He ran to the elevator, wanting to show someone else his new power, and found Ace and Sabo waiting outside of it, looking exhausted. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern. Both of them smiled tiredly at him. Sabo just said they had to make a wild goosechase around the city for someone who could teleport. "Oh. I had something to show and tell you, but I could show you tomorrow."

Ace asked if it was something good. They had just had dinner. Luffy grinned and said, "I got a new power. And me and Sanji and Zoro can talk to each other in our heads." Sabo and Ace froze before they both loudly said, "What?!"

Luffy nodded, and said he wanted to show them the new power. They hurried upstairs, no longer seeming exhausted, and went to the older brothers' flat, the story right below their original home where Luffy still lived. Luffy immediately made a portal to downstairs.

His brothers touched it, commenting that it felt cold, like glass. Luffy nodded, and then ripped his hand down the middle once again, surprising Ace and Sabo before it was a door. "Go through. It's super cool," Luffy said. Both of them attempted to walk through, only to be bounced back. Luffy frowned and they tried again, only to bounce back.

Luffy stuck his arm through, and he made it out. "That's weird… Sanji was able to come through. I didn't try with Zoro…" He frowned deeply. Sabo said it may be because they were his pack. Luffy nodded, but then clenched his hands. Ace put his hand on his shoulder, probably knowing what he was thinking.

"What… what if I'm turning them into demons, too? Both of them found feathers in their shirts today," Luffy said quietly. "They say it doesn't bother them, and I believe them. But I worry about the consequences for them if we're ever found out. And if they grow wings or tails or horns, then… it would be obvious something was up."

Sabo softly said there was nothing he could do to change things. He didn't know how, even if it was possible. "I feel like I'm polluting them."

Ace turned him around and said, "They adore you, Luffy. They always have. I think they'd be very angry if they knew you thought that way. It's not just your choice to be their friend, it's theirs, too." Luffy nodded, knowing he was right. They would be mad if Luffy thought that way. He hoped they didn't come to regret being his friends.

-x-

I just broke my bedside table. -_- Zoro sent early that morning

What? How? Luffy asked, brushing his teeth.

I tried to turn my alarm clock off and it just broke. Like I was a billion times stronger. Okay, maybe not a billion, but still. Luffy frowned. Was it more symptoms? That's what he'd be calling the changes. Symptoms of turning into demons. Or at least, demon-human hybrids.

I snapped my toothbrush in half, too.

I'm sorry. More things keep coming up that you guys didn't ask for.

Dude! We could have super strength, that's fuckin awesome. But now we have even less people to fight against that would actually be a fair fight. Zoro said, so optimistic about everything regarding the changes. Luffy was actually convinced Zoro would like it if he ended up like Luffy.

And there were no downsides to being Luffy. He was a human at heart. He didn't attack people, or have anything inconvenient happen to him. The only thing that would change for them would be power and appearance. Them as people would not change. He was sure of that. His instincts that were often buried under rational thoughts was able to tell him that they wouldn't turn into monsters. Well, behavior wise.

Sanji said he thought it was cool, too. Though he pointed out he was already really strong in the legs. That was true. But neither of them complained about it in any way. Luffy left the agency without telling anyone about the newest development. Everything was happening so fast now. What had changed?

They talked about more trivial things as all three of them headed to their own internships. Luffy found Hawks, and the observant hero looked at him in concern, seeing his demeanor no matter how hard he tried to find it. Luffy went to get in his costume, and Hawks told him they were going on patrol again, but this time on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Hawks asked as both of them easily focused on other things besides their conversation. Sounds that could mean trouble. Screams, crashes, etc.

Luffy said, "More things popped up. My friends seem to have super strength now. And I can make portals and only they can walk through them. Nobody else can." Hawks whistled and then asked what was wrong with that. "I'm worried it will cause trouble for them."

"Well, from what you told me, they seem pretty along for the ride," he replied. They both heard a scream and went flying towards it without saying a thing about it. If it was something serious, running and not flying wouldn't be right when one was faster than the other. "They sound supportive and caring. I don't think friends like that, for ten years, would ditch so easily."

They came across a car pile up, and Luffy helped move the cars, dragging them apart while Hawks took those trapped out once they were able to. Without other cars crunched up together and blocking doors and windows.

