Chapter One
Encounters
The blow was much more painful then Luffy had initially anticipated and ended up crying out even with the clear intention of not doing so.
"OUCH!"
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you cause me?!" Garp yelled loudly, his words punctuated by hard slaps to the back of the young boy's head.
No, in fact Luffy hadn't the slightest inkling of the issues he was most definitely causing.
Sure, constantly running out of school and skipping lectures topped with failing almost every single test he took may not have been the best start to the year he'll admit that, but he couldn't stay still in a stuffy classroom for more then three hours straight because there was just so much more he could be doing.
"There're only so many strings I can keep pulling you dumbass!" Garp snapped, his fist falling to the table with a loud whack.
Luffy pouted, his gaze dropping to the mahogany wood.
It isn't like he did it on purpose—he just found it extremely difficult to concentrate in class. He decided not to voice that particular opinion, however, as it would most likely worsen matters further. Instead, Luffy stayed silent until Garp grew tired of his yelling and finally sat down, fixing Luffy with a tight glare.
I don't want to go to this stupid school he wanted to say, but knew better. With a light sigh Luffy stood and exited the dining room, heading towards the door. If luck was on his side, he wouldn't have to come back for a while.
It was a hot day, the sun high above the clouds. The classroom was equally hot and Luffy almost gagged upon entering.
Once spying Usopp, his best friend since he could remember, Luffy made a beeline for the open desk next to the long nose's.
He said nothing much when Luffy melted into the chair beside him, just watched him knowingly.
"Tired?" Usopp asked although it wasn't really a question. Luffy shook his head—paused—then nodded. Usopp quirked an eyebrow before zeroing in on a light purple mark that was decorating his friend's right eye. "Fight?"
"Stupid pops. Haven't been home in a while and this is what he does." Was all Luffy said before turning his head with effort towards the front when the door slid open.
His already wide eyes widened further at the person entering. "Who's that?" He asked Usopp in the best whispering voice he could manage which meant half the class could hear him anyway.
Usopp shrugged his shoulders, looking just as confused.
The man looked young, possibly only a little older then Luffy himself and had an air of danger circling him, which was also strangely enticing. Luffy's eyes zeroed in on his green cropped hair and the scar on his left eye, forcing it closed.
"He a professor?" Luffy wondered aloud, eyes shifting to Usopp.
His lecture class was pretty big and Luffy never really paid attention to any who come in and out, only those he considered close friends. For some reason though, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the green-haired man and also felt somewhat annoyed he hadn't noticed him before.
"Oh," Usopp suddenly said, breaking Luffy's wobbly train of thought. "I think that's Roronoa Zoro. He's in Sanji's class."
"Sanji—" Luffy paused. "Oh yeah that guy." Luffy squinted his eyes and leaned further forward on his desk, peering at the man as he bent down and picked something up from a desk he possibly occupied before. The person sitting at that desk backed away rather quickly when Zoro got near.
Luffy's eyebrows narrowed when the man left again, the noise in the room returning to normal.
Usopp looked over at Luffy, obviously about to say something before noting the mischievous glint in his friend's dark orbs.
"What…?" Usopp mumbled.
"I wanna know him."
Whilst Usopp normally humours his friend's idiocy, today he decided to try to knock some sense into him.
"No, Luffy."
"Why not?" Said boy whined.
"Did you not see that guy?! He looks dangerous!"
Luffy blinked owlishly at him and shrugged. "Where the hell is he anyway."
"Like I said—"
"Oh— SANJI!"
Usopp had to break into a run pretty quick in order to catch up to Luffy who had broke into a sprint almost instantly on seeing the blonde man.
"Oh, Luffy." Sanji turned from whatever he was doing to look over at the dark haired boy who was staring up at him expectantly. "…What is it?"
"Do you know who this Roron—Roro…Roroboan Zlo guy is?"
Sanji stared at the younger man for a long moment before concluding he knew no one by that name.
"Roronoa ZORO." Luffy turned to spy Usopp, bending over slightly propped on his knees and breathing heavily.
"Oh right, Zoro."
Sanji grimaced. "Oh Marimo. What about him?"
"Where is he?"
Sanji paused. "Probably where all the muscle heads go." Luffy stared at him, obviously not understanding. "Near the gym there's the sports hall, you know where theres the archery and kendo and stuff. He's probably by the dojo near there."
Luffy's mouth turned into an 'o' of realisation and he sped off before either long nose or blonde could say anything.
