Dacarl: They're all adorable. I love writing fluff as much as I do angst. Gunhead is such a sweetheart, even in canon.
kailaxavier33: Thank you! Yeah, I couldn't break Luffy. He's too innocent strong for that.
When they went home, Ace and Luffy collapsed onto their bed and fell asleep, feeling that the nightmare was over. They'd developed new haki, which sort of was like armor, so they named it armament haki, and named the other one observation haki, since that really made sense.
Gunhead got to the adoption process immediately, which wasn't hard since their parents abandoned them and abused them. Even if they wanted to fight it, they'd never get custody of them again. They'd actually probably go to jail.
The twins took a break from training their bodies until Luffy felt 100% back to normal. He said he felt maybe 80%. They could wait, it was no big deal. So, they trained their quirks inside and without much force. Ace was able to keep himself as fire for two hours and Luffy was able to have air armor on his arms and legs, but nowhere else. But they had to think if that was necessary with the armament haki.
And Luffy held it for three days, meaning he had a long time before it fizzled out. No pro-heroes had asked them about Luffy when they saved him, as he was still in that form. For someone who was tortured, starved and kidnapped, he bounced back well besides some nightmares.
They always woke him up whimpering, but never screaming. After all, Bakugo said he had never made a show of pain or fear. And he had been scared about how Ace would react if he broke or died. That's what really kept him going the most. Thinking about his beloved brother.
So they were surprised later that day when All Might and Aizawa arrived. Gunhead was there, taking a break off since everyone knew he had taken these kids in and one had only just been out of the hospital from being tortured. Gunhead let them in, and the boys sat on the couch with Gunhead on the recliner. Since they came, some new furniture was bought, but not much.
The first thing they asked was how Luffy was doing. "Okay. I feel mostly better but am sore in some places still. And I have some nightmares, but that's it." All Might said his recovery was incredibly fast. Luffy nodded, having been told that many times by now.
They were surprised when the two teachers announced that they'd like to have the students stay at dorms on campus for safety reasons. The villains had a grudge about the students, it seemed, and keeping them mostly on campus sounded the safest. The twins didn't like this idea, wanting to stay with Gunhead and especially now that he was adopting them. It wouldn't be fair to be taken away.
But the pro-hero and father said, "I don't like it and I wish it didn't need to be, but I think it's a good idea." Ace wanted to point out that it is their fault in the first place, but he didn't need to. "I cannot help but resent the school a bit for losing Luffy like it did, but I know you would have never done that on purpose.
"I don't want them to leave, but with Luffy's situation with them, I want them to be safe. I have work which leaves them alone here often, and I wouldn't feel comfortable with that." Both of them knew it was a good point, but they still didn't want to leave. Their heads drooped, sad with the situation.
"We will share a room," Luffy said firmly. The two teachers said that was absolutely fine. They both requested a bunk bed with a larger mattress on the bottom. People would think it was weird that they slept on the same bed. But it made them feel safe, still with the mindset that sleeping was dangerous so they had to do it close together.
Just another lingering scar from their childhood which still haunted them. "We thank you for cooperation and are again extremely sorry for what happened under our watch," Aizawa finished with a deep bow that All Might mimicked as well.
A week later, the students gathered at their new living quarters, Heights Alliance, which was built in three days. Hopefully it was sturdy. Ace and Luffy didn't hesitate to hold hands since the class knew that it was appropriate given that Luffy had recently been kidnapped and tortured. The two were back to being cheery, though Ace was more clingy now, just a bit.
Bakugo hadn't said a word to Ace or Luffy at all since the dual kidnapping. It might be because he'd seen Luffy wasn't as indestructible as he thought, wasn't strong enough to get away and so dealt with it and might respect him for that.
Or it could be that deep down Bakugo was glad someone else was there with him in an unknown place full of villains, even if Luffy was being tortured in front of him. Neither of them thought that they would be friends with the hot head, but the arguing and nasty looks were gone and that was nice.
Midoriya also was clingy, but not as much as Ace. Which was to be expected. Luffy talked with his friend a lot after what had happened, mostly over text once his fingers were feeling better. It had scared him, losing both one of his closest friends and a childhood friend who had a love/hate relationship. At least to Midoriya. Bakugo didn't share those feelings, but the twins had long since stopped trying to convince Midoriya that Bakugo wasn't good for him.
