Luffy's adorable childhood arc is over, and here we begin with the main story! Enjoy~
Luffy snapped his clawed hands forward, slamming into Zoro's sword blades, jumping back when there was a swing to his stomach. He ducked another swing and swiped his clawed foot at his friend, slicing his shirt apart before pinning him to the ground. Sanji announced that Luffy won. Zoro huffed, and grumbled about his ripped shirt.
"I told you to take your shirt off," Luffy said, changing his hands and feet back to normal. Luffy had the most tallies for winning against his best friends in the training room at the agency. Ace and Sabo still lived in the agency, now both heroes and working with their family. They were busy a lot, being the young faces for the agency.
Grandpops was still there, eight years later. He was still fit and ready for battle. It was amazing, and the three friends admired him. Zoro accused him of not going all out. "Flying wouldn't be fair," he replied. Zoro still grumbled and took his shirt off, throwing the ruined garment onto the floor.
Luffy said Sanji was next. Zoro was at the tally board now, sitting against it, but not napping, thankfully. He napped a lot. Sometimes it was annoying, but he'd slice them if they drew on his face anymore. They learned that the hard way when he sliced a deep gash into Luffy's gut when they were all eight.
But Luffy had healed over quickly, shocking everybody. His horns had glowed when he healed, letting off a white light despite being pitch black. But nobody said a thing about Luffy's extra power, now. He did his best to avoid injury with anyone seeing him. He was able to heal those closest to him.
Those he had a bond with. He'd learned about where he'd been found and what he was when he was twelve and had found he liked the taste of raw meat and that it made him stronger. It had been scary and unsettling, and Marco had finally told him the truth. The truth everyone there but he knew.
But he was a human at heart, not whatever they thought he was and where he came from. It was all a mystery, but he had referred to himself personally as a demon. They called his quirk the demon quirk. Zoro and Sanji learned a week after Luffy had found out. He hadn't expected them to leave him, and they didn't.
Zoro, of course, thought it was even cooler. So, they shared a secret that only those at the agency the longest knew. The commanders (the highest ranking heroes under grandpops) knew, but the others didn't know the extent of Luffy's differences.
His best friends were more than anything Luffy could have ever asked for. They stuck with him through the weird things, even when they started happening to them, too.
Sanji attacked Luffy hard, his legs landing hard hits and Luffy scraping them harshly, making his leg bleed. He didn't have his pants on, shorts. Sanji nailed him in the head, throwing Luffy down. Sanji laughed before Luffy charged at him and slashed his bare chest, blood spraying everywhere.
The demon's horns started glowing, and automatically healed his friends. "Luffy wins again!" Zoro announced. "Man, I bet you'll get the highest score at the entrance exam," he grumbled. Luffy grinned and said as long as the three of them took the top spots, everything would work out.
Sanji said, "And the top spots at the sports festival. We'll be the monster trio to the world, not just to the Whitebeards." The three were planning on working as heroes in a group. So they would learn at the same school in the same class. They knew UA let groups or pairs in the same class. Sabo and Ace had been in the same class all three years.
Luffy cheered and said they would definitely do that. "I do wonder if we'll meet anyone there we know," Luffy mused and took a drink from the water bottle he had. He was sweaty from the fighting for the last three hours. Up next was Zoro vs Sanji. They talked while they fought, all three of them very fit from training daily at their own homes and also in public.
They were probably the most fit fourteen year olds ever. All three of them had muscles, though Zoro was more buff and Luffy and Sanji lean. Luffy seemed gangly in clothes, but had a toned body without any coverings.
"Probably. I know Bakugo wanted to be a hero at UA. Same as Nami and Vivi," Zoro said, ducking a blow from Sanji that would have him slamming out of bounds. The people he mentioned had gone to different middle schools than the trio. They stuck together in the same classes and schools since kindergarten all those years ago. When it all began.
Luffy laughed. "Bakugo will be pissed when he sees how strong we've become since sixth grade!" The other two nodded, as all three of them had grown a lot more powerful over the last three years. Training every day and the bond Luffy had formed with them had left them pretty much invincible to wounds.
Even when Luffy was nowhere near, if one of them got hurt, his horns would glow and they'd heal, no matter how far from him they were. It was pretty awesome.
