The Black Elephants Chapter 1, an one piece fanfic

Hello! :3

I have a few things to say regarding the fic:

I AM messing with ages. Like really am. Sorry 'bout that. I know Law is supposed to be elder than Kidd and I originally like it that way too, but an age gap wouldn't make any sense in this fic (sorry!) Also messing with other people's ages, don't get confused when I do.

I'm going to include many ships and a few (kind of) complicated love triangles. Just because I can.

Be prepared for eventual cracky OOC:ness. It might occur every now and then (coughcough all of the time)

I already apologize if there are any grammatical mistakes or something, I don't have a beta and admittedly I am quite lazy with reading through texts (huehue)

Oh and in this chapter I used the Swedish law as a reference (no I am not from Sweden, but I like Sweden :D)

I don't know what to say anymore... This is my first fic with my first chappie. Hopefully someone will read this :) Oh and one thing more! This chapter is abnormally long, it wasn't meant to get this long. Sorry! :D I'll try to make the next chapter shorter. I'll only update (at my very fastest) once a month, because I have another life besides writing. I think most of my updates will take longer than one month though, so I promise nothing. In case someone really reads this, I ask for patience :3 Thank you~

Well that was it!

~Enjoy~

Pain and anguish pierced through all of his collected bravery. He was naturally used to this kind of treatment, there was nothing unfamiliar about it. But even if he was used to it, it always felt equally horrible. Equally slanderous. Equally hateful. Each hit with the wooden ladle hurt like hell, and he wasn't even quite sure whether it was physical or mental pain anymore. Always at some point, he'd lose count of how many hits there been and just fall into some odd trance where he had nothing but pure hatred.

Yes, hatred. That sensation was actually a quite entertaining company. People often found this sentiment objectionable and evil, but when it came to the crunch, it actually was a quite necessary and significant company. Besides, it'd always be there beside you, since it rarely left. It stayed there and kept you strong, unbreakable. It made you unbeatable, even invincible.

Hatred is said to be the curse of this world, but really is a magical spell that gives you unimaginable strength.

Hatred and love are two completely contradicting sensations which still managed to support and strengthen each other in an enigmatic and indescribable manner.

It's all quite peculiar, isn't it?

Suddenly the hits stopped and he knew it was over. His odd trance still remained – it kept reality far away from him. He continued to lie on the bed, closing his eyes, not bothering his naked back covered with his own blood. At some point his elder sister probably came in and tried to speak with him, but at that point he already had fallen into a deep sleep.

At the wall on the west side of the building the real fights always happened. It was obvious why the fights occurred there, and nowhere else. There were no security cameras on that side of the building, which meant no surveillance whatsoever. This was the ideal place to beat noisy brats up, which was exactly what Eustass Kidd did. Anyone who hadn't paid him? Beat up. Someone who talked shit about him and his friends? Beat up. A dude flirting with his girls? Beat up. Any kinds of problems were always solved with one, easy solution - violence.

People think that violence never is the solution to anything, but Kidd knew that it was pure bullshit to state something like that. Violence was bad, he knew that, he knew it wasn't good to hit someone. He had naturally been taught that as a child, and he knew how much violence hurt – both physically and mentally. He knew he really shouldn't keep on with this, but he also knew how goddamn efficient violence was. And how impossible it was to escape it.

Once you had entered the world of violence there was no escape. If you were to leave it, you'd be called a coward for eternity, or someone else would simply beat you up. And for a man as prideful as Kidd, he would never be able to live with himself if he'd be the so-called Coward. No, Kidd could accept being anyone else but the Coward. Unfortunately Kidd had made the stupid mistake to accept a challenge from another pupil at the school, and that alone had been enough to drag him into the world of violence. It had all started with a silly quarrel in the line for food in the canteen. Kidd had been too cocky to step down when a noisy brat – also a quite famous delinquent – had tried to jump the queue. It had ended with being challenged to the West Wall, as they called it. Kidd had beaten the cocky brat up and after that people had been expecting miraculous things from him.

That had happened two years ago. Now he was there, by the West Wall again, beating up a stupid brat who hadn't paid Kidd his money. It was quite easy, the scrawny thing was a year younger than Kidd and had barely hit puberty yet. All Kidd had done so far had been to grab the boy by his collar and he was already shaking with fear. Killer was behind him, trying to tell Kidd to take it easy and not to hit him too hard. They didn't want trouble after all. Two of his other friends stood by and watched with smirks on their faces.

"Where the fuck is my money, Tom!?" hissing angrily at the scrawny and tall thing, Kidd pressed the boy against the hard brick wall. The two others snickered and Killer sighed. "Well!?"

"I-I'll g-get it by tomorrow..! A-And my name is not To-"

"I don't fucking care what your name is you shitty brat! You look like a Tom to me so I'll call you Tom if I fucking want to!"

"Yes sir..!"

"I bet you know what's going to happen if you don't bring that shitty money by tomorrow… And since you're two days late we'll take 200% rate, right Killer?" the angry redhead turned his attention towards his most trusted companion. The blonde nodded behind his long locks that covered the most of his face. "Good. So off you go, Tom." Kidd let go of the brat with an aggressive pull.

The scared and lean boy nodded and then sped off, obviously scared to death.

Then the two smirking guys came up to Kidd – the brothers Caribou and Coribou. They were quite shady and disgusting, even Kidd himself thought that, but they were loyal and skilled at stealing booze. And both of them knew how to punch noisy kids if there would be any need for that. Mostly Kidd was the one who did the violent part, though. Killer was the one who looked after the money and made sure everyone paid them. If someone didn't pay in time, Kidd would have a small, nice talk with them. It was all quite easy?

Now, you might wonder what this peculiar system is all about. A logical explanation; Kidd sold booze at the school for lower prices than in the stores. It all based on a simple system that Killer had come up with. Caribou and Coribou would steal alcohol from different stores, only twice a week, exceptionally trice a week. Naturally they had to change stores often, or the owner would start to recognize the pattern. Sometimes they also went to stores in the neighboring town, but that wasn't as often.

The rules were simple, the booze Kidd sold was half the price from what you got from the store. You either paid the same day or the day after, it depended on how trustable the person in question was. If you didn't pay in time the price would always gain a 100% interest rate. Your new price would not double however, since the percentage of the interest rate was always calculated from original price. But the original price could be tripled in only three days if you didn't pay. Often if the person hadn't paid by two days, Killer would ask Kidd to take care of the nuisance. Either Kidd or Daz Bones – another of Kidd's friends.

He wasn't present at the time though. None of them was quite sure where he was, he had just magically disappeared during the lunch break. Oh well, Daz had some business of his own too. It was nothing to get worked up for.

"How're you holding up, Eustass?" Caribou asked and leaned against the wall with the same peculiar smirk on his face. He always smirked like that, especially when business went fine, like it did today. Kidd waved the inquiry off with a nonchalant gesture.

"Whatever. As long as I get our money I'll be satisfied", the redhead let his hand run through his bright hair. He let his amber eyes look at Killer who went through the list of people who had paid and people who hadn't paid. "Well? Anyone else I need to beat up or scare today?"

"Doesn't look like it", the blonde folded the paper and put it into the pocket on the inside of his jacket. Killer was a pretty tall guy, who was quite muscular but still a little lean. He usually carried his longboard with him, the dude was too lazy to walk. He had long blonde hair with thick blonde bangs covering his eyes. Most people found Killer odd and even a bit embarrassing, but Kidd thought Killer was the coolest dude in town.