And seeing Ace broken like that might have been another shock and been hard as well. Overall, Ace would say he and Midoriya went through the worst after the kidnapping than anyone else.
Aizawa met them outside and told them he was glad the class was all back together. He also said that they would be focused on getting the provisional licenses they were planning on getting at the training camp.
Most of the students had forgotten all about that after everything that had happened, Ace and Luffy included. Then Aizawa said that the next part would be important, and named all five of the students who went off to save Bakugo on their own that night. "Your reaction to this shows that you all knew about that night. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this: if it weren't for all Might's retirement, I would have expelled everyone besides Luffy, Bakugo, Jiro and Hagakure.
"Of coure the five who went, but also the twelve who knew and didn't stop them betrayed our trust no matter the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain that trust. That is all," and the teacher turned around and told them they were going inside.
Ace and Luffy went forward while the others joked around. It was weird for both of them to go weeks without being in a big crowd. Now they have to live with everyone. They didn't like this, they liked the quiet and privacy at home. They didn't expect Aizawa to take them and Baukgo aside when they went in while the others were still outside joking.
"The two of you will be under more supervision for now. And truly, on behalf of myself and the school, I apologize for letting you three go through that. We will try to move on, but there are counselors on site if you need them. That is all," he said and went back to everyone else.
Luffy finally approached Bakugo. "I just want to say that I didn't want you to have to be there, but I was able to get through the beginning knowing somebody else was there with me, and I wasn't all alone. I don't expect to be friends, but I wanted to at least tell you that," he said and walked off to the other group after he heard: "I felt the same," and then they didn't speak of that again.
When Ace and Luffy saw the extent of the place, they frowned. It was too big. Not cozy at all. They sighed and tried to be positive about it, even if they'd much rather be with Gunhead. There were huge windows and the ceiling was very tall. There was a TV on the wall and a kitchen, too.
"The bedrooms start on the second floor, four bedrooms per floor by gender, five floors in total. Everyone gets their own room besides Ace and Luffy. They're luxurious spaces equipped with their own ACs, toilets, refrigerators and closets." There were even balconies.
The rooms were huge compared to their old room which had barely any space for the big bed and the dresser. It was nice, and they were glad it felt more cozy. They were to unpack since everything had already been brought to the rooms for them. It was nice that their room was next to Midoriya's and on the end of the fifth floor. So they shared one wall and didn't have to have any footsteps above them, which was nice.
Their room had nice wooden bunk beds with a twin on top and a queen on bottom. They wondered if the teachers knew they slept on the same bed or assumed so by having a queen instead of the usual full. It wouldn't surprise them, especially since everyone knew Ace's reaction to Luffy's kidnapping and the fact that Luffy had been tortured.
He still had some residue of his time there, but not really anywhere anyone could see. A couple scars that would take awhile to heal, but most of the damage was gone. They put the dark blue sheets on the bed and fluffed up the pillows on the top and bottom so it looked like both would be used.
The dresser they had brought had the TV on it with their game station in the drawer below. All of their clothes went in the closet. They had a bookshelf full of all sorts of books from fiction to math and science and fighting. They had a mat that they could practice on that doubled as a carpet. Now they had a huge yard to practice in! They also had a punching bag in the very corner to not take much room.
There were no posters on the wall but two framed photos of Luffy and Ace's first day with Gunhead and their most recent. The first they were dirty and huddled together, looking scared and very skinny and pale. The second was tan and fully fed teens with bright smiles, completely clean. The difference was staggering and they liked seeing them.
They did have a stuffed animal Gunhead had bought them when they were new, which was a bear in a karate outfit. It was funny, so they brought it with them. The room was a bit cozy at the end, and they liked the extra space. It was weird, but nice. They would still miss their home, though. But, Gunhead said that they could skype on the new laptops they bought since they couldn't use the other one at home now.
Once they were done unpacking, they went to the common area where the boys were all sitting after finishing unpacking their rooms. "Hey, Luffy, how you doing?" Krishima asked nicely.
