Kae Membrana: lol for the next pain for him, I had a lot more fun writing than the torture and wing stuff since I've written about torture before. Hehe. And we know Luffy is strong for being able to go through it and live for now.

Sorry, a day late! We are now officially only ten chapters away from the end. On another note, I just came back from my first job interview at a movie theater! I hope I got the job so much, I think I did alright in the interview. Wish me luck! Enjoy~

Luffy watched the video closely. "You shut it. You don't have a say in the matter. Luffy, if you want Hawks to live free, then you need to come here yourself. You have until noon tomorrow." Then it cut off. He took a few deep breaths and played it again. He focused on Hawks' face. On the way his mouth moved. It was off. Of course that could be from if the hologram lagged. But… that did not sound like Hawks' voice. Very, very similar, but there were differences. It was off. And Luffy wasn't feeling any urgency. His brain showed him Hawks was in danger, but he felt no apprehension or fear. So, he set it down and closed his eyes again, listening for any sounds. Ragged breathing, shouts for help. Anything suspicious that wasn't too suspicious. Something that would slip past anyone else.

He left the roof and widened his scope by flying around. Hawks was fine. He was okay. But the more he looked the more worried he got until he finally landed on a roof and released his feathers. He thought he'd found Hawks, and all of them dispersed, going in completely different directions.

He waited for a good three hours before he sensed one of them. He brought the others back easily, and followed that one feather. He was led to a storage unit place. He ripped open the one that he heard heavy breathing in, and found Hawks there, passed out by not looking injured. Tied up and asleep.

Luffy tried shaking him awake, but he wouldn't stir, so he grabbed him around the chest and flew back to their building, putting him inside and getting the device off the roof, putting it in a compressed bead for safe keeping. He closed the window and locked it, pulling down all of the curtains and making sure the door was locked.

He closed his eyes and searched for anything not right in the apartment. An unfamiliar scent or sound. He found one in the hallway, right under the door. Luffy pulled up the metal frame beneath and grabbed the device.

Luffy looked at it and crushed it between his finger and thumb. Then he burnt it for good measure.

He brought Hawks into his bedroom and shut the door. "Hawks," Luffy said, trying to shake him awake. He didn't. Luffy slapped him across the face hard enough to knock him to the side, making a surprised noise after he tumbled off the bed.

"Fuckers! Oh, Luffy! You found me. Wait, what happened?" Luffy took the hologram out and pressed play, showing the whole message again. Hawks frowned, furrowing his brows. "How'd you figure out this was fake?"

"Look, your mouth doesn't match your words, and the voice is too deep. Anyone else wouldn't be able to pick it up, but it was easy for me to hear. They wanted me to panic. Whoever it was threw it up at the roof. You set up the cameras right?" Hawks nodded and got his laptop out. While he was checking them, Luffy continued to speak.

"I tried to find you based on sound or smells, but I couldn't, so I sent out your feathers. I found you that way and ripped open the storage door and saved you. You were knocked out and tied up, but not badly injured." His shoulders slumped. "Well, now we know they're after me, huh? They expected me to be some kid who panicked when family was held hostage."

Hawks smiled, saying, "Then it was lucky they were wrong, huh?" Luffy nodded. Hawks looked at the cameras set up around the building, but there was nothing they could see out of the ordinary. Nobody suspicious. So someone threw it from really far away.

"So, a quirk, huh? A normal person can't throw that far by themselves," Luffy said. Hawks nodded and sighed.

"I wish the camera had caught them, but this is proof enough. We should film it and-"

"Already did," he said, holding up his phone. "I feel like this one is gonna be like a movie and just explode or something. And there's nothing to hook it up to a computer with, not even the fancy ones downstairs." Hawks sighed but then smiled.

He said, "We don't even need a lead, we have this. If they're this desperate to come outright and say it, then we should just go there and see what they want."

