Warnings: Fluff
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, which belongs to Eiichiro Oda, but I do own my words!
Day 1
Ace watched with annoyed eyes as his little brother bounced around, cheering about going to school. Ace was not happy about going to school because it meant getting up early and homework and weaklings who were scared of him and here Luffy was, bouncing around like the idiot he was, happy about school. Then again, it wasn't like he had to do much. He was only six, so he wasn't getting multiplication and long division problems for homework.
Suddenly Luffy tripped over…well, he tripped over nothing and fell to the ground with a thud and a whine. Ace snorted, slightly pleased, because he was not in the mood to deal with a hyper Luffy, especially if said hyper Luffy wanted to go to school.
Especially since it was a new school.
Just then Garp walked into the room, yelling and screaming into his phone about lazy workers who needed to do 50 laps (Ace pitied them a little, because this was Garp and that probably meant a lot more than 50) and men who couldn't even keep up with his grandsons if they tried.
Ace's eyebrow twitched. While he was glad at the compliment, he really didn't want to have a bunch of strangers secretly loathing him because Garp didn't know how to keep his mouth shut.
Something jolted Ace and he looked down with slightly annoyed eyes as he saw his brother yawning and hugging his legs.
"Luffy, I'm not a pillow," He said, glaring at the younger child. The kid just stared up at Ace with a pout on his face.
"But Ace's comfy 'n I'm tired," Luffy replied before yawning once more. Ace rolled his eyes. One second this kid could be bouncing of the walls and the next he could be in a really deep sleep no one could wake him up from.
"C'mon Luffy, you need to stay awake. We have school," Ace said the last few words with distaste, grimacing. He really didn't want to go to school.
"Boys, get in the truck. Luffy, get off of your butt! C'mon now, we have to hurry or you'll be late," Garp suddenly began to nag, grabbing the boys and shoving them out the door and toward the large gray truck. He ignored Ace's grumbling about a new school as he made sure they buckled in before getting into the drivers seat and pulled out of the driveway.
It was silent for a few minutes, Luffy staring out the window at all of the new sights in the small town they were in. Ace stared out his window, but not with the same awe Luffy had. His gaze was annoyed and a little upset.
"Why did we have to move again, Gramps?" Ace asked when they came to a stop light, leaving him staring at the street signs that were different from home. Gramps stared at the boy through the rear view mirror and then sighed.
"My work required that I moved again. I know you didn't want to move Ace, but there was no choice. It's only for two years, so it shouldn't be-" Garp would've continued if it wasn't for Ace's loud groan of annoyance. Luffy was staring at both of them from his seat now, eyes wide and confused.
"But then we'll be moving again! We've been moving since I was two! Can't we just stop and stay in one place for once?" Ace asked, glaring at Garp through the rear view window. Garp sighed heavily and shook his head, wishing he could answer the boy how he wanted to hear but knowing he couldn't answer that way. That would be lying to the child.
Ace glared and sat back, huffing when he realized that Garp wouldn't answer him. Luffy just stared back and forth between his Grandpa and brother while holding onto his Sogeking backpack. He didn't really get what was happening, but he hated it when they fought. Sometimes Ace would ignore Gramps for days. Luffy really hoped it wasn't one of those fights.
Garp pulled into the school, going past the drop off section and straight toward the school parking lot. As soon as the car was off, Ace ripped off his seatbelt and slammed his door open, jumping out and smashing it shut.
"Ace, drop the attitude," Garp said as soon as he had helped Luffy out of the rather large truck and walked around to where Ace was waiting. Garp then began to pull Luffy along, and only Luffy saw his brother stick his tongue out at Garp before he began to follow their grandpa.
Ace looked around, taking in his new surroundings with a frown. It was really warm in this small town. Everything was also very clean. Houses and buildings were made of clay and the roofs were reds and blues. Almost all the houses had pools, too. The palm trees stood tall and the sidewalks, for some weird reason, were not straight, but rather they curved like a moving snake. The grass was bright green and there were no clouds in the sky. The humidity, at the moment, wasn't too bad either.
But Ace still didn't like it.
He wanted to return to where the snow fell and covered the land in eight inches, where the leaves turned oranges and reds and yellows and fell and he could jump into piles, where the sea was dark and not clear.
