over them. He could see every speck of dust in the air. He could hear Hawks snoring on the couch where he usually waited. His bed was sat up by the doctor.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting next to the bed.
"Better. Everything is louder and brighter," he commented. She looked at her clipboard.
She replied, "That is to be expected. The dominant quirk was taking up a lot of room. Now there is room for the others to strengthen. You still need to come in for check ups every two weeks. I advise not using one quirk at all times. A reason your wings may have reacted could have been leaving it out for years without ever giving them a break. It's not your fault, nobody knew. Even the doctors didn't know until now," she assured him. He nodded.
"But I don't want to use other quirks."
"Think of it as physical therapy of a sorts. You need to use them to make sure all are equal. It could mean not using any of them for a period, but favoring some more than others might lead to problems.
"I know that would be troublesome for you socially, but training with other quirks is important as well. There's no reason you have to use all of them in public. Most of them are not dangerous if you have them under control."
"I can't have my spare wings out a lot?" he asked, sounding sad. She said he could use them as transportation, but not to leave them out all the time. Not to leave them out at home. "What about the ones I can't help?"
She looked at a piece of paper below the list of his quirks, and said, "The regenerative quirk was also thick, but not nearly as much as your wings were. I don't see a problem with that as you don't get injured much and you also don't use your super strength much either."
"So… it was my wings causing most of the problems?"
She said, "I wouldn't say it that way, but they did cause some difficulty with your other nerves. If you leave your wings in, you aren't using any quirks. Your regenerative power has been working so hard lately to combat the sickness that is no longer in your bloodstream. The majority of the time, you really aren't using any quirks. Which is good, as not using them won't make them thicker.
"They will still be strong, but will not be more than others. There are some that you may not want to use, like those you have gotten on accident by villains. Not using a few should not be detrimental. But you still should wear the visor when in public." Luffy said that was fine and he was used to it by now. "Over all, this surgery was an all around success. But, I still want you to have check ups."
Luffy nodded and sat up completely. "I've written this all in a report so Hawks can read it and you are able to reference it if needed." Luffy thanked her, but knew he still had to stay overnight. Hawks came in, Luffy hearing his nervous breathing. It had been a great day for him, and Luffy messed it up. Well, hopefully that trouble would stop after this major surgery that took less time than usual.
When he entered the room, he quickly read the report, and looked surprised and worried. Luffy knew why surprised, but not why worry. "So he should be fine after this?" She said she hoped so and was certain he would be in better shape than he had been even after most of the previous quirk removals.
"As long as he doesn't absorb any more quirks, he should be okay?" She nodded, and said she truly thought the worse was behind them. Hawks looked guilty about knowing that it was wrong to have his wings out all the time. After all, Hawks had encouraged it. Luffy held no grudge.
"I'm happy you taught me to fly. I'm not mad about anything. Don't beat yourself up over nothing," Luffy said immediately. Hawks nodded, putting the clipboard on the bed. "Where could I train? I don't feel safe using some of the more destructive quirks," Luffy said, changing the subject.
Hawks said he could probably have a training place built. Out of sight and no one was able to go there but someone who could fly. "I can buy property on the mountain near the cave. It'll be freezing in the winter, but you'll be able to use Endeavor or Todoroki's fire for that. We can build a training ground there."
Luffy was in shock. Hawks looked exasperated. "It would cost less money to buy a plot of land and building a dojo there than having the building destroyed by a huge bolt of lightning, right?" Luffy sighed and nodded. "Also, I won't have to pay for any injuries to anybody that could get caught up in it." Luffy nodded, glad he would be away from others and unable to hurt them if he somehow lost control.
He felt the back of his neck gently. It didn't feel any different. He said so. "That nerve may have been enlarged and swollen, but nerves are still incredibly small. Of course you can't feel them. Plus, remember where they are?"
"In between the last and second to last vertibe in my upper spine."
"Exactly. So it would be hard to feel them at all, even if you really knew where to look." Luffy turned to her and sincerely thanked her for giving him the information about the quirk nerves. How he used the information against the League members. Hawks said he killed one of the nomus by slicing the back of its neck. Even though it wasn't human.
The nurse said, "They still had brains, and the brains would need nerves. And quirk nerves." She wasn't surprised that it worked against the monster. But she said they were welcome for having that crucial information. That it saved them both from probable death.
Hawks eventually left to get him a new outfit and other things he needed to spend the night. That song and dance wasn't anything new, he just usually went with the objects. When he was gone, Luffy asked the doctor where his feathers were, not for a moment thinking she threw them away. She left shortly to get a cardboard box and he opened it to see the last of his feathers, the downy ones. He was glad they didn't dissolve, too. That would be terrible. But now he had enough. He'd kept enough feathers to do what he'd wanted to from the start.
Maybe that would be his present, supplies to make his wings into art. Make both of them in their original states and then hang it on the wall. He didn't think of what-ifs this time. It was a mistake to keep his wings out permanently, but it was a mistake he had no idea he was making. So, from the moment they were no longer able to go back inside his back, their death became inevitable.
There was nothing he could do anymore. They were gone for forever. He couldn't even see stubs. But he tried bringing them out, but nothing happened at all. No tingle feeling his back, absolutely nothing. It was over.