Luffy frowned, shocked that he'd offer that. "But-"

"This is them being very desperate. If they assaulted me and tied me up god knows where, and sent you a fake hologram like this… if we ignore it, they'll probably just storm the place. I don't want to go, either. But they could do worse than this time. I could actually go missing and you would be alone. That's clearly what their goal was here," he explained, gesturing to the hologram letter.

Then the pro-hero bit his lip nervously. "What's wrong?"

"There's a quirk that allows somebody to film from their eyes with no equipment that they can distribute to any computer or phone source." Luffy said nobody knew of that one, and nobody would know. After all, he'd never told anybody important about him finding his wings off of a video game. "Exactly. I don't want to make you have to do that."

"What's one more? Can you find it?" Luffy asked. He knew this was necessary as collateral damage if something happened. Something bad and unplanned. Hawks brought up the video, and for the first time in over half a year, Luffy took his face shield off to gain a new quirk on purpose.

He opened his eyes after watching the video and willed himself to film. A cross was in the middle of his vision and he observed the room. Then he stopped it, and was able to turn his pinky into a usb port, putting it in the computer and downloading the video. Hawks gave a shaky smile.

"We're going tomorrow. It's my day off, it won't look strange to be absent."

Luffy asked what they were doing. "Getting the truth and gaining evidence if needed." He clenched his fists. Luffy asked if he could handle going. "Yeah. I'm just being a baby. Once we're on the mission, my head will clear like usual."

"We're not gonna get trapped in there. They may know your abilities well, but they don't know mine. Nobody but you and Dr. Ito know of my list of quirks. And if they hadn't gotten the information by now, which they don't seem to have, then I think we're okay. I'm okay," Luffy said.

"I'm supposed to be the adult, not you." Luffy grinned, saying it would be better for him to have a smart sidekick. "That's true. It's late, try to get some sleep, okay? We'll go before noon, like they 'asked'." The younger nodded, and they had already eaten dinner, so they went straight to bed. It took Luffy a while to sleep. He'd never personally met anybody from the HPSC directly, and he'd only heard bad things about them from Hawks.

When they woke up, it was 8:00. Hawks woke up first and woke Luffy up. They ate breakfast silently. "So, what do we do when we get there?"

"Look easy going, don't look afraid or nervous. No matter what they say or do, we have proof."

Luffy held up his phone and showed him the video of being in Hawks' room last night. "I figured out how to send it out like wifi. I don't need a usb port." He grinned. "If we're hostages, everyone in the school and all of your agency and the agencies we work with will know. They don't know it, but we have the upper hand."

Hawks started laughing. "You're too smart, Luffy."

"And talented," he replied. "Besides, you're the one that told me to get this quirk. I just improved it to be more convenient and efficient. I bet I could even figure out how to livestream."

"Yes you did. Now, get dressed and ready. Do some mental exercises. We're playing it cool, I'll ask all the questions." Then he frowned. Luffy asked what the problem was. "Nothing. I just hope things will smooth over somehow. Once we find out what the fuck they want and what their plan was all for."

Luffy nodded and got dressed in normal clothes, the same with Hawks. They weren't on duty today, it was Sunday, anyways. Hawks wouldn't be in his hero outfit on a Sunday. Even going shopping at the grocery store he didn't wear his hero clothes. Similar, a jacket and pants, just not with his suit underneath.

Luffy wore plain jean shorts and a T-shirt with the square hole cut out of it. Since it was hot out, Hawks was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, too. Both of them definitely did not look like they were doing something like this. Luffy didn't know how to describe this. A mission? What did they want? He was nervous, and even more nervous when Hawks was nervous.

He usually never got nervous. So, Luffy was a bit uneasy, though he hid it from his demeanor. He copied the easygoing look that Hawks had on, despite the clench of his jaw. They flew to the HPSC headquarters and walked right in. Luffy pressed his imaginary record button the moment they walked into the building.