The entrance exam for UA was the next day, and they'd already studied until they felt their brains would explode, so they were working on their fitness. Nobody knew what kind of test there would be, but they would take the top three spots. Even if it undermined other students, that didn't matter. They would outshine everybody. They weren't cocky about it. Okay, maybe a little cocky, but they just wanted to do their best. Luffy had to live up to his well known brothers, and all three of them had high expectations from the Whitebeards. It would be embarrassing to not do their very best.
After they were done training, they had a nutritious meal from Thatch and Sanji, and then he and Zoro went home, riding their bikes away. Luffy went to bed early, wanting as much sleep as possible. His bed was no longer a bed, but a large mat in his bedroom since his wings were so big now that he needed more space.
Ace and Sabo were living in the remodeled floor below Marco's that they'd made just for those two. Luffy saw them still, but they were busy a lot. So, when his alarm went off in the morning, he found them waiting for him in the dining hall. He scarfed down a full meal in no time, and his brothers wished him good luck.
"Try not to outshine us," Sabo joked, eating his own breakfast. Luffy grinned and said he couldn't promise them that.
"I have a lot to live up to and impress," he said. Ace wished him luck, telling him to make them proud, and tell Sanji and Zoro they believed in them as well. Luffy nodded, and got his sling backpack, saying goodbye to those at work and that he'd be back later. He flew away, high into the sky and headed in the direction he knew UA was, after visiting Ace and Sabo there with Marco when they were teaching him to fly.
He went at a leisurely place, not wasting any energy, and landed lightly on the steps leading up, and waited for his best friends to arrive. Sanji was there first, and both of them were nervous and excited. "Get some sleep?" Sanji asked. Luffy nodded, saying he'd gone to bed early just in case.
Zoro came running up last, grinning like a mad man. "Let's fuckin' do this," he said. Sanji and Luffy nodded and the three walked up the long steps and inside the huge building. Luffy needed extra space from people so his wings wouldn't be smooshed too tightly to himself. They followed the arrows that pointed to the written exam, and sat down.
They waited until the clock started once it was time to start, and the double doors closed, anybody who came late losing their chance. The test was actually short and easy, and Luffy found himself finished not much later, along with a vast majority of the students inside, so many of them doodling on the backs of their papers.
Sanji and Zoro were done, too. It was no surprise that Zoro was napping while waiting. When the bell went off, the tests were collected and everyone was directed to the auditorium for the instructions for the practical exam. The three were bouncing on their toes, as many of the other applicants were, as well. Everyone was nervous or excited. Or both.
They saw a handful of people they recognized, but nobody else from their last class. Nami and Vivi were seen in the crowd, both looking pretty nervous and worried, linking arms. Luffy hoped they passed, it would be nice to see them again. They were friends in elementary school but had gone to different middle schools.
He waved to them, and they smiled and waved back, looking uncomfortable. But not because of Luiffy, he was sure. People stared at him, but there were tons of others with strange appearances. Well, compared to normal humans. Not that Luffy was a human anyways. He couldn't really compare himself to other humans, even if he felt like he was one at heart.
The three sat in the very back, and got cards with some information on them that didn't make sense at the moment. Present Mic started loudly explaining the activity. Taking out bots. Sanji and Zoro grinned, not needing to pull punches against other people. Bots were easy. They were in different arenas, so they didn't need to share their prey.
Luffy said, "You guys better pass." Zoro scoffed and said they could say the same to him. Luffy grinned and the three gave fist bumps before heading to their designated busses. Since Luffy didn't know which direction or where the arena was, he couldn't fly there and fit in the bus just barely, his wings taking up one whole row since they were so damn big.
"You wings are freaking huge, man," a blonde kid said. Luffy nodded, saying they were a pain sometimes. "My name is Kaminari Denki."
"Luffy," the demon said, reaching back and shaking his hand. He commented that Luffy looked pretty badass. "Badass is better than scary. Sometimes I scare babies." Kaminari started laughing. Maybe Luffy would leave some bots for this guy. And there was another one listening in, with spiky red hair.
"My name is Kirishima Eijiro. You better not take all the bots. I can see that look," he joked. Though he knew for sure. Luffy laughed and said he caught him. He joked that he'd leave some behind for them. Kaminari and Kirishima talked to him for a while until the bus stopped. They all got out, and immediately the timer started. They had ten minutes.
