My first fanfiction story! Any and all reviews are welcome to help me improve both my writing and the story. I hope you have a nice day and I am looking for someone whom I can trust to proofread and offer suggestions on how to improve the chapters.
First Day
The wind whistled through the cherry trees, their blossoms pink with the coming of spring. A few petals had already begun their descent to the ground, riding the breeze in a lazy spiral before finally making contact with the hard grey surface of the sidewalk.
A lone student meandered down the sidewalk. He swung the bag in his hand back and forth and had a spring to his step. The boy looked around, his eyes drinking in all of the scenery around him with the thirst of a curious child.
Other students walked behind him, throwing the occasional glance to him and whispering amongst themselves. "What is that on his head?" One girl whispered loudly, jabbing a finger in his direction. "It looks like some kind of hat," a boy answered, "But look at his uniform, he must be from our school." There was a collective murmur, and they continued with their whispering.
The boy payed no heed to their whispers. He adjusted the straw hat that sat atop his head with care. His inky black hair peeked out from under it, the little tufts catching on the breeze. When the school came into view, his equally black eyes widened.
"Suke!" He yelled, startling the people behind him. "It's the biggest building I've ever seen!" He ran towards it, stars in his eyes.
Just where did this kid come from? That was the shared thought of the group. The school was small by the standards of buildings in the city, being only 3 floors high.
He stopped in front of the school, soaking in the place before him. This was the place that Ace was making him go "to do something besides eat meat all day long". Personally, he thought that it was stupid and had even made his opinion quite clear to his older brother, only to receive a hard knock upside the head as a response.
But now? Where was he supposed to go? Someplace called the "student office", as Ace had called it when he was instructing him on what to do when he got to school, or the "big grey building" as he had put it into terms that his little brother could understand. He had tried to give him directions on how to get there, but they were lost on him.
Concentrating, the boy tried to figure out a way to locate the student office. He placed his index fingers on his temples as if that would somehow help. The heat rose to his face, and beads of sweat began to roll down his face from the exertion. "Too much thinking," he murmured.
A few moments later, he spoke to himself. "Got it! I'll just ask somebody." He began to scan the area for any potential people to ask for directions. Spotting a green haired guy sauntering towards the entrance gates of the school, he sucked in a full breath. "Hey green hair!" He yelled, his voice bouncing off the gate and gaining the attention of all those in and around the gate.
Said guy stopped and tensed up. He slowly turned around, and looked at the perpetrator of the yell with a glare that would cause most to pee themselves at the spot. What he saw instead of the expected response stunned him. The boy who had yelled at him was smiling?! It shocked all of those around them, who stared at the scene, transfixed. He dashed towards him, his grin widening.
When he stopped in front of him, the green haired boy adjusted the katana bag on his back as if to warn the boy in a subtle fashion. "What the hell do you want?" He asked, his voice rough and somewhat irritated.
"Do you know where the student office is?" He asked, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. He uncrumpled it and showed it to the other guy.
The markings on the paper made no sense to the green haired guy, who had a poor sense of direction himself. "Tch. How the hell am I supposed to know?" He scoffed, retrying his glare on the smaller male.
"Okay, thanks." The smaller boy grinned. He saw the katana bag on his back and pointed at it, asking. "What's that?"
He looked at him like an expectant child. "It's a katana bag," he replied.
"Suke!" He yelled, enamored. "I've never seen a katana before!" The crowd watched, anticipating how the delinquent would react to such attention.
None of his intimidation tactics had worked on this guy, and he was so easily captivated. "…Thanks," he muttered. His eyes stayed fixed to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. Meanwhile, the guy looked towards the school and saw something that caught his eye, because he was gone before he finally looked up and took notice. What had just happened?
The dojo stood on the eastern edge of the campus, close to the neatly manicured line of trees that lined the entire perimeter of the school's lot. It was wooden, and had a bit of a historical air to it that was stark in contrast to the modern metal structures that otherwise adorned the school ground. Built in a traditional Japanese style, it would have been a pleasure to gaze upon for one who had the *ahem* capacity to appreciate things like that.
It wasn't the dojo that had caught his attention, moreover, it had been the graffiti Jolly Roger that had been spray painted on the side of the building. Under it read: Lord Usopp, the most feared and awesome one on campus! The object of over 8,000 girl's affections. An impossibly wide grin spread onto Luffy's face, the reoccurring stars appearing once more. "Really?! That's so cool!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. His mouth hung open in amazement as he tried to envision what kind of person this "lord Usopp" guy was.
A pink haired boy who was passing by took notice of his state, brows furrowing together in confusion. He nervously adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat in a futile attempt to get his attention. "Hey," he said a little louder, gulping. Still no response. "Hey," he spoke louder, blood rushing to his face. Snapping out of his daze, he looked in the direction of the voice. He cocked his head at him in question. There was something…different about those black eyes that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Oi, are you okay?" the boy with the transfixing eyes inquired, taking a step towards the pinked haired boy. Nervously adjusting his violet glasses, he gulped. He needed to think of an excuse-and fast. "Um-I was ..Wondering if you were lost?" He asked awkwardly, jamming his hands into his pockets. "I'm Coby, by the way."