They walked straight up to the desk, Hawks putting the hologram on the counter. "Care to explain?" he asked pleasantly, voice sounding perfectly composed. Luffy looked around the room, having never been in there before. Well, besides when he was little and his class went on a field trip.

He remembered now, Hawks had not wanted him to go on the field trip but Luffy got angry and so he relented. Nothing had happened but he got a cool pencil out of it. He broke it after stepping on it so he didn't even have a chance to use it.

The people at the counter exchanged glances before one hurried away. Luffy and Hawks were near the same height, Hawks being pretty short at 5'8 with Luffy at 5'6. Soon the president was there, and Luffy just heard a small, calming deep breath come from Hawks, whose face was hard now, hard and empty. Serious but not angry. On guard but not scared. Perfectly put together as a face of impasse that wasn't going to take any bullshit but also wouldn't get angry.

"Come with me," the president said. Hawks walked forward, Luffy right beside him. They followed her to a meeting room, Hawks knowing where to go easily. He'd visited here, maybe lived here, for a long time after all. He knew where everything was. They could escape easily since he had to know all of the exits.

"Please, sit," the president said.

"I'd rather get this over with quickly. Why have you been harassing us and why did you assault me and try to make Luffy act rashly?" The president kept a straight face.

"It was a test," she said simply. Hawks asked a simple, flat, "Why". "We wanted to see what kind of boy you raised. It's always struck us as strange why you chose to pick up a street rat. Maybe because you were lonely after thinking you got away."

Luffy was worried for Hawks, but not himself. He didn't feel he was in danger, but Hawks was getting upset. Luffy could tell from his body language. Luffy pinched him hard in the leg and he calmed, grounded.

"Why did you contact us now? It's been almost eight years since I left. Why wait this long?"

"I already said, we wanted to see what kind of boy you raised. With him being top of his grade in every school in the country, including physical tests and his entrance exams, it became clear he was a hopeful, because you taught him. He's a mini you at this age, only a bit more emotionally fragile."

Hawks' eyes narrowed and Luffy felt personally violated that this lady. The HPSC knew about Hawks raising him and how Luffy was at his school work and "emotionally fragile". He knew he was, but how did she know?

"Then what is your test for?" Hawks asked, hiding a sigh. He looked tired suddenly. Luffy watched the president closely. He felt his mind connect to someone else, and blinked heavily, knowing he was streaming what was happening straight to Endeavor.

"The test was to see how you two worked as a team. You worked flawlessly. We have an important mission we want you two to go on," the president said.

Hawks shut her down immediately, "We won't be going anywhere or doing anything for you. We passed your test, but we're not continuing. I don't work for you anymore and I won't let Luffy miss anymore school."

"Of course not. But it's almost the end of the school year and summer break is long, and may get very boring."

"What's the mission?" Luffy asked, sick of the back and forth, he just wanted to get to the point. She gestured for them to sit, sitting down as well. Luffy sat but Hawks stayed standing. Luffy looked closely at the papers put in front of them, staring at them long enough for someone to read them.

Hawks had his hand on Luffy's shoulder, looking irritated. Luffy blinked a couple times and Hawks seemed to realize why Luffy was paying attention so well. It wasn't for them, but somebody else. Getting hard evidence, proof of this shady behavior and stunt they pulled.

"We have asked many heroes and sidekicks to take part in this, and many have accepted. This isn't a thing just for you two. Many heroes are taking part in it." Hawks asked why they had to be included. She looked at him impatiently, clearly not liking the interruptions.

"I don't work for you anymore, I don't need to be polite," Hawks said coldly.

"You've never not worked for us, Hawks. You've just been on a very long vacation." Hawks tensed and his face grew angry, but Luffy was sifting through the papers. "Now, will you let me finish?" Hawks said no. That they were leaving and don't want them to contact them again. He pulled Luffy up and they started walking towards the exit.

There were guards there, standing in their way. "Are we hostages now? Besides when you already attacked me and tied me up?"

