Luffy sat on top of the mountain, snow whipping around his face and body, yanking him around painfully. But it kept him distracted. Constantly losing balance as the wind ripped around him at the peak kept him distracted.

The night before had really shaken him up. He'd gotten no notification on the phone by the teachers, or anybody. And he'd been drilled with lying skills and that terrible interrogation training that he was sure he could lie if the moment calls for it.

To do anything to protect this secret. He desperately wanted someone to find out to stop him while it was soon, but he also knew he crossed the line big time by stealing the book's information that he sent to the president that morning, not sending it right when he got home. She could go fuck herself if she had a problem with that. Hawks was in the cave below the mountain, making sure he was fine. Luffy would tell him over the headset if he felt in danger. He was planning on training here, but when he landed on the training ground covered in sleet, he looked up at the chaotic mountain and thought, "I'd rather be up there for now."

His skin was raw and stinging. He took his phone out and managed to take a video of the white and the sound of ripping wind. He had no signal to send, but maybe he'd text somebody. Maybe he'd text Todoroki. They used to be friends right? They all used to be friends. Luffy was just waiting for the day that they all abandoned him. He knew it would come.

He stayed up there for too long before Hawks called him down. Luffy barely heard it, but he did so he went down. "We're gonna get snowed in if we stay longer, Luffy," Hawks said in the cave, a fire crackling at their feet. This cave had one been the source of magic and then horror. And now, Luffy felt nothing for it.

He didn't feel anything about anything right now. But he didn't want to worry Hawks. He nodded, and said that he was hungry, too. Hawks bundled more under his jacket and said they should go now. Probably should have left an hour ago before the blizzard got really bad. Their visors were blessings, though. Kept them able to see.

They managed to fly out, though Hawks' feathers needed to be straightened out and went to the nearest hero restaurant where they could get some privacy. Luffy was downcast, and Hawks didn't press him into talking while they ate. Both were still shivering and damp with melted snow. "Why don't you message your friends?" No response. "Luffy?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you take photos, your friends might be interested in the expedition."

Luffy's face fell. "I don't want friends anymore." Hawks was shocked and then asked him to repeat himself. "I don't want friends anymore. I don't want to betray anyone anymore. I just want to be alone."

Hawks stood up and sat next to Luffy. "You still want friends, Luffy. You have great friends. You've managed to separate school from friends very well lately," Hawks said, doing his best to hide the worry and fear Luffy would be able to sense any other time.

"Right. Yeah," Luffy said. He took out his phone and sent the video to Todoroki. The safest bet for someone who wouldn't be pushy but also wouldn't ignore him.

This look comfy to you?

Luffy wrote down the witty question with a straight face. He felt it was funny, but he just couldn't get the laugh out or the smile that would come with it. But he looked up and saw Hawks' deep frown and worried eyebrows.

He couldn't hurt Hawks. He would be Luffy. He couldn't hurt his friends. He would be Luffy. He couldn't be caught. He would be Luffy.

When he got no message throughout the day and there was no alert to the students and no breaking news article about UA being broken into, he started to feel a little better. Not by much, though. And he was scared, too. He didn't get anything done right except for his plan homework. For once, he wished he had to intern. He didn't want time alone.

He barely slept that night, but managed to down some sleeping pills and tea to put him to sleep. Hawks kept his door open while he slept, worried about him. So when he woke up, Luffy remembered he had to leave early and record the lesson plans. There was a note on the door. You're you.

He looked at the note and crumpled it before smoothing it back out. Hawks was trying to be nice. He showered and did the routine, feeling empty on his way and even emptier while he eavesdropped.

He listened for any keywords about break ins or trespassers. There was none. He was nervous all day, and heard nothing about anything regarding a break in. Nobody knew. Nobody noticed. By the end of the day full of a calm facade, he knew that, to everyone else, nothing had happened.

To Luffy, he'd been through a traumatizing event. He did it himself, but it was traumatizing. And now he felt like everybody knew and were just spying on him now to get him to loosen up. He wouldn't let them know. He wanted to be happy with Hawks. Less than two years. Then he can be himself again, he won't worry about anyone finding out.

Two years. Not a big deal... right?

-2 months later-

Luffy stared at his book, eyes blank and emotionless. The only time he could be him was at home when Hawks wasn't around. Then he didn't need to play Luffy anymore. He was good at it by now. Playing Luffy. Laughing, joking, smiling. He could do all of it on demand. It used to be sincere, but now it was forced.

Playing Luffy kept people happy. Playing Luffy kept his secret safe. Playing Luffy was his only option.

But when he wasn't forced to be himself perfectly, he was lonely and cried a lot. He lied, all the time. It was easy. He was able to keep track of his lies, too. He could make up a whole day, and then remember it perfectly if asked about it a week later.

Honestly, he lied more about how he felt than what he did. He could lie, he could spy, he could manipulate. He did it all with ease. And unlike how he'd hoped, he hadn't gotten used to it and was fine with it. So, since he wasn't okay with it, he buried it deep, deep into his heart. Somewhere nobody could look. Nobody could see the mass of black scribbles he felt he was.

To be honest, the best person he was deceiving was Hawks. After seeing how he reacted when Luffy broke into school, seeing him so hurt and scared, made Luffy clam up and try to make him happy. And it worked! Hawks wasn't stressed or worried. He wasn't suffering.

