When the cherry blossoms fall to the ground...
And the scent of perfume fills the air...
The air sparkles with a new life and light...
As the gates of Whole Cake Academy open for the day...
This is a story about a girl.
A girl who grew up with a single mother, a loving uncle, and all the books she could read in the world.
This girl had a life unlike any others as she lived in a town where the brainy were praised and the scholars were on the constant hunt for knowledge.
And, just like with all truth seekers, her entire world would come crashing down in front of her after someone made a discovery that would shake the entire world to its core.
Her name is Nico Robin, the Devil Child of Ohara, the smartest girl in Whole Cake Academy, and one of the many admirers of one Monkey D. Luffy.
When I was younger, my mother and I ran a bookstore. It was a small hole in the wall place that had books stacking up to the ceiling. I treasured that place as if it were a second home to me.
We lived in the Ohara District of town, where the smartest people would gather with one another and compare notes and other discoveries with each other. A large tree stood in the middle of the town where we would have meetings under the branches. A convention center used to stand not to far from the tree, hosting annual book fairs and science conferences. A coffee shop ran by one of my mother's closest friends always gave me a free hot chocolate for being a good girl and helping around the shop. The library was the sanctuary for me after school as I ran away from the bullies from the next town over. My uncle, the large hulking man he was, lived with us to help pay the bills that my late father left behind when he divorced mother. We lived in a one-story house with one and a half bathrooms, two rooms, a small kitchen, and barely enough space to call a living room.
But we were happy nonetheless.
I wanted to become an archeologist when I was older, so I frequently studied with college prep exams at age eight. The other children would tease me for being stuck up and too smart for my own good. My mother told me ignore them, saying that they were jealous of my ability to retain knowledge at rapid paces and recall them just as fast. Uncle Saul would often chuckle as I stuck my tongue out at the neighborhood boys who would come by to tease me.
Life was good, just me, mother, and Uncle Saul.
"Hey Robin, would you be able to help me study for my history test?"
Robin, who was currently doing some free reading during her study hall, looked up to see the pleading face of Luffy. The young guy had his history book under his arms and giving her puppy dog eyes. Had it been any younger student or any other girl, she would've said no. However, since he had the unfair advantage of being the only guy in school, she would spare him this one time. Ms. Toki, a kindhearted lady from Wano County, was known for making her history test quite difficult, almost as if she had been there for some events. Robin sympathized with anyone who got her for history.
"You sure you want me to tutor you? I can be quite vicious with my methods." Robin teased, giving him a small smirk. "My notes are full of detail and hard to decipher."
Luffy shrugged. "I don't care, I just want to pass my test! If Gramps sees me failing one class, I will be forced to go to the Police Academy. I like it here, so I want to pass." He sat down next to her, a face full of determination. "Just give me a chance and I will be out of your hair. The test is next week, maybe we can get together for lunch or something?"
Robin raised one of her eyebrows. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Kinda...I guess you can consider a study date to be a date." Luffy shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "Will you go out with me and help me?"
She faked a thoughtful look before nodding. "Of course, let me figure out where we should go study and I'll text you the details."
"I don't have your number though."
Robin took his phone and opened it with no problem before putting in her number. Coyly, she gave the phone back to him and smiled. "Now you do, I'll call or text you later. You have gym next with Coach Viola, so don't try to be late."
"How did you-" Luffy was cut off as Marguerite walked into the study hall and saw him.
"Luffy, we have to get going! Coach said she'd make you run twice the number of laps if you are late again!" The amazoness warned him, grabbing him by the hand. "You can talk to genius girl later."
Luffy allowed himself to be dragged as he waved awkwardly at Robin. "See you later then!"
Robin rolled her eyes, allowing a small smile to adorn her face before turning back to her diary. The small book was a collection of her innermost thoughts, secrets, and other information that if it got out to the public, could ruin her reputation forever. Why would she even bring something like that to a school where gossip runs every corner?
Robin was known to be cautious about bringing her diary to school, making sure no one was around before she brought it out.
When I turned ten years of age, a new face began to show up at our house.
Uncle Saul had a friend who was working for the police, a young cadet who had a lazy deposition. There was an icy chill to him, but he was a compassionate man with a soft spot for me. My mother, at first, was cautious about having someone from the law inside her home, but he helped out with babysitting little me when she and Saul were at work. I grew to like the man, even forming a small crush on him.
Some days he would let me lay on his chest while I read and he slept. When the weather was warm enough, we would head down to the town square and do the same thing there. He would also get me ice cream, a chocolate cup for me and a vanilla cone for him. Sometimes, when he was awake, we would have the most interesting conversations.
