Misfiredmayhem: Thank you!
There was really nothing they had to hide. They had done everything perfectly. "Holy crap there's a lot here to digest," Hawks said as they paused on police artifacts or the paperwork given to Kaido. It was future plans based on what they were doing at the moment. Everything went smoothly, which Hawks was worried about.
"What's wrong? They'll leave us alone now. Sort of," Luffy said. Hawks looked at him with a worried expression.
"You did too perfectly." Luffy's eyes widened. And he looked back at the video. He said they could tamper with it, make it look messy. "Now that we've put it on this computer, I'm sure they will figure out if we tamper with it," Hawks said with regret in his voice.
Luffy stuttered, "But they said they'd leave us alone."
"They're liars," Hawks replied simply. Luffy said he'd just avoid them easily. Hawks said he wasn't trying to scare him, but to not be surprised if he was approached. He asked what he was supposed to do. "Decline their offers, no matter what the threat is."
Luffy didn't know about this. Any threat? That just wasn't possible. If they threatened Hawks, or Ace or his friends, what would he do? He knew he'd choose Hawks and Ace over his friends. But which would he choose to save? He didn't want to admit it, but he cared for Hawks much more than Ace.
He really liked Ace and knew he wanted to be a good big brother with all his heart. He was patient with Luffy, but showed his affection and care when he could. He was a wonderful person, but he would choose Hawks first. Hawks was who he knew the most.
After putting the footage on a chip, they both flew to the HPSC headquarters and walked inside, saying they needed to talk to the president. They were let in immediately. Luffy handed her the usb drive and she put it into her computer.
It played back all of the footage, and the other two waited impatiently for the videos to end. "This is very helpful evidence. And you're sure nobody saw you use multiple powers?" Luffy shook his head.
"I did get some names. Nothing very helpful," Luffy said. Hawks stiffened at this and Luffy realized he shouldn't give information other than the necessities. He was positive Luffy would be a target now. Luffy wasn't afraid, just nervous and irritated. She told him to write down the names. He wrote down Doflamingo and Pica, the ones he'd spoken to personally but then heard their names being addressed to them.
"We will share this information with other hero communities, especially in America to stop this child quirk trafficking. Excellent jobs. You pulled it off seamlessly, even though Hawks has to be rusty and Luffy is a novice in this. You may go. You will get compensation according to how much this information helped.
"I doubt it will be a small amount of money," she finished and dismissed them. Hawks was stiff and angry while Luffy didn't know how to feel. When they got home, he texted Todoroki that he was back. Then he texted everybody else, asking when they would go to the beach.
Hawks sat on the couch and stared at the wall. "Don't worry so much. They promised, right?"
The pro-hero reminded him they'd signed no contracts. They could easily lie. "I'm a fool, how could I not think of that?" Luffy pointed out he'd been angry and wanted to leave then. "I should have been cool headed, like you were."
Luffy said he'd not known how to feel since he'd never met them before. He knew they were terrible to Hawks, but didn't know what to expect and was mostly focusing on his live streaming. "They've said you're like a mini me, going to be successful like I am, as smart as I am. How, after me getting all of this shit drilled into my head, are you better at it?"
The younger sat on the recliner. "You taught me that stuff with care and kindness. Surely that was better than being alone and isolated?" Hawks leaned forward, putting his head in his hands, and said that was the problem. He shouldn't have taught Luffy all of that. "They said they'd find me anyways, though. If I hadn't been found out, or attacked by that nomu… it's the League's fault."
Hawks firmly said it was not his fault that any of this was happening to him. "Not your fault either." Then he smiled. "Considering how sudden it was and unfamiliar, I think you did a very good job helping me be into a good person. Even if something did happen with them, I'll still be me. I've been ripped apart, tortured, health problems galore, and I came out as me. I won't change for anybody else," Luffy said, voice very firm and strict. He didn't want Hawks to argue with him on this point.
"I trust you to be you, but I can't stop the underlying fear that you'll end up like I did." Luffy frowned, furrowing his brows, saying he was a good person. "I mean how I was at your age, when I was with them. I was like a robot who had a setting to be friendly and nice."
Luffy said, "Then it's good I'm not a robot." Hawks was irritated Luffy wasn't taking this seriously. "Of course I am. I don't want to work for them, but I don't want to be eaten alive by worry, y'know?"