Luffy flew fast, leaving about fifty bots to the others while he decimated the rest, slamming his tail into all of them, not even bothering to use his telekinesis power. He broke them apart, making them explode with just his tail. Over and over, he slammed into them, only his tail doing most of the work.
He didn't spend too much energy, wishing to keep his powers concealed for the moment. When he ran out of them, all of them destroyed, him counting 72, he went back towards the start, flying smoothly. Then he saw the huge, zero point bot. He flew at it and then swung his body around in midair and slammed his strong tail into it, making it implode and be thrown back, in pieces.
To anyone else, his tail would look skinny and fragile, but that was not the case at all. He sat on the gate, waiting for the timer to run out before he flew back. There were people watching him, having seen him hit the huge thing. When the timer rang, he flew back, too impatient to wait for the bus. Besides, he knew the route back just fine now.
He walked inside, not a mark on him, and waited for the other busses to arrive. When he saw Sanji and then Zoro, he hurried over. Neither of them had gotten injured since Luffy's horns had not glowed at all. Both of the others were grinning.
"72," Luffy said. Sanji and Zoro cursed. Luffy won! He asked how many they got. 69 and 71 respectively. Luffy, then Zoro, then Sanji. "I only used my tail for the whole thing." The other two said it was probably a good idea. Not showing all of the cards in his hand.
Zoro then laughed. "Bakugo was with me in my ring and god damn he was angry I was taking all of them! He'd gonna be pretty pissy. I left some for others, but mostly took all the ones at the front." Sanji said he took those at the front, while Luffy took those in the back. "Man, flying is so convenient in times like these."
Luffy nodded, loving he was able to fly. They got their backpacks and then left, going to a cafe nearest to talk. They felt they did just fine on the written exam. "I hope we got the top three. The best of the class," Luffy said. Then he added that he counted the bots, and had gotten more than half, so he was higher than everyone in his ring in the first place.
Sanji took a sip of his coffee and then said, "That's the same for us. I don't see how anybody could have scored more." Luffy grinned and said he took the big bot for fun. "I didn't expect any different," the blonde said, Zoro agreeing. They had a feeling he'd take the big one as well. When they were leaving, they promised to see each other soon. And they would be nervous all week about when they'd get the results.
Luffy flew home quickly. He landed in front of the agency and hurried inside. Everyone was at work, so he went to train in the training room near the kids' room Luffy had grown up playing in. he looked through the window and smiled, remembering his happy childhood. Despite him being a demon, his family accepted and raised him, regardless of the differences and fear they must have felt.
-x-
The three of them were at the beach, swimming far out into the water, Luffy's wings heavy but not too heavy. They were still waiting nervously for their letters of acceptance. There was no way they didn't get in. If one of them didn't, then they would be absolutely shocked.
They were swimming pretty far from the shore when Zoro said, "A shark!" Sanji started swimming back. But then Zoro dove deeper and came back up with a large shark skewered in the brain, hanging in a long sword that was Zoro's arm. Luffy laughed and helped haul it to the shore. They pulled it out of the water and onto the beach.
"This thing almost attacked you, right?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. I didn't kill it for fun," Zoro said, though he was grinning. Sanji didn't believe him. They took photos of themselves in front of the dead thing. It was kind of messed up, but still. It was really big.
"Hmm, I wonder what it tastes like," Luffy said, drooling for trying some new food. Zoro told him he wasn't allowed to eat it raw. "I didn't mean like that!"
Zoro said, "Uh, huh. Well, we can light a fire and cook it." Luffy said Thatch might like to cook it, too. Luffy took out his phone and sent Thatch a photo of it. Know any good shark recipes? There was a text not much later.
Definitely don't. Did you catch it?
Zoro stabbed it when it tried to bite him.
Bring it over and I'll try some stuff.
"Thatch said if we bring it over he can try and cook it. It could be a delicacy," Luffy said. He turned to Zoro, since it was his catch. He said there was no one better than Thatch to try and cook a dead shark
"Can you carry it, though?" Luffy said he was more than capable and turned his hands and feet into the claws of his full demon form and stabbed into it, trapping it on either side. He lifted up and said he'd meet them back at the agency. He flew it back, easily carrying the 15 foot shark to the agency, landing and picking it up over his shoulders. He dragged it through the lobby, getting plenty of stares.