"What a disappointment that was," the president said, and Hawks' wings bristled at the jab. But he didn't grow offensive and defend himself by being caught off guard. "You're not hostages, I want you to both hear me out. You may find you want to take part in it."

Luffy stayed silent. He trusted Hawks to know what was best. And the man closed his eyes. "Tell us. The quick version, please." The president wasn't pleased with Hawks' attitude, but Luffy was glad he wasn't bending and doing what she said.

"There's an underground company running a mutating quirk factor of a sorts. Per say, if someone has claws, they can be mutated to match that quirk. They can become animals. Those who have emitter powers are enhanced to be able to use it to the full extent. But unlike Luffy here, they can die if that happens. And the overwhelming majority of those being mutated are under the age of eleven."

Luffy was frowning deeply, thinking it sounded very bad, but why do the test? "Why us? I'm a teenager," Luffy's voice was strong and not wavering.

The president sat back down. "You don't have to be a teenager, Luffy."

"No way. No way is Luffy going to play a kid and go there," Hawks said harshly, connecting the dots before Luffy had. He didn't want to be used like that, and stood up straighter, now a thick air of distrust in the air.

"Those who bring the children are welcomed. We don't know what happens after they go in, and we need to know that to stop them before more children die. This is not a suicide mission for either of you. Once Luffy is taken in, you going with him as his handler-" Hawks tensed at the word- "then he can change back into an adult and the two of you can investigate. There will be others coming, of course. But you two will be the two to come right in through the front door."

Luffy pointed out that they'd recognize Hawks. He wanted all the information he could get, and could stream to Endeavor. Somehow, he knew Endeavor was watching. Then there was text in front of his eye. A question. Ask where this takes place.

"It does not take place in Japan. It takes place in America." Luffy pointed out that he wasn't good at speaking english. "You are good enough in your grades in english. I'm sure you'd do fine. Plus, you will play the child, you don't need to talk."

"How do you know about my grades? That's UA's information. They're separate from the HSPC," Luffy said in suspicion and anger.

"We have our contacts. We've been watching you for awhile. By a distance. It seems we raised you too harshly, Hawks. Having friends seems to have helped Luffy develop. I formally apologize for how we treated you."

"I don't care. We're not working for you."

Ask what happens if you refuse. "What if we refuse?"

"Somebody who refuses a request from the president of the hero society wouldn't look good, right?" she asked. So, blackmail? "You aren't the only one who can blackmail, Hawks." She was referring to the way he got away. Got away, huh? Looks like that was never the case. Luffy felt dirty, and it was clear Hawks was very upset.

Luffy asked if they'd been bugging the apartment. "No. We don't know what goes on inside your apartment, but we know the gist of your activities, and behavior outside of your home," the president said.

Hawks asked what they'd do if they both failed. "It wouldn't be up to us. If you both failed you'd be dead. That's why you were tested in ways to react to stressful or unknown events. How you ignored the letters, and then realized you should check for any other signs on the envelope. How you were able to find the little details, check under the door to get the mic so it couldn't record you. It was all a test and you two passed with flying colors."

"So, it's either risk our lives in a foreign country or have our hero careers fall?" Hawks asked bitterly.

The president clasped both hands on the table. "That's a way to put it." Why do we interfere with America?

"Why do we have to? It's in America, it's not our problem," Luffy said a bit harshly. He was angry with how upset Hawks was becoming.

"It has pooled into every country with a strong hero network. Including Japan. There have been multiple cases of children from Japan going missing. Smuggled onto planes, kidnapped. It's a worldwide problem."

Hawks spoke, "So, surely there must be better people than us."

She still had a straight face on, barely showing any emotion the whole conversation. "On the contrary, both of you would be the best to go. Luffy's quirk is a miracle in and of itself. It seems to be under control now. And Hawks is skilled in interpersonal skills, deception and infiltration. I'm sure both of you will pull it off seamlessly."

