Luffy skipped excitedly into the courtyard on Friday morning, eager to meet the fabled new student. I can't wait to see what he's like…!
"Hey Luffy, over here!" a shout came from over by the old oak tree. There stood Nami and Chopper, both waving their arms to beckon him over. He walked over, looking around for any new faces.
"Hi guys!" Luffy greeted. "I'm trying to find the new guy! Have you seen him?"
The others exchanged confused glances. "There's a new kid?" Nami asked with a tilt of her head. The ravenette nodded. "Yeah! I overheard some people talking about him!" Chopper looked on with starry eyes. "Wow! That's awesome! I wanna meet him!"
Nami still looked like she didn't believe him. "Are you sure?"
"There is a new student at this facility, Nami-san." A new voice came from Luffy's right, and was coming closer. Nami jumped at the suddenness of the statement, and Chopper hid behind the orangette. Although he hid backwards - only blocking one eye and part of his face. Luffy laughed as Robin smiled.
"So you've met him already?" the straw-hat wearing teen asked. The older woman nodded, shifting the books in her hand. "Cool! How'd you find him? What's he like? What's he look like? Where is he? I wanna meet him! Is he cool? I be he's-"
Luffy's rambling was cut short when Nami punched him. Robin just giggled softly behind her hand. "I have indeed met him already. You'll see what he's like," was all the girl said before Usopp came over.
"Oi Luffy! You didn't wait for me this morning! What's up with that?"
Luffy laughed. "Oh, sorry Usopp! I was just really excited to see the new kid!" A look of confusion greeted him. "There's a new kid?"
Before Luffy could answer, Robin piped up. "Yes, there is indeed a new kid. I have gotten a chance to meet him, but he doesn't start attending until Monday." Luffy started pouting and whining.
"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! It's so lovely to be in your presence once again!" Sanji twirled up from behind Luffy, noodle-dancing in front of the two girls. Robin chuckled and Nami sighed. Sanji then noticed the ravenette's pouting. "What's up with you?"
"He's upset that the new student starts on Monday and not today," Chopper replied, pulling his hat down on his head some more. Sanji looked confused for a split second, and then nodded. "Oh yeah, I've heard about it in the school kitchen. Said to be some kind of monster." He lit a cigarette. "I don't exactly fancy meeting the guy."
"Aw, why not?" Luffy questioned, Chopper sighing. No matter how many times I tell him…
"He sounds…I dunno…weird? Rumors say he's killed, so I don't want him near Nami-san or Robin-chan. They're too precious."
"Hate to break it to you Sanji-kun, but Robin has already met the guy," Nami said, gesturing over to the blue-eyed girl as well as ignoring being called "precious". Sanji then started fussing over the ravenette as if she had been assaulted.
"Are you okay? Did he do anything to you? If he did, I swear I'll-"
Robin smiled. "It's fine Sanji-san. He didn't do anything, and if he did, I could've protected myself."
Sanji stopped and blinked. "Ah, right. Sorry Robin-chan, please forgive me!" The woman smiled and giggled, this saying, "you are forgiven, Sanji-san."
Said blonde melted under Robin's actions. "Oh, thank you Robin-chwan!"
BRIING!
"Oh! There's the bell! See you guys later!"
It was lunchtime, and the small group of six sat on the roof. This was their usual spot for lunch, since they were rebels and never wanted to sit in the cafeteria anyways. The group was actually kicked out of the place a few times for being too loud and violent.
"So, we're going to go see Rika today, right Nami?" Luffy asked, taking a takoyaki from said girl's lunch (which earned him a fist and a shoe to the head).
"Oh, yeah," Nami said as she dusted her hands off. Sanji blinked. "Who's Rika?"
"She's the girl who was in Luffy's other vision," Usopp explained, biting into an onigiri. "Nami knows her, so they were going to go and question her, I guess."
"Ah, I see. Since you know who the girl was, do you happen to have any information on the vampire, Luffy-san?" Robin asked, head resting in her hand. Before Luffy could say anything though, Chopper piped up. "He said that the vampire's name was Roronoa Zoro."
"Roronoa Zoro?" Robin's eyes widened, if only a fraction. Sanji was instantly at the girl's side. "What's wrong Robin-chan?" She shook her head, obviously hiding something. "It's nothing. Don't worry about me, Sanji-san."
Luffy looked at Robin (whilst stealing an unsuspecting Chopper's tofu) and could tell that she was thinking hard about something. He was desperate to direct everyone's attention away from his visions, but he knew that Robin wouldn't forget this conversation, considering how observant she was. However, he succeeded in his goal when the short brunette noticed half of his lunch was missing. "Luffy!"