Hawks sighed and took many calming breaths. "You're right. Can't be eaten alive by worry." Luffy was right about a lot. And wrong about a lot in that conversation, even if he didn't know it yet.
-x-
"Hey!" Jiro shouted when Kaminari threw the beach ball at her head. They were at a sunny part of the beach, swimming or racing in the water or playing beach volleyball aggressively. It was a wonder Bakugo hadn't blown anything up yet.
Luffy was happy, spending time with his friends. He was acting back to normal to them, and so they didn't ask about what had happened before. He was glad, he didn't want to say anything about it, even if he wasn't formally told not to. He was able to swim and float in the water without wings dragging him down.
He kept scaring the girls by swimming up behind them and jumping out, freaking them out until they threw beach balls at his head. He just laughed about it. He was having so much fun, just acting like how he should for his age. Silly and enjoying life.
They were all excited to be second years, and Aizawa said he'd still be their teacher, claiming that he knew how to react with them if there was even another villain attack. It was a flimsy excuse of him wanting to stay with them. And they weren't upset about it, either. Vald-King also was doing the same thing.
Nezu had no problem with it, apparently. Luffy hoped next year would be better. No more nomus, no more severe health problems due to his quirks, which he had a check up scheduled for two days from then. He wasn't in pain anywhere, and he wasn't failing to protect his wings like he had been for so long.
When it was later, and time they should head home, they put the equipment back in the shed with food stands since they didn't bring their own wakeboards or volleyballs. They parted their ways, and Luffy was about to fly away before he saw a black car in the parking lot, the only one.
He had a feeling it belonged to the Commission. But he wasn't seven and he wasn't Hawks. He flew off, ignoring it. They weren't gonna ruin his fun day. They could go fuck themselves. He wouldn't tell Hawks or he'd worry.
No, his conscience scolded him. Hawks never lied to him. No, Luffy wouldn't lie. He'd tell the truth. But he didn't know for sure it was the Commission. Besides, all of the Commission or government vehicles he'd seen before were small cars, not an SUV. And he hadn't seen anybody in the car.
He'd jumped the gun. It wasn't a Commission car. He didn't need to worry. And he didn't. If he saw them, he'd just fly away. Well, he couldn't avoid them forever, but he wouldn't risk ruining a good day.
When he got home, he changed into regular clothes and headed out to get groceries for dinner. Hawks was still really unsettled and nervous, even afraid. So Luffy was making his favorite. He got the ingredients for beef stew and sticky rice, even though they didn't really go together, and a bottle of orange juice.
On his way out, he saw another black SUV, and walked right past it. The windows were dark, so he didn't know if anyone was inside, but he held up his groceries, saying, not now, I'm busy. He wondered, if they were from the Commission, if he was annoying them. He almost laughed at the concept. What if he just kept avoiding them?
Someone stepped out of the suv, and Luffy hurried forward. "Luffy," a male voice said.
"Sorry, I'm busy! Gotta get home for dinner, and don't want the ice cream to melt," he said and flew away before the man could say anything else. He did look behind him and saw the guy had a black suit. Well, fuck.
But, he could just keep making excuses for not talking to them. That's what he'd do, ignore them. If they really wanted him to talk to them, they could call the agency phone instead of following him around. Then they could just keep giving them a voicemail. Yeah, everything would work out. He wished he didn't have to tell Hawks, though. He might get all overprotective and not let him go anywhere on his own. And that would suck.
When Hawks got home he was already in a bad mood. "What happened?"
"I was distracted and a villain got away. Not a major one, but still. I'm ashamed, y'know?" Luffy asked when the last time he'd let a villain go. "I don't remember."
"Then once in forever isn't a big deal, right?" Luffy asked, dreading giving him bad news. He said he guessed, but it was still irritating. He noticed how stiff Luffy was while making dinner. He asked how the beach was. "It was so fun. We played beach volleyball, ate ice cream, and swam. I was able to fully swim underwater without my wings weighing me down." But he looked at the wing mural and smiled, knowing he wasn't insulting them.
"That's good. I'm glad you had fun," he said happily. "Now, what's the bad news?"
Luffy said, "That's not fair. You shouldn't read my mind anymore."
"Luffy…"
"A couple of black cars were where I was. I ditched both of them, flew away. But a guy in a suit did come out of the second car." Then he laughed. "I told him I couldn't stick around or the ice cream would melt, and then flew off."