"I know, but I can't help worry that something will go wrong," Luffy said loudly as he helped people out of the cars as well. Both of them had everyone on the side of the road in no time as Luffy dragged the cars to the shoulder of the road so other cars and emergency vehicles could get through.

"Worrying is pointless if you can't do anything to change it." Luffy said he knew that, but it was easier said than done. "Very true. Time and practice can make it happen, though." Luffy said it would take him a long time. Hawks lightly punched his arm and said to cheer up. He couldn't let the public see him looking depressed while he did his job.

Luffy nodded, and lost the sad look, now wearing a content looking face as he told those he helped save that they were welcome and it was the right thing and his job to save them. Hawks said, "This is Luffy, a student. He'd already done a great job."

The demon blushed and looked down. Hawks smiled at that in amusement. "Okay, back on patrol on foot, let's go," he said after giving the police report. The two walked off again. Luffy asked if he was this familiar to everybody. "Nah. You're Marco's favorite boy, been talking about you since you were a baby. Plus, you can fly, too. I can't help but favor you." Luffy smiled and looked away.

"Now, no more talking and let's work," he said, and Luffy nodded. They saved a woman being attacked by some thug that was arrested. They walked her to her apartment safely, and then continued. His mind was empty of his friends' voices until it was nighttime and he and Hawks were flying above the busier parts of the city, looking and listening for any problems.

Luffy! Just so you know, we're fighting the killer stain. Don't worry, we got it handled, Zoro's voice said calmly before Luffy heard a grin in it. A real fight. Zoro was excited. Sanji said nothing, but Zoro made it sound like Sanji was with him by saying "we".

Luffy asked Hawks to stop on a roof, looking worried. He nodded, and they landed on a tall roof. Luffy created a portal, viewing his best friends as they fought against the Hero-Killer Stain. Hawks was in shock, but both of them were nowhere near that area and would be useless to get there. And Luffy couldn't go through the portal since there were three other students there.

Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida. Iida was on the ground, and Midoriya was against the wall. Todoroki was fighting alongside the two. "They're pretty good, but they'll get in huge trouble for this." Luffy asked why. "It's against the law to fight with your quirk without a license, even if it's against a villain. Though, exceptions are made, and they're all kids. Should be fine." Luffy nodded as they watched.

Todoroki got a cut and the scary looking villain licked the knife. The half and half froze and fell to the ground, unable to move. "He paralyzes them by ingesting blood?" Luffy asked. He was scared now. It didn't matter if Zoro and Sanji could heal if they were parlyzed. He pressed his face closer and shouted in alarm when Sanji was nicked in the cheek, cutting off some of his hair.

Luffy was about to jump through before Hawks grabbed his arm. Luffy looked at him in question. "Don't give yourself away." The teen bit his bottom lip, but nodded, only to freeze when the hero killed dropped to the ground and started foaming at the mouth, grabbing at his tongue before falling unconscious. "He had seizures?"

The demon's eyes were wide. Sanji's blood poisoned him? Luffy had never had anybody ingest his blood, so he wouldn't know if it was poisonous. But if that was the case, then Sanjis' body, and most likely Zoro's as well, was becoming more like Luffy's. If their blood types changed… He balled his fists. Well, this could pass by as the villain having a seizure at just the wrong time.

"He had a seizure?" Misoriya asked in shock. They could hear his voice through the window. Todoroki said that was an awfully convenient time for them. They all nodded. Zoro complained that they'd barely gotten to fight seriously.

We're good, Luffy. No need to worry, Sanji's voice said.

I know, I've been watching. Sanji… your blood might be poisonous now. I don't know if mine is, but still…

I know that. But it saved us. We were losing, and I would have been paralyzed if it hadn't made him pass out. Another thing your changes were good for. Wish us luck with the authorities.

Good luck.

Luffy let out a sigh once the police got there and cuffed the hero killer. Hawks pat his back. "Your friends can take care of themselves. Let's go back, it's late and you need to make today's report. What? Did you think being a hero was only patrolling? You should know better than anybody."

Luffy admitted that the Whitebeards often complained about having to do paperwork. Luffy didn't, and went back to the agency. Luffy made his report about what happened that day, saying all of the information in detail. He brought it to Hawks, and he read over it, nodding his head.