He wanted to go back home.
They were brought through the doors of the school after the lady talking over the buzzer opened the doors. They were immediately brought to the main office, where Garp started talking about stuff that Ace's young mind didn't care about or want to understand. This school was one of the brick buildings he had seen, but there really weren't many in this small town. The walls were a light color and the floor of the office was carpet while the rest of the school, assuming from what he saw at the door, was white and blue tile.
Ace was already bored of it.
The school was so new. There probably wouldn't be any secret cabinets he could explore or any places he could hide in to ditch class. It made his frown deepen.
"Ace," He was jolted out of his thoughts by a shake to his shoulder. He looked up and saw Gramps was staring down at him, holding out a piece of paper for the boy. "Ace, this is your new class. Make sure Luffy gets to his before you go to yours, alright?" Ace nodded quietly. Garp sighed and kneeled down in front of him and Luffy, hugging them both tightly. "I'll be in the parking lot to pick you up around three. I'm sure you'll like this school, Ace, Luffy. Have a good day," Garp stood then, patting each child on the head before heading to the door.
"Do you need help finding the classrooms?" A feminine voice caused Ace to jolt a little before he turned back up, coming face to face with an old lady staring down at them with concerned eyes. The phrase 'remember Makino's lessons' ran through Ace's mind and he shook his head.
"No, thank you. We can find it."
Before she could say anything, Ace grabbed Luffy's hand and brought him out, beginning to search the hallways for the younger boy's classroom.
"Ace, are we lost?"
"We're not lost, Luffy."
"Then where are we?"
"In the school."
"But what about my class?"
Ace looked away, puffing his cheeks a little as he tried to avoid his little brother's eyes. But the kid was staring up at him with such trust…
"I don't know," He mumbled really quietly after a few moments, feeling like he lost a game by admitting that he was lost. When Luffy began to laugh, Ace smacked him over the head. "Don't laugh at me!"
"Ow! What was that for?"
"For laughing at me when we're both lost!"
"I thought that Ace was lost?"
"But you're with me too, so we're both lost."
"I'm lost too?!"
The younger boy gaped up at him, as if it was one of the biggest revelations in the world, and Ace just sighed. His little brother could be so dense at times. Ace looked up again and looked around, frowning. The hallways all looked the same and it was hard to figure out where he was going, even if the doors were numbered.
"You look lost."
Ace looked up, eyes blinking when he saw a girl with blue hair standing near them. She was standing with her hand on the corner of the wall, staring at Ace with a smile. Ace scowled at her.
"What's it to ya?"
The girl blinked, seeming surprised but not scared by his rough tone that normally made the girls run away. Rather, she grinned even wider.
"I can help you. Where do you need to go?"
Ace scowled and was debating whether or not he should ask for help – they had been walking around for twenty minutes, after all – when Luffy made the choice for him. His little brother ran around him, grabbing the piece of paper Ace had been loosely holding and bringing it up to the girl, grinning the whole time.
"We're trying to find these rooms but Ace is really bad at finding stuff and we're lost. Do you know where we're supposed to go?"
Ace flushed when the girl laughed. Why did Luffy always feel the need to point out embarrassing things about Ace? He stormed up to his younger brother and smacked him over the head, ignoring the whine that came with it.
"You idiot! Don't go saying things like that!"
"But it's true, Ace! OW! Don't hit me!"
"Then keep your mouth shut, stupid!"
"Calm down, both of you, do you want a teacher to come find us?" The girl was laughing and the two brothers stopped fighting. Luffy smiled and nodded while Ace crossed his arms, looking away from his brother. "I know where to go. C'mon, follow me," The girl said once she calmed down. She began to walk away and Luffy hurried after her. When he didn't move, she turned and looked at him. "Are you coming?" Both the girl and Luffy were staring at him with big eyes and Ace sighed.
"I'm coming."
He quickly caught up to them as they continued walking. Ace and the girl stood on either side of Luffy, who was humming to himself. Ace figured he was too caught up in his own world, so he turned to the girl to ask her name.
"What's your name?"
"I'll tell you my name if you tell me yours." She smirked at him and Ace scowled, brow twitching, slightly annoyed.
"Ace."
