9
Law noticed Sanji's empty chair the next morning, feeling undecided as he stood for a moment, wondering where he was. He did feel confusion as to why it mattered, unsure if he felt guilty for not reaching him in time, or because something happened on his behalf. He shouldn't have to feel that way, considering the circumstances, but he did feel responsible. He didn't want to feel indebted to anybody, and this situation made him feel that way. He didn't know why Sanji just didn't tell these kids the real story; he didn't care what was thought of him.
"That crybaby stayed home, today," Niji said, in the middle of finding his favorite pen, noticing Law standing at his desk. "Couldn't handle the humiliation of facing the kid that beat his ass. Such a fucking jerk."
"Aw, English, are you sad your boyfriend isn't here?" Yonji asked across from class, looking theatrically sad. "Don't worry, he'll be back. He skipped out."
Embarrassed that he was noticed, Law sat down, crossing his arms tight over his chest and sinking low in his chair.
"Hey, I let him know you're thinking about him!" Yonji then hollered, holding up his phone to show that he had. "Maybe that'll make him man up, a bit. I heard that looking forward to seeing your wife at the end of the day is a good feeling. Huh, Mr Hansen?"
"There is nothing in this world that would make Sanji 'man up'!" Niji laughed, kicking Koala's chair, forcing her to drop her pen. He leaned around his desk to watch her bend over to pick it up, trying to sneak a pic in the process. "That fag is a lost cause."
"Hey, who of you is the 'guy' in the relationship?" Yonji asked Law curiously, sitting on his chair with one knee, leaning over the desk of the kid behind him.
Law ignored them both, feeling his face reddening with the attention. The pair were only being jerks, speaking loud enough to be heard in the busy hallway, and he didn't care for their 'jokes'. But he wondered, as a family, why they weren't very supportive of their brother. It made him think of yesterday, watching them laugh and jeer at the sight of Sanji getting beat by that Monkey kid. Of hearing Sanji shout at him for trying to exceed the expectations of his father. In a way, he identified with that, thinking of long ago, when his parents spoke of Lamie with such high praises when he was right in front of them, doing his best to be noticed.
It was an uncomfortable feeling to have, to identify with someone like Sanji.
"Hey," the boy next to him said low, as Yonji turned his attention to Mr Hansen, protesting a recent assignment that had Niji yelling at him. The last bell rang, and the door was shut as Mr Hansen sighed tiredly, drinking heavily from a water bottle.
Law glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye, trying to remember if he'd ever heard his name.
"You okay?"
It was an odd question to be asked, especially by a random stranger. Law looked at him, furrowing his brow. What did it matter to this kid? Who was he, anyway, to get involved in his life when Law didn't ask for it? The kid looked at him with a concerned expression, his friend looking over with a similar expression. One of them had choppy black hair that hung over his eyes, the other red with a long nose, both of them with hats clinging to their backpacks. What business was it of theirs to ask him something like that? Law had never asked for their help, nor did he invite their concern, so it pissed him off that they would do so, now.
"Fuck off," he told him, the boy looking startled, then embarrassed as Law looked away, frowning. Both of them looked at each other, then returned to their work, wearing expressions of confusion. Law felt self conscious over being placed into this situation, not wanting their attention or their concern. He tuned out Mr Hansen's lecture, not bothering opening his notebook. He did want to put effort into his classwork as Smoker directed, but he felt too entirely conscious of the events that had happened recently, and he fretted over the newfound attention.
During break, he headed to his next class, feeling a bad mood building. He sat down at his desk and stared out the window, unsure of the feelings that were building around him. With faint voices in the background, students taking advantage of break to get something to eat or visit near their lockers, Law found himself wondering what sort of life Sanji had. Why did he have to try so hard? Why weren't his own brothers supportive? What exactly happened when Law sent those messages?
Why should he care?
The last question confounded him, feeling uneasy with it.
"Hey."
Startled out of his thoughts, Law looked away from the window to see Ichiji standing in the doorway of the classroom, removing his glasses to look at him. Seeing that he was noticed, Ichiji entered, and took the steps necessary to stand just a few feet away from Law's desk. Feeling anxiety at the eldest Vinsmoke's presence, unsure if he'd be accused or asked of anything weird, Law crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Ichiji warily.
"Sanji didn't do that, did he?" Ichiji asked, gesturing at his