"Good, but try and make it more organized. It feels more like a story than a log of events. I know that's kind of contradictory, but try paraphrasing a bit. Unless it's something very complicated, like a deep mission. Then put everything in great detail." He smiled. "Good work again. And don't worry so much about your friends. Believe in them."

"I do. I love them. But family worries about each other." He grinned. "I know that by now, living with the Whitebeards." Hawks ruffled his hair.

"Go home and get something to eat, chicklet. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Luffy nodded, changed out of his costume and flew back home. He could use the portal, but he was grounded, so he'd take any chance to fly that he could. This grounding really wasn't bad at all. Marco was such a softy with Luffy.

When he got back home, he asked how the two of them were.

Perfectly fine. The other three aren't. Nobody is questioning the blood being the cause, just that he had some medical condition. Then there were some nomus, but we didn't really come into contact with them. Lucky you weren't there. I would assume the League was behind the nomu attack. You would have been the number one target, Sanji explained.

Fuckin' police got mad at us for fighting back, Zoro's voice said furiously. Luffy made a portal, sitting in the living room carpet. It was nice having no homework. He saw his best friends and classmates sitting in a hospital room. Somehow, Sanji and Zoro's gaze flicked to the portal, but did not make eye contact with him, unable to see him, but somehow knowing he was there.

Can you see it? Luffy asked.

No, but we can tell you're there… somehow. You guys think the bond is strengthening? But, what changed it? The sports festival, we worked together, but it was just sports and fighting, Sanji wondered. He and Zoro looked away from the window they couldn't see.

Luffy replied he had no idea. Oh, we got some bad news. Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida saw my markings, Zoro said. Luffy went pale and he asked what they told him. Said my dad used to be a tattoo artist and gave them to me for my birthday. Iida freaked out about that breaking the law. At least he can't get in trouble since he's somewhere far from where Japanese law can reach him. We just gotta make sure nobody sees you two.

Luffy sighed and put his hands to his face. He asked what they thought of them. Midoriya said it looked like they had hurt, Iida was upset I did something illegal and Todoroki said nothing. It's just lucky no one saw Sanji's.

Yeah, it would have been a mess. I'm glad Aizawa already knows and hasn't told anybody. One less person to be suspicious, right? Sanji asked.

Luffy agreed with that. He asked if they had trouble with being too strong again. After breaking things that morning. They both said nothing else had happened with it, but that they were being careful. The smallest was so glad they were calm and collected in uncomfortable situations. Better at it than Luffy was.

Luffy could lie, but had trouble with not sweating or tapping his foot when he was nervous. Not showing he was lying, necessarily, but if he was nervous. He was good at controlling his tail movements mostly by now.

Do you think they'll get suspicious after that? Why do you two wear the shirts like I do. I said mine was for scars. Zoro can say his is for tattoos. What will you say, Sanji?

Burns. I was burnt on my back, after all. Stupid Ichiji. And it was way before me and Zoro could heal. So it's still there. Me and Zoro have proof. You don't.

Luffy knew that. But he would stick with saying he had scars. They all think we're weird regardless of wearing shirts.

The other two agreed. Luffy said he was going to eat dinner and would talk to them later.

-x-

The rest of the week of internships, nothing exciting happened. Stain was all over the news and internet, but it didn't affect Luffy or his pack directly. Nobody knew about the fight between Stain and the five students, so they weren't in the news at all. Luckily.

Hawks was Luffy's third favorite hero. Whitebeard and then Marco and then Hawks. Well, everyone else from the agency was up there as well, but Luffy considered them and Thatch more of a family than heroes. So they didn't count. So, when they got back to school, the three of them were a bit more tense than usual after Zoro's markings were found. They were walking on eggshells. Well, it would fade. Hopefully.

But then the stress disappeared from Luffy as he saw Bakugo's hair. It looked like a bowl cut, and so terrible. Zoro laughed openly, loudly, along with Kirishima and Sero. Bakugo shouted at them to shut up and, like always, that he'd kill them. Well, Luffy knew Bakugo could never kill Zoro, or Sanji or him. Could they even die? Could Luffy?

