Wishfull-star: Zoro and Luffy are still the mains, but Sanji is here to stay! Poor baby, but at least he's somewhere safe and loving now.
LawPateamaLaCara: Zoro is fucking adorable, I made him squishy and cute but also rough around the edges. He and Luffy are both squishy and cute lol. Best boys for life.
With Zoro and Lufy sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch, both distracted, they didn't even notice when Luffy was sucking blood from Zoro's finger until Katakuri walked behind them and pat their shoulders, quietly reminding them they had someone else over.
Luffy shoved the finger away, which healed instantly. Sanji didn't notice, thankfully. He and Zoro just didn't notice in moments like this. Zoro didn't hurt from it, and it was a treat for Luffy. They stopped, and finished the movie and then dinner without telling Sanji what he'd missed. Both friends went home after dinner, Katakuri dropping Zoro off, but unable to drive Sanji since he only had two car seats. Zoro was quiet on their way back before Luffy asked him what he thought of Sanji.
"He's annoying."
"Why?" Luffy wondered.
"... I don't know."
"Well, he's gonna be our classmate, so you gotta be nice to him." Luffy didn't scold him for his opinion, as they only just met. Luffy was a very fast judge of character, but Zoro was unsure so far, and didn't like him much yet. But he knew they should get along if they'd see one another every day.
When they dropped him off, Zoro asked, "Promise you won't leave me alone?" Luffy hugged him and promised firmly. "Okay. Good night." On the way back home, Katakuri mentioned that Zoro was still very insecure about their friendship.
"He doesn't gotta be. Don't worry, I'll prove he's my best friend forever, soon! I hope he doesn't think we're only friend cause of the thingie we share."
"It's possible he feels that way. Only time and care can show him that's not the case," Katakuri replied. Luffy agreed, and fell asleep on the short drive home. He was carried inside and awoken to brush his teeth and go to bed. Tonight, he knew he didn't need a pull up, which he was growing out of using unless he drank a lot of water or blood that day.
"I love you, papa. You're such a good person."
"Thank you, that's very nice of you to say. And I love you too. Sweet dreams." Luffy nodded, and quickly fell asleep with the sounds of a forest playing in the room softly. Barely audible for the non-vampire, but easily heard by the other.
-x-
Katakuri felt very proud in himself when they found out Zeff had indeed adopted Sanji. He probably wouldn't have found the formerly abused boy without Katakuri telling him about him, given the foster home Sanji had been in was nowhere near where Zeff lived. It wasn't even close to the office. So he was proud his son's new friend got a safe home.
Zeff and Katakuri got along well, just like he and Zoro's father got along well. Having parents be friends with other parents was a relief, as you trusted the others to watch over the kid if necessary. There was a barbeque between the three families. Kuina, Zoro's older sister, came over.
When the new father and son got there, Sanji stuck to him like glue, wearing the clunky gloves still. Zeff worked the grill, and made hamburgers and shishkabobs. They had meat and healthy vegetables on them. If there was one thing that made Sanji stand out in the group, it was that he apparently never really ate healthy foods. There were some things he didn't recognize at all.
Zeff would tell him what they were, and Sanji trusted him and ate it, finding they tasted good. He did look a bit bothered when Luffy squirted some blood on his food like ketchup. Nobody else said a thing or thought it was gross. He kept it away from the others and was always very neat with eating so he didn't get blood anywhere other than in his mouth.
After food, the boys jumped on the trampoline while Kuina went on her phone. The adults were supervising but all talking about work and such. A bit after jumping on the trampoline, Luffy jumped too high and began to float, the first real time there had been a repeated power. Zoro grabbed onto his hand to pull him down.
Zeff, Kuina and Sanji were shocked, as they didn't know about his issue with the abnormal and random abilities that were not quirks. Katakuri lead Luffy inside, where he got some blood bottles and then went upstairs to make sure he was safe and calm. "What happened?" Sanji asked.
"Sometimes weird things happen to Luffy. They go away if he drinks blood and isolates himself." Zoro walked past the father and up the stairs to check on Luffy. Sanji asked if he was safe. Koushirou answered and said Luffy was safe around Zoro. The new friend looked a bit sad.
"It's nothing like playing favorites. They had a special bond that's hard to describe." Sanji nodded, and said he wouldn't feel bad. He only just met them, after all. But he sounded sad and left out. Katakuri and Zoro's father didn't say what caused this close relationship, as it was so soon in the friendship with Sanji. They didn't want him to get scared away.