"Luffy, why do you have a shark with you?" Whitebeard asked in amusement. Luffy laughed and said that Zoro nabbed it. They were bringing it to Thatch to cook. The number two hero chuckled and said he hoped it ended up worth the trouble of bringing it back. The fourteen year old laughed and said he hoped so, too. When he dragged it into the massive kitchen, he put it down on the chopping table. It was strong enough to hold the weight.
Thatch's eyes widened when he saw how huge it was. "Damn! Zoro's a badass!" Thatch exclaimed, excited to cook something completely different. You don't really get to buy full sharks in the market or grocery store.
He left the room and found Ace and Sabo on their way out and told them to come back to try the shark food Thatch would cook up. "Zoro killed a shark so we're gonna see if it cooks into something good." Ace looked excited to eat something completely new.
"Damn right I'll be back for that. Don't eat all of it!" Luffy said there was no way he could. That it was massive. They left, masks on and headed to work on their given mission. It didn't take too long for Zoro and Sanji to arrive back at the agency, locking their bikes in the back and hurrying inside to find Thatch taking the bones out and cutting them up, preparing other foods to make whatever he was planning to make.
Sanji looked up to Thatch as a chef, and wanted to watch him cook. So he stayed in the kitchen and Luffy and Zoro went to train. It was just their favorite thing to do. It went from video games in sixth grade to training and fighting for all of middle school.
When the first round of shark dishes were out, Sanji came and got them, along with those not working. They tried the skewers. Luffy was glad he wasn't alone in thinking it tasted terrible. All of their faces were sour. "Yeah, I thought it tasted like shit, too," Thatch said with a laugh.
"Then why'd you feed it to us?!" Haruta demanded. Thatch just laughed and put out the next round of the food. Grilled shark. They tried it. It was still disgusting. "Is it me or does this shark taste horrible?"
The others agreed. Luffy pulled out his phone and googled it. "We should have googled it first. Apparently this type tastes horrible and has never been fished for on purpose." Thatch took great offense, and said he would make a good dish out of this no matter what. The boast proved empty, and by the end he was pouting. Nothing made with it tasted good at all. He was moping, and everyone ordered massive amounts of pizza. Anything to get the taste of shark out of their mouths.
Ace took the rest of it out back to the large yard and burnt it up since it wouldn't do to just shove it in the trash. It would have stunk up the whole building. Luffy told him he was sorry for getting his hopes up. "That's stupid, Lu. You didn't know it would taste terrible," Ace said, and ruffled his hair. Luffy smiled and hugged him. "What's this?"
"Nothing, really. Just felt like hugging you," Luffy said with a grin.
"Awwww, you're still so cute." Luffy huffed and told him not to call him cute.
Luffy said, "Demons aren't cute, you know." Ace said that nobody knew that. Besides, the only demon they had was cute. The older man touched Luffy's horns. "I'm going to cover them for school, no matter where I end up." Ace asked why. "I can't have them glowing every time one of us gets hurt. Humans don't have more than one quirk, and I have three, that seem to be quirks. I don't want any suspicious people, y'know?"
Ace said that made sense and then looked at him closely. "Do you wish you were human, Lu?" he asked slowly. Luffy grinned and said he was happy with who he was. He liked how he looked and how his bond with Zoro and Sanji worked. He liked his powers. Ace gave a relieved smile. "You're amazing, you know that?"
Luffy beamed brighter and said, "Well, demons should be amazing, right?"
"I guess that's true," Ace admitted. Sabo called if their brotherly love was over. Ace told him to shut up, since he was blending into the tree behind them. "You're not supposed to eavesdrop, dumbass."
Sabo said he just couldn't bring himself to miss that. "So adorable. You gotta be more careful at UA, though. We don't know if others can tell you aren't human. And if Eraser Head is still working there, you gotta be careful with him. After all, you don't have quirks, so he can't erase them. If his hair raises, stop using your power, no matter what, okay?"
Luffy nodded, and wondered how they'd react if they knew he wasn't from this world. It was just lucky he could be passed on as someone with a quirk that altered his appearance. "We don't want to find out," Sabo replied. Luffy agreed, and would be careful.