"Hm?" said boy questioned, licking teriyaki sauce from Sanji's lunch off of his fingers. "Wha-HEY!" the blonde yelled, promptly kicking Luffy down the stairs to the school's top floor.
After school, Luffy and Nami were walking towards the adoption center. "So, what is Rika like? Is she cool?" Question after question bombarded the orange-haired teen, who had a growing tic mark over her head. Eventually, she punched the straw-hatted teen. He was then silent as they walked, rubbing his head and occasionally snickering at something he found funny. Then-
"Hey Nami! Look!" Luffy tiptoed over to a tree, and, without warning, slapped his hand on the tree. "It's a Hercules Beetle! Isn't it cool? I just saw it!" He laughed and his companion sighed. After a few minutes of walking (and playing with the beetle), Luffy put the insect in his backpack and asked, "are we there yet?" Nami knew the barrage of the question was about to come, so she said, "when we stop we'll be there, so don't bother asking again. If you do I'll take your beetle."
It was safe to say that Luffy didn't ask that for the rest of the trip.
3 minutes later, the two arrived at a big stone building. A few squeals emitted from the lower floors. Nami walked up to the double doors and pushed them open, Luffy following. Inside, there was a desk with a woman, and a lot of doors. "Oh, hello Nami. What brings you here today?"
"I'm here to see Rika. I have someone I want to introduce her to," Nami said with a forced smile, Luffy running around the lobby and screaming "SUGOI!" not going unnoticed. The clerk looked over to the energetic teen and nodded. "Alright, just make sure he doesn't break anything." Nami said her thanks, then dragged her friend through a door on the right.
Nami walked for a bit, holding Luffy by the ear (trying to ignore his cries). She stopped in front of a door and let go of her captive. She sent him a stern glare, then knocked on the door.
The person who answered was a little girl. She had brown hair put up in pigtails, big brown eyes, and fair skin. Her face lit up when she saw the orangette. "Hi Nami!" she exclaimed, then let them in. "Who's your friend?"
"Hello Rika. This is Luffy," the girl said, gesturing over to her friend, who was currently all up in the child's face. Nami sweatdropped.
"Hi! I'm Luffy! You're Rika, right? I saw you in my vision! Along with Zoro!" Luffy started babbling, and Rika only caught a few of the words he said. "You know Zoro-nii?"
Luffy stopped, and Nami stared. "No, I just saw him in a vision I had. You were there, too!"
"A vision?" Rika blinked in confusion when the other two nodded in unison. "What happened in the vision?"
"You and Zoro were being attacked, and then you were knocked out and Zoro saved you! It was EPIC!" Luffy explained in the usual Luffy fashion. The brunette backed up to gain some personal space. "I don't remember that happening…maybe it was just a dream?" The raven-haired male shook his head. "No, it was a vision! It looked so real!"
"Rika, do you mind telling us more about Zoro?" Nami interjected, shoving Luffy back. The child-like teen pouted. "Um, sure. But I'm not allowed to tell you too much," Rika said, smiling sheepishly at the pair. Luffy nodded enthusiastically, as if saying, "go on!"
"Well, to start, Zoro is very strong. He fights with three katana! He told me that he's trained since he was a child," she giggled as Luffy gasped "sugoi!", while Nami stood in shock. How is that even possible…?!
"Aniki can also drink lots and lots of sake and not pass out like other people do. But I think his best quality is his hair. It's like grass. Also-"
The brunette cut off abruptly, suddenly avoiding eye contact. The older woman motioned to continue, and Rika saw this, but still looked at the floor. "Um…"
Luffy's face suddenly scrunched up. "Um…where's the bathroom?" The other's attention was now fully on him. "I can show you!" Rika said and grabbed Luffy's hand. She lead him out of the room and somewhere down the hall, Rika stopped and pointed at a door. "This is the boy's bathroom, so-HEY! What're you-" she stated, then got cut off as the teenager pulled her into the bathroom with him.
"SHH! I wanted to ask you something that Nami wasn't allowed to hear." Rika blinked, then nodded. What isn't Nami allowed to know about…? "Was your family killed by vampires?"
The little girl was now scared. She nodded absent-mindedly. How did he hear about that?! What do I do?!
"Okay. So, why, in my vision, did Zoro save you? I know he's a vampire."
Rika gulped. "U-um…"
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I'll understand."
"N-no, I'll tell you. I trust you, since you know about the vampire situation.
"Well, um, when I was little, my family was targeted by vampires for some reason. Th-they were killed, a-and I was on my own for a while. But then, Zoro-nii came and helped me. He didn't have anyone, j-just like me. He saved me from some mean guy's pet wolf."
The girl was teary-eyed at this point, and Luffy put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, it's okay. I didn't mean to make you cry! Sorry, I was just wondering."
Then they left the bathroom, hoping not to be spotted.