He looked out the window for a good three hours, face blank and trying not to think. Hawks came home, and he didn't stir, still blank. "Luffy, hey. What's wrong?" Luffy was acting weird. He suddenly asked if Hawks would ever hate him. "Never. But, what's wrong?" Luffy stood up and walked over, head hanging, and gave him the contract before sitting down on the couch, not able to look at Hawks. Ashamed, but also glad. "Luffy… Did you do this because of me?" he asked coldly, but also sounding sympathetic. Luffy nodded.

"Don't feel guilty. It was my choice. I want your life's work to stay the same. I want you to still be a hero. You love it here, if I refused, she would have ruined your agency. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I'm not sorry I signed away two years to protect your life. Besides, I have something over her now. I forced her to add that to the contract. I'm not a little kid like you were." He looked down and Hawks sat next to him. "I have the summer off."

"That's good, right?" he asked. Luffy had known deep down that Hawks wouldn't hate him. But he had still worried. And there was no one else who could help Luffy through this than Hawks.

"No, because my first mission is to be a spy at UA. Film everything besides the students. I'm a traitor, but I'll throw away my time at UA to make sure you're safe from her," Luffy said in a flat voice. He saw Hawks' hands clench hard enough to draw blood.

He sighed and took many deep breaths. "I am sorry, Luffy. So sorry."

"That was her plan all along. She said that. Aizawa, at the beginning of the year, said that UA was special because it was separate from the Commission. Their spy will go away in two years. I just have to last that long." Then he gave a broken smile. "After the contract was signed, I lied. I gave myself a chance if necessary. I told her that filming too long causes breaks in the sound. For a few seconds, there will be no audio.

"I can shut the audio off and say something if necessary. But that's a last ditch decision. I don't want to risk anything." He shook his head. "My first year of UA was hell, over and over. Now the next two will be, too. She said that the Fridays and Saturdays were training days, teaching me how to be a good spy.

"Bitch told me it wasn't gonna be how you were trained, isolated and lonely. Hopefully… it won't be too bad, right?"

Hawks was visibly upset, but wrapped an arm around Luffy's shoulders. "Please don't blame yourself. I feel shitty enough already. I don't want to feel like scum and make you feel guilty."

"I don't blame you, I blame them. I did it for 15 years, you have two years. You can do it." Luffy asked about UA. He was going to be a spy there! "I don't support the mission, of course. But I won't leave you alone. You can talk to me, right? Besides, you only spy on the teachers. You can still hang out with your friends.

"I'll be a fake. Deceiving them. If they find out, they'd hate me. Everyone would hate me. But I don't know what they want from there. All Might isn't hiding anything anymore. I don't understand their reasoning." Hawks said they probably wouldn't give him any. Luffy said he knew that there was no way they'd be open about their "missions".

Luffy was trapped. Trapped with no way out.

-x-

The next day, both of them went flying to the new training ground. They'd been distracted with a lot of things lately, but Luffy still needed to practice his other quirks, even if they were just for a few minutes each. The place had been finished building. It was in the snow, the ground frozen. Perfect. Everything about it looked absolutely difficult. It was good he had his visor.

"This is perfect! I can't do shit without falling," he said over the wind.

Hawks shouted back, "I figured something struggling would give you actual reasons to use some of your quirks! Not just messing around for a few minutes!" Luffy grinned. He got to work trying to fight the blizzard with many of his quirks, or at least trying to hang on. It felt… nice. Like he wasn't drowning in guilt about what he had to do.

For now, he was having fun, doing something normal for him. Hawks watched, bundled up in thick clothes. He wasn't Luffy and couldn't heat his body with Endeavor's fire. A quirk he was using constantly up here. By the end of it he was exhausted. He wasn't able to fly back, so Hawks carried him as he napped on the way back.

Anytime over the summer that his friends invited him somewhere, he went. He was savoring the time he wasn't a traitor. He went camping with them for his first camping trip. He had been embarrassed to pee outside and the guys thought that was hilarious. The girls berated him, since it was harder for them.