"What's with the dumbass this morning?" Sanji inquired, turning his gaze on Usopp who bit his bottom lip before shrugging.
"Don't ask me, I don't understand what goes on inside that guy's head."
Luffy halted by the stairs leading to the double doors that lead to the more sporty area of the large school. Here, actually, not many people tended to pursue athletic dreams. More medical like his friend Trafal-guy.
Luffy was about to forget why he had even come here before spotting the green-haired man through the open doors of the Dojo.
He contemplated jumping out of the window and running towards said dojo because it wasn't actually part of this building, but spied a professor, one he didn't particularly like, walking his way and promptly decided to safe it and walk down the stairs and out the double doors like any normal college student.
The dojo was a hop, skip and a jump away so Luffy was over there and peeking through the doors pretty fast.
Zoro was still wearing his usual clothes, dark forest green shirt and black jeans, and sitting cross-legged on the floor. Luffy tip-toed closer trying to see what the man was doing before Zoro turned his head and part of his upper body around and fixed him with a steel glare that probably would've sent anyone else running for the hills.
Having being noticed, Luffy saw no reason why he couldn't just walk inside.
"Oi! Shoes— shoes!"
"Oh, sorry, sorry—" Luffy leant over and removed his sandals in two swift movements and padded his way towards Zoro before sitting directly in front of him.
Zoro, still watching him uncertainly, placed a honed sword he was holding down to rest on his lap. The sword was black and red and looked incredibly sharp so Luffy edged back just a little.
"And you are…?"
Zoro's voice was every bit as deep as Luffy had expected it to be and he liked it. "Luffy. Monkey D Luffy."
"And you want…?"
"Zoro to teach me about swords."
Zoro stared at the kid for a moment, aware that he was using first name basis already which made him somewhat uncomfortable. He was also really blunt which further made Zoro assume he probably said whatever whenever without really thinking about it, which indicated he probably wasn't lying about the sword thing.
Zoro narrowed his eyebrows further then seemed humanly possible. "You want what?"
Luffy quirked an eyebrow because he was sure he spoke clearly and wasn't sure why Zoro was asking him indirectly to repeat it. "Zoro's really good with swords, everyone knows that."
To be honest Luffy wasn't interested in swords at all, he was only interested in the man who used them, but he wasn't going to give that away just yet.
Zoro's eyebrows loosened and he shrugged to himself. "Sure if you want."
"Really!?"
Zoro jumped, eyes flying back up to Luffy who was now on all fours and crawling indiscreetly towards him.
"Y-Yeah…" He backed away before flinging a hand up that clashed with Luffy's face. "Too close idiot!"
"Shishishi!" Luffy chuckled and rolled back onto his heels, peeking out from behind Zoro's spread fingers. "Sorry, Zoro."
He twitched at the sound of his first name but decided abruptly to let it go because "Roronoa" would undoubtedly sound weird as fuck coming out of this kid's mouth.
Actually, Zoro thought to himself as Luffy settled back down onto his butt and gazed at him with big dark orbs, he has seen this kid before. He was always hanging around that other kid Usopp who was always around Sanji. Now that he thought about it, his bastard sparring buddy Trafalgar was also around Luffy a lot.
So this was the famous little trouble maker.
He made a face when he noticed the way Luffy was grinning at him, as if there were some ulterior motive behind his wanting to learn sword play. "Don't look at me like that, it's fucking creepy."
Luffy's face loosened as if he hadn't even realised he was doing it. "So when can we start?"
"Don't you have exams starting in what," He paused. "A week?"
Luffy pouted, averting his gaze for a minute. Yes, yes he did, but he didn't care about those at all. He had better things he wanted to do with his life and taking exams was not included.
"I suck at studying, so there's probably no point anyway." Luffy said finally, directing his gaze back up to Zoro who was clearly amused. "What?" Zoro said nothing. "What? Only smart people can learn swordplay?"
Zoro chuckled then before pulling a hand through his hair. This kid was kind of cute. "Why don't you get someone to help?"
Luffy's eyes sparkled and he grinned. "That's a good idea!"
Zoro nodded. He often had those.
"Can Zoro help me?"
Zoro faltered. He didn't expect that. Sure, his grades were fine but he would've expected the kid to chose someone like Trafalgar to help him. The guy was a bloody genius.
"Um—"
"Please? Pretty please?"
"Okay I guess—"
Luffy shot two fists up in the air. Zoro was starting to regret this. This kid was too enthusiastic for his own good and frankly it was tiring Zoro out just to look at him.