"Good. Coribou, will ya run after a sandwich for me from the canteen? Dying for food." Kidd asked and sat down on the trash bin close to the brick wall. The fatter and denser brother nodded with a small 'Yea' and then went off. Caribou looked after his brother a while before going after him too, stating that Coribou probably would need help with the food. They all knew how Coribou wasn't quite capable of even paying the correct sum.

"How's your back?" Killer had noticed the slightly stiff movements Kidd had. The blonde naturally knew about Kidd's dad, he had known the redhead since forever. Killer knew that there once had been a time when Kidd had still dared to walk around without his shirt on. Back then Kidd had never had any stiff movements or anything. Now it all had changed. He had seen the bruises and cuts covering Kidd's back once. It had looked simply gruesome.

"Back? Doesn't even hurt. That old man is getting weak and wrinkly", they both knew that what Kidd just had uttered was a dense lie, but neither of them felt like objecting. Neither of them felt for continuing with their discussion on that matter anymore.

Then there was just silence.

This had been a pace that had kept on for almost one year now. Their senior year had just begun two weeks ago, and Kidd was failing in almost each subject. Not that he really gave a fuck. He didn't care for his future, could as well become a truck driver or something. Nothing really mattered for him.

Killer in other hand was a genius student, but the teachers still despised him, probably since he didn't do his homework and skipped lessons. He was smart, but very lazy. And neither did Killer care for his grades. He had other things to care about. Like his mom for example.

Neither of them had a quite peaceful time at home. Killer was constantly worried over his sick mom and his abusive uncle. Kidd – in other hand – had his sisters to look after, because of his alcoholic father. Younger sister Nami and elder sister Nojiko. Nami was his biological sister, the last child Belle-mère had given birth to before passing away. Nojiko was adopted though, since Kidd's mom and dad had thought they wouldn't be able to have children together. Then Kidd had been born, and one year later Nami.

Kidd had several times tried to get rid of his own violence. He didn't want to become like his dad, aggressive, destructive, abusive and mad. But as mentioned earlier, when you once had gotten involved with violence it was almost impossible to escape. And besides, thanks to this very same violence, Kidd also had money to support his sisters and buy himself new clothes regularly. So even if he was forced to beat annoying shitty brats – who still were innocent and small – there still were positive things about it.

"It's still quite warm", Kidd suddenly pointed out. Lunch break was soon over. He had managed to take care of all the shitheads who hadn't paid him his money and Coribou would soon come with his sandwich. He hadn't come still. How odd.

"It's in the middle of August, what did you expect?" Killer said and smiled gently at his dense friend.

Both of them hated their lives, but it was thanks to this hate they had the strength to keep on living.

And furthermore, they had each other after all.

Geography class. What on earth do you do with geography? Hah, he just made a funny joke in his head. Earth. Geography. Get it?

No, but really. Kidd was stuck in geography class for the next 45 minutes. And even if the teachers try to assure pupils that 45 minutes really isn't a long time, they wouldn't succeed on fooling Kidd. Kidd knew that 45 minutes could be both really long and really short. It all depended on the circumstances. Currently these devilish 45 minutes would be pure inferno for the redhead though, since geography didn't interest him the slightest. Not that school subjects were particularly interesting anyway.

Oh god how he hated school. Just look at the teacher going on forever, talking about some small, peculiar countries at the end of the whole fucking world. Who seriously had heard about these odd countries before? No one, Kidd assumed. Or perhaps some odd nerd who liked countries.

Deep inside Kidd knew he should try to improve his grades, but he also knew that it would be close to impossible for him to improve all of his grades, especially since he needed extra help in almost each subject. Killer didn't have the time to help him, and they both were too lazy to even bother.

Suddenly, in the middle of inferno, the door to the classroom was opened. The odd geography teacher stopped talking and the headmaster of the school stepped in. He was burly and short, but looked furious. His round face was red of anger. His small, dot-like eyes scanned through the classroom before stopping on Kidd. What now? Had some teacher complained about him again?

"If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to talk with Eustass here", the headmaster kept on glaring at Kidd with his stupid dot-like eyes. Suddenly everyone's attention was directed to the redhead who sloppily sat on his chair. Kidd rolled his eyes, sighed and then stood up.

He had been through this procedure countless times already. 'Make sure to come to school in time.' 'I hear you've been skipping lessons.' 'Don't you take school seriously?!' No, yes and no. No, he would not make sure to come to school in time, he arrived when the fuck he wanted to. Yes, he skipped lessons, did he look like he cared? No, he did not take school seriously. Very few did.

Kidd nonchalantly followed the stodgy and burly man through the corridors. The headmaster was short but kept on walking with purposeful and angry steps. Kidd admitted that he rarely had seen the headmaster act like this, most of the time he wouldn't be as angry or would speak while they were walking. This time there was only silence. And in some odd manner this kind of silence appeared to be frightening. The frightening silence, only filled with the echo of footsteps. Kidd's amber eyes looked nonchalant and bored, but on the inside he started to feel a little anxious. What had happened? Had someone really gone and tattled about his business? No. That couldn't be it, Kidd had ultimate power in the school; everyone respected him and was afraid of him. So what on earth was this all about then?

Walking in the anguished silence, the tall and muscular redhead looked out through the window. Outside he could see how the school yard lay still. Not a single person – not even an animal – was outside. This odd emptiness made him feel both relieved and even more frightened. Did that even make any kind of sense?

Probably not. Suddenly Kidd could remember all the years he had spent at that big, familiar school yard. He remembered how he had come there three years ago and just felt so small compared to all of the senior students. So vulnerable. Yet, only a year later, he had managed to beat up that prick in the queue, and that he was proud of. Despite this, he still was ashamed of his violence, it painted a primitive and dense picture of him.

Finally, after a long time of quiet torture, they reached the headmaster's office. Kidd already knew how this procedure went, so he sat down on the chair in front of the desk in a known manner. He knew how things worked already. The headmaster didn't sit down though, instead he kept on standing and then turned around to face his window. This was unusual. In fact, this had never happened before. Ever.

"I bet you know why you are here", the voice was sharp, incisive.

To be totally honest, Kidd wasn't quite sure why he was there. The old man seemed furious, even a little scared, so it could not under any circumstances consider the usual matters. That only awakened more inquires though. If he wasn't there for the common procedure, then why on earth why he there?

"I must say that I expected better – even from you", naturally the headmaster kept on speaking without giving Kidd a chance to answer. At least something seemed to be regular today; the headmaster would always ask questions and then answer them himself. "I can't believe none of the teachers realized what kind of… of tyranny, you've been keeping up with at the school! Some peculiar system, threats, violence… You even involved alcohol! Occasionally even drugs!"

Wait a fucking minute here.

Had someone really gone and blabbed to the teachers about him?

Who? Who was the rat who had done that? It struck Kidd so utterly odd that someone actually would have the balls to go against him. They all knew what would happen if someone was to disobey him. That was why Kidd and his friends had their own special table in the school canteen. That was why Kidd and his friends had a special spot on the school yard. That was why everyone would watch out for him when he came in the corridor! So who on earth would have the balls to go and blab about him?! Who would have the balls to go against a dude who was taller and more muscular than anyone else in the school?!

Kidd admitted that he was pissed off. In only a matter of seconds he had grown from shocked to furious. He wanted to know who had done it. Who had gone and ruined it. Who had gone and ruined the wonderful – yet horrible – system that would make sure that both of his sisters would afford sweets and pretty clothes!? Who had ruined his tranquil?!

