To clarify, this story will start out with mild SanjiLuffy and ZoroNami.
But it will gradually evolve to ZoLu! And mild SaNa, ViviKohza, and UsoppKaya...
Please enjoy!
- 2 -
The long nosed boy led the couple and their dog down several streets. Finally, the group stopped. Usopp swiped a finger under his nose proudly and grinned.
"Here's the dojo. I designed it myself!"
Nami smiled at the sight before her and Zoro inspected the dojo curiously. He had to admit, the Usopp boy had some talent. The whole dojo was surrounded by a white cement wall and the front door was decorated in an intricate pattern of polished shells. A beautiful courtyard on the inside could be visible through the front door. There was even a rock garden decorating one side of the grassy courtyard and small bushes were planted along the front of the dojo. Pale wooden boards on the floor were polished smoothly and they shined in welcome of anyone passing by. A large orange tree loomed over the entire dojo and Zoro remembered Straw Hat's letter. He mentioned that there would be a festival coming up, right? He glanced behind him and noticed the red lamps hanging high above the streets.
"There's more inside!" Usopp smiled eagerly, pulling Zoro's attention away from the streets. "On the left is where you can hold competitions. Down the middle is a training hall. And to the right is another training hall. You'll find bedrooms and the kitchen on the right side, too."
Chopper bounded inside and rolled around in the courtyard happily. Zoro smirked and stepped in to survey the inside more closely.
"It's nice." He finally said, staring up at the open courtyard, giving view to the setting sun that had turned the large orange tree hanging over them a golden color. The green haired man smiled and went to the right side of the dojo, looking for the bedrooms so that he could put his and Nami's bags down.
Nami shook Usopp's hand. "It's a deal, then." She smiled and strolled into the dojo. "You did a wonderful job here, Usopp." The orange haired woman started to inspect all of the rooms and halls, nodding approvingly after every room she came back out of.
The long nosed boy smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. "Oh, it's nothing. I have designed even greater buildings than this. Buildings so great that I have earned the name of Usopp the Great Architect!"
Chopper's head shot up and seemed to stare at the long nosed boy in awe. Usopp blinked at the dog's reaction and smiled, walking over to pat Chopper on the head.
"Zoro?" Nami called, walking towards the bedrooms. "Zoro? When should we open up the dojo?" She found the green haired man lying on his back with his swords propped up against the wall. He was sleeping again. She sighed in annoyance but it was quickly replaced with a smile and she quietly slid the door of the room shut.
"Did you hear?"
"What? What?"
"There's a new dojo opening up near here!"
"What?!"
"I heard that there's this really cool looking guy who's teaching."
"Really?"
"He's even cooler than Luffy!"
"Wow... I wonder what he teaches..."
"Let's go check it out after class today!"
"Okay!"
"Can I come, too?"
"If he's cooler than Luffy, let's go there instead."
"Yeah, and sensei is always late..."
Vivi stared at the students in the room, gossiping about the new dojo opening up nearby. Are they going to leave this dojo then? But what about Luffy? Isn't he our sensei? Can they just switch so easily? She shook her head sadly and walked over to sit next to a dark blonde haired boy.
"Ne, Kohza?" She inched towards him. He gave her a skeptic glance.
"What?"
"Everyone's talking about that new dojo opening up. Are you going to go see it?"
Kohza snorted and then smirked. "Nah, I'm not interested. Luffy's my sensei. And he'll always be. Until I beat him, that is." The boy grinned and started to imagine himself beating up his sensei in the competition hall.
Vivi stared at him in wonder, ignoring the last part of his response. He had just echoed the same thoughts going through her mind. He wasn't going to leave Luffy like the other students! A wide smile spread across her face and she threw her arms around the boy, hugging him tightly. Kohza's eyes widened in shock and he tried to pry the girl off of him.
"Vivi?! What the? What are you doing?" The boy blushed in embarrassment, trying to pry the girl's arms off of him.
Luffy ran into the room and smiled at his class. "Good morning! Sorry for being a little late." The black haired boy smiled sheepishly. "Okay, let's start then." Vivi let go of the red faced Kohza and smiled back at her sensei.