"Okay okay, now that you've got what you want, get out so I can concentrate."
Luffy's excitement died down momentarily and then he gave a nod, knowing that if he pissed the green-haired man off he might not be able to hang around him again and Luffy didn't want that.
"'Kay." He heaved himself up, walking towards his sandals that were lying wrong side up on the floor before slipping them on. "See ya, Zoro!"
Luffy paused before throwing open the door to the massive art room. He saw only a few people present, hidden behind canvases and large sculptures that Luffy probably could never make even if his life depended on it.
He entered the room, careful not to accidentally break anything and risk getting thrown out, again, and not getting to tell Usopp the good news.
He spotted the long nose hidden behind a medium sized canvas, a sea of painting utensils clattering the desk behind him.
"Oi, 'Sopp!" Luffy called, mumbling distracted apologies when told to 'shush' by the few people scattered here and there. "Guess what, guess what?!"
Usopp sighed good-naturedly and stepped back from his painting. "You found Zoro and now he wants to kill you."
"Nu-uh!"
"He's going to get someone else to kill you?"
Luffy shook his head eagerly. "He's gonna train me! Oh and help me study—"
"TRAIN YOU— WHAT?"
Luffy backed up at bit, flinging a hand out to grab a red bottle that contained paint and was heading for a straight course to the floor. "Yeah- he said after the exams he'll teach me about swords!"
"Since when are you interested in swords?"
"Since never."
"So why… never mind."
"And, and, he's gonna help me study!"
"Well that is a miracle in itself."
Luffy pouted, eyebrows pulled together. Usopp smiled a bit and flicked Luffy's nose.
"Well I guess I should be glad someone will have the patients to help you continue school."
Luffy's lips broke into a wide grin and he giggled.
"So when does all this start?" Usopp asked distractedly as he dropped two messy paint brushes into the jar filled with bright green water.
Luffy, eyeing the green water intently, mumbled something incoherent.
"What?"
"I said no," Luffy said again, lifting his gaze to find his friend's. Usopp's face slowly made what he'd just said dawn on him and he made a face of horror. "Wait—!"
Usopp sighed. "Jeez, maybe the guy was lying."
"Zoro wouldn't lie!"
Usopp sighed again and pulled a hand through his unruly locks. He packed away the art things and covered the canvas. "Let's go."
Dejected, Luffy followed Usopp out of the art room towards the exit of the main building. He glanced over his shoulder at Luffy and felt a guilty swirling in his gut. "If it's bothering you this much, we could go find him?"
Luffy shook his head. He didn't want the swordsman getting annoyed if he pestered him more then he had already. If he did, Zoro might not agree to follow through with the plan of helping him study.
"—could ask Sanji if he could pass a note?"
Luffy blinked, trying to make sense of the sentence he just caught the tail end of.
"Maybe." He agreed after a moment. "First, I wanna eat though." His stomach chose that glorious moment to let out a low rumble that made Usopp laugh.
"Right, right."
As they walked out of the large building, Luffy cast a side glance towards the Dojo, an unusual longing sensation building up in his gut. He hadn't realised he'd stopped walking until Usopp called him.
"Library?" Luffy mumbled allowed, perching on Usopp's large desk in their shared apartment that was on school grounds, legs crossed and elbows pressing into the creases of his knees, popsicle hanging out of his mouth.
Usopp nodded, chin against palm as he drew expertly with the pen over the tablet, watching the outcome on the bright screen in front of him. "Library. At four. He said Zoro'd work out proper times with you then."
Luffy, suddenly giddy, began grinning uncontrollably. Usopp eyed him cautiously.
"I don't think I've ever seen you so excited. Even for meat."
"MEAT?!"
"No Luffy, there's no meat."
Luffy's face fell. "No meat…?"
Usopp snickered, turning on his chair and taking Luffy's cheeks between his palms and abusing them thoroughly.
Luffy whined. "Ushoppp! Shtop!"
"Why don't you try get some sleep?" Usopp suggested. He then smiled coyly. "It'll be tomorrow sooner if you do~" And then I'll be able to get some work done...
Luffy's eyes widened excitedly and he nodded, bounding off Usopp's desk, diving through the door leading to his bedroom and making a beeline for his bed.
Usopp smiled slightly, turning back to his drawing. I'll definitely need to keep an eye on him he thought warily. I don't want him getting hurt.