Somewhere in this fury were anxiety, fear and anguish. How would they manage now, without Kidd's financial support? Dad did nothing anyway, only used up their savings. Nojiko had her bar, but she already worked so hard to pay the bills each month. Now they wouldn't afford new clothes regularly, nor the sweets or the few dinners with meat. And what about Kidd's future? Alright, he could become a truck driver, and that had been his plan all along. But what if no one wanted to hire him since he never would have finished high school? Then his family would be screwed! And what on earth would dad say!? Holy fuck he'd probably get furious..! Kidd could only imagine how much he'd be hit. Would he even be able to walk for the next few weeks?

The redhead nervously gulped and tried to calm himself down. He would not show a sign of shock – not any sign of weakness. No. He was a strong man. No strong man would ever be shocked.

And who knew? Perhaps the headmaster just felt like being dramatic today and this all was just a stupid joke? Yeah, a really stupid, shocking and frightening joke, which felt horribly serious and grave. The worst part of that was, that the headmaster had the worst sense for humor and would never take a joke this far.

"Do you even understand how… how austere this matter is, young man?!" the headmaster's round, burly face only grew redder and redder. Even the shiny and bald parts of his head were slowly growing bright red of fury, which Kidd even found slightly fascinating in some odd manner. Not that this was the most fitting time to be fascinated though, not at all. But he couldn't help the small fascination that showered over him when he discovered the red tint on the burly man's bald. "This is called juvenile delinquency! Do you even understand what that means!?"

"Jubaduba what?" keeping his expression completely cold, he leaned a little backwards with the chair. It clearly angered the other individual more, how he was capable of repeating these serious words with slight sarcasm and ignorance. Not that the mischievous expression calmed his fury at all.

A deep sigh echoed through the office filled with anguish.

"…You know what? I'm just going to give up with trying berating you", suddenly the angry tone was dejected and exhausted. "I've already spoken with your elder sister, since your father won't answer when I call him. I'm sorry but I cannot give you any certificate or rating or anything in that matter. All I can give you is a paper where there is detailed information about your expulsion. You're going to need it if you want to get into another school in this township. Luckily – for the rest of the pupils in this town – none of the other schools in this township are going to take you in. You'd need average grades to get in somewhere else and no school accepts juvenile delinquents in this commune."

Silence occurred, the burly man took this opportunity to walk around the room with small, jerky steps. Kidd had no idea what to say, so he thought it was for the best to keep his mouth shut. Only imbecility would escape through his lips anyway. And currently he had no use for imbecility.

"You have no idea how severe this matter is right?" only one voice had been speaking in the room for several minutes now. "Probably you'll realize the severity when you've spoken with the policemen who are currently sitting in the vice principal's office, only waiting to exchange a few words with you. What you've done is criminal activity after all."

Policemen? Fuck. Fucking shit. Fucking shitty fuck. What the fuck would dad say to this? Kidd could only imagine the pain, the degrading pain, which had caused him nothing but trouble. And what about Nojiko? The old man had apparently already called his elder sister. He could only imagine the disappointment and dissatisfaction she was feeling at the moment.

With unwilling and even slightly shaking steps the redhead followed the headmaster to the room next door. Kidd could barely speak as the two policemen explained the whole situation to Kidd. After a while they got to the point where they asked him to confess everything. They told him how they had spoken with some of his friends, and how they all had told them how they were scared of Kidd. How Kidd had forced him into the whole thing. Forced them into the whole thing? Kidd had never forced anyone to buy from him, ever! The redhead couldn't help but to wonder who on earth they had spoken with. Some freshman-brats or? Barely getting the words out of his mouth, Kidd confessed with a stern and cold voice. He was not going to show any hints of weakness. He was a man, a strong man.

The two policemen had then looked at each other and then the smaller one with odd lips spoke;

"We've looked over your records Eustass", he said with a soft voice. "How is your dad? I heard he never appears during important meetings considering your grades at school. Neither does he answer the phone. From what I've heard, he has been seen kind of… drunk lately. I mean, during the few times someone even has seen him at all. And the people working with him haven't seen him for months either."

"Dad is doing great", even though the husky and uncertain voice, his face was kept expressionless and even a little bored. Again the two men exchanged looks, the headmaster stood in the corner of the room and bit his thumb anxiously. Silently everyone in the room exchanged awkward looks with each other. "…What?"

"You know you can speak with us", the bigger policeman said. "We're not the bad guys here."

'Oh yes you are. You are the ones who are going to make me unable to walk for weeks. You are the ones who are going to enrage the old man', Kidd thought and sunk deeper into the chair.

"I am speaking with you."

The smaller policeman sighed.

"Because of your deceased mother and the fact that you haven't turned 18 yet, you have a chance to ease your punishment by certain conditions. And we don't have any solid proof against you either, so… Otherwise you would be sent to jail, because you have done some pretty serious shit", the bigger policeman spoke again. He had a less soft voice and also could swear, which had the smaller one look at him with disapproving eyes.

"Well? Conditions please?"

"Six months of regular therapy. Also work for 150 hours with community service, naturally without pay. Personally I'd recommend working as a janitor in the new school you're attending to", a smile appeared on the bigger policeman's friendly face. The headmaster coughed awkwardly at this, obviously trying to say that Kidd wouldn't get in anywhere. With that the friendly smile slightly faded away, but then awkwardly returned again. "Being a librarian is also quite cool."

"…Therapy?" Kidd spat the word out, voice dripping with venom. "I mean I'm okay with community service, that was kind of clear already, but fucking therapy?! What do you take me as? A crying, hysterical, fucking woman!? Don't compare me with weak-ass bitches! There's nothing wrong with my head!"

"Eustass-"

"No! I won't take any fucking therapy! I'm a fucking man!"

"Well is jail more appealing for you then?"

Suddenly the anger boiling inside of Kidd calmed down and he sunk back down in the chair. He had started to scream and flail so suddenly. He was a bit hot-headed, he had always been. So it didn't surprise him that he suddenly had snapped. But the denomination of jail had gotten all of his fury to cool down to the point that he felt chilly. He had heard about jail, he had heard a lot of that place. The rumors alone had been enough for him.

"…Six months, right?"

"Six months, once a week. If you do get into a school, the school counselor or psychologist can take care of these appointments."

It annoyed him how they all took it for granted that he wouldn't get in anywhere. Well, that was probably true anyway. But it still annoyed him. They all found him dense and weak. A hopeless case. That's probably how they viewed him. A problem child with no genuine future. What's a genuine future anyway? A career, a family and wealth? Or is it adventure, love and new experiences? Or is it successful dinners at Christmas Eve? How did all the adults know?

"I can agree to this godforsaken… therapy", once again spitting out the word with voice dripping of venom, Kidd leaned forwards over the table, "if you tell me who those pitiful suckers are. Y'know those pitiful suckers who told you about my business."

"Only if you don't lay a finger on them, Eustass. Not that I think you would lay a finger on your own companions."

Own companions..? What..? Did they mean..?

Did they fucking mean his friends?! Caribou, Coribou, Daz Bones… Even Killer?! Had they all betrayed him that easily?! That explained why the disgusting brothers never had returned with his food during the lunch break, and why Daz Bones had mystically disappeared..! Never before in his entire life had Kidd felt this disappointed and broken before. Not even when his dad had hit him the first time. No, because these had been people he actually had trusted. He had known Killer for years, goddammit! They had told the policemen how he had forced them into everything! Fucking cowards! Hadn't they promised each other to never bust each other if a situation like this was to happen!? Fucking lame cowards!

"Only the blonde one with long hair didn't say a word and said you hadn't done a thing."

So Killer had at least been a genuine man. Somehow the redhead felt relieved to hear this. At least he had someone who respected him and would stand up for him. At least Killer was there. At least they still had each other.