"Hai!"
Zoro stared at the dojo in front of him. He stood there for a moment before stepping inside, following after Nami. It was a nice dojo, not as nice as their own, but nice nevertheless. And old. He could feel the long history of passion for fighting emitting from this dojo. Whoever runs this place must be pretty good... The green haired man thought excitedly, his hands instinctively flying towards his side. But he stopped, remembering that he hadn't brought his swords with him today. Zoro sighed, dropping his hand to his side, and trudged on in, trying to hide his eagerness to see how the person in charge fought.
"Zoro, today we're going to visit a dojo nearby. They might compete with us for students so we have to go in and observe how we can be better than them and draw in more students."
"Spying?" He glanced at her. They were actually going to go spying? He shrugged and opted to strap on his swords in preparation. "Whatever..." Nami stopped him from tying on the swords.
"No swords today. We can't let them know that you fight well!"
Zoro snorted and set the swords gently against the wall. "Just because I'm not wearing swords doesn't mean that they won't know that I fight well."
"I don't care. No swords! And don't get people angry while we're at the dojo!" The orange haired woman demanded. The green haired man grumbled and stood up irritably.
And now they were here. On enemy grounds. Zoro ran a hand through his green hair. Despite the fact that he might meet a strong rival, he already had this whole day planned out! And then Nami went and ruined it. He was planning on writing a reply letter to Straw Hat today and then he was going to find the Merry Post Office to send it. Afterwards, he had organized an entire day of training for himself to do in his new dojo... Zoro sighed and started to wander around. What the hell are we looking for anyway? He finally found a blonde haired man standing in someplace that looked like a kitchen. When he came closer to the room, the green haired man noticed that the blonde was wearing a pink apron. Zoro raised an eyebrow. What the hell?
Sanji turned around, holding a wooden spatula, and stared at Zoro. The blonde man's eyes immediately narrowed.
"Who the hell are you?" Sanji sneered.
"I should be asking you the same question." Zoro raised both eyebrows, staring at the pink apron that read 'Kiss the Cook'.
Sanji glared at the stranger who had suddenly intruded the kitchen. He noticed the light green hair growing on the man's head and he raised one of his meticulously curled eyebrows. The blonde pointed his wooden spatula at the mop of hair.
"What's up with the grass growing on your head?"
Zoro glared at the man and an annoying tick grew on his head. He didn't like him. Not one bit. "What about you? What's with that sissy apron?"
Sanji's eyes narrowed angrily and he scowled, putting his hands on his hips. He didn't like this guy. Not one bit. "Who are you calling sissy?"
"You, idiot."
"You bastard... what are you doing here anyway?"
"None of your damn business."
The two men glared dangerously at each other and sparks seemed to fly through the air. Nami sensed the dangerous aura growing from a room down the hall. When she spotted the familiar green hair at the doorway, she sighed and quickly walked over, slamming a fist into the back of Zoro's head.
"Didn't I tell you not to go make people angry?!" She shouted at the man who was now clutching his head in pain. Nami sent a sweet smile to Sanji. "I'm so sorry about this. We were just looking for the owner of this dojo."
The blonde haired man's attention immediately turned to the beautiful woman standing in the doorway. He stared at Nami in awe. Never had he seen a woman as beautiful as this one... His heart nearly leapt out of his chest and the man flew over to clamp his hands over the woman's hands. "You don't need to be sorry at all, sweet lady. My name is Sanji. I know that I am not worthy but, will you give me your name?"
Nami blinked once and then laughed nervously, pulling her hands away from the man. "Eh... we were just looking for the owner of this dojo."
"That idiot is almost done with class. Just sit here and wait. I'll fix up a delicious drink that can only be fitful of a lovely lady such as yourself!"
"Well..." Nami let herself be led to a table and she stared in surprise at her fiancé sitting cross-legged on the ground. He was glaring at Sanji and she smirked. "At least someone knows how to flatter a woman." The glare was redirected at her now and she nearly laughed.