That just meant Luffy was alone everywhere. It didn't matter, he didn't deserve to be happy. Never had. That's why he was cursed with this quirk. He was born to not be happy.

He didn't blame anybody but himself for his problems. He loved Hawks and didn't want to upset him with his behavior. It was bad enough for him to be unhappy, it would be even worse if they both were. He felt like a spectator, watching a perfect version of himself go through the motions of life.

Nobody noticed the changes. The way his hands shook sometimes and how he would dig his nails into his skin to get the tremors to go away. To leave him alone for a while. He still got perfect grades, kept up in class, as they were now doing mountain training. He kept most of his stolen quirks active. He was perfect, but had never been more broken.

Hawks came home and Luffy turned the switch, hurrying out and greeting him. It was Sunday, he had no work and he had no forced training. He was asked how homework went. "Fine. Math is still a little hard, but Ectoplasm is better at explaining it now."

"That's good!" Luffy cooked food, a spectator again as the professional Luffy did his magic. He was eating dinner before he got a message on his phone from the president. I'm not getting enough from your recording of the meetings. I'd like you to get film of it now. Luffy froze.

He sighed, and took some deep breaths. "What's up?" Hawks asked in worry.

"It's nothing," Luffy said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Luffy lied to Hawks now. But only about how he felt. Only about his feelings, never saying lies in other ways. Never in a way that might hurt him. He lied to make him feel better. It was right to lie in a way that it made others better off than the truth would.

He went to bed with his mind racing, going through dozens of different scenarios. He was too afraid to go inside, so he would do it from outside. He didn't know if the window stayed open during the meetings. Well, he'd figure it out. He had to. There was no choice, his life was to please others.

When morning came, Luffy ate cereal and then left home, flying to school while invisible, the chilly air biting at his nose. The first winter he didn't always have wings to keep himself warm and toasty inside of. When he got there, he flew down under where he knew the staff meeting room was.

He didn't know why he was still doing this. He didn't get any information that would be of any use. Sometimes he got locations of training places, field trips, but that was it. Nothing that could be used again UA. He didn't know what the commission did with the information he gave them. None of it felt worth the risk and effort it took on both ends.

Maybe they were just so spiteful that UA tried to keep separate that any information was good information, even if it did nothing in the long run. So, he listened and heard air coming through the open window. He floated himself up with invisible bubbles, not using Uraraka's power, and watched and listened to the meeting.

They sounded more tense than usual, he wondered if something was wrong. He hoped there was nothing wrong. He didn't want to report anything upsetting. But, it didn't matter. What happened happened. He was just the unlucky messenger. But he noticed when somebody noticed him, even though he was being silent.

Suddenly the bubbles were gone and so was his invisible power. He couldn't bring his wings out to catch himself as he fell from the fifth floor and hit the ground hard enough to hear a deafening crack before blacking out, hearing his name screamed in horror from above.

-x-

Aizawa ran to the window after erasing whoever he knew was watching them's quirk, and heard a loud thump on the ground. The commission had been following them around lately, even if they did it in normal people cars. Meaning they had a spy somewhere. They assumed it was one of the teachers since there was never anyone else on campus or around when they had their staff meetings an hour before school started.

They searched the room for any bugs, but found nothing. So, he looked out the window. He heard the rustling of clothes or some sort of fabric outside and on a whim used his power at the air, seeing somebody appear before he went out of sight.

When the teachers ran to the window to see who had been spying, they saw Luffy, his neck crooked in an unnatural way, blood coming from his mouth and seeping into the grass behind his head. They gasped and ran down the stairs and out to him to find him unconscious and barely breathing. Nezu called 911, and everyone was shocked it was Luffy.

It had to be a lie and he was just doing a prank. But there were so many ways for him to listen in on them. Ways they might not know of. Aizawa couldn't bring himself to be angry at him. Especially since he was unconscious and wheezing. They didn't dare touch him but heard the slow grinding of his neck healing and his head no longer crooked. But there was an alarming amount of blood on the back of his head and he wasn't waking up.

Last time Luffy had hit his head it was on the kitchen tile and he was out for days. He had just fallen from the fifth story window. Because Aizawa had made him. If Luffy died, it was Aizawa's fault. Midnight asked if they sensed anything strange in Luffy at all.

"Not at all," Present Mic said, for once not loud and voice grave. The ambulance was called and Nezu now had Hawks on the phone, who was frantic and shouting, though Aizawa couldn't hear what he was saying. Nezu was trying to calm him as best as he could but the man was hysterical.

Aizawa was shaking, horrified when Luffy was picked up and they saw just how much blood was from his head. Nezu hadn't told Hawks Aizawa had knocked him down. They needed to know the full story first. What was the full story? Was Luffy really the one leaking information? It couldn't be. Not after everything he'd been through with them.

Had something happened to change? He didn't act any different in class besides staring at people a bit more. More like distracted staring. Just looking in one place while his mind wandered. Nothing out of the ordinary at all.

Aizawa went to the hospital while the others stayed behind and would tell the kids nothing about this. Not until they had the full story. He found Hawks waiting outside of the operating room, pacing back and forth, his wings all over the place. He looked absolutely terrified. Aizawa wouldn't ask him any questions now.

He would wait for Luffy to wake up. If he did.