He couldn't say he wasn't shocked. He couldn't say he wasn't angry or disappointed or didn't feel betrayed. He was all of these things, and he felt more betrayed than ever. He wouldn't even beat those other shits up. They weren't worth it. Suddenly he just wanted out. He was exhausted. He wanted to feel safe, he wanted to feel safe so that he could let out a little of his frustration. He wanted far, far away from this place. He didn't ever want to so those fucktards again, ever. Not even to kill them in their sleeps ten years later, like a small 'Surprise, motherfucker'. No. He just wanted away and be in peace somewhere.

For the first time in his life Eustass Kidd actually felt like escaping from something else than his dad.

The formal trial would be held in a few days - the policemen had assured Kidd that he would surely get the punishment they had offered him, if not even a lighter one. This was mostly because the headmaster had left out some details of the whole story and none of the thefts done in the stores had been caught on a security camera, which meant they had no solid proof of the tyranny. But since Kidd already had confessed everything he would get punished anyway, there was no escape from his punishment.

Not that the youth minded at all, he couldn't care less about that small bagatelle-like punishment. This tiny punishment was nothing compared to the punishment he'd receive from his dad when he finally would arrived home. He wouldn't be conscious after that punishment. He'd probably be sent to the hospital after that punishment. He wouldn't probably reach consciousness for the first days after the punishment either. He could probably miss a therapy session too, because of his father's fury.

And what would he tell the doctor's at the hospital then?

'Didn't watch when I crossed the street, so a car kinda ran over me.'

Or maybe that'd be over-exaggeration?

'Fell down from a hill, clumsy little me!'

Would that be believable? Maybe if the hill was very, very steep. Hah, that was a tad symbolic was it not? He would mentally fall down from a very steep hill at least.

The weather was idyllic, which in turn was completely ironic to Kidd's current situation. An idyllic day filled with shitty – if not infernal – luck. Or perhaps it wasn't luck, but fate punishing him for his reckless and violent behavior? Unfortunately he couldn't tell – he had never been that into philosophy anyway. Thinking wasn't his thing. He was more of a doer than a thinker. He probably would need a thinker by his side, telling what to do and what not to. Killer was quite the thinker, but he was too lazy to even think, and therefore could be considered a doer. Did that even make any kind of sense?

Oh well whatever. The weather was stupidly idyllic anyway. Blue skies, fluffy clouds which resembled the beautiful land where Hercules lives and a warm, caressing wind. You know that perfect combination at the end of each movie with a classical happy ending? Yea, it was exactly like that. Lush, green trees and bushes and all of that other shit. Not that the vegetation was so remarkably lush at this time of the year, it was in the middle of August after all. The hot period had stolen all of the water and had burnt the usually bright green grass to a more yellowish-green. Not that any of this really mattered for Kidd, he actually couldn't care less about it. At least not right now.

Walking with inconsolable and hopeless steps towards his home, the red-haired young man caught his own reflection in the mirror of a shop. He looked at himself while passing window after window. He was tall, a good-looking musculature adorned his tall figure and on the top of his figure bright red hair was standing upwards. Because of his red hair he had a really faint color on his eyebrows, so he usually shaved them off since that gave him a more characteristic and distinguishing look. He wasn't anyone after all. He wanted people to remember him, since he only had this one, rare life to live.

Block of flats after block of flats passed by him. Doubtful and shaky steps, like from a frightened child, echoed through the now empty streets. He lived in the utterly poor part of the town, furthest away from the center. In the center of the town there were all the shopping centers and offices and movie theatres and those things, you know. It was the fanciest part of the whole town, at least during nights with all of the bars and clubs. Then there was a small circle around the rich and wonderful center consisting of the wannabe city people, who weren't as rich as the ones who lived in the Rich Suburb. This area was called the City Ring. These peoples pretended they were too cultural to live in a suburb; they absolutely had to be close to the opera house. Then, right after this was a ring of peculiar small shops where you could get either wonderful delicacies or horrible knick-knacks. This ring was called the White Elephant, perhaps mostly because of all the useless tats you found there.

And then there was one last ring - before a pretty long distance to the Rich Suburb that is. This ring had received the nickname the Black Elephant, as a stupid joke to the White Elephant. A white elephant can at least be valuable or even beautiful in some way, so to speak. But people in this town joked that a black elephant wasn't even beautiful in any way, even less valuable. This was where Kidd lived, in the Black Elephant, the useless, ugly and cheap part of the town. The shame of the town. Kidd belonged to the shame of the town, and sometimes – like this day for instance – that knowledge could hurt like hell.

From the beautiful Town Park, to the block of flats with wannabe city people and from there forwards to the peculiar shops. Currently walking through the White Elephant, avoiding the vendors as well as he could, Kidd once again caught a glance of his own reflection. He could detect the clear fear in his eyes. He really tried his best not to shake with the tremendous fear bubbling inside of him. Not only fear bubbled inside of him, however. Anger, disappointment and exhaustion had also conquered a big space of his mind. No words could possibly describe the huge, sweltering sensation pushing him down at the moment. His closest friends had betrayed him, even if he had found the stupid brothers disgusting in some way he still had spent a lot of time with them. He had befriended them, trusted them and protected them from possible bullies. He had drunk himself smashed with Daz Bones, he had tried to teach Coribou poker and had told Caribou countless of jokes. And this was what he got as a thank you?

Suddenly the young man realized he had reached the despicable Black Elephant. He took his time to look at the dirty and filthy streets, which looked so indescribably repulsive – so hideous – that he just felt like falling to his knees. This was his home; these streets were a part of the environment of his home. This was his home right now and would probably be in the future too.

Somewhere in all of the gruesomeness, in the forgotten streets consisting of the losers and shame in the world, was a sensation of safety and certainty. He knew these streets like the back of his palm after all. He had lived here for the past five years, ever since they hadn't had enough money to live in the City Ring. These five years of his life had been complete torture for him though, since not even a month after his mom's death his dad had become an alcoholic.

When his mom had died seven years ago, dad had snapped. He had started to drink almost immediately, Kidd remembered how it gradually had become worse and worse. His dad had loved and adored his mom so much – she had been his only light and hope. Then she had died and left him alone, and so alcohol had become his only consolation. However, he had tried to sober up one year later, which had been followed with a period of tranquil. A period that had only been six months long, he had tried to be strong and help his children overcome the sorrow too. Well, when the six months had passed he got distant and started to work like hell and slowly forgot everything about his children. This time he hadn't been alcoholic, but workaholic. Finally he had made the mistake to go on one of the parties held at the company he was working at. And then he had started to drink again, while a violent behavior gradually had started to appear.

Naturally Kidd's dad had been fired from the company a long time ago. Despite this, the old man had tried to sober up now and then and had gotten several other jobs for short periods. Currently he was supposed to work as a cashier – his CV had been completely fucked up because of his alcoholism, and so very few places hired him.

The one providing for the family was Nojiko, who had dropped out of school to start working at an early age. She had saved a hell lot of money throughout her years with loads of shitty jobs and now owned a small, relatively successful, bar. She paid the bills each month – both for the flat and the bar, and also made sure they got new clothes when they literally had nothing to wear. She was also the one who made sure they got food regularly. She was Kidd's hero. He didn't want to call her a heroine, heroine's always wear slutty clothes in those comics anyway. Nojiko wasn't a slut, neither was she a weak-ass bitch. She was a strong, independent woman whom Kidd adored.

Awkward and shaky hands reached for keys. Kidd barely got the door open to his own home, he closed his eyes and listened carefully if there was any noise in the flat. He could feel his heart beating, it felt like it tried to punch through his chest. Was dad at home or not? Was he? Was Kidd going to be able to walk for the next three hours or not?