Well, he wasn't going to try and find out. The three sat down, Zoro still snickering even after his hair suddenly got back to normal. Uraraka asked what it was like to intern with Hawks, the only one to get an offer. "It was cool! We did patrolling while flying. Then he did it on the ground since I'll be with Zoro and Sanji as a hero, and they can't fly. But it was really fun."

Don't say another word about flying, Zoro's voice said, and Luffy glanced at him and saw his face was stony. I just felt a jolt on my shoulder blades. He stood up and said he had to go to the bathroom. Sanji hadn't had the feeling, and they both watched him leave.

When he came back, Luffy saw his pockets were stuffed with something that hadn't been there before. Nobody said anything about it, thinking nothing was off. Feathers in my shirt again. Luffy clenched his hands on the desk, but nobody noticed their silent interaction. Sanji looked a bit worried, too, but not too much. Zoro leaned back in his seat and the blonde asked telepathically if it was only feathers.

Yeah. And nothing else there. No protruding bones or any more marks or anything changed. They were small downy feathers, not like Luffy's largest ones.

I have downy feathers at the bases of my wings, but when Marco found me the feathers were larger, even when I was a baby. So this is different.

Thought so. Well, whatever. Maybe we can be flying heroes, who knows? Then he grinned. The future sounds exciting. Sanji chuckled under his breath and shook his head. Luffy smiled, too, right as Aizawa came in and told them all to sit down and be quiet.

For hero basics training, they met at field gamma, a place with tons of pipes and a weird terrain. They were all in their hero costumes, and were told by All Might they'd be doing a race to get to him, who would send out a help beacon, so they'd rush to him to "save" him. Whoever got there first would win.

Pretty simple and to the point. They had to not damage the buildings, which mimiced a factory setting, with all of the piles and such. It should be fun. Luffy hoped Zoro and Sanji could be in control of their strength. Both of them had checked about that when they purposely broke something heavy.

Zoro had destroyed one of his dumbbells on purpose and Sanji had crumpled the front of a car at junkyard. It was a field trip for him, apparently. And Luffy was surprised by this. He was super strong when his claws were out and he was channeling his beast form. But neither of them had a beast form, so it was just them with the super strength.

Something new. Luffy hoped they never turned into monsters. Both of them felt so happy with that, and Zoro had told Luffy they were gonna surpass him in awesomeness. Luffy vehemently denied that statement. So he'd brought both of them to the training room and the three arm wrestled. Luffy snapped both of their right arms. He was the winner strength wise. But their arms healed easily, the bone mending back to normal, not a trace of injury at all.

They weren't in the same race, but Luffy won his by flying, Zoro and Sanji won theirs by sprinting and jumping easily. Midoriya almost won his, surprising everyone with his sudden control of power. Though those at the Stain incident had seen him fight even a little bit. Luffy watched Bakugo's reaction out of the corner of his eye. He was angry since the class pointed out his movements looked like Bakugo's.

The demon couldn't help but disagree. Just because somebody is nimble and quick doesn't mean they stole his moves. So he said, "Being nimble and fast isn't a move that belongs to anyone. Midoriya learned how to control, even if he fell. It doesn't mean he directly copied Bakugo."

The others thought about that, but some still said it looked like Bakugo's moves. "If anyone stole moves, it's Zoro and Sanji taking yours," Nami pointed out. "But, you guys always train together, so I guess it's to be expected."

Luffy crossed his arms and proudly said, "I'm the teacher in the lessons." Sanji kicked him.

"Liar." Luffy laughed and Zoro shook his head.

When they got back to the training room, the three were changing out of their hero costumes and showed they were all wearing the same type of shirt, super tight and thin. Luffy's was black and the other two had different shades of grey.

"Hey, why do all three of you wear underclothing like that?" Kirishima asked. "Luffy said he hides his scars, but what about you two?" Sanji said he had a burn that covered a good patch of his upper back.

"Let's just say my step brothers were fucking assholes," Sanji grumbled. For proof, he pulled the scuff of the back of his undershirt down to show there was in fact a burn there. Kaminari asked about Zoro, who stayed quiet, probably wondering what he should say. Three already knew about his tattoos. They would know if he lied.

He sighed and said it hid illegal tattoos. He didn't want to get attention for them since people would freak. The class was shocked that he had tattoos at his age, just turning 15. After all, you could only get tattoos once you turn twenty.