He looked furious. "Have you been snooping in my medical records?" he asked angrily.

"No, we have not. We haven't looked at anything in your medical records, but do know you self isolated after losing control of your quirk at school." Luffy's mouth went dry. They had a spy at UA. He asked if they had a spy at UA. "Of course. UA needed monitoring after the first attack by USJ. They were unable to handle it, so we helped out. It was only the right thing to do."

Luffy was upset. Everything felt like a lie. Was his whole life planned? "How much have you been interfering in our lives?" he asked coldly.

She leaned back. "Not much, considering Hawks attempted to escape us by blackmail. We humored him, wanting to observe what he'd do. Then he picked you up only a few months after 'officially leaving'. Since then, we have observed, but never directly interfered. We felt it was good to let you two develop naturally."

"If Luffy hadn't been with me, would he have been safe?" Hawks asked in a hard voice. Luffy started to protest the question, but was glad with the answer.

"No, we would have found him regardless. In your eyes, it is best you found him. We would have taken him in and trained him as we did you. He was only 8 years old at the time, and you had been 7," the president said. "We were already searching for him, hearing rumors of a boy who could use both of his parents' quirks, which is unnatural.

"We never believed his quirk would end up being so diverse, even if it does come with negative side effects. But, by the time we knew he'd been cast aside, you had already visited the slums and taken him. We searched the children but none had his quirk. We thought he had been killed, but found him a few months after you took him in.

"Be grateful we didn't take him by force," she said coldly. Luffy was happy Hawks knew he did the right thing for him by taking him. He wouldn't blame himself for this. His head was down and face flat, looking blank, not making eye contact with anybody.

"And if we succeed? Then what?" Hawks finally asked.

The president said, "Then you would both get great prestige, and we will not interfere with Luffy's development too much." Luffy clarified that they wouldn't leave him alone. "Correct. Your goal is to become Hawks' sidekick. You are already skilled enough to do so. We're sure you two will be sticking together for quite some time."

Luffy clarified in a cold voice, "So we have no choice. We can't refuse."

"That is correct. This is doing your duty as heroes. You have to be prepared to risk your life. We're sure that you're experienced enough by now to handle this just fine." Luffy was angry that she was speaking of his traumas like they were just helpful stepping stones.

Hawks didn't like this either. "Those events almost killed him."

"Yes, possibly. But they didn't. He defeated a nomu on his own and then the League of Villains. Those accomplishments cannot be ignored." She said it almost as praise, but Luffy just felt dirty when she said it. No wonder Hawks tried to get away from this bitch. "The operation will begin two days after UA gets out for the summer. We'll be in contact before then. Perhaps practice your english, Luffy. Just in case it's needed. Hawks is well versed in most languages."

She paused. "And if you tell anyone of these events, you will no longer be heroes," she added. Luffy showed no fear.

I swear on my life this will not make it anywhere else. If anything happens, this video will be made public.

Luffy knew he could trust Endeavor, and was glad he chose him. The man was horrible as a person, but as a hero he was effective. There was a reason he was number one other than approval rating. The president walked away and the guards left the doorway, allowing both of them to leave, silent with their heads down.

The teen was happy Ace's name was not brought up, or his friends. Nobody's life was in danger besides his and Hawks'. Luffy closed his eyes and disconnected the connection to Endeavor's protected device. Heroes had phones that were unable to be bugged or tapped. It was just good he had his phone on at the time.

Both of them walked out and Hawks sank to the steps. Luffy held his knees to his chest. "I'm sorry, Luffy. That they dragged you down, too." Luffy mumbled that it would have been worse if Hawks wasn't the one to find him. Even if he'd been found by Ace, by the way they spoke, he'd have been taken away. He sighed. "I was finally happy."

Hawks looked at him with a pained expression. "We have no choice but to do this, and we will. She'll give us more information later. I'm naive. To think I got away from them. If I wanted to truly get away, I would have fled the country and lived under another name."