It appeared to be completely silent, except someone doing dishes in the kitchen. Judging from the light and careful way to treat the plates, Kidd could tell that the one in the kitchen was Nojiko. There was no trace of dad. This literally made the young man exhale of relief.

"Welcome home, troublemaker."

"How'd you tell it was me?" taking off his shoes in a calm manner, the redhead stumbled into the apartment. Fear had left him the same moment he had realized that his dad wasn't present. This meant that he wouldn't be roasted alive for the next three hours. Anxiety was, however, still lingering around him. Mostly because he didn't want to see how disappointed and destroyed Nojiko would look. And also because he knew he'd be roasted alive later anyway.

"You're like a giant, you've heavy footsteps", Nojiko remarked while letting her slender hand clean the plate with a caressing move. A nervous chuckle was heard and Kidd entered the kitchen, throwing his leather jacket at one of the chairs by the table, and then shortly sitting down on the same chair.

"Heavy? Flattered. Means I'm gaining some muscle."

"Or then you're just fat."

"Not fat."

After this awkwardly short sentence there didn't come any sarcastic comments from the woman anymore. Silence occupied the space between them, even the small noise from the dishes died out. The hands taking care of the dish stopped and then the tall, curvy figure turned around and leaned against the sink. Trying his best to look back with earnest and honest eyes, Kidd finally gave in and so his gaze dropped.

"I bet you've been scolded enough, and I really don't feel like starting any fight right now", the rag was put away and hands were dried in the dirty, pink towel hanging on the wall by the sink. "I understand why you did what you did. You must feel frustrated because of him, right? I'm sorry – I haven't been the best sister. I should have contacted someone or stood up for you. I was just so-", the sweet voice cracked and tears dropped down to the floor. "I was just so afraid… We'd be separated..!" Gasping for air the young woman covered her mouth with the palm of her tanned hand.

Kidd immediately stood up from the chair he just had sat down on and with hurried steps walked to his sister. He put his big hand on her shoulder and tried to look her in the eyes, but she kept on looking away.

"Hey, c'mon, of course you've been the best sister", the hand squeezed her shoulder a little. "You've had troubles of your own and… I mean you're only one year elder than me anyway! It's not like you should take some major responsibility here only 'cause you're the eldest!"

"You… are an idiot", sobbing a little, Nojiko let a small smile paint her face into a happier one. "But seriously, I should have contacted someone… And Nami has only distanced herself more and more and…"

"Let her experiment with her own stuff. She's in the age where you do a lot of crazy-ass shit and then end up regretting it, but it's necessary for her to try out as much as possible to find her own alley", the hand left the shoulder and eyes finally met each other, after some desperate chasing. Sobs left Nojiko's mouth as she suddenly let out an absurd giggle.

"You talk as if you're an old geezer… And yet you're the one who's experimenting with all of these crazy-ass shits", she looked up at her younger brother who without permission had shamelessly grown to be both taller and bigger than her. It felt both odd and safe to be around him when he was so much taller than her.

"I promise I've done enough of experimenting for now", Kidd sighed and leaned against the sink too, standing next to his elder sister. "It was stupid all along and I knew I shouldn't have done all of that shit but sometimes… Sometimes it just felt so goddamn good to hit someone else, and not the other way around..! Lately I didn't feel that way tho', I only felt bad for beating up those small brats. But I got money, so it summed up for it. Kinda."

"Kidd, you can't stay here. Dad will slay you."

"I know… I'll probably go off to Killer's. He'll hunt me down though. Dad, I mean. But it'll give me a few days to prepare myself", awkwardly chuckling, Kidd scratched the back of his head. "But then again, I really shouldn't leave you two with him. He has tried to hit you before and if I'm not around then…"

"…Did you tell the policemen anything about dad?"

"Nope. Better that way. As you said, we could be separated. And besides, it'd only cause loads of trouble. I don't feel like dealing with that kind of shit right now. I'd rather take care of this all by myself, and besides I'm the one who caused this in first hand. Involving you guys only makes things complicated, and we've both noticed how dense I am, I wouldn't keep up with that kind of complication", he chuckled dryly at what he had said.

Suddenly Kidd felt incredibly shitty. He was dumb, he caused trouble, which he knew Nojiko would be forced to take care of and he was only in the way all the time. Was he even good at anything? He wasn't smart, he didn't know anything at all and he had no remarkable talent. He was the worst. Suddenly he craved for his dad to beat him up – he deserved it. Right now he deserved it. He felt like nothing would be good if he wasn't punished properly for his actions. He had done some serious shit and he deserved punishment.

"Doesn't matter Kidd… Doesn't matter, you're really handy", Nojiko patted her younger brother's head, an old habit from the time when he still had been tiny. She could sense that Kidd was scared – horrified to say the least. She had noticed that the moment he had stepped into the apartment. But of course he didn't want her to notice his fear; he wanted to be a strong man after all.

"…So how do we do now?"

"I… I'll come up with something, for now you'll stay at my bar. I'll tell dad you're working there full-time, so he won't get angry", crossing her arms the lean woman put a serious and determined expression upon her graceful face. Kidd couldn't help but to notice the light pink lipstick she was wearing and so he couldn't help but to think of how she soon wouldn't afford lipstick anymore, since he didn't make money anymore. "Pack your stuff, you're coming to my bar."

"You sure that'll be fine? I mean… I'll probably be in the way in your bar and stuff…" Kidd scratched his left arm awkwardly and hesitantly looked at Nojiko.

"No, you'll come in handy for me, one of the bartenders is sick so you can take his place. Now go and pack your stuff already!" Nojiko playfully pushed her younger – yet bigger and sturdier – brother out of the kitchen. "I'll only give you a few minutes!"

"Okay, okay I'm packing! Geez…"

Before Kidd knew it, the trial had already been held and he had received his suspended sentence. It had ended up being 150 hours of work as a sanitation worker without pay. He had already decided to work as many hours a week as possible to quickly get over with it. According to the law he was only allowed to work two times a week with sessions consisting of three hours, the rest of the time he was supposed to spend studying or searching for a work. And so the redhead was forced take 26 therapy sessions, which meant one session once a week for half a year. A psychologist who had been present at the trial had said that she'd recommend further treatment for Kidd. Great. Just fucking great. Not only did they think he was an idiot, but they also thought he was mentally ill.

Well, at least it had been a very mild judgment. In fact, Kidd was sure that he actually deserved something much more severe, like a trip to prison or something. Somehow the whole judgment felt a tad miraculous, and somehow it felt like Nojiko was behind it. Had she bribed them or spoken with them before the trial? Perhaps she had told them about dad? That seemed like a thing she'd do – only to ease the punishment. Despite being ashamed of his weakness against his dad, Kidd was grateful that his punishment had been so mild.

The past days had been quite absurd and messy. Mostly his days consisted of sleeping under bar counters while his nights were spent working as a bartender. At the same time he was desperately trying to come up with a sensible plan for his future. Sometimes he could feel how everything around him would just start spinning randomly. During those times he usually was forced to sit down for a few seconds to make the spinning stop, and while doing so he would feel unexpected exhaustion fall over him. But then again, whenever he was supposed to close his eyes, sleep wouldn't arrive and so he would anxiously roll around on the mattress instead.

Memories were hunting him and fear made him turn around all the time. Nojiko had assured him that dad was okay with Kidd working and that he had been quite calm the past days, but he still couldn't help but to worry. Especially not since he knew how easily dad could grow angry and hit someone. What if he'd really hit Nojiko or Nami? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if that was to happened.