Bakugo told him he was a fucking liar, but Todorkoi said, "No, I saw them when we went to the hospital after the Stain incident. They cover much of his back." Zoro nodded, and Usopp asked to see them.

"No," Zoro said simply, and not in a rude voice. The class was a bit surprised with the response. "They're boring anyways."

Midoriya said he thought they were pretty cool. "C'mon, pleeeaasseee?" Sero begged.

"I said no," Zoro repeated firmly. Nobody asked again. Luffy was glad Zoro wasn't a push over and changed his mind. It was cool, he'd always been blunt and was determined to never go back on his word.

Mineta found a hole in the wall that connected to the girls changing room, and before anyone responded, Sanji kicked him in the face. "Don't break a ladies privacy, you pig," Sanji said in a cold voice. Chills went up the spines of those Luffy knew would have peeked. They left the school, Luffy flying away before both of them got back home and Luffy picked them up through the portals.

When they got to the Whitebeard agency, they went to the training room, which was empty during the day most of the time, and locked the door. Zoro and Sanji took off their shirts, and Luffy looked at Zoro's back.

There were very, very slight bumps from his shoulder blades. He felt them and Zoro asked if there was anything different. Luffy put his hand on the bumps and Zoro said, "Oh jeez." Luffy looked ashamed. "Well, if I do grow wings, that's cool on its own. But we'll be seen in a different light. At least none of my feathers were black. A green, to match my hair. Ugh. I want black."

Luffy chuckled and Sanji said, "I'm gonna be fucking pissed if Zoro grows wings and I don't."

"Well, the feathers popped out when Luffy said something about it. It could be a coincidence, but I'm not sure. Why don't you say something about Sanji?" Zoro asked Luffy. He was hesitant. Sanji told him to say something. He really didn't want to be left out. And that they could all work with Hawks if the three of them had wings. Luffy said, "It would be awesome if Sanji grew wings." A clump of yellow feathers shot out of his back.

"Fuck, that's so cool," Zoro said. "But don't say anything about the other attributes. I only want the wings." Luffy nodded, and said it might take awhile for them to grow. "Well, we're only fifteen. We have plenty of time. It'll all work out. The most reassuring thing about all this is that you behave perfectly fine. We won't turn into rabid monsters."

Luffy asked if either of them were scared about it. How their bodies were changing without their permission. Because they were friends with Luffy. Sanji said he wasn't scared one bit, and Zoro said he was excited. Luffy gave a small smile. "I'm glad it's you two."

"We're a pack. Isn't it natural to act like this?"

Luffy chuckled. "I guess that's true. But, do you guys honestly want to be best friends with me for so long. Who knows if you could even get out of the pack?"

Sanji sat down and said he couldn't ask for better friends, so he wasn't leaving anytime in the future. Zoro nodded in agreement. They were both there to stay. "Don't cry, you're a badass demon." Luffy sniffled and nodded, feeling so happy and blessed. "Now take us home we have homework to do."

Luffy created portals to their houses, and let them through. "See you tomorrow," Luffy said. They nodded and Luffy went to do his own homework, on autopilot. Marco came into the flat while he was working, and asked if he was talking with Zoro and Sanji. "Y-Yeah. Some more stuff happened. It looks like Zoro is growing wings. Sanji, too."

Marco looked shocked. "They both said they're excited about it, and that they wouldn't ditch me no matter what happened." He clenched his hands. "They also both got super strength. I told you guys about that already, but still. So much has happened in such a short amount of time."

Marco sat on the couch behind him. "Are they scared?" Luffy shook his head, and laughed that Sanji said he'd be really mad if Zoro grew wings and he didn't. Then he said when Luffy said out loud that he wanted Sanji to grow wings, a bunch of feathers burst out.

Luffy said, "We're walking on thin ice. We have to be careful, and some of them saw Zoro's markings, which he said were tattoos." Marco sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I have nothing new to say. It sounds like they're dealing fine, and so you shouldn't worry about them abandoning you." Luffy nodded, saying he trusted them. And they still wanted to become heroes together. He smiled, thinking about them. He would protect them if they ever needed it.

And with them developing powers that were definitely from Luffy, they would be stronger than before. He shouldn't be worried about them at all.