"I'm glad you didn't."

"Me, too. I don't regret taking you in. Now, I'm even more grateful that I saved you from a childhood of coldness and isolation." He then stood up and said they should get home to talk, since the apartment wasn't bugged. Luffy nodded, and on the way, they picked up new headphones in case these ones had been hacked somehow at an expensive tech store.

They put the headphones on with a mic and clipped their visors to them. "I livestreamed it to Endeavor. He promised not to tell anyone unless something happens to us. I won't feel safe at school anymore. Aizawa told us that UA was separate from the hero government."

"They probably just don't know. You can't tell anybody." Luffy said he knew that.

"There's only a couple weeks of school left," the teen said. "I hope next year is a lot better than this one was." Hawks looked at him with a soft smile. "What? We're gonna survive. I'm not gonna die for some hag who's been spying on me my life."

"Words to live by," Hawks responded, though the humor was absent. The next three weeks were going to be very stressful.

-x-

"Luffy! You want extra homework?" Present Mic asked in surprise. He nodded his head, asking for as much as he could give him. "You going to talk to anyone in english?"

"A friend I know speaks english easier than Japanese, so I want to be able to speak to her," Luffy lied, voice a little tight. He felt it was obvious he was lying. Present Mic shouted that that was very honorable. Luffy gratefully took the large packet of extra work.

The others noticed his abnormal behavior. Constantly checking around corners or practicing english under his breath. He shrugged their concerns off, no longer feeling safe or content here. Why did this stuff all have to happen to him? Hadn't he paid enough for his quirk? How long would the universe run him through the shredder, over and over? He had only just started to tape himself back together.

But this time, he wouldn't break under pressure or fear or stress. He didn't want to prove that woman right, but he didn't want to die either. He was practicing at lunch in the library as he worked on his other homework when Todoroki came in and sat next to him.

"I can't tell you why I'm acting like this," Luffy said before his friend could speak. He asked if he was alright. "Not sure yet. But I'll get through it." Luffy looked around, eyes darting back and forth. Todoroki asked if someone was following him. "I can't say. I'm not allowed to talk about anything. I'm sorry, I just can't. It's not personal."

"I understand. I won't ask again. Just, try not to make yourself sick." Luffy nodded, and asked Todoroki to practice english with him. He did so, being good at the language as well since he'd been learning it since he was little by Endeavor's will. Luffy was alright, but not great. He hadn't heard Hawks speak english for a while since there was no real reason to. After school, Aizawa pulled Luffy aside in the hallway as he was going to leave the building and go back home. He put his hand on Luffy's shoulder and pulled him into the nearest classroom. Luffy hoped he wasn't in trouble.

"Luffy, are you in trouble? You're acting suspicious of everybody." Luffy said he couldn't say. "Is there someone here that shouldn't be here? Someone watching you?" Luffy shook his head but made his eyes go up and down as if they were nodding.

"I don't think there's anyone watching me." He put his hand behind his head and bashfully said, "I guess I got a little paranoid. Don't tell anyone I'm paranoid or they might tease me." Don't tell anyone what I told you.

Aizawa had a flat voice. "I doubt anybody but Bakugo would tease you, but I won't say a thing." Luffy nodded, and said he had to get home now and practice his english. "Be safe." Luffy nodded, saying he'd be fine. Nobody is hurting me.

He flew home, backpack heavy with his suit and all the extra homework he had. He still had a sling backpack because he had to fly to get home even if he didn't have his wings out at all times. When he got there, he found Hawks inside in pajamas. "You didn't go to work?"

Hawks was frowning. "This is work. I'm studying up on how to act normal in America in case we need to know and see the general public," he said, showing Luffy a page of information on the heroes in America. "I got access to the HPSC database on this stuff." He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking so tired. "I don't want to have to do this, but I'd do anything to get back to how our lives have been. Had seem liked."