"Oh? I didn't know we had visitors coming today." A soft voice came from the doorway. Nami looked up and found a dark haired woman standing at the doorway, holding a book in her arms.
"We were just looking around." The orange haired woman smiled and thanked Sanji as he floated over with a bubbly orange drink in his hands. "We wanted to meet with the owner here." Robin sat down beside her and smiled.
"Luffy? I think you'll like him."
"Luffy's the name of the owner I presume?" Nami sipped on the drink and smiled. "This is delicious!"
Sanji wobbled around like a noodle. "I'm so glad you like it, miss!"
"Oi, Nami." Zoro stood up and leaned against the wall of the kitchen. "I think he's coming."
And sure enough, they spotted a herd of children running towards the kitchen along with a teenage boy with black hair leading the group.
"MEAT!" They all sang together and ran around the corner, into the dining room. Nami stared in surprise at the dust left in their wake. Sanji shook his head, balancing the dishes in his arms and apologized to Nami.
"I'll be back, my sweet!" And then he left around the same corner towards the dining room. Zoro stared blankly out the room. What a strange dojo run by weird people...
Robin chuckled and stood up. "That boy at the front was Luffy. Would you two like to join us for lunch? Sanji is very good at cooking."
"No thanks." Zoro shook his head but a hand cut him off. He stared at Nami in annoyance.
"Of course, we'll join! What better way to meet Luffy than over lunch?" Nami smiled at Robin, who in turn smiled back.
"Here, follow me." The trio left the kitchen and turned the corner. Zoro and Nami found themselves walking into an enormous dining room with a long table down the middle. Luffy sat at the end of the table and his students sat on the sides of the table. Bits of food flew through the air as Luffy and his students ate off their plates. Nami stared at them in disgust and Zoro raised an eyebrow at Luffy. This is the one who fights well? Hard to imagine... He stared at the lanky body of the boy in disbelief and then watched in surprise as the boy grabbed a piece of meat off of his student's plate. The student whose meat had been stolen stood up and started shouting.
"Luffy's stealing food again!" All of the children sitting at the table immediately guarded their plates and stared at their sensei suspiciously. Luffy gave them an innocent smile and Sanji kicked a foot into the back of the boy's head.
"If you're still hungry, just tell me, dammit! Don't go stealing your student's food again, idiot! And we have guests! Have the decency for better manners!" He lifted his foot from the boy's head and smiled sheepishly at Nami.
The students all nodded and returned to eating their food. Luffy only pouted sadly and gave Sanji a pleading look.
"Food?"
The blonde haired man rubbed his temples and went back to the kitchen. Luffy grinned and bounced in his seat.
"Food! Food! Food!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow at this and gave Nami a 'look'. If this was what made students want to join Luffy's dojo, Zoro would rather have no students than act as Luffy was acting now. Nami sighed and shrugged at him. The green haired man frowned and was about to go back out the room when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Zoro turned and found Luffy staring at him in interest. The green haired man stared back at the black haired boy wondering why the boy was suddenly so interested in him. Perhaps the boy had figured out how strong he was and wanted to challenge him to a match?
"Sanji! It's the guy with the green hair!" Luffy shouted and pointed at Zoro. Sanji appeared in the dining room with another plate of food.
"Hm? The green haired guy?"
"Yeah! The one I saw as we were leaving the harbor! It's the cool green haired guy!"
Zoro raised an eyebrow at Luffy. Cool? How could the boy so straightforwardly call him cool? And wasn't his green hair supposed to be weird? When had been the last time someone had called it cool?
Sanji placed the plate of food on the table in front of Luffy and inspected Zoro up and down.
"Che, so it is the grass haired bastard we saw yesterday."
"What did you just say, shitty cook?" Zoro growled angrily. Nami glared at him disapprovingly which he returned with a glare of his own. Luffy finished the plate of food Sanji had set down and looked back up to admire the green hair.