The first days at the bar Kidd had felt sick all the time. It had felt like his stomach had been hardly knot while someone had been trying to rip his viscera out. A highly harrowing sensation. Luckily the nauseous feeling had slowly faded away and left him alone, so only faint anxiety and fear were accompanying him for the moment. Not even hatred was present, which Kidd found kind of odd and refreshing.

Currently the hands of the clock ticked a few minutes after two. This was the time when the young man would slowly wake up. His circadian rhythm had been completely fucked up during the past few days, thanks to the nocturnal work. Slowly sitting up, Kidd let out a big yawn and stretched his arms a little. His back was sore because of the thin mattress and the uncomfortable pillow. He was not to complain though, this was all Nojiko had been able to offer. And besides, it was possible that his back felt so sore because of the beating a few days earlier. His dad had snapped quite badly for some reason back then.

The morning tranquil was always equally wonderful. Equally peaceful. It was a tad ironic how he was capable of finding peace in this horrible soup he had managed to create. But he thought it was important to find this kind of tranquil in the middle of hysteria. How would you otherwise be capable of going through it?

Humble sun rays pierced through the blinds covering the only window in the whole bar. It so happened, that the sun rays landed straight on Kidd's face, making the said redhead slightly irritated. With a small grunt, the young man stood up and reached for the plastic bag next to the mattress. In this very same plastic bag, he had packed as many things as possible with him a few days earlier. It had taken him a two larger bags and this plastic bag to pack everything he owned, since he possessed a lot of knick-knacks which took a lot of space. He didn't have so many clothes though, but he actually didn't care about that. Taking fresh and new clothes from the plastic bag, Kidd sighed and stumbled to the staff toilet in the back of the bar.

Only a few minutes later the young man had managed to get dressed and had brushed his teeth. He felt a tad shabby since he didn't have any access to a shower, the last time he had showered had been two days ago when he had been over to the indoor swimming pool in the center of the town. Not only did he feel shabby though, but also very lonely. He didn't have the time to meet so many friends, however he had managed to meet Killer a few times and talk about everything happening at the moment. Kidd was glad that he still had Killer by his side, and even more glad that he hadn't encountered with any of the betrayers. He didn't want to see them.

Suddenly thirst had crawled up for his throat, making his throat dry and itchy. Reaching for an empty glass from the bar counter, Kidd quickly filled it with water and eagerly quenched his thirst. By licking his dry lips, he immediately made them feel moister and less dry. Naturally he had heard of how licking dry lips only worsened the condition, but honestly, he couldn't care about that right now.

In the middle of his morning peace he could hear how the front door to the bar was opened. Kidd raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but to wonder why his elder sister would come to the bar so early, it opened eight o'clock anyway.

"Hiya?" from the bar counter you couldn't see to the front door, but Kidd was completely positive that it was Nojiko entering the bar.

Soon the light footsteps came closer to the bar counter and shortly afterwards Nojiko sauntered into the room with a small smile upon her painted lips. Kidd smiled back at her, whilst he could tell that something was odd about her behavior. Utterly odd. Her smile was both proud and revealed, while being exhausted and sad at the same time. Strange, right?

"I have great news, troublemaker", she put her bag on the bar counter and then with the help of her hands sat down on it. She dangled with her legs childishly before finally turning her gaze back at Kidd. "I got you into a new school."

"What!? Really? That's fucking awesome! How the hell did you manage to do that?" despite hating school, Kidd still longed back. He longed back to a social life with friends and to the safe zone where there was no dad that hit him. Going to school meant several hours without beating. And since it was a new school, he always could try to improve some of his grades and perhaps get some kind of better job than driving trucks. He could even repeat a year! And that was all thanks to the fact that the pupils at the new school wouldn't know about his violence, and wouldn't call him a coward for not hitting! He could avoid being the Coward without having to resort to violence!

"Listen up here, troublemaker", Nojiko smiled at her excited little brother and motioned for him to get closer. She caught his face with her hands and stared into his eyes with a very serious gaze. "This time you are not going to fuck up, alright? You are going to go to your lessons, you are going to make the best of it and you are going to go on those therapy sessions. You are going to study for tests, you are going to take extra lessons if needed and you are going to ask for help from the teachers if you need ig. Got it?"

"Got it. Right. Of course, I'll do my best. I'll even repeat a year if I have to, or something."

"Let's see about repeating a year, one year was already expensive enough."

Wait… Was it some kind of expensive private school? Or what did she mean? Had she paid it for him? Suddenly Kidd felt shittier again – he didn't like it when Nojiko did so much for him but never cared for herself.

"Huh? What do you mean? Is it some kind of special school or?" Kidd frowned in confusion, while Nojiko giggled and let go of his face.

"It's a school meant for troublemakers like you, a school meant for… black elephants like us", the blue-haired woman crossed her legs and searched for something in her brothers eyes. "Don't worry, it's not a school for retards. It's a school for people like you, who have done some serious shit and therefore get special lessons and stuff to improve their grades. It costs a lot since it's a boarding school and the teachers there are all very professional. And of course, there are also many pupils there who haven't been active in criminality, but are going to that school because they have rich parents who are unhappy with their children's grades."

"Wait a sec here… B… Boarding school?"

"Yea, it's close to a small village like three hours from here. Your train leaves tomorrow at seven in the morning, so that you'll be there for lunch", explaining everything to Kidd, the tattooed woman played with her blue hair a little. "You have to start packing today, and go early to bed too. You can visit us on weekends if you want to, but I guess it'll be for the best if you stay there and study, at least for the first weekends. Oh, and you're going to get to work as a janitor at the school, only a few hours a week though. But great anyway, right? I've already spoken with the principal about it. And about those therapy sessions you hate, you're going to the school psychiatrist on Wednesdays after your lessons. I bet some of the pupils at your new school are going to tell you more about the rules and I really don't know anything else so-"

"How the hell did you afford this?" Kidd knew that a school like this was expensive as hell, at least for people like them. He felt bad about having Nojiko go through so much trouble just because of him. He could sense that she was tired and he had noticed how she had gotten some pretty nasty bags underneath her eyes.

Nojiko looked away with sorrowful eyes and at that instant Kidd knew what she had done.

"I had to use all of my savings. The savings for a house in the countryside, you know..." Nojiko looked back at Kidd who just stared back at her with blank eyes.

"No…" Kidd gasped for air and kept on staring at Nojiko in disbelief. She had spent all of her savings throughout the years to cover up for Kidd's failures. How shitty could he be? How horrible? He was the worst brother ever..! "You shouldn't have..! Not for me..!"

"Kidd, you need to get a proper education, y'know", the blue-haired and graceful woman continued to speak, not bothering of what Kidd just had uttered. "I want you to get a steady and proper future, unlike me. I just had huge luck with my bar and all… So that's why – whatever you do during this year – don't fuck up, okay?"

Three hours had quickly been spent in nervousness and eager. Outskirts of the town had slowly been exchanged with a countryside landscape, consisting of wide, yellow fields, ready to be ploughed. Up in the naked sky some birds flied, feeling pure freedom underneath their wings as they flapped forwards. Further away from the town – or could it be called city? – there were rarely any houses left, only some lonely mansions and farms. Once the train had passed a man working in his garden, his had been hands dirty and his knees muddy. Despite this his face had been adorned with a quite glad expression. It had brought Kidd nostalgia from his childhood, from the time when mom had been alive and dad had been well.