Luffy nodded, agreeing. He went to the desk and dumped the papers on it. They had finals soon, a big test and then a battle royale between the students to rank them. He looked forward to it, but would look forward to it much more if he didn't have a mission only two days after school gets out.

Luffy finished all of his homework for the week ahead of time while Hawks spent most of the night reading upon customs in America. "Hawks, will you speak english for me?"

"Sure. I fucking hate the commission with all my heart," he said in the foreign language. It sounded perfect, barely an accent at all. He said it was really good, and Hawks said he'd learned six languages. Luffy knew Hawks' life before he got out was lonely and cold. He felt bad for him, but was glad he wasn't lonely with Luffy there.

-x-

Luffy looked at the paper in annoyance. He didn't want to play a little girl. Well, he had no choice. As UA got closer to having the first year ending, he grew more and more apprehensive. He was nervous to go to another country, especially in a dangerous mission like this one.

They'd both gotten a lot of information about what they were supposed to do. And, conveniently, those who were supposed to go with them had to drop out. So it was just the two of them. She lied to them, but Hawks really didn't seem surprised. "They wanted us to go under cover. Having a bunch of people go in wouldn't be good," he said dryly, looking past the message about it.

They were to come up with their own plan, trusted to be smart about it. They spent long days planning, both tired emotionally and mentally by the end of the day. Hawks and Luffy still went on patrols, shutting off their emotions so they could focus on their job. Hawks learned how to by force, in a dark room with a blind fold on.

Luffy had been taught how to do it through practiced meditation. It worked, showing Hawks' cold childhood and the way he was raised was not necessary. He could have had friends, could have lived somewhere more comforting. Luffy was just glad Hawks was smart and had taught him a lot of things that had helped him through the years. And especially during the last six months. A little longer than six months.

Luffy's finals came and he took the test, face blank as he forced his brain to use the parts on working on a test. He knew by the end that he got every answer right. He came up with the same answers while doing each question in multiple ways. Being a homework junkie had its perks, definitely. And the practical exam came the day after, three days before school got out and Luffy officially began the school year from hell.

He was going to use this to his advantage and be sneaky. He was supposed to use as little powers as possible for the mission for obvious reasons. In the battle royals that took place in the forest and they were to get the headbands of others, Luffy mostly waited in the trees before swooping down and snatching the head bands and was out of there before they saw who had done it.

He did it for every student except Todoroki, who knew his tactics well. Of course Luffy would go sneaky after his skittish behavior lately. He had turned around and trapped Luffy in ice, taking his headband and being the winner. He melted the ice and Luffy laughed, saying second place wasn't too bad.

So, he scored high. He was happy for a whole minute before he remembered he now had five days until they went on this mission. He fidget all the time. When he got an A+ on his finals, he just looked at the paper, not feeling anything about it. His classmates were worried. Luffy said he was fine and they had nothing to worry about.

It was hard not having it slip out that he was going somewhere, but studying english may have given that part away. He wasn't discreet about it at all. But he couldn't be discreet without asking for help from his friends. Hawks had enough to deal with.

His friends all invited him to a pool party scheduled a week after school got out. Luffy didn't know how long he and Hawks would be undercover. And there was one major problem they had, and worried about. Having his glasses while there. They were betting they wouldn't be taken away early, but he couldn't wear the same glasses.

So Hawks would have some in his pocket, say they were spare glasses when he had contacts in. It would hopefully work, because they didn't know how many people were involved. How many quirks on display for Luffy to absorb. There was plenty of room for more quirks in his nerve area, but they didn't want him to get any more.

He'd be recording the entire incident and sending it to the president periodically, claiming he picked it up on his time there and decided to use it, not comfortable live streaming it. After all, she may get suspicious that he filmed their encounter and shared it. They did not want that at all. Endeavor had said nothing to them and made no sign that he knew anything, which was good. Very good, Luffy didn't want anyone knowing he'd sent a video to him.