"Isn't his hair so cool?!" Luffy grinned and stood up to run over to the green haired man. Zoro gave him a skeptic look, cautious of the shorter boy's next movements. Maybe he would do a surprise attack? But the boy only stared up at him with large, curious brown eyes. Luffy was quite close to him and Zoro noticed that the boy had a scar under his left eye. What the? Why the hell is he looking at me so closely?! The green haired man felt himself blush from the intense attention he was receiving from the black haired boy.
"Uh... I..." Zoro was at a loss for words. One of Luffy's hands was reaching towards his green hair and Zoro wasn't sure if he wanted the boy to touch it or not. They were strangers, yet Luffy was acting as if they had been friends for a long time! He was utterly speechless and he couldn't move away from the boy. Thankfully, his fiancé butted in before Luffy could touch his hair.
"Well, thanks for everything. We'll visit another time. Ne, Zoro?" Nami smiled, deciding that it was a good time to leave while they could.
"Yeah..." The green haired man quickly left through the doorway, feeling extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"Wait! I'm about to start class soon. You guys wanna come watch?" Luffy grinned and strolled out of the room with his students following closely after.
"Um..." The green haired man stared at the boy for a while.
"If you insist!" Nami answered for him with a smile. Zoro frowned but followed after her all the same and into the room where classes were held.
"Okay! Let's go, guys! Places, everyone."
The students lined up neatly in two rows again and stood in a horse stance, feet spread wide open, facing forward.
"And one! Two!" Luffy led them through a series of movements fluidly, counting out each move for the students to follow. Zoro and Nami sat near the back, watching intently. The green haired man watched in surprise as the black haired boy easily followed through the movements as if it were second nature. A small smile crossed Zoro's face. This guy's good. He could almost imagine Luffy in an actual battle. Fast and flexible, with strong punches and kicks. The green haired man forgot all of the awkwardness from before and was itching to challenge the boy to a match.
Sanji and Robin stood in the doorway of the room, watching Luffy and the students. From time to time, the blonde haired man's gaze shifted from Luffy to the two visitors. He didn't like the green haired man but the orange haired woman... Sanji nearly melted to the floor. I think I'm in love... The blonde sighed blissfully.
Robin stared at Sanji and followed his gaze to the orange haired girl sitting next to the green haired man. A small smile graced her lips and she turned her attention on Sanji again, chuckling quietly.
"Nice work! Class dismissed!" Luffy grinned and waved good bye to the students leaving the room. Nami stood up and thanked the black haired boy for letting them stay and watch.
"Anytime!" The boy smiled happily and stared at Zoro with shining eyes. The green haired man took a step back nervously. "What did you think?"
"Uh..." Zoro didn't expect the question and he was lost as to what to say to Luffy. But then he grinned and relaxed, deciding to answer honestly. "You're good." It was the truth. The boy wasn't bad at all.
"Neehee. I know. I'm strong! And you look like you are, too." The black haired boy smiled. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. And you are?"
The green haired man smirked. "Roronoa Zoro."
"Cool name! I'll see you around. Eh... Sanji? I'm gonna go send my letter now!" And with that, the boy sped away down the hall.
"Sure, Luffy." Sanji shrugged and then turned to smile at Nami. "Will you let me know your name before you leave me, angel?"
The orange haired woman blinked before smiling, causing Sanji's heart to flutter. "I'm Nami. And we should be heading back. Come on, Zoro."
The green haired man nodded to Sanji and Robin before leaving the dojo. As the couple walked out the front door, Luffy rushed past. The boy turned around a few meters away and waved at them with an envelope in his hands.
"Bye, Zoro! Bye, orange haired girl!" And he sped off again. Zoro raised an eyebrow. How could this guy suddenly be so friendly with someone he just met? Just because I'm cool looking? The green haired man snorted and waved back at Luffy lazily. That boy was pretty interesting. Maybe he finally found himself a good friend other than Straw Hat...
Nami giggled. "That boy is pretty cute. Too bad we'll be stealing away his students soon..."
Oh yeah. Zoro blinked. He had forgotten that.
"Well, let's head back to our new dojo. I overheard Luffy's students saying that they would come visit our dojo. We have to go make you look more cool, Zoro!" She ran towards the other side of the street. "Come on! Hurry!"