It was a strange conversation, but one that made Luffy laugh. He was happy, enjoying being a normal kid for once. But the summer went by way too quickly. He spent every single chance with his friends as he could. He'd missed a lot with them the first year. The only thing he felt a little good about was not having to spy on his friends.

He was grateful for Aizawa. And he was also a traitor to him. All Might had been kind to him. He was a traitor to him. Nezu had accepted him back with open arms. And he was a traitor to him, as well. The other teachers he didn't feel too bad about. But, he did feel bad that all of their hard work would be the Commission's now.

But he couldn't let them know it was him. He couldn't risk the consequences. He had to do this right or he was fucked, and by extension Hawks was fucked over as well. The next two years will be hell. 24 months. Thinking of it that way, it didn't seem too bad. And nobody knew about his camera quirk, which was lucky. He hadn't even come into contact with the person who had that quirk.

It had been someone from Spain with it. Thank god for the internet. So nobody would expect him to take someone's from Spain. There was no way to search for him either. They didn't know his name or who he was, only witnessed his quirk. If Luffy didn't have this new quirk, he wouldn't be able to be a good spy. Or maybe not a spy at all.

He was a mess the first day of school. He was all smiles and excited for the new year to start. All of his friends were, too, all in the same class again. He didn't film them in homeroom, though. They reminisced of the summer, wishing they could have hung out more. "Well, we're all in the same class again! We have plenty of time to hang out."

"And get stronger, too," Luffy added. "Closer to being real heroes."

"What was the reason you could hang out and then studied english so intensely? It was weird." Luffy was never told to keep this a secret.

"Me and Hawks went undercover in America to breach an underground factory where the people mutated children by their quirks. We got information and got out, but it was really stressful." The class was silent before blowing up. "Yeah, it wasn't a vacation. I played a little girl and Hawks was a really mean handler."

The guys busted up laughing about him having to play a little girl. "It was only for a minute! But we were really good actors! I didn't like being a little girl, though. Dresses have no pockets. That should be illegal."

The girls agreed. Kaminari dared him to be a little girl. To show them, prove it. So Luffy stood up and shifted into the little girl. He flipped them all off before going back to his regular form. Everyone busted up laughing. Then Aizawa came in and everybody sat down. The nerves hit Luffy as he pressed the invisible "record" button in his head.

"Well, everybody, you made it to year two."

"Barely!" Kirishima said. Aizawa looked at him. "Sorry, sensei," he added immediately, making some snicker. The class was in a great mood, and Luffy was acting fine, in his opinion. And he knew there was no reason for anybody to think he was undercover. There was no real reason for him to be.

He was scared and his heart beat really loudly. He was glad no one but him had super hearing. Aizawa told them that last year they got their provisional license and started their interning. He asked how many of them interned over summer.

Luffy raised his hand and made a so-so gesture. Nobody else did. "Then Luffy is ahead of the game. Interns will be harder now as you will be doing weekly logs of them, bring them to class, and we will discuss them rationally and pick apart the mistakes and successes. That will be one whole class, replacing art history. So, be prepared with logs daily.

"This semester will be much more taxing, but I have faith all of you can do it." Luffy kept his eyes on Aizawa the whole time, or looked at the board right behind him. He showed nothing strange. Luffy honestly didn't know what the reason was he was spying. Wait it out of spite, for the Commission being separate from them?

If that was the case, then Luffy was fine with it. Giving them useless garbage that was no help. It would be perfect! He would still be a spy, but not a successful one.

Aizawa didn't notice a thing, and neither did the other teachers. Luffy was all smiles when he wasn't recording with his friends, happy to be with them and not breach their privacy. What would they think if they knew he was forced? Would they still hate him? He couldn't let that bother him.

He was trapped in an unwanted position. The least he could do for himself was to enjoy being with his friends. At lunch, they asked him how he was feeling quirk wise. "I feel really good. Really light. Healthy." Iida said it was a relief to hear. They asked how his quirk training was going. "The base out in the middle of the mountain was built. It's damn impossible to really do anything with the ground frozen over and in a blizzard, but it really gets me to use some of the more dangerous ones."