"Oh, no. Please don't baby me, I'm perfectly fine. I am almost completely healed and only have some nightmares. Promise, I'm fine," he said firmly. "Besides, babying me will just make me think about it more and we don't want that." The others nodded, and Ace smiled.
The others were talking about how cool it would be for all of them to live together. Ace said, "And we can all spar out in the yard since there is so much space." The others looked at them warily. "What?"
Kaminari said, "You two are monsters. We don't want to be beaten until we're bloody like at the sports festival." Ace laughed at that and said they wouldn't go so hard on other people unless they gave permission. The guys shook their heads besides Kirishima, who was down for doing that. Ace said they weren't allowed to use their quirks.
The girls came over and announced that they wanted to do a competition to see who had the best room. They started with Midoriya's and would then go to the side to see Ace and Luffy's. They didn't even think about the photos they'd put up side by side. Of course Midoriya's was completely decked out in All Might posters and merchandise.
They moved to Ace and Luffy's room and saw it was kind of plain but also cozy. They saw the big TV and game station below it and said they were lucky. Some had their own but they shared it with their family so they couldn't take it.
"You have such boring books," Kaminari pointed out. Iida said it was honorable to have text books like those. And it wasn't surprising that he had tons of books as well.
Uraraka looked at the two photos on the wall and her face fell, gaining attention from everyone else. "What's wrong?" Ashido asked. Uraraka smiled and said it was nothing before putting the photos face down on the dresser beneath it. Ace and Luffy's faces went red, but nobody pushed and they moved to the next room.
Luffy touched her shoulder. "Thank you." She nodded and grinned.
"I can see why you're so happy now, compared to then. It's a wonderful change," she said simply and they went to the next room. Their rooms were all so different and many of them completely over the top, though they showed what they were into. Ace and Luffy didn't have many fandoms or things like that, always trying to be minimalists.
When they got to the last one, Sato's room, they smelled something good, and he said he'd baked a chiffon cake. Ace and Luffy weren't hesitant to join the girls in eating it, enjoying it with them, all of their faces pink with the delicious cakes.
"Hey! If we train you, Sato, will you bake us stuff as compensation?" Ace asked brightly.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Hagakure said. Ace and Luffy grinned. He said it was free training, the least they could get was something sweet. Even if it was barely anything.
"At home we barely had any sweets. Besides, we burn off the calories quickly. We won't get fat," Ace explained. Sato hadn't even answered and they were already arguing. He just watched them with a weird expression on. "And my quirk burns off calories so it's impossible for me to get fat."
The girls expressed jealousy at that, then looked at Luffy. "I exercise," he said simply. They huffed and then walked out. The chiffon cake was eaten just by the girls and twins. Sato had still said nothing and everyone seemed to forget about it for now.
When they started looking at the girls' rooms, Jiro's was first. It was decked full of instruments of all types. Luffy said, "I'm glad our room isn't anywhere near yours." The other guys agreed with nods. Jiro sighed, but said nothing. Next was Hagakure's room. It was so pink and girly that Ace and Luffy weren't sure how to react to it. It really was hard on the eyes. They honestly didn't understand why they guys were feeling weird about seeing the girls' rooms. So Luffy asked. "Why is it so weird to see the girls' rooms? They saw the boys."
The girls all said, "So innocent." Ace started laughing at it.
"What?!" Luffy asked defensively. The guys asked what kind of upbringing they had. Luffy said they weren't around girls much at all. It wasn't weird to them. Mineta said, "Why are you so perfect! Why do girls like you!? Like when we saw class B, they were all talking to you and smiling! That's not fair, stop it!"
Jiro commented, "Maybe if you weren't such a pervert, girls would be fond of you, too. Like we said before, you can be friends with guys and not like like them." The other girls nodded. "Besides, as people, they're nice to be around," she added simply. "Just like some of you, but not all of you."
Ace was looking amused at everything and pat Luffy on the head. It was getting late, so after the rooms were all seen, and Sato's won because of his food, they went to the kitchen to see what there was. The others weren't good at cooking, so Ace and Luffy proudly said to leave it all to them.
Then they got out ingredients for spicy curry and steamed rice with special sauce they learned to make, making a huge enough serving for everyone to take a plate of. "Oh! This is so good!" Kirishima shouted and the girls agreed loudly.