The green haired man shrugged and ran off after Nami. He glanced over his shoulder, watching the black haired boy's retreating back. Sorry, Luffy. It's just business. Nothing personal. Perhaps they could still be friends?
Luffy raced into the white building of the Merry Post Office, clutching a letter in his hands, labeled 'To: Santoryu'. He smiled fondly at the booths lined along both sides of the hall and jumped towards the nearest booth. The boy hadn't received another letter from his over seas friend but he was sure that Santoryu would send one soon. In the meantime, Luffy had decided to send him a new letter.
"Send this to Santoryu for me, please!" The black haired boy smiled and watched the man in the booth take his letter. The man slipped his envelope into the slot behind him and Luffy grinned as he heard the ding! from behind the wall.
"All done, sir."
"Thanks!" The boy ran back outside just in time to see the lights from the lanterns light up. "Oh! They're testing the lights today?" He watched the red lanterns light up warmly. The festival's coming soon, huh? Luffy smiled and skipped down the road back home. Maybe he should ask through a letter for Santoryu to join him in the festival?
"Woah..."
"This place is so pretty...!"
"Look! Look! It's that green haired guy we saw earlier!"
"His name was Roronoa Zoro, right?"
"Zoro... so cool!"
"I want him to be my sensei!"
"Look at those swords!"
"His muscles are huge!"
"Maybe he could beat Luffy with one blow?"
"No way...!"
"He's so cool!"
Zoro blushed at the praise he was receiving as he prepared his katana to cut through the slab of stone Nami had set in front of him to show off to the students. He sighed and concentrated on the slab of stone. Then, with a smooth cut, the stone broke, cut cleanly in half by his sword.
"Did you see that?!"
"He cut through the stone!"
"So strong!"
The green haired man felt himself flush pink again from the praise. Never in his life had he been praised so much in one day... He was starting to feel uncomfortable under all the gazes and he sheathed his sword slowly before turning to face Luffy's former students.
"Oi, are you going to just stand there and stare?" Zoro scowled at them and walked towards the room set aside for classes. The students murmured behind him and he could hear their eager footsteps following after him. Nami gave him a thumbs-up from the side and his scowl deepened. I really don't like this... he thought irritably before sliding open the door to the classroom.
"Grab a sword there and let's start training." Zoro gestured lazily towards a cabinet full of bamboo swords. The students stared at each other and then raced to the cabinet in excitement. The green haired man sighed and prepared to teach his new students.
Nami smiled slyly from the doorway, counting the number of new students they had now. That's 5,000 keri for each student…so we'll make 55,000 keri in a month! She laughed internally.
Zoro glared at her from the corner of his eye, guessing the thoughts passing through her mind. He lowered his gaze and stared at the dojo floor in thought. What will Luffy think of me when he finds out... He felt as if he was cheating and betraying a new friendship... The green haired man growled and turned his eyes on the students standing before him clutching bamboo swords. It's too late to be thinking these thoughts.
"Luffy! Get ready for class!" Sanji called from outside of the black haired boy's room. The blonde heard a groan from inside and a loud thunk! signaling that the boy had fallen from his bed. Sanji sighed and opened the door to check if Luffy was all right. He found the boy sitting up and rubbing his forehead furiously, trying to numb the pain of falling to the floor head first.
"Luffy, get ready and come eat breakfast. Classes should start in 15 minutes."
"What?! I only have 15 minutes of breakfast?!"
"You overslept. Now hurry up and get ready." He watched the boy grumble and he shut the door when Luffy started taking off his pajama shirt. The blonde haired man had just taken a few steps away when Luffy ran back out of his room, fully dressed, and into the kitchen, eating away the breakfast Sanji had prepared for him. The blonde haired man smirked at the boy and watched as Vivi and Kohza came in from the front door. He raised a hand to greet them.
"Oi! Want anything to eat or drink?"
They looked up and smiled, shaking their heads, politely declining his offer.