Sleep never really held onto Luffy in the early hours of the morning. When the sun was up, so was he. He laid in his bed a little longer then usual, though, staring up at nothing in particular. He rolled onto his stomach and then slithered out of bed and padded his way towards his open closet, clothes strewn here and there.
He picked up a red t-shirt and threw on his blue shorts, picking up an open jacket at the last minute. He opened his bedroom door and glanced at the ticking clock on the wall. It was six am which meant he'd actually slept longer then usual. It also meant Usopp had left already. Usopp always had projects to do and often disappeared for lengthy amounts of time, but Luffy didn't mind being by his lonesome. He did crave company most of the time, but today he was craving only one person's company—and he'd get it at four—probably.
He was about to walk straight past the kitchen before something caught his eye. He did a double take and grinned crazily at the pile of bacon and sausages on the table, a thin transparent sheet covering the contents on the plate and a note with elegant scrawl laid against it.
Made this and thought you'd probably want some. Cya at school, don't be too late!
Luffy grinned and dug in, remembering at the last minute to take off the cling film.
Luffy walked all too eagerly to school and when he spotted a familiar silhouette he grinned.
"Oi! Law!" The man in question turned only to be met with a face full of red shirt.
"LUFFY-" Law's protests were muffled by his friend's shirt so he settled for delivering a skilled whack to his buttocks.
Luffy let go and dropped unceremoniously to his feet, rubbing his sore butt before glaring lightly at Law.
"Why the hell are you so excited?"
Luffy's face lit up almost instantaneously and Law made a gagging noise. "I have a study session today!"
"And that's makes you look like you just ate meat because…?"
They both began walking again as Luffy relayed most of the details, well the important ones anyway that mostly consisted of 'Zoro', 'swords' and 'studying with Zoro'.
Law looked down at Luffy, dark amusement tinkling in his dark orbs. He didn't say anything, just listened as Luffy rambled. He thought he should probably keep his assumptions and or deductions to himself in favour of further investigation. Instead, he lifted a hand and tousled his young friend's hair. He couldn't even come out with a smart comment because he looked so damn excited and Law hadn't the heart to make that smile disappear.
At the front entrance to the school, Luffy gave a wave over his shoulder and darted into the building.
He watched the long hand tick on the clock, seemingly turning slower and slower as every minute went by. Maybe he'd forgotten and gone home. Luffy sighed, his head lolling to the left as he watched the door. He'd been here half an hour already and he was about to get up and leave when the door suddenly opened, drawing his attention to it.
Panting lightly, Zoro strode in, closing the door quite loudly behind him, making the librarian cast an irritated eye towards him.
Luffy perked up, pulling himself off the table and grinning over at Zoro.
The green-haired man made his way over and sat opposite the boy quickly. "Sorry about that, I—" he paused. A lot of people, actually more like a select few knew or were acquainted with Zoro's ability to get lost in a walk in closet so finding the library had taken him a little longer then expected.
He felt like an idiot, staring at Luffy with his mouth agape because he didn't know how to say the words 'I got lost' without sounding like a complete moron, not that he didn't already look like one or anything.
Luffy waited expectantly, pursing his lips before Zoro finally continued his sentence.
"Got caught up." Smooth, real smooth.
"S'okay." Luffy grinned.
They began their study session, one of which Zoro treated like one of his harsh and intense workouts, which resulted in Luffy being well and truly brain dead by the end of it.
"You see, if you take the fundamentals of this, it's actually pretty easy shit to—" Zoro paused, looking at Luffy's head slowly droop. Eyes half lidded with annoyance, Zoro hit the back of Luffy's head and the boy sprung up as if anticipating attack.
"WHAT? WHERE?" He exclaimed, one foot propped on the desk.
"Oi, dumbass!" Zoro yanked Luffy down by his lapels and pulled him close without really thinking. "She's gonna kick us outta here if you keep being so damn noisy!"
"Then we can just go somewhere else." Luffy said matter-of-factly. Zoro glared some more but released him like lightning when he realised he was holding the kid close enough for them to brush noses.
Frazzled, Zoro turned his attention back to the math book that looked like complete gibberish for a moment.
What the fuck is x? He thought wearily.
He looked back up to Luffy who was settling down again, leaning his cheek in his palm and watching Zoro with a bored expression that was barely restrained.
"Is my teaching that boring?"
Luffy shook his head. "Math is boring, but Zoro isn't."
He didn't know what to say to that so he averted his gaze again. He heard a low growling noise and dismissed it before it happened again and again until he almost slammed his forehead against the desk.