Luffy was cleaning up and then ate his and said, "Gunhead wasn't always home, so we cooked dinner. The first couple of times the pan caught on fire, but it's all good now." They all enjoyed the food before putting the dishes in the dishwasher and the left overs in the fridge before they all went to bed. It was nice there was an elevator and not stairs, that would suck.
Ace and Luffy went to bed on the bottom bunk, of course, under their blankets with Luffy facing the wall and Ace facing the room. Ace woke up while Luffy started whimpering in his sleep and gently shook him awake. "Lu, wake up. You're fine, you're not there anymore. You're with me, super safe at school. You'll never go there again." Luffy was crying still, but nodded. The thing that often got Luffy to bed after a nightmare was food. There was left over curry they could eat, so they went to the first floor and got some curry from the fridge before going to the couches to eat it, Luffy doing more of the eating. "Wanna talk about it?"
Ace didn't like hearing it, but it was necessary for Luffy. "When I got stabbed in the side. I dreamt the infection spread to my whole body and I was green and sick and oozing from everywhere. Then they took advantage of that and hit me over and over where it hurt. Then you woke me up," he said in a flat voice.
The freckled twin hugged his brother and Luffy finished the curry before they both ended up falling asleep on the couches, to be discovered by the rest in the morning. "Yo, when'd you come out here?" Kirishima asked, startling both of them awake. "Get a late night snack?" he asked, seeing the empty curry dish.
They both nodded and yawned. "The couches aren't that bad to sleep on," Ace commented. Luffy brought the dish back into the kitchen and washed it in the sink since all of those in the dishwasher were clean after running it during the night.
The two went upstairs to their room to change and take turners showering. It was a shower. Not a bath, which didn't matter to them. They even had towels in the cupboards and toiletry products in the drawers and under the sink.
Once they were both dry from Ace's flames, they went downstairs to get food for breakfast. Nobody knew about Luffy getting up from the night before. Ace said, "Just a warning, you might find us on the couch sometimes."
Nobody asked why, but a few did glace in both of their directions, mostly Luffy, but they all nodded.
Ace and Luffy made breakfast again, enjoying cooking even if they couldn't do it for Gunhead. They liked people enjoying their food. They made bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and there were already english muffins in the cupboards. They served all of them and ate at the tables together. Ojiro asked why they were making the food. They didn't need to if they didn't want to. Ace replied that, since they couldn't cook for Gunhead, they wanted to cook for at least someone. And it was nice to have everyone happy after meals.
"Plus, we know what's a healthy serving size. That's why we're using the small plates. Then if you go and get seconds, it's pretty much the same size as a larger serving," Luffy explained. Their classmates thanked them, and asked for them to teach everyone how to cook since it wouldn't be fair if they did all the cooking.
Luffy said it sounded fun and both of them would be glad to.
Everyone had a good breakfast that was a great start to the day so they were all positive once class started. Aizawa told them class A hero course would be focusing on getting provisional licenses. He then laid it on thick by saying the licenses bears with it a great responsibility of human life. "Of course the exam to receive them will be very difficult." Only 50% pass it each year. That day they'd be working on making at least two ultimate moves.
Three more teachers came in and basically said everything would be easier if they had ultimate moves, and then were told to go get dressed in their costumes and head to one of the gyms. Ace and Luffy looked at each other and nodded, both knowing one thing they'd be working on. The new haki.
When they got to the gym, Aizawa pulled both of them aside and ordered them to not use moves that will kill everyone and everything around. Not everyone was an All Might. They both nodded. It had been an accident, that complete super move that decimated the whole area and burnt All Might during that "test" they took with fighting against them.
Once the speech about what it takes to be a hero was over, the students dispersed in the gym with cement staggered stages, and Ace and Luffy went to a corner to work on each other. Ace was working on using the armament haki and Luffy was trying to strengthen his air shields.
Each time Ace punched, they shattered. Luffy was growing frustrated when he made the shield thicker but they still were shattered and he was pushed back. Nobody was really paying attention to them since they were quiet compared to everybody else. When he had been at the training camp, he'd been working on hardening his skin, but now that he had that haki, he didn't need that, so he was trying to make his shields stronger.