One time, I asked him why he spent so much time with us. Didn't he have a job to do and finish his training at the Police Academy?
He gave me the laziest reply of, "I just like to hang out here."
"But why?" I asked him, curiously.
"Your mother is a nice lady, Saul is one of my closest friends, and you are just enjoyable to watch over." He had some ice cream run down his face, taking a napkin to wipe it off. "Plus, unlike at the academy, you don't pressure me to do things I don't want to do or tell me to stop napping. If anyone tried to threaten you, I would take them out."
"I can take care of myself." I puffed out my cheeks. "One day, I'll become a great archeologist and find the Ponegylph Papers!"
He chuckled, patting my head. "Why don't you join me at the Police Academy? You would make a great detective one day."
"No way! You guys can be brutes and use the law against people like me. Why would I join such a corrupt organization that opposes villainy with villainy of their own?"
He went silent after that, laying against the tree. "You've got me there. That's why I'll develop my own sense of justice, one that doesn't follow the values they set out."
I placed my empty cup to the side, wiping off my hands. "Knowing you, you would probably call it "lazy justice" or something."
"That doesn't sound half-bad. Sure you don't want to be my subordinate when you get older?"
"No way!"
When I look back at those days, I wish they had lasted forever. Kuzan was such a gentleman to me and my mother. Nights where he would stay over were filled with giant meals, stories, and laughter coming through every crack in the wall. Nobody bullied me when he was around, I think he scared the worse punks away. We had gotten so used to him coming over that we were unprepared for the chaos that would occur just a few months later.
If I had known about it back then, would I have been able to prevent the destruction of my home?
While Robin was reading in the library, a first-year female was spying on her from the bookshelves. She had had childish face with relatively large eyes and circles of blush on her cheeks. While being short in stature and wearing her dark red hair tied in twin braids, she also had a golden necklace around her neck. Her Whole Cake uniform had paint splotches on the skirt, as she carried a messy backpack filled to the brim with paintbrushes, paints, and artbooks.
Her name was Marianne Goldenweek, the youngest member of the aptly named Baroque Works, an organization that dealt with the discovery of ancient artifacts and weapons. They had members that numbered the thousands and the higher you number, the greater your position. Since she was a partner to a number, it was her job to make sure to relay information to him. All the mafiosos, crooked businesses, and evil organizations sent their female officers to Whole Cake since everyone who works there or attends there had information that was useful.
So when she found out that her boss' ex-girlfriend attended the school, her curiosity was peaked and the boss would love to see Miss All-Sunday back where he wanted her to be. Eagerly, she took out her cellphone and took pictures of the black haired beauty. Marianne sighed happily, turning around to leave.
"Hold it right there missy..." The girl grimaced, knowing the southern drawl of Alvida the Gossip with her lackey by her side. "Who are you spying on right now?"
"Seems like she's targeting Little Miss Brainiac." Porsche snickered, peering through the bookcase. "Hey, I don't think you have any dirt on her yet. Her track record is as clean as the bathroom floors on the third floor."
Alvida tapped her chin. "You're right, there's nothing on my gossip column about Nico Robin. Strange, there's nothing about her in the school files either." Her eyes zeroed onto a small lilac book on the corner of the table. "Well lookie here, the lady keeps a diary."
Porsche gasped, snatching Marianne before she could run off. "A diary is a sacred text that all females confide to! We can't possibly stoop so low as to snatch hers up and spill all her secrets out to the world."
"We won't, but this kid will do it for us." Alvida picked Marianne up by her pigtails, causing her to squeak in pain. "We'll zip it on the whole stalking nonsense if you manage to snatch up her journal."
"What if I refuse? I answer to a higher being than you." Marianne snapped, irritated at the way Alvida was bullying her. Suddenly, she backed away in time just as Alvida smashed the ground with her club.
"Between you and me, I really don't want to send another person to the hospital. I'm starting to gain a reputation there of being "Iron Club Alvida" and they even erected a plaque on the walls for most people sent there." She leaned over her club with a menacing grin. "Do it or not, doesn't matter to me. I'll use someone else while you sit there in a coma."
Marianne gulped, not wanting to be on the receiving end of that club. Turning back to watch Robin, she noticed that the girl was putting her books up. Taking a deep breath, she ran towards Robin, causing her to knock over her backpack and spill the contents on the ground. As the ravenette struggled to get her books back in her bag, Marianne swooped up the diary and ran off. Her heart pounded as she pushed the book into Porsche's hands and raced out the library.
I've got to tell the boss! She thought, racing down the hallways. If information about Baroque Works spill out to the public from her days of dating him, not only will I be killed, but Robin too!