"Look, I can see we're not really getting anywhere right now because your attention span only stretches for what, fifteen minutes?"
Luffy smiled sheepishly.
Another growl exited Luffy's stomach and the young boy slammed his hands on it, as if that would stop the growl.
"Hungry?" He asked wittingly. Stupid question really, Zoro thought when Luffy nodded enthusiastically and jumped up. "Well since I was late I guess I could at least treat you to a meal."
Luffy, seemingly recovering all his energy, nearly leapt clear across the table to grab onto Zoro, but stopped. Usopp had told him maybe others may not appreciate the ways in which he shows his affection. After all, he had hugged this one teacher after she'd passed him with flying colours, and now she seems to think that they're getting married.
Zoro threw the textbook and everything else brought into Luffy's bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. "Shall we?"
Luffy, well aware he could carry his own bag just fine, watched Zoro with a somewhat perturbed expression before smiling and hurrying to the taller man's side.
Luffy practically drooled all over the tablecloth when Zoro's food happened to come first, so he'd given Luffy his food and eaten his that came not too soon after, which was a weird arrangement but somehow Zoro didn't mind.
He watched as Luffy practically inhaled his dinner and made not-so-sneaky swipes at Zoro's, which made him on more then one occasion have to occupy his lips with his glass to stop the chuckle that wanted to escape.
Zoro had been feeling pretty irate earlier on in the day. Nothing had been going his way and it seemed that everything and anything was out to get him, which is why he found it so strange how the raven haired boy had lifted his mood. He didn't think Luffy would affect him as much as he did. It was a nice change.
During the meal and after it, Luffy had made advances at questioning Zoro about many things he'd never tell anyone upon just becoming acquainted with them, like: age, family, friends, backstory and all of the above. But whilst Zoro had sort of brushed him off with short noncommittal answers that occasionally strayed from the truth, he soon found himself retelling his whole life story to the kid. Luffy was far too likeable for his own good.
"Oooh, really? I didn't see it. Just the red-black one on your lap."
"Yeah it's in the back. Maybe I'll show you sometime."
By the time Luffy had finished his third meal and his interrogation, Zoro thought he might have to roll the idiot home, which spiked another thought entirely. "Oi, where d'you live?"
"On campus rooming with 'Sopp. Can't afford my own place or anything yet." Luffy shrugs.
After paying, Zoro and Luffy walked back towards the campus together.
"Where does Zoro live?"
Zoro hesitated for but a second. "On campus too, but I managed to get my own room."
"That's probably because people are too afraid to room with Zoro!" Luffy chortled, slapping Zoro's back light-heartedly. The corners of Zoro's mouth twitched.
"Yeah, that's probably why."
"But I don't think Zoro's scary. I'd room with him!"
Zoro stared down at Luffy, an unknown and frankly unwanted feeling humming in his gut.
Outside of Luffy's room, Zoro quickly grabbed the boy's collar and yanked him back, softly but unyielding.
"Hm?" Luffy lolled his head back to fix Zoro with large curious eyes.
"Times? I need to know when you're willing to meet. Assuming you still want to continue these sessions?"
Luffy spun around and grinned, bobbing his head. "Yeah! I do!"
Zoro waited and then Luffy's face contorted. "W-What?"
"I'm thinking." He said. "I'd wanna work with Zoro everyday!"
"Idiot, I'm not free everyday."
Luffy pursed his lips. "Okay then when are you free?"
"Tuesdays."
Luffy made a face. "Only tuesdays?"
"I have more work then you!"
"Okay, okay!" Luffy bit back his laughter. "Then see you tuesdays. Same time?"
Zoro nodded. "Oh um, we probably won't be allowed in the library anymore so you wanna come to my place?" He could hardly call his room a place but he was alone in there so he could conduct his study sessions without interruptions.
Luffy grinned. "Sure! I don't expect Zoro to remember where I live anyway." He snickered when Zoro growled. "Where does Zoro live?"
Zoro told him the number of his room, what building and Luffy nodded enthusiastically.
"Night, Zoro!"
"Night Luffy."
Luffy closed the door and stayed leaning against it for a moment. Usopp turned from his desk and smiled.
"How'd it go?"
When he got no answer he lifted his eyebrows. He then realised that Luffy was mumbling something under his breath as he walked by.
"C, 125. C, 125. C, 125."
A/N: First attempt at an AU... hope it went okay! Please lemmy know what you think.