After fifteen minutes of them breaking, Luffy got irritated and automatically the haki covered the shield. He could feel it but not see it. And the shield didn't break, and made Ace bounce backwards. "I- I did it! Try again!" Luffy said and jumped up onto a step and pushed haki out of his feet, the feeling of warmth leaving him. Ace nodded and punched upwards as hard as he could, but nothing happened.
Luffy danced around on his step before he dropped down. Ace was happy for him and gave him a high five. "How'd you do it all the sudden?" Luffy quietly said, "I felt haki leave me and coat the shields in it. It was invisible, but it felt warm, coming off of me. I'm happy! Your turn!"
Ace said he wanted to use the haki and make his hands so hot that they melted anything he punched. Luffy grinned and the two went to the nearest rock wall, still out of view from most people. Ace took his gloves off, both of theirs modified so they weren't fingerless any more, and made his hands full of fire before he turned his arms into the armament haki. It took a little finetuning before the fire was gone and his hands were super heated, like metal, glowing red with overwhelming heat.
He punched through the rock, leaving a scorching hole inside. He punched again and had no resistance, melting the rock with just his fist easily. Then he tried with his finger, immaturely burning a swear word into the surface. Well, there was no one in that area anyways.
Then he used both palms and melted the rock, which now had hand shaped holes in it, the rock vaporized. Luffy started throwing rocks at him and Ace blasted heat at each one, leaving nothing behind.
After Ace deemed the fire-haki hands a super move, as he could injure only those he touched, Luffy worked on his again. He could harden the shields to protect him, but could he use them as offense as well?
He made small shields on his hands and let the haki flow like water over them and punched a hand into the rock, making the shield go right through it in circular shapes. "Ace, it makes everything so much easier!" Luffy cheered. They gave high fives and then worked on them some more. Luffy's super move was hardening the shields for both offense and defense. Ace was being able to control the heat so it only reached his fists, going along with his martial arts training.
Then Luffy tried using the shields on other places as weapons. He put them in front of his shins, hoping he wouldn't cut them again, and let out the invisible haki. He slammed his leg into the wall, leaving a rectangle indent, as the shield had been rectangular. "Woohoo!"
Midoriya looked down at them and he looked up. "You guys are doing so well, I can't think of anything," he said sadly. Ace asked if he wasn't allowed to use his arms anymore after the surgery, and he nodded.
"You have other body parts, don't you?" Ace wondered. Midoriya's face lit up and Ace grinned. "Go kick ass!" he said, and Midoriya jumped up and went to practice his own moves. Luffy grinned and soon they turned their fighting against one another. Luffy slammed Ace with the shields, which he took the impact slightly. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to jar him.
Ace used his fists and found that they felt lighter for some reason, and punching rapidly wasn't hard at all. He didn't break Luffy's shields, but they did catch his face. "Are you-?!" Ace asked frantically until Luffy grinned.
"Looks like I can let it out anywhere, not just my arms and legs. Gonna have to do better than that to break my air armor, big brother," Luffy taunted. He was training his haki to predict where Ace would punch and creating a shield in that place before he hit it. No hits got him at all, even without using armament haki. That sort of felt like a cheat, so he'd rather use this.
Plus, it went over his clothes and skin, keeping all of him protected. Midnight was watching them and commented on their rapid progress. "That's quite impressive, boys. How long have you been working on this?"
"Luffy tried punching rocks at training camp, but it didn't work out. It does now, we started earlier today," Ace said, both of them sweating just a bit. It was hot inside for Luffy, they wanted a break. "Can we go get a water break?"
Midnight approved and both of them left to get a drink of water from the fountain right outside. They splashed their faces, too. "I wish we could go home and tell Gunhead," Luffy said sadly. "We won't be able to show him our progress." Ace's face fell as well, their happiness dampened.
"Maybe we can have someone film us and send it to him. It's the only thing we can do, Lu," Ace said. Luffy nodded, saying he knew that but it didn't mean he was happy with it. They went back in a little more subdued than before.
Ace sent a punch a little too hard and it cracked the whole cement thing in half. It was able to fall on both of them before Ace let out concentrated flames that vaporized the rock into nothing. "I didn't even get to use my shield, jerk," Luffy grumbled.