Regardless, three hours had passed fairly quickly. Countryside landscapes had swished by and soon Kidd found himself on a small train station in a small, picturesque village. Stepping out of the train, he quickly found the tiny train station completely empty. There was literally no one there. Shrugging awkwardly at the dusty train station, the tall redhead grabbed his luggage half-heartedly and made it to the old, yellow wood building in front of him. Somehow it reminded him of cheese, it perhaps had something to do with the fact that he was starving. He had eaten breakfast for several hours ago and the tickling nervousness had made him quite hungry. Well, not that anything could be done about that right now.

Inside of the building sat an elderly woman behind a glass window and smiled kindly at Kidd who aimlessly walked around. Otherwise the hall seemed to be as empty as the train station itself; there were only empty benches and some lonely trash bins. In one of the corners of the hall was one abounded-looking, closed cafeteria. It was by far the smallest train station Kidd ever had seen which he found quite relaxing. Small was good for him, it was a nice change.

"I suppose the taxi waiting outside is for you", the old woman spoke carefully, still smiling with a sincere and friendly smile. She nodded towards the other exit of the building, where a taxi apparently would be waiting for him.

"Ok, thanks lady", it was an awkward thank you, but it was all he was able to give her. He waved awkwardly at her and with that he walked out of the cheese-like building, which strangely had smelled cheese too. Come to think of it, the kind lady might have been eating a cheese sandwich of some sort. Or had it been cheese flavored chips? He had already forgotten.

Outside a taxi had been waiting indeed. And it really had been a taxi ordered for Kidd. The driver had been utterly talkative and had asked Kidd several questions, and kept on repeating how happy he was that new students were arriving. Apparently the boarding school was really wealthy and was a great part of the small village's incomings. The driver spoke about how the hardworking boys could be surprisingly kind, if you only spoke to them with the right attitude. The boarding school was namely a school for only boys.

Finally, for after what felt like ages, Kidd arrived at the rumored boarding school he was supposed to attend to. When he had told Killer on the train – he had naturally called his best friend – Killer had been both surprised and impressed. The boarding school was patently very famous. Usually students with the shittiest grades would graduate with average, if not even remarkably good grades. The teachers were all super inspirational, or that was what Kidd had been told at least. Also it seemed that this school had amazing facilities, which was nothing but a positive fact.

Stepping out of the car, the urge to smoke grew rapidly. Out of habit, Kidd reached for the package of cancer sticks in his pocket. Luckily he managed to stop himself, he could obviously tell that smoking wasn't permitted at the boarding school. So, he decided to bite his lower lip as he witnessed the large, white building towering in front of him. There were a few other similar buildings around the main one, but they were all a tad smaller. All of the white and majestic buildings looked modern and clean, even surprisingly beautiful and nice. In front of the so-called main building was a fountain with a small statue in the middle of it. Ironically enough, the vigorous statue portrayed a small, dancing black elephant.

The driver gave Kidd his luggage from the trunk of the car. Wishing good luck and waving goodbye, the driver drove away and left Kidd to his fate. Well, there was no turning back now, was there?

Before the nervous redhead even could come up with what to do next, a monstrously large, young man came out of the main building. He stodgily and bulkily hurried towards Kidd. He looked both retarded and fat, in Kidd's opinion. However, the redhead knew that the size of the young man wasn't fat but muscles and an abnormally burly framework. He could tell that this guy was a student because of the school uniform he was wearing.

"Uhh… Hi..?" Kidd tried awkwardly as the large thing was huffing and puffing in front of him. Had that really been that much of a physical exercise for the dude? Suddenly Kidd couldn't help but to wonder whether the abnormally large guy was a steroid abuser. He certainly looked like one. And he honestly looked like he was suffering from some minor mental disability or something.

"Jean Bart", the young man nodded sincerely and immediately proceeded to pick up the luggage for Kidd.

"Thanks. So uhh, your name is Jean Bart? Cool. I guess. I'm Eustass Kidd."

"Eustass? Yes, I heard your name, Smoker told me earlier. I was not to forget it, he told me", the abnormally large thing smiled half-heartedly, but Kidd could tell that there really was emotion behind the half-crooked smile. So far he hadn't detected anything negative about the place. The buildings looked spacey and modern, the garden was beautiful and he could see a large sports field further away from the buildings. And the ridiculously idyllic weather must have been a sign too. The only thing that had given the place minus points had been the small, dancing black elephant. Well, it wasn't the school's fault so that one really didn't count either. "Come, follow me, I'll show you around. We can leave your luggage here on the steps, no one will take anything, and there are security cameras. They are good. They see if something happens."

"Okay, you know the best after all", Kidd shrugged and then followed the abnormally large guy who clumsily walked purposefully forwards. Something about his honest attitude painted a really cool and wonderful picture of the school. What if every student really was this cool and honest here? It was like a dream come true.

Jean Bart seemed to be a fairly laconic character, which suited Kidd's taste more than well. They simply walked from place to place in a logical order and at each stop Jean Bart would simply say; "Sports field" or "Dorm for the juniors" or something similar. He was very few of words, in a slightly humorous way. Each place of the whole school looked very homely and well-managed, much fancier than Kidd's place back home. The school even had a small rectangular building made mostly of glass where there was a swimming pool, a sauna and a gym. It really was like a dream come true, especially when Jean Bart told Kidd that one was allowed to train as much as they wanted after the lessons.

After the short round-trip, they came to the canteen that now was almost empty of pupils. The canteen was situated in the so-called main building, where all the classrooms also were. On the fifth floor was also the infirmary and the school counselor's office, along with the principal's office. Apparently the main building also had an auditorium, another gym – meant for the P.E. lessons – and finally a big stage where several kinds of events could be held. Currently the two of them found themselves in the modern and clean canteen. Jean Bart brought Kidd to a small circular table by the window, this was obviously the table he always sat by. He told the redhead to sit down and then brought both himself and Kidd some food. Kidd had to admit that the food here looked both more delicious and healthier.

"So you like it here so far, Eustass?" Jean Bart asked after a while of silence, while another group of boys left the canteen. Apparently they had a really long lunch break and were planning on spending it with watching TV in the lobby, or that was at least what Kidd had happened to overhear.

"Seriously? This place is like fucking heaven compared to my old school", there was no point in lying. Why would he give the place worse feedback than it was worth? The place was fucking delicious in every way.

The only thing that he missed was women. He wanted something pretty to watch too, but he supposed he could cope with one year without the delicacy of women. He slightly missed the last girl he had banged in Nojiko's bar a few nights ago, when he had been supposed to work. He still felt a tad guilty for doing that during work, but oh well. Sometimes there just existed so beautiful people that you simply couldn't keep yourself from being drawn to them. And besides, Kidd had lain with guys before too, so if he really would get desperate, he wouldn't mind the second option either. Moreover, some guys could be even more beautiful than women, but that was rare.

"Really? That is good then. Oh and don't cuss in front of Smoker, he hates it. Just warning", Jean Bart wiped away the mayonnaise from his cheek with the sleeve of his navy blue school uniform. Come to think of it, Kidd still hadn't gotten one of those. Despite his dense appearance, Jean Bart seemed to notice the stare Kidd gave him and understood it. "Don't worry. There are some ready for you in your room."

"Oh okay, I see", nodding at the information approvingly, Kidd suddenly remembered an important question he had been meaning to ask. "Oh by the way, does one share their room with anyone? I mean, it always got a little unclear for me."

"Yes, everyone usually has one roommate", the large guy took a bite of his sandwich, looking rather disgusting while doing so. And that was coming from Kidd, not some oversensitive girl. "You're actually both very lucky and very unlucky with your roommate."

"Huh? What do you mean? Is he horrible or?"

