Kids of Heart – Chapter 1

A/N: Hey, look at that, another KLaw fanfic! You'd never have guessed that they're currently my favourite pairing, would you? This was originally just going to be a one-shot, but I've had some awesome plot ideas, so instead this will turn out to be a multi-chapter fic. I'm really excited to be writing again, school's been kicking my ass, so it'll be nice to get the ball rolling again. I'm still unsure as to how this fic will pan out, so any and all feedback on this fic idea would be greatly appreciated, and might even prompt me to write faster!

Warning: Strong language from the beginning, eventual malexmale, later chapters shall be rated 'M'.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Oda, and the song lyrics used belong to The Blackout and their record label. You should check 'em out, they're a quality band.

O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON – 1ST SEPTEMBER 2012

"We're taking it, tonight! You got me burning like fire! No faking it, we'll come alive; let's take this higher and higher!"

Trafalgar Law's lyrics sent the crowd into a frenzy as they all cheered for the encore, the audience's screaming barely audible over the thundering of Luffy D's drums, Samurai Z's lead guitar, Massacre Man's rhythm guitar and Eustass Kidd's pounding bass.

"DJ B, bring it on!"

Law turned to point to Bepo up in the DJ pit, and as he hit the decks the crowd went even more insane, if that was even possible.

"Now I wanna hear you motherfuckers ROAR!"

The singer's request was happily met by the audience who went absolutely crazy, however the band weren't letting up, their music pounding so hard that the stage floor was buzzing with the vibrations. The encore ended, all six members of the band receiving their standing ovations as they bowed to the crowd.

"Man you guys are batshit crazy! We've been Kids of Heart; you've been a fucking amazing audience, thank you and goodnight!"

And with that declaration Kidd, Samurai and Massacre threw their picks into the crowd, Luffy D's drumsticks following shortly after, and after a particularly loud request from a group of girls resting on the barriers at the front of the crowd, Law pulled off his signature yellow and black hoodie, throwing it in their direction and waving to the crowd as he followed the rest of the band off stage, being drawn into a group huddle out of the way of the stagehands.

"That was amazing; probably the best crowd we've ever played!" Bepo said with a grin, his hands shaking with the excitement. Luffy nodded enthusiastically in agreement as he jumped up and down, the excitement preventing him from standing still.

"Very receptive, I definitely didn't expect anyone to actually start sprinting from the back of the venue to the front again." Killer added, grin on his face.

"Did you really have to take your hoodie off though, Law? You're such a man whore!" Zoro smirked, flicking Law teasingly in the centre of his now bared chest.

"If it keeps the girls coming back to concerts, why not? Besides, it's hot as fuck up there, and Kidd doesn't even bother with a shirt!"

"That's what I've always done. You're just doing it for fanservice." Kidd spoke up for the first time, rolling his eyes as Law gave him the finger.

"Right, guys, break it up! The venue people want us out so they can start clearing up, so get your junk from backstage and we'll regroup in the van." A new voice spoke behind the band, someone they didn't even need to see to know who it was. Stood with his arms crossed over his chest, with his foot tapping against the linoleum floor (mostly due to impatience, but also partially because he hadn't had a cigarette for a few hours) was Sanji, the band's PA, manager, tour supervisor, publicity manager and pretty much every other administrative title you could think of. Sanji did it all, and considering how many responsibilities he had it was astounding the way he managed to keep himself collected and get everything done to such a brilliant standard. It wasn't surprising that he smoked like a chimney; as he himself liked to put it, "If you had to run around after a rapcore band made up of a bunch of rowdy 20-somethings, you'd be stressed too."

Big grins still on their faces, the Kids of Heart disbanded the group huddle, and were hurried through to their dressing room to collect the paraphernalia left floating around. (Except for the slice of pizza Luffy had left draped over a lampshade in his haste to get on stage. That could stay.) They gave their thanks to the lighting and sound crew, posed for a couple of publicity photos, and finally headed to leave the venue. Straight away they were bombarded with fans, screaming emo girls and hyperactive grunge guys surging forward to try and get a picture or an autograph, or even just touch a member of the band that they admired so much. Thankfully, the venue's beefy security guy, going by the name of Urouge, left the building in front of them and made quick work of parting the crowd and making a pathway to the band's tour van. The band followed Urouge closely, and after a couple of words of thanks they all jumped into the back of the van, to avoid being crushed by the weight of fans behind them.

~x~

Finally, after an issue with a crazy fangirl who decided to climb on the roof of the van and cling on for dear life, the band were on the road. Though their van was pretty small for six band members, a driver and their manager, the entire back of the vehicle had been ripped out and replaced with a circle of comfortable, reclining seats, and plenty of space for their personal stuff. All of their instruments and sound equipment were in the van with the techies, which left as soon as the band had gotten off stage and their instruments and equipment had been collected. Sanji smacked his hand against the side of the van a couple of times to get the attention of the Kids of Heart, before a grin spread across his face.

"Nicely done tonight, guys. The crowd was really into it, which helped a lot, but your performance was pretty damn good for an opening night, and I've seen more opening nights than I've smoked cigarettes." Sanji sat back in his seat, looking on like a proud Dad as the band members exchanged fist-bumps and high-fives. "Only issue I noticed with the performance is Luffy, your drumming went a bit out of rhythm in We're Going to Hell…So Bring the Sunblock, I know you like doing your own thing, but save the experimentation for the studio, yeah?"

"Ugh, fiiiiiiiine." Luffy groaned, flopping backwards and letting his arms hang on either side of his seat, so he looked like a plasticine model that had started to melt. Sanji almost felt bad that he'd had to rain on the drummer's parade, but in the end the Kids of Heart were a band, and if they didn't plan in sync everything would simply fall apart.

"I don't think the crowd really noticed…" Bepo said quietly, patting Luffy's shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Probably not, but let's not make a habit of it. Otherwise, your stage presence was great. Throwing your hoodie into the crowd was a nice touch, Law, but don't do it too often, I don't want to blow our budget on buying you replacement clothes." Sanji smirked as Law gave him the finger and shook his head, before unlocking his iPad and flicking through documents before he found the information he wanted. "Right then. Tomorrow we're at the Roundhouse, which means we don't have much of a commute tonight; in fact we should get to our hotel in about…" Sanji paused to check his watch, "…15 minutes."

And, sure enough, a quarter of an hour later the Kids of Heart tour van pulled up outside of a Travelodge, the band's home for the night. After a final round of congratulations on their first performance, Sanji herded everybody through check-in, handing out room keys as each member passed and directing them to their rooms. Then, satisfied that the tour vans were safely parked and hidden away from the public eye, and that the techies had also been given their room keys, the exhausted manager finally got to collapse onto his hotel bed, slipping into a deep sleep straight away. At the back of his mind Sanji wondered how he'd cope for the rest of the fifteen-date tour if he was already this tired by the first night, but he let the thought go; as long as he had coffee and cigarettes, he was sure he'd manage well enough.