"You practice in blizzards? That's so manly!" Kirishima hadn't changed a bit. Luffy told them that he was glad nothing changed them. "You too. You seem so happy, especially over the summer." Todoroki commented he'd never known that Luffy would want to go on so many outings.

Luffy replied, "I wanted to enjoy the summer after how bad the school year was. Hopefully this year will be better. I don't want anymore incidents that put me out of school." Liar. You're a liar.

"Yeah, I can see why. Sorry your first year of highschool was a steaming pile of dog shit," Sero said. Iida told him to watch his mouth now that they were back in school. "Do we have to elect a new class rep? Not that I think someone else would be better. I just don't know what'll be different this time, y'know?" The others nodded, and Tsu wondering what kind of basic hero training they'd be doing.

Nobody knew. Todoroki said, "we're already doing internships, which is as close to actually being heroes as it can get. What else can we use that isn't that?"

Midoriya added, "We also worked a lot on improving our quirks. Luffy destroyed the school and flew around the world." Luffy asked him not to remind him of that mess. They all laughed and the bell rang. They put the trays and dishes on the counter for Lunch Rush and changed into their hero outfits.

"AHHH!" they heard Ashido screech. "I gained weight!"

Uraraka could be heard saying she did, too. All of the boys in the adjacent dressing room hid their laughter in their hands. Luffy's suit fit fine. Though, he always had trouble gaining weight since he was a kid. Maybe from being malnourished for a couple years, who knows? They left the room and headed outside on the field and met All Might there. He looked truly happy, and Luffy pressed "record".

"Welcome back young boys and girls! I hope you had fun this summer. Because, in Aizawa-sensei's attitude, this year will be much more hellish than last year. But, hopefully with no villains." The students nodded, and Tsu mentioned the League was gone now.

Bakugo told her to shut up about that. Everyone knew it was because of Luffy's involvement. He hated Luffy before, and he hated him more now. Nobody got angry at him, knowing it was a moot point, and they went back to focusing on All Might, who looked a bit troubled/entertained.

"Anyways. Most of our training will now be off campus. It is like USJ was, but instead it is endurance training in terrible disasters. Endurance, physical and psychological, is a must for heroes," he explained.

"We're going off campus every day?" Luffy asked in surprise, not taking his eyes off of All Might, but confused. And worried that this was confidential information. The first thing Luffy was sending the fuckers. Willingly. He could say it all he wanted, he didn't sign up for this, he didn't want this. But he was doing it willingly because he cared more for Hawks' happiness than the state of UA.

He kept his face innocent, hiding the turmoil inside, though he started to sweat and it wasn't hot outside. Well, his costume would hide most of it. "That's right. However, it is easy to get to. It was built over the summer as a simulation place. It will be days of grueling exercises and tests of fighting intelligence. So basically, this year is about instincts, and acting upon those instincts."

They all looked at one another, Luffy only for a second, not knowing how much he needed footage from All Might. "No other school is doing such a thing, but UA is independent and we can do what we wish."

No, no, no! Not crucial information on the first day! Fuck, he'd already heard it. He couldn't edit it without making it look edited, and that might get him in trouble, might affect the contract. He had to stop thinking like that. This was his new reality at school. He could not change it.

"The busses will get us there in ten minutes tops. It's seasonal. The building is changed based on seasons. So, bring your water bottles because it's summer, and you will be working in intense heat. To build your bodies and get used to it. Of course we will have medical workers there in case of heat stroke, but you must build your bodies!"

"WHAAAAT?!"

"Every day?!"

"We need new costumes, now!"

"We're all gonna die, I didn't sign up for this, dmanit!"

"Calm down! Calm down and let me continue," All Might said. He assured them it would be every other day since the days in between would be working on cognitive skills. "We'll be testing your brains," he said, tapping his temple. "This year will be hard, this is a warning."

Todoroki asked what the other seasons would be. "Winter will be blizzard training and teaching you how to survive snow and blizzards, as well as how to survive overnight in simulation. Survival training, basically. Spring will bring swimming. You will constantly be swimming in water. Again, life guards will be there."