Hawks groaned and looked out the window. "Fucking damnit. I knew this would happen!" he shouted, throwing the couch pillow and startling Merry from her bath to run under the couch.
Luffy replied, "I'll just keep ditching them. If they want to talk to me, they can do it like normal people and call the agency phone. But, I'll just never be there. So they'll get voicemail. The plan is foolproof," he said, though even he wasn't convinced by himself, but was saying this for Hawks.
"That wouldn't work."
"So you want me to talk to them?"
"Of course not! There's no way to avoid them, though." Luffy turned around with a hard stare and told him he wasn't going to be confined to the apartment all summer. "I wasn't saying you had to. I… don't know how to avoid them."
Luffy said, "Well, you can't go outside with me every time, you have work. And you already missed a couple days with the America mission. I missed work, too." Hawks told him he wasn't forced to do patrols now that it was summer. "But I still want to, even if it's hot and yucky outside."
"I just want you to be careful. Every time you go out, don't stay in one place too long. Be aware of your surroundings, okay?" Luffy said he would be. They couldn't keep track of him anyways, he was way too fast. "Don't underestimate them, okay?"
Luffy said he would try not to. And he'd do his best to stay out of their reach. "Maybe I could do this all summer and then go back to school and say, 'Sorry, I can't talk I'm going back to school', or that I have homework or field trips or something." Hawks laughed, saying he didn't think that would work, but if it's necessary, they'd try it. "Maybe I'll be so annoying they don't want me, if that is their goal, which we don't know."
Two days later, Luffy was at the quirk hospital, getting a check up. He only needed an x-ray and everything looked perfectly fine. No pressure and tons of room. He was glad to hear that, not needing anything stressful on his plate.
He did see the black cars often, but he flew right past them. They became more frequent, and he was annoyed. But, they never caught him when he wasn't in the sky or about to lift off. They didn't have anyone who could fly, so he was able to get away just fine. Hawks brought him there, but then he had to leave due to a villain wreaking havoc in their area.
Luffy made sure to text him the results. He was walking out of the room, heading for a drink of water when he saw multiple people waiting in the lobby. And the president. Well, shit. He turned around and said, "Gotta use the bathroom," and he was planning to climb out of the nearest window, only there were two men waiting at the end of that hallway.
He looked for any way to escape without damaging the building, but there was nothing. "Fuck," he said.
"Come with us, there's no more running."
Luffy grumbled, "I was flying. Not running." They led him outside and to the car where the president was in the backseat. He was surprised when they didn't start driving. They just stayed in the parking lot. Luffy was sweating, but the door was locked and he couldn't get it open, and there was no way to roll down the window and crawl out anyway as the car was surrounded.
"You've been quite hard to catch."
"That was the point."
She didn't seem irritated like she had when Hawks copped a small attitude. Luffy was being immature, hoping it would put her off. "Trying to act like a brat won't work when I've already seen you can be quite the opposite." You could bet Luffy started filming once he saw the people in black suits.
"So, what do you want?" he asked, crossing his arms defiantly, no longer trying to be obnoxious.
"We want you to work with us. Part time of course, so you can enjoy summer break and continue your life at school." He wasn't surprised by her wanting him to work with her, but was surprised by saying part-time. But, she'd lied before, she would lie again.
"You already lied to me once, why would I trust your word this time?" Luffy snapped. She picked up a contract, and Luffy was now nervous. Hawks told him he always had to be careful with signing contracts. To think about it long and hard at first. "I'm not Hawks. I'm not seven and am going to sign my life away."
The president wasn't upset. "We made a mistake with how we raised Hawks. We were unkind and sometimes cruel. But seeing you grow up how you did, well behaved most of the time and strong and smart, we recognize we took the wrong approach."
Luffy wasn't happy with how nonchalant she was. "Do you even care what your way or 'raising' him affected him?" The president said she did care, but was still disappointed that he'd left. "I'm not working for you. Period. I'm going to go back to school, hang out with my friends, intern and do patrols with Hawks and become his sidekick."
"You can't do many of those things if the Hawks Agency doesn't exist anymore." Luffy glared at her, even though his face went white. "We could easily take down his agency, spin a story. People would forget all about him."
Luffy was glad he was filming this. "So, either I work for you 'part-time' or you ruin Hawks' hard work and my dream?" he asked coldly. She nodded. "And if I say no right now? Then what will you do?" he asked, voice still firm even though he was panicking inside.
"Then Hawks will have a stain on his name and lose his agency in the blink of an eye." Luffy would never let them ruin Hawks happiness and his dream. He demanded to know how long this part-time would last. "Until you graduate high school and can be Hawks' sidekick as long as you want. Even if you don't still work with us, you and he work together well and would be an asset to the hero society. You've already proved it to us multiple times. We would rather not have to stop that."
"And what will I have to do for your agency?"
"Odd jobs. Spying sometimes on dangerous people we cannot reach ourselves without it looking bad. Nothing too dangerous. You would only work for us Fridays after school and Saturdays." She held up the contract, and he stared at it.
"I'm not a seven year old. I want a way to hold you accountable. If you break your word and don't let me go once I graduate, in two years specifically, you won't attempt to hold me back, I will release every shady thing you've done and I've filmed. Even this conversation. That will ruin you and you will be fired, someone else more capable taking your position."
Finally her facade cracked and her jaw clenched, eyes barely narrowing. Luffy did his best to hide a smile. "Add that to your precious contract and maybe I'll agree. And give me a copy as well. In paper and digital. Now let me out, I'm going home."
"You won't tell anybody about this conversation."
"Maybe not right now. If you break your word, then I might not tell everyone. I'll show them. Have a nice day," he said and forced the door open, breaking the handle and stomping away. He flew off, furious and confused. He didn't know what to do. Would he tell Hawks? He didn't want to tell anyone after she ordered him not to.
Not to follow her rules, but him breaking his word wouldn't be a good way to force her to keep hers. She wasn't going to strong arm him into an obedient kid. He had something over her head, something damning beyond belief. He could ruin her life. But she could also ruin his.
-x-
Luffy stayed in his room the rest of the day, saying he wanted to be alone so he didn't have to tell him. He didn't want to see Hawks' expression when he found out. Luffy would leave the next day after Hawks went to work. Luckily, it wasn't a Sunday and he wasn't home all day. Luffy would have most days off, including the one Hawks had off.
Friday after school. Until when? What would these odd jobs be? He tossed his face shield onto the bed and curled into a ball. They had left overs that Hawks would bring to him if Luffy asked. Tears spilled out of his eyes. Not with the concept of working for those who hurt Hawks, but lying to him. Hiding the truth of something so big.
It was for him, though. Saving his hard work. His almost ten year old agency. He'd had it since he was 18. He loved it! Luffy could never be the cause of that to go away. He'd rather run away than ruin Hawks' life's work. He kept the cries silent, even if the walls weren't thin. Would he hate Luffy? No, he'd never hate Luffy. But would he lose all trust in him?
It… was worth it. Years to gain back that trust was worth it if he could save Hawks' life's work. He wouldn't be the source of ruin! He would agree to that fucking contract and hold that bitch accountable. He would refuse the contract as many times as he wanted until he was good with it.
He was not a kid. Hawks had signed his life away to be a hero like Endeavor. Luffy would sign his two years away to be a hero with Hawks. Two years. That's not too bad. He'd just never have a normal school year. He couldn't see why he would be a spy? Just because he was good at being sneaky and had camera eyes?
What kind of odd jobs would be given to a near 16 year old? His birthday was coming soon. And he still hadn't gotten a present for finishing the first year still alive. Was this always going to be the outcome? He'd work for them eventually, no matter how he was raised? He wished Hawks had been a foreigner when he picked up Luffy and they could both have lived in a different country.
He was lost in thought until dinner came. "Luffy, are you okay?" he asked in worry on the other side of the door.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just… want to be alone tonight," he said. Hawks said he'd leave the food outside the door. Luffy made sure he was out of sight before taking the food, shooing Merry's nose away from it, and ate it in his room. He went to bed right after dinner, somehow managing to sleep through the night.
When he woke up, Hawks was at work. Luffy put his crusty bowl that he hadn't brought back to the kitchen in the sink to soak. He changed into day clothes again, and took deep calming breaths before he flew to the HPSC building and strode right inside. He was strong willed, he wouldn't be pushed around in the negotiations. They were happy about him being smart? Well, then they were happy about him doing this.