"Luffy's in the kitchen finishing up his breakfast. He'll be out soon." Sanji smiled, leading the two children into the dojo to wait for their teacher. The minutes passed and the blonde haired man frowned as no other students came through the door. What's going on? They can't all be sick, can they?
Luffy raced out of the kitchen, wiping away any bread crumbs from his lips, and stopped beside Sanji. "Good morning!" The boy smiled and then headed into the classroom.
"Luffy, wait." The blonde haired man grabbed the boy's shoulder. "Did the students tell you that something would be happening today?"
Luffy shook his head. "No. Why?"
Sanji turned away from the boy and his eyes narrowed at the front door. "You only have two students today, Luffy."
"What?" The boy blinked and peered into the room. "Oh! You're right. Only Vivi and Kohza are here today. I hope everyone's all right. What happened?" Sanji shrugged and Luffy shrugged, deciding to enter the large class room. He smiled at his two students kneeling on the floor of the dojo. "Good morning! Vivi, Kohza!"
"Good morning, sensei." The two chorused. Kohza was wearing an angry scowl across his face while Vivi looked worried. Luffy's eyebrows creased together in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"No one's here..." Vivi muttered sadly. Luffy smiled.
"It's all right, Vivi. I'm sure they're all okay." The black haired boy pulled out his fist in front of him and grinned. "They're strong!"
Kohza's scowl deepened. "They're not coming back, sensei." Vivi shot him a glare but the boy ignored it. Luffy blinked in surprise.
"They're not coming back? Why not?"
"They went to the new dojo that opened yesterday." Kohza stared at Luffy straight in the eyes, angrily. "They left you for another sensei!"
The black haired boy stared at Kohza for a moment before smiling. "Why would they do that?"
"Because they think that you're not as cool as the other guy! They left, just for a stupid reason like that!" The dark blonde haired boy almost shouted. Vivi bit her lip nervously and Sanji stared into the dojo skeptically.
Luffy laughed and grinned at Kohza. "That's okay. At least you two are here, na? Let's start class."
Kohza squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. It isn't fair. After learning under Luffy for so long, why did they just leave without saying anything to Luffy? And how can sensei be so carefree? He lost more than half of his students in less than a day! And he can still smile and laugh?!
"Come on, Kohza." Luffy smiled.
"Kohza?" Vivi stared at her friend.
The boy let out a sigh and glared at Luffy. "Why don't you care? Aren't you angry that someone stole your students all of a sudden?! What will happen to this dojo if you can't get enough students? You'll have to close down the dojo!"
I'll have to close down the dojo... Luffy's smile disappeared, replaced with serious eyes. "I will never let this dojo close." Then the black haired boy shook his head and grinned, clamping a hand over the smaller boy's shoulder. "So, let's start class. If you're so bothered by this, I can go find out who the owner of the new dojo is. It's really no big deal."
Kohza crossed his arms over his chest and let out a small humph. Luffy laughed, taking this answer as the okay for class to start.
Sanji watched Luffy out of the corner of his eye and sighed. He turned his gaze to the courtyard of the dojo, observing the old wood in the halls. How long had this dojo stood anyway? He wasn't sure of it himself. But, Luffy seemed really attached to it. The blonde haired man slid the door of the room shut and sauntered down the hall into the kitchen. Even if most of the students were gone, there was still lunch to cook.
Chopper bounded into the bedroom where Zoro sat, drying his green hair with a white towel. The man had just taken a shower after finishing his first official class and was cooling off in his bedroom. He smiled as he thought of all the students who had seemed very eager to learn swordsmanship. Chopper nudged the man's knee with his blue nose and dropped two letters into his lap. Zoro stared at them and grinned, picking both envelopes up.
"Thanks, Chopper." He opened both envelopes and started to read through them.
Dear Santoryu,
You're coming to Raftel?! That's great! Maybe we'll meet each other. I'm going to wait at the harbor for you. You should recognize me because I'll be wearing a straw hat. Actually, that should be pretty obvious, huh? Do you want to know a secret? The straw hat I'll be wearing is my treasure! I wonder if you have your own treasure... What would that be? Well, I'm excited about you coming. See you soon!