They went to cementos and asked if they could have another block, which he made and they continued to work.
All Might appeared when the twins were sparring, going very hard with both of them using offense. Ace's hits didn't even reach Luffy's skin as the air armor was there. It had been fifteen minutes and the haki was still available. He hadn't run out, even if it did feel like water leaving his body.
The air beams were already mastered for him, so he didn't work on those. Same with Ace. Now they were training for close combat. Both of them were going hard and sweating heavily. Luffy missed and punched and accidentally punched a circular hole in the wall before dodging when Ace had fist of superheated haki, which left a burnt hole in the rock. He ducked and they began fighting again.
Once they were both gasping for air, they took a break and sat against the wall, wiping their sweat. They'd taken their helmets off long ago, but at least their suits were breathable and didn't make them too hot.
"These two seem like prodigies. As does Bakugo," Midnight said. "They all learn incredibly fast and have great grades."
Aizwawa said, "Ace and Luffy always go the extra mile, end up the stars of the show, and get everybody to like them. They will make good heroes. Bakugo doesn't like them, but after the unfortunate incident, they seem to be getting along better. Trauma builds relationships. I doubt they'll ever be friends, but I think they respect one another more, now." Ace and Luffy were sure the teachers didn't know they could hear them, and pretended like they couldn't, and were just catching their breaths.
They both were proud, though. "When Luffy was kidnapped at camp, Ace fell apart. I'm a seasoned hero and like to keep my emotions in check," Aizawa said. "But I can't say it wasn't hard to watch. They really can't be apart. It's a strength but also a weakness in a way. But, Luffy was able to come out of that hell with a smile. I heard that Luffy only lasted so long because he was afraid of what Ace would do without him."
Midnight sounded like she was making dramatic sniffles. "The youth of this age!" she shouted emotionally. Ace and Luffy snickered, though they wondered who had told the teacher about Luffy's mindset while being tortured.
"We're pretty cool, huh, Lu?" Ace asked and they both grinned and bumped fists. "Let's get back to work." And they continued.
After another break, they both wondered what kind of upgrades they could make for their costumes. They already had strong boots, metal knee guards and elbow guards, so those were strong places. They both asked All Might, the nearest teacher, what he thought. "We don't really know what would improve our fighting at this point. Do you have any advice?" Ace asked.
"Hmm, I would say-"
"A lighter on my gloves! I could scrape them against each other and then I could make my own fire bombs!" Luffy exclaimed. Ace said that would be awesome, and they ran off to the hero supplement shop. All Might was left behind, not having been able to finish his sentence. Midnight was laughing about it.
When they arrived at the workshop, there was already a line of students talking to Hatsume, one of the students at the sports festival and the one to use poor Iida as a commercial in their match against one another.
They waited patiently and when it was finally their turn, Luffy asked for his upgrade. "Is there a way I can somehow create fire on my gloves on my own? I can make air bombs that encapsulate the fire and make them more explosive."
Hatusme seemed to have an idea immediately. "Well, having two spark places could create momentary fire that would last a few seconds so you'd need to act fast. And have a way that it wouldn't be able to happen accidentally and wouldn't run out quickly or mess up your gloves," she said excitedly. "I'm sure I can make a baby that will help with that!" Ace didn't have anything he thought would help him. Oh well.
Luffy still had his pockets on his belt that held spikes and nails, with two more open pockets he didn't know how to use. Ace's pockets were empty, him not knowing either.
A day later, Luffy's gloves were enhanced. In between the first and middle finger in one glove and the middle and third finger in the other hand had strikers, so if he stirked them together, he could make quick and easy fire that he could turn into a bomb easily.
Since they were normal fire, they were not as destructive as using Ace's flames. But they would work if he was alone. Now, they could fight on their own with the quirks but also use super moves together.
They also had small design changes for their costumes. They sweat in their headsets and that was a distraction, so they just went with black masks a bit like Bakugo that blended into their hair and covered Ace's freckles and Luffy's scar. Those were defining factors, so they were kept out of sight.
Sadly, they finally were to get adopted, and had to be taken away. Poor babies. :(