A smile crept onto the black haired boy's features. "Yeah," he laughed a little, "This is my first day of school." Coby couldn't believe his luck. Whew, that was close. He thought, internally rejoicing. Swallowing hard, Coby examined the new student. A messy uniform, a weird bag, and most of all that hat. The Student Office was going to have a hay day with him.
"I'll show you the way, follow me" Coby gestured in the direction of the office. He turned around and began to walk down the sidewalk. He took a few steps, and glanced back, and much to his surprise, the boy was not following him.
The look on his face must have been enough of a question, because the boy offered an explaination that had to be one of the strangest that had ever graced Coby's ears. "I don't follow others, I want people to follow me," he stated, staring unwaveringly at him.
"Why?" Coby asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the explaination.
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I will be the freest man in all of the world," he declared with a confidence that seemed to radiate from all of his features, as if his very soul were trying to escape.
What is he talking about? Coby wondered, then he began to rationalize. Okay, so this guy is definitely crazy. Coby thought, It would probably be best to back away slowly, but I did make a promise to him. "W-what if I escorted you Monkey-san?" Coby asked cautiously, taking a step back. Luffy merely shrugged, and began to follow Coby to the student office.
"What do you mean I can't wear my hat? It's my hat." Luffy demanded, arguing with the little old lady seated at the desk in the Student Office. His jaw was rigid, and his hands were gripping the edge of the desk hard.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Luffy-san, its school policy. You have to take off the hat," the lady adjusted her cat eye glasses that were held on a chain around her neck. "I don't make the rules."
Coby had tucked himself back into the corner of the room, but now he emerged a bit. "Luffy, there's really no use in-," he began.
Luffy cut him off. "This hat is very important, and I will wear it," he insisted, leaning forward with his weight on his hands. "A very special person gave it to me, and I will never take it off until that day," he added.
The secretary sighed. He's certainly a stubborn one. She thought. There was a light knocking on the door and she diverted her attention from the stubborn boy and forced her best sweet old lady voice. The door opened and a pretty girl with short orange hair stepped in.
"Hello Tsubaki," she greeted the secretary with a charming smile. "Why hello, Nami," she spoke in a syrupy tone. Her brown eyes shifted over to the boy who was leaning on the desk with a determined look on his face. She glanced back at the secretary and they exchanged a look. Help me. The secretary mouthed.
Nami focused on the boy, or more challenge at hand. She hadn't seen him before, so he was probably a new student. She would put him in his place, and show him that he shouldn't disrespect his elders or others. What was with that hat? A hunch formed that the hat might be the root of the secretary's problems.
"Hey you," she spoke in an authoritative tone, placing her hands on her hips. "Why are you wearing a hat on school grounds?" Narrowing her eyes for good measure, she pressed her lips into a thin line.
"Because it's special to me," was his quick response. He turned to face her, and gave her a once over. "You should know, since you wear that tangerine pin." He pointed to the small pin that she wore in the center of her school uniform's bow.
Nami's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know? No one's even noticed the pin before, so how could he? I have underestimated him. "But pins are allowed to be worn on school uniforms as long as they don't imply anything that would be considered inappropriate for school." She began, a smirk working its way onto her face. "Hats, however are inappropriate under any and all circumstances." A sense of pride filled her for she had just quoted verbatim the school handbook.
"Bleh," was the sound Luffy made as he stuck out his tongue at her. Nami's eye twitched. He was a child, or maybe a moron.
The secretary sighed loudly in defeat. "Thank you Nami for trying. Luffy, I'll let the principal handle this at a later time, for now I need to get you a schedule and send you to your first hour." She spoke, rolling in her chair to where a heaping stack of papers was placed.
"Keep in mind Luffy, classes here are arranged according to the scores you received on the entrance exam. However, yours proved to be…. inconclusive, so for now you'll be placed in class 1-F. Your first hour is Japanese and is in room 3-17 on the top floor." She instructed, handing him a single sheet of paper. "Also," she added. "Your midterm exams will determine if you stay in your current class or if you'll move up."
Luffy stared at her blankly as she spoke, nodding occasionally but not seeming to take any of it in. Nami stared at him in wonder. If he didn't pass the entrance exam, how the hell did he get in? She was snapped out of her train of thought by the secretary.
"Nami, can you please show Luffy to his class?" She asked somewhat insistently. Her eyes narrowed towards the corner of the room. "Coby, get back to class." She ordered, pointing to the door. He scurried out abruptly, but not before offering a slight wave to Luffy.
Nami glared at Luffy before huffing and exiting the room, with Luffy trailing at a safe distance. Why did she have to show the idiot the way?
How will Luffy interact with his new classmates? The question that will be answered in the next chapter! Any feedback is welcome!