Sincerely,
Straw Hat
The second letter was less enthusiastic.
Dear Santoryu,
I'm sorry...I couldn't find you at the harbor because when I finally looked up, all the passengers on the ship had left. There were a lot of people and they pushed me. And I fell down a lot of times. My hat even flew away! Did you see it fly in the air? Or did you see me before it flew away? I hope so. Then, I can see you sooner because you'll know who I am on the streets! I didn't see you though. I wonder what you are doing now. Settling down? Do you like Raftel so far? Well, write back soon!
Sincerely,
Straw Hat
Zoro frowned slightly and stared at his own letter, sitting on the floor in front of him. He had written it yesterday as a response to the last letter from Straw Hat. The man snatched the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper inside. Then, he crumpled it and pulled out a new sheet of paper to write back in response to the most recent letter Straw Hat had written to him. When he finished, the green haired man stood up and stepped out of the bedroom, looking for Usopp, who had been visiting a few moments before he had stepped into the shower. Zoro found the long nosed boy sitting in the kitchen, sipping a mug of warm tea. Usopp grinned at the man and lifted up his mug.
"You want some tea, Zoro?"
"Do you know where the Merry Post Office is?" Zoro asked quickly, ignoring the boy's offer. Usopp stared at the green haired man in surprise, his jaw hanging slack.
"Someone like you signed up for that program?" The boy responded when he came back to his senses.
"Nami forced me." Zoro stared at him in annoyance.
"Ah..." Usopp nodded. "That explains it."
"Well?"
"Hmm?"
"Where is it?!" Zoro waved the envelope in emphasis of his impatience.
"Oh! I'll show you. Follow me!" Usopp grinned. "It's pretty easy to find actually. It's a white building with a ram's head on the rooftop."
"That's weird. Where I lived, the Merry Post Office had a snail on the rooftop. Not a ram's head..." The green haired man mumbled, following the long nosed boy out the front door of the dojo. Usopp shrugged and the two walked down the streets in silence, occasionally waving at students (on Zoro's part) or waving to civilians (on Usopp's part).
"How long have you been here?" Zoro asked in interest as the boy waved at another person passing by.
"A few weeks. Ever since you guys got me started on the dojo project."
"I see..." Zoro nodded. This town must be full of really friendly people. Like Luffy. He smiled inwardly, thinking about the carefree boy he had met yesterday. He remembered that the boy had been sending a letter yesterday... Did Luffy also sign up for the Merry Post Office program?
"We're here." Usopp interrupted the green haired man's thoughts and held open the wooden door of the white building for him. Zoro admired the architecture of the building and casually walked in, observing the warm atmosphere inside. So this is what Straw Hat sees every time he sends a letter to me... The green haired man smiled fondly and thanked Usopp before heading towards a booth on one of the sides of the room. He found a red haired lady smiling up at him.
"How may I help you, sir?"
"I want to send a letter to Straw Hat." Zoro watched as the lady nodded and took the letter gently from his hands. Then, she slipped it into a slot behind her and after a small ding! from behind the wall, the woman smiled at him.
"It's being sent, sir."
"Thanks." Zoro nodded appreciatively and looked around for Usopp. The man spotted the curly haired boy sitting in a booth on the other side of the room. "Oi, Usopp. Let's go back."
The long nosed boy looked up from his seat in the booth and smiled nervously. "Wait, Zoro! I just need to sign this and then I'll be ready to head back. Wait for me! Don't leave that spot or you'll get lost!"
The green haired man scowled. When did Usopp learn about his bad sense of direction? Zoro shook his head and then smirked, watching the boy sign a piece of paper. So, Usopp was signing up for the program, too? How ironic. This thing must be getting pretty trendy now... He thought wryly. The long nosed boy was walking in his direction now and the two headed out the wooden doors together, back to the new dojo.
To be continued...
Thanks for reading the second chapter of Under Mirangu Branches!
Please tell me if anything seems inconsistent or weird. I'll try my best to fix it.