He would look over the contract multiple times with critical eyes, using Nezu's power. He didn't even need to say anything before the door was opened and he found the president, seeming to be waiting for him. He sat at the chair next to hers, not giving her space so she felt in control.
She wordlessly handed him the contract, which he looked over. He was to do jobs she said, excluding harming innocent people. Some of the missions may spill over to the rest of the week, but would not take much time out of his schedule. School was important in making him a good hero. He would be released in two years, no longer, no shorter. Hawks' agency would not be able to be closed down or affected in any way as long as he fulfilled his jobs to the best of his ability.
At the bottom, where nothing was there before, was a new statement, The HPSC will not breach the privacy of Luffy and Hawks. Their home and agency will be bug free. If the Hero Public Safety Commission, the president, their affiliates or it's workers, past or present, breaks the words in this contract in any way, Takami Luffy (the hero/student Luffy) has the legal right to expose any damning evidence he may have to the public with no retaliation or punishment by the HPSC.
If Luffy breaks his word on this contract, the HPSC has the right to end the Hawks Agency and terminate both his and Hawks' hero licenses.
Luffy took multiple deep breaths. This contract seemed good enough. He had explicit permission to retaliate if they did anything. And there was nothing here that said he couldn't share his missions with Hawks. But, if he broke his word, it was a heavy price to pay. Losing the hero licenses. Well, if necessary, they could move to another country. The least ideal situation, but heroes were allowed to start over in other locations if they wish. For any reason other than being let go for harming anybody.
They had a failsafe if things went south. The hero, Hawks, would not lose his ability to be a hero anywhere else. Neither would Luffy. He wouldn't fuck this up. He saw she'd already signed her name. She handed him a second copy.
His hands shook as he signed his given name, adding his last name. She put the second "Luffy" in the contract description since his last name wasn't actually Takami. He rarely used his last name, so there was no loophole where they could claim some bullshit about Luffy's name not being in the contract. He signed both contracts. Immediately, her version of the contract was taken, and almost in a few minutes, he'd gotten an email, a copy of the contract. He was filming all of this, so he also had a traceable memory like that.
He immediately sent it to every email account he had, even on sites he'd never used before. He wouldn't let it be terminated. "It's good to work with you, Luffy," the president said. Luffy shook her hand. He said nothing before asking what his "stupid first mission" was. She was going to have to get used to his attitude. There was nothing in the contract about him being professional.
"You have all summer to yourself. Your first mission is to be a spy at UA," she said, and the blood drained from Luffy's face. But, the contract warned him that the jobs would spill into other workdays. And this didn't interfere with school work. He was stuck. "You will be using your camera quirk."
"Who do I have to spy on?" he asked in a flat voice, sighing lightly in defeat. Fucking assholes.
"The teachers. You do not have to film the students, as that is a criminal act. Even for us, filming underage students without their consent is illegal. You will film the teachers and learn as much about UA as you can. But you can't get caught. Understand? If you tell anybody, the contract will be terminated."
"What if they figure it out without me saying a thing. I'm a kid, I'm not a trained spy," Luffy replied. The smile she put on was slimy..
"That is what Fridays and Saturdays are for. We will make you into a good spy. Of course, not with the same harsh tactics we mistakenly used on Hawks," she added. As if that made him feel any better. "If you are found out, the situation may be salvageable, but you don't want that to happen."
Luffy sighed again. "Is this what you had planned all along?"
"Yes," she said truthfully.
"Checkmate, huh?" he asked quietly. "Fine, I'll do it. I'll spy on the staff, but I won't breach the privacy of my friends. I have to warn you about a weakness with my camera quirk. If I use it too long, the sound starts to grow weak. Meaning there are skips in the recordings. If that is a problem for you, I can't do anything to fix it, but I will film still, when it isn't recording."
That was a bold faced lie. There was no such weakness. "That is fine. Blips are expected in a quirk like that." She stood. "It's nice to be working with you."
"I can't say the same. But I will protect Hawks no matter what. As long as I harm nobody. Including him."
She said, "That is not part of our contract, but there will be nothing you have to do with Hawks. We no longer need him for anything. We have you, now. Have a nice day, and a nice summer. Be ready for work on the first Friday of school." He nodded and folded the contract up, putting it in his pocket, and flew home, feeling dirty and violated.