"I can't make it to the pool party. Sorry," Luffy said pleasantly. Hagakure asked why, sounding like she was pouting. "I'll be busy." He was asked what. "Nothing important." He gave them all a deep stare. Some of them noticed it while others didn't.

"Why don't we stop pestering him about it?" Yaoyorozu asked, unsurprisingly being one to understand his look. Iida, Midoriya, Uraraka, Kirishima, Bakugo, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu all understood the look. They all looked serious but then looked normal.

Ashido was still upset, though, since now Luffy could swim without his wings. "Maybe we could all go to the beach later this summer, when I'm available," Luffy offered, appeasing those frustrated. They reluctantly agreed.

Todoroki kept close contact with Luffy for the last two days of summer, and Luffy told him he couldn't text him until the black haired one texted him first. He was suspicious, but Luffy just asked him to trust him. That he was going to be fine, and go to the beach with all of them like he said he would.

The day before, Luffy and Hawks put on their outfits. Luffy changed into the little girl appearance he'd seen before. He had many children to pick from and sort of shuffled them to pick a random one. He had a shirt on with scorts. He wouldn't be flying there, Hawks would be the only one flying both of them. Luffy was very light like this.

He had the glasses on, big and round. The HPSC had made him new glasses that wrapped around the head, under his longer hair. He was so short and didn't like being in a little girl's body. He felt weak.

Hawks apologized for the way he'd have to treat Luffy while there. He would be using a power that was non-threatening. His regenerative power would be the only one he used as a little girl. Luffy said he knew Hawks wouldn't mean what he would say and do. He took a deep breath and the two of them practiced their behaviors towards each other. Luffy was to be attached but scared of Hawks at the same time.

He was supposedly "her" caretaker who never left her side. "Tatsuki-san, I don't like it here, let's go home," Luffy pleaded, grabbing the suit's pants that Hawks was wearing. Hawks grabbed his arm and shoved him to the ground.

"Shut up and behave, brat," Hawks said, channeling how he was treated as a kid. It was bothering him, but he kept the expressions of regret and guilt beneath his cold and annoyed demeanor. Luffy started to wander away before he yanked her arm back to him. "Don't you leave my side. Am I understood?"

Luffy looked down and sniffled, nodding, and slowly grabbing back onto Hawks' suit. They walked forward and Luffy followed slightly behind his leg, acting like it was a shield. "Who are these people, Tatsuki-san?"

"You don't need to know," Hawks said coldly.

"These people are scary."

"I trust these people. You trust me, right?" he asked, suddenly switching to a kind move. Luffy slowly nodded. "Then, you have to trust all of these people, too, right?" Luffy nodded slowly. He was six years old, right in the age range the enemies took.

They were done practicing and Hawks put his hands on his face and ran them down with a groan. "This is gonna suck." Luffy changed back to normal and replied at least they were both good actors, surprisingly with Luffy. "I guess. I'm just glad I won't end up actually hurting you."

Luffy said it would go according to plan. If all of the information was actually accurate. "True, this is a worldwide problem but nobody from here has actually investigated it in person. That's for us to do. Infiltrate, spy, and then get out. Should take us a few days tops," Hawks replied. Then he sighed again. He sighed a lot when it came to the Commission. He hated working for them, and especially having Luffy work for them. Luffy hated being involved as well, but at least Hawks didn't regret taking him in and didn't see his actions as hurting Luffy's freedom in the long run.

He couldn't tell Ace where he was going, but would leave a note on the front door, if he was desperate enough to go up to the apartment. It would read, We're fine. Unexpected vacation. Don't worry. And a winky happy face. The shorter the better. As long as he didn't worry, that was fine.

The Commission would probably be fine with someone not snooping around. Hawks would leave a note for his agency as well, sending an email to all of them at the last second that he'd be unavailable for an unknown amount of time, but had faith they'd be fine on their own.

And the new major villain has arrived. The Commission.