"No, no… Trafalgar is really cool, I like him a lot. Everybody does. But he can be a little scary sometimes, but not too much. And he's super kind once you get to know him better. It's just to get him to open up first", Jean Bart nodded to his own statement approvingly, as if he just had uttered one of the deepest words ever.

"Trafalgar? Is his name Trafalgar?"

"Trafalgar Law."

"What? That's a really stupid name! Trafalgar as in Trafalgar Square?" Kidd burst out in laughter, almost choking on his juice. He would soon stop with the cackling though, since Jean Bart stood up with an angry aura around him. "Huh..? What's wrong?"

"Don't make fun of Trafalgar."

Kidd stared at the guy for a while, finding his attempt to be intimidate ludicrous. As if empty threats would actually scare him. He could as well show this fucker why he had been sent to this school. Luckily he managed to stop himself. There was no point in resorting to the same kind of evilness he just had desperately escaped from. Instead he'd try to make friends – friends were always good to have. At least some that didn't betray you.

"Right, sorry. I won't." Kidd knew he hadn't so much to say anyway, his name was fucked up as well. Eustass, spelled with 'ass' instead of 'ace', as in Eustace. And he had never particularly liked his first name either. Kidd. It sounded like some lazy dumbfuck had named him, since they hadn't come up with something better. But yeah, it seemed that Jean Bart actually really liked this Trafalgar-guy and didn't just spit out some shallow words to appear kind.

"Good", with that Jean Bart calmly sat down again and continued eating in his clumsy manner.

He couldn't believe how homely and cozy the dorm rooms were. They were modern, with clean windows and fresh walls. It was certainly an environment which Eustass Kidd was not used to. He was used to a slightly shabby home, with broken furniture and an aroma of alcohol constantly lingering around. So when he now had lain down on the comfortable bed, and took a deep breath of the fresh air, he actually couldn't believe that he was where he was.

The left part of the room was like Kidd's territory, which suited him more than well. He would have preferred the left side anyway, for the childish reason that he was left-handed. But yeah, the left part of the room was like his territory. The bed, the wardrobe and the small nightstand – those all were his own personal space. Naturally the exact same fitments were found on the right side of the room too. There was also a desk in the dorm room, but it was placed more in the roomie's territory than in Kidd's, and it was meant to be shared. The bathroom was also meant to be shared, which was completely understandable, it would have been ridiculous if each student would have had access to their own personal toilets. But the best thing of the room had to be the small balcony. Even though the dorm room was on the ground floor, it still was about one meter over the ground, and so they had built small, picturesque balconies to the rooms on the south side. The balcony was in the middle of the two beds, giving them a view over the small pond next to the school.

Sighing of pure happiness, the redhead smiled for himself and looked up at the ceiling. The bed he currently was lying on was much more comfortable than the bed he had at home. And the whole room was much cleaner and fresher than his old bedroom. There were so many positive things about the whole school, there surely had to be something fishy about it. Perhaps the teacher would be real crazy after all? Jean Bart had mentioned something about some Smoker getting angry when you cussed. What if that Smoker guy would start to hit you if he caught you cussing? And by the way, what was up with that odd nickname for him? Smoker? Did he smoke or was it just a stupid nickname to annoy him?

Kidd couldn't tell, and really didn't feel like judging the school just yet. He didn't want to stamp the place as perfect either, because if it wouldn't be revealed as perfect as he had imagined, he would get really disappointed. Deciding not to think of the matter anymore, Kidd glanced at the clock on the nightstand table right beside him. He still had approximately twenty minutes before he was supposed to meet the principal and the school counselor. Ah, long lunch breaks really were the best. He had packed up his stuff in only a few minutes and had already thrown them into his own wardrobe and lined up all of his knick-knacks on his furniture. After that he had decided to spend the break with resting, since he didn't know anyone to hang out with yet, except Jean Bart who had left after their small lunch together. He probably had his own friends to take care of.

Speaking of making friends and such, Kidd could hear how someone opened the door to the dorm room with a soft click. He immediately sat up to make a little better first impression on his new roommate; they would be stuck with each other for the incoming year anyway so.

Swallowing nervously Kidd watched the tall and slender figure, which entered the room graciously. Oh. Oh so this was Trafalgar Law. Oh, Kidd could tell why Jean Bart had told him he was lucky to share the room with him. Long, thick eyelashes, a charming smile, a tall and slim figure that was softly tanned, dark hair and beautiful gray eyes, looking at him curiously. He had tattooed hands, a small goatee growing on his chin and two golden earrings dangled in each of his ears. This was not any guy, but a very beautiful guy. There were rarely dudes that looked good, and if they did, they usually were annoying smart-ass snobs. If this guy was at this school, it mostly meant that he was an idiot. Perfect. Maybe Kidd would survive this year without women after all?

"Uh hi, I'm your new roommate", Kidd awkwardly looked at the dark-haired guy who carefully placed his keys on the delivery table close to the door. How could anyone be unlucky to share a room with a guy like this? He was one of those rare cases, when a man actually was attractive for Kidd. Usually Kidd only banged women, but occasionally he would want dudes too. Especially delicious-looking ones, like Trafalgar Law apparently was.

"Ah yes, you must be Eustass-ya", a friendly smile appeared on his lips. "Jean-ya told me. I'm Trafalgar Law. I hope we'll get along."

Eustass-ya? Jean-ya? What an odd way of addressing people. Oh well, Kidd forgave him because of his gracious way of walking forwards. In fact, the gait was quite flirty. Even seductive.

"Yeah, I hope so too", not finding the right words to say, Kidd found himself being hypnotized by the seductive way of walking. The slim guy smiled, this time in a flirty manner and looked at Kidd with his gorgeous eyes. He bit his lip and shamelessly checked Kidd out. Oh, this was interesting indeed. Didn't Trafalgar Law have any kind of shame? Well, not that it mattered. A fuck-buddy was always nice to have, at least at isolated schools like this.

"Hey, Eustass-ya, let me introduce myself in a more… hm… proper manner", Trafalgar smiled in the flirty manner again and now walked to stand completely next to Kidd. "Lie down on the bed and let me take care of the rest. Don't worry, I'll make you feel real good."

"O…Okay, I don't mind. Go on", being excited – both because of the fact that he hadn't lain with a guy for a while and because of the fact that someone had gotten so attracted to him so quickly – Kidd quickly lay down again. It was unbelievable. Was he really that sexy that he had made Trafalgar horny right away? Sweet.

"Mmm, good", Trafalgar smiled, his gray eyes piercing through his thick eyelashes. Then he slowly proceeded to sit down on Kidd's torso, his eyes still locked to Kidd's. "Now, shh, close your eyes…" Trafalgar's slim and soft hands rested on Kidd's chest as he told the redhead to shut his eyes.

"Okay, you like these sorts of things, I see", the redhead chuckled eagerly, already enjoying the incoming treatment. Closing his eyes innocently, Kidd waited for the next step to happen.

Trafalgar chuckled a little as well, massaging Kidd's chest with his slim and tanned hands. Ah such a sweet laughter, Kidd was completely sure that he was going to get along with this guy. At least if they were going to do this kind of stuff all the way. Kidd really didn't remember when he had lain with a dude before, but it really didn't matter. It was like being with women anyway right? He was not going to let anyone dominate him at least.

"Yes, I do", Trafalgar said softly and Kidd could tell that he fumbled with the pocket of his pants. Suddenly something slightly cold and sharp touched Kidd's shoulder, and he couldn't help but to wonder what it was. "Now stay completely still Eustass-ya and let me dissect your left arm."

Wait… Dissect?

"What the fuck- wait- no- GAAAAAAAAH!"

~Thank you for Reading~