"Nice to meet you Ace. I'm Nojiko," She said with a grin over Luffy's head. "Who's he?"
"This is Luffy, my little brother."
Nojiko hummed. "He's gonna meet my little sister."
Ace cocked an eyebrow at her. "How?"
She grinned over at him. "They're in the same class."
Ace made a sound of acknowledgement but then couldn't say anything more as Luffy tugged on his hand.
"Ace! Ace! Is that is? Is it?" Luffy was pointing enthusiastically at one of the doors with the number 1A on its door. Ace nodded, remembering the number from the paper. Nojiko smiled down at his brother.
"Yeah, that's it."
Luffy cheered and ran up to the door, bouncing in place as Ace walked up. Nojiko waited a few feet behind as Ace knocked on the door. It opened a few moments later and Ace and Luffy were faced with a young woman with dark green hair. She looked down at the two with a smile.
"Hello. Are you Luffy?" Ace's little brother nodded enthusiastically. The woman smiled. "Hello Luffy. My name is Ms. Makino. What's your name?" She turned to Ace, who flushed lightly – he didn't know why and he wanted to hit himself for it when he heard Luffy snickering next to him.
"I'm Ace."
Makino smiled. "It's nice to meet you Ace. Do you need help getting to your classroom?"
Ace was about to reply when Nojiko suddenly appeared next to him, smiling up at the teacher before him.
"I can bring him there, Ms. Makino. Ace here is in my class."
The woman smiled brightly. "Is that so? I trust you to bring him there then, Nojiko. You're in good hands, Ace." Ace flushed again and this time Nojiko snickered and Ace wondered if he could hit her, but then again, Gramps always said not to hit girls, so he refrained himself from doing so. "Come on in, Luffy. Your classmates are excited to meet you."
Luffy grinned widely and then turned, hugging Ace tightly around the Ace for a moment. Ace smiled and quickly hugged his brother back.
"See ya later, Ace!"
"See ya, Lu."
The six year old let go of his brother and turned, following Ms. Makino excitedly into the room. Ace saw Nojiko waving at one of the girls in the classroom before the door closed and they were once again alone in the hall. Nojiko turned to Ace with a grin on her face.
"C'mon, let's go."
"Nami! Nami! Let's go play!"
"Hold on Luffy!"
Luffy didn't listen as he pulled Nami by her hand across the playground. It was all new to him and he wanted to explore and have adventures! There was so much to do! He was gonna go on and under the slide and go climb the monkey bars and play in those trees and join those kids playing soccer and basketball and swing as high as he could on the swing and – he was gonna do everything he could! Even if he couldn't do it all today, there were still many days left for more adventures that year. And he could play with Nami too!
Nami was really funny. She liked to take peoples pencils and pens and she loved tangerines. She always had some to snack on, but she wouldn't let Luffy have any. They sat together in class and Ms. Makino had asked Nami to be Luffy's partner for the first week, to show him his way around school and help him get comfortable there.
"Luffy, you're running too fast!"
Luffy only laughed as he continued to drag the orange haired girl with him until he reached the playground. He stopped there, grinning and ignoring the girl panting next to him. Next thing he knew, his head was throbbing due to a fist.
"Ow! Nami, what was that for?"
Did Luffy mention Nami was violent? Because she was.
"When I say hold on, stop for a minute! I'm not that fast!"
Luffy only blinked at her before laughing again, ignoring the way her face turned red from anger.
"But Namiiii, I wanna go on an adventure before the bell rings!"
Nami blinked at him curiously. "You wanna have an adventure?" He cheered loudly and nodded enthusiastically, making Nami grin. "I know some cool secret spots here on school grounds! Do you wanna go see them?"
"Yeah! Lead the way, Nami!" Luffy laughed, bouncing up and down. Nami grinned and led them back in the direction of where they started, intending to show him a cool niche in the school walls, hidden from view and full of cool stuff.
AN: Hello! How are all of you doing? I know it's been a while and now I'm putting another story on my to do list. This is a very long overdue request and I do not have enough apologies to give and it's not even done. But this will consist of ten chapters, including this one, about the lives of these kids in this year. And this is not even making sense right now. Lately I feel like I haven't made sense a lot though. Sorry if that was awfully confusing.
Thank you very much for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think! :)