When Luffy was fine again, after twenty minutes, he came running back outside, and went back to the trampoline like nothing happened. Though he had a thin rope of mochi on one wrist connected to the upper bar of the trampoline that easily stretched as he jumped. When all of the nearly six year olds were tired, they went inside to watch a movie after cleaning up the trash and putting the plates and skewers in the dishwasher and sink to soak.
Over all, it was a fun event, and by the end, when they were leaving, Sanji was crying about how happy he was now. Katakuri smiled behind his scarf. Zoro and Koushirou had seen him without it, but Zeff, Sanji and Kuina had not, so he kept his mouth hidden. He didn't want it to frighten Sanji, and Zeff was his coworker and didn't need to know.
After they were all gone, Luffy helped tidy things up, and then went to bed, satisfied in both body and mind. It was a good day. The last big day they had before school started.
-x-
"I wanna wear that," Luffy said, pointing to a tye dye shirt he'd made three days ago. Yes, it was poorly done, but it was special because he made it himself. Katakuri didn't disagree, as he had the right to choose his own shirt. He wore that and black shorts with tennis shoes. His flip flops were wearing down, and he didn't want new ones, so he was saving them for special times out.
He had his pumpkin backpack on that Zoro gifted him when he got his own dinosaur one. The vampire was lathered in sunscreen and had a straw hat on to block the sun from his face, since it was hot and sunny out. He had two bottles of blood in his backpack, and the school had a fridge full of it in the nurses office in case Luffy needed some and to make sure he didn't drink from Zoro.
Both were very sternly told they were not allowed to do it. It was against the school rules, and they'd both get detention if they were caught. Luffy was scared of getting in trouble and disappointing Katakuri, so the man didn't worry over him breaking his promise. And with potential bullying, the school said that it was not very strong because everyone had a malfunctioning quirk, and lead to most students being insecure about themselves and less likely to make fun of others.
But Zoro and Luffy were the only vampire and werewolf at the school of any age, not that the place had never had kids like them before. It was only right now that they were the only ones. So Luffy had his tye dye shirt and hat on as he got into his carseat. He was excited but nervous, too. He was kicking his legs back and forth in the backseat.
When they got there, the school was technically a private school, being a special school for those with abnormal quirk issues. So there was a gate that opened for the cars. It wasn't a boarding school, but it sure did look fancy. And it didn't cost the families of its students a ton of money because insurance paid for it if a child was affirmed to need to extra care and caution.
Luffy met Zoro after his papa gave him a good luck hug, and told him to make sure to stay out of direct noon sunlight, and to drink his blood pouches. "Yeah! I will," Luffy said firmly. He got out of the car and stood next to Zoro, who was a good inch taller than the vampire. It was early morning, so the sun wasn't completely overhead, and he was covered in sunblock like usual.
They were both waiting for Sanji to arrive. Luffy looked at all the kids arriving. Most had something clearly wrong with them. Many had to use crutches or canes, even the youngest of them. Most of those had some sort of deformity that was their quirk. There were a lot of mutation quirks that looked quite inconvenient.
Luffy was glad he didn't need crutches. He heard some beeping noises of the students who had real medical conditions and needed equipment to help them. It was kind of sad to see, and he wondered what the students in his class would be like. It was clear that there were a lot more younger students than older. After all, many improved and were able to move to a normal school.
The vampire did wonder if he'd be in that case, too, since he would be stable probably. He'd always need blood and to be careful with the sun, but hopefully the weird powers went away. Most of the students didn't look at Luffy strangely, distracted with their own stuff. And Luffy wasn't overly noticeable as a vampire from a long or medium distance. When Sanji showed up, his backpack was a frying pan shape. He wanted to learn to cook, and Zeff was showing him, so it made sense he had that backpack.
The three of them headed to their classroom, looking at the map on the wall. Zoro still highly favored Luffy over Sanji, but he wasn't so cold to him anymore. It was just clear the vampire was his favorite of their little group. Though Luffy still had many play dates with only Zoro. They didn't tell this to Sanji, who still didn't know what their bond was. And they didn't tell others because it was something private to both of them and people would think it was wrong. So they kept it to themselves much more now than before.
Their classroom had a huge doorway that had a sliding door that was open right now. The room was colorful, but not as much as the kindergarten class was. There were a bunch of big desks on one side of the room and then a carpet and pillows surrounded by short book shelves. Lots of posters and diagrams on the walls.
They hung their backpacks on hooks, and then went and chose a seat. There were all sorts of students there. One had an oxygen mask on that was connected to their back. Luffy didn't ask, of course, but was curious if she was sick and okay to be in public. He was nervous and quiet, but it seemed everyone was that way. They were all checking one another out, and Luffy got a lot of stares. But everyone did.
The teacher came in, a kind woman with black hair and blue eyes with a straight nose. Her eyes spoke of patience and understanding. When she stood in front of the whiteboard, the room quieted after her only asking once. They were all quiet, nervous. "Hello everyone, my name is Miss Robin, and I'll be your main teacher this year. This it Tristain, our medical advisor. Since many of us have conditions that make things a bit difficult, Tristain is here to help you out." The nurse had purple hair and looked very sweet.
Then Miss Robin introduced Miyagi, a quirk specialist. He was older, with white hair and spectacles. But still had a kind look. "If anyone needs help or if a quirk is acting up, then speak with either him or Tristain. There's no shame allowed in here. Everyone is unique with their issue, and deserve to be treated with respect," she explained.
"Now, let's go over our names and favorite animals." The class went in a big circle around the square tables, and Luffy gave his first name and his favorite animal was a giraffe. Zoro's was a wolf, and Sanji's was a sword fish. All of the students seemed nice enough, and nobody gave Luffy any nasty looks.
Each kid all smelled different, but luckily nobody was mouth-watering. And being near Zoro helped out with him being attracted to the smell of others' blood. But there was two kids who looked nasty, though not necessarily at him. One was a girl with black hair in a pony tail, wearing a red a white and red polka dotted dress. Just looks entitled.
The other was a boy with a stripe of red hair on his head and one arm that was also very furry. He looked hatefully at Luffy, and the vampire boy had no idea why. He tried to not make eye contact with him, and avoided looking at him at all.
The class had the first task to write their name or draw a memorable picture on their card to use for their assigned cubbies. Luffy was able to write his own name, even if he made the 'f's backwards. Zoro's name was very easy to write, so he wrote his. Sanji couldn't write his own name yet, so he drew a picture. It was for them, so it wasn't bad if you couldn't spell your name.
They went to their cubbies and chose one, putting their little card in the slot above it. Luffy's ended up being low, but he was one of the shortest in the class, so it wasn't a real problem. They return to their claimed desks, and the day started. Mostly learning the classroom and school rules. It would be a lot to remember, but Luffy had faith he'd do alright.
Recess was early here, at 10:30. The children headed outside, some unable to go play, like the one who had an oxygen mask. She played inside on a handheld game. An argument broke out about it with a boy who wanted to play with it, but Miss Robin reminded him that he could play outside. Lola could not, so she needed something to keep her occupied.
This diffused the situation, and Kato gave up, zooming outside. Luffy played on the swingset, taking turns every two minutes so everyone who wanted to got a chance to play. Then he went and played on the jungle gym. Sanji was playing in the sand pit and Zoro was napping against the wall.
"Your shirt is stupid," he heard a girl say, but didn't realize she was speaking to him. He kept playing on the jungle gym. "I'm talking to you, vampire!" she shrieked, angry suddenly. Everyone looked up, surprised by the sudden outburst.
"Me?"
"What other vampire is there?" the girl sneered. He knew her name as Flampe. Luffy blinked a couple times, and got distracted when Zoro stood up and stretched. He left her and ran to Zoro, saying they they should race on the jungle gym. Zoro happily did so, and they raced. Luffy won. "Hey! I was talking to you!" Flampe screeched.
"What's her problem?" Zoro asked, standing on the highest bar, perfect balance. The play structure wasn't high off the ground, but his balance was still impressive.
"I think she doesn't like my shirt. But I like it, and papa likes it, so it's all that matters!" Luffy cheered. Sanji came over, seeing the tense situation. Luffy dropped from the play structure, and confronted Flampe. "If you don't like my shirt, you don't gotta get mad at it."
"It looks poor." She seemed quite rude, and Luffy didn't really want to argue with her. He said "Kay" and walked away. She hated this, but he ignored her whining, and Miss Robin came over and warned her that she had to be respectful, because she wouldn't be welcome if she bullied others or made them feel bad for no reason. Her face went red in anger, but then she started to cry.
Nobody who heard her treatment felt too bad to go and help or show empathy. Recess was over, and they got some snacks. "Luffy, why don't you go have your snack in the other room." Luffy nodded and took his backpack from his cubby, going into the joint room and drinking one of his blood bottles.
There was a bin that looked like the one at home for blood, so he threw it away, gurgled some water to try and get the blood off his teeth, and then headed back to his friends, taking the small package of animal crackers with him. It wasn't the snacks papa gave him, but they were yummy and food nonetheless.
When that was over, they started to practice letters. Zoro already had the whole alphabet memorized which attracted some kids to him, thinking he was smart. While he did seem flattered, Zoro didn't like crowds and turned cold looking until they left him alone. "Shishishi, Zoro doesn't like people."
"You just now figured that out?" Luffy giggled again. His friend helped Luffy and Sanji with letters, and Luffy was able to get to S before he forgot. The day was spent doing various things. It was fun, he enjoyed it. He liked being around others who weren't mean to him about being a vampire. Since he acted normal, he wasn't ostracized so far.
Flampe left him alone but to give nasty looks when nobody else was looking. Was Luffy's shirt really that ugly? He didn't think so, but he also didn't care what she thought of his clothes. He wanted to wear it, he worked hard on it, and that's all that mattered to him.
For lunch, Luffy had his own packed lunch. Lots of fruits and vegetables and a sandwich with blood soaked roastbeef, tomato and lettuce. It was yummy! "Wow, your lunch looks so fancy," Porsche said in awe. "Can I try?"
"No, it's special for me. But papa makes me healthy food! No candies or bad stuff."
"How boring!"
"He even makes homemade pizzas instead of the oily ones," Luffy said proudly, bragging about his papa's cooking. The others at the table were interested in that, as it seemed to be a lot of work. And it was. But the boy with the furry arm and nasty expression yanked his sandwich from Luffy. "Hey! That'll make you sick if you eat it!"
But he didn't eat it, he stomped it on the ground. Luffy started to cry about his lost lunch, and glares were made at the boy who was escorted back to the classroom with his lunch. Miss Robin brought Luffy over a peanut butter sandwich from the school lunch. "Why was he so mean?!" he cried.
"We won't allow that to happen again. I'm sorry it happened. It was very mean." The sandwich was cleaned up, and Zoro was livid. Luffy could feel it easily, and it was obvious on his face. His fists were clenched, and he growled. Luffy pat his head, saying he was okay.
"What a jerk," he hissed. At least the peanut butter sandwich wasn't bad. But papa worked hard on his specialized sandwich. Man, two mean people already? It made him sad, but most of the rest of the class weren't mean and looked like they disliked the rude behavior, and glared at Grount, the mean boy, for what he'd done.
When they went back to the class after the second recess, which Luffy had to stay in the shade for since it was exactly noon, Grount was not there anymore. Apparently he already went home for bullying Luffy. Flampe took note of this, and did not antagonize Luffy a second time, not wanting to get sent home early on the first day either.
He drank his second blood bottle half an hour after lunch, and was getting sleepy since he was out and it was past noon. But first graders didn't take naps. So he stayed awake. Once the school day was over, with Luffy not treated badly by everyone, and Zoro not known to be a werewolf yet, it was a successful first day!
When Katakuri picked him up, Luffy was wearing his hat and holding his backpack in his arms, feeling sad he wasted the sandwich that his papa worked hard on. But when he got into the car, he immediately fell asleep. The school wasn't exactly very close to their home, so he was able to nap on the way there and get enough sleep to be awake until bed time.
After Luffy got into more comfy clothes, he told his papa about his day, and then the mean boy with the sandwich. Katakuri looked angry, very angry suddenly. "Papa?"
"That boy was the one who you thought was a ghost. He was invisible, and he smacked you. I'm going to call the school and tell them that now." So he did. He got on the phone and called the school office to report that Grount had had prior encounters with Luffy and attacked him. He even went into detail about where they were and what had happened.
With his recount of the boy having turned undetectable, it matched something in their system, and the man was told that he would be switched to a different class. "Thank you." And he hung up. Luffy smiled at his protective father. Hopefully Grount would leave him alone now. He wanted nothing to do with him. After all, Luffy got his first scar on his face from that jerk! But over all, he was very happy with his first day of school.