"This sounds awful!"

Luffy turned to Mineta. "If you didn't want to do more hard stuff, why did you continue coming to UA after a taste of it from last year?" It was the question on everybody's mind.

"I got attached to everyone! And I want to see them get bigger!" Everybody knew he was talking about boobs and closed their eyes with sighs. Nobody expected anything different, but Luffy did find his whining really annoying.

All Might cleared his throat and continued to speak, Luffy turning back to him to record. He had to act natural. He couldn't just stare at someone constantly without being seen as just weird. Anybody knew that. "Today, we are going to tour the place. Everybody, get on the bus!"

They all turned to the side and saw a bus had pulled up. They all shuffled on, grumbling and griping about that year's hardships. "I don't know, it sounds fun," Luffy said. They glared at him and told him he was fine cause he could heat his body up and not get hot. And also already trained in a blizzard.

"Besides! You'd get to cheat with your wings! You could just fly away and not have to deal with this shit," Sero said, Mineta nodding in agreement.

Luffy asked if they saw any wings. They shook their heads. "I use my wings for flying. Carrying them around for simulation practices would be useless. I can't have one dominant quirk anymore. And besides, does endurance training our bodies have anything to do with our quirks?"

"Exactly right, young Luffy! Nobody will be using their quirks this year. So you must practice outside of class. It will be busy work."

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Hagakure said quickly. "We have to do our work studies, make logs of them, do regular homework, practice our quirks outside of school and attend school in general?!" she screeched.

All Might said it would be difficult, but time management is necessary. "You will learn time management skills from Aizawa-sensei. This is a top school, and I doubt anywhere else is going this far, but it is necessary. You will all thank us once your bodies are strong and agile."

Kirishima said, "Intense workout sessions every other day! Hell yeah!" The girls groaned.

"You know, hard work outs many times a week can help you stay fit and lose excess weight or fat," Luffy said.

"Woo-hoo! Lot's of work outs! Hey, hey, I want abs!" Hagakure said. Nobody burst her bubble and told her that no one would be able to see them. Luffy wasn't filming on the bus ride besides when All Might spoke. He was fast at pressing the record and stop in a couple of seconds.

But, he was well versed in all of his quirks, this one was no different.

When they got to the building, they saw it was as big as USJ, which Luffy had never gotten to see. "It's huge!" he exclaimed. All Might told them to follow him. They all did, Luffy excited. It was dulling the fact he was recording all of this. They walked inside to see Thirteen, who the others had met but not him.

The desert was on full display, from wall to wall was sand, cacti, sand dunes. The place really was absolutely huge. Bigger than ten malls at least. God, it was hot. Just being inside was making everybody sweat.

"This is not going to be fun," Jiro said for all of them. Even Luffy wasn't looking forward to drenching his body in sweat. Nobody was excited.

Thirteen said they'd get used to it after many days and lots of effort. Apparently every day would be aiming to get to the end goal so they could leave early instead of stay the whole two hours. They only got a taste of the heat that was the indoor desert, with a hot lamp with UV lights. It was so hot, there was even a mirage on the sand.

Midoriya asked how nothing melted from the heat. "It's built well! It can handle intense heat and freezing temperatures."

"Yay," Sero said sarcastically. Thirteen said they would get used to it, and now it was safer. It was right next to UA, anyone could get to and from it very fast. They were glad about that. Getting people to help during the USJ incident had apparently been hard to reach them and took a while for Iida to get them and then get back.

There was an upstairs, apparently. Where they visited next. It was completely air conditioned and cooler than it was outside. They gladly went inside, glad to be in a cool place. You couldn't feel the heat in the floor since it was so damn thick.

The students wandered around, being told this was where the cognitive training would be. There were a lot of computers, screens, and other devices. "Looks like a torture facility. Like in movies, where the kids are in an orphanage and the caretaker has them hook up to machine so they can invade their mind and-"

Jiro poked an ear jack, getting Mineta to shut up.

After a few hours, they went back, all tired and not looking forward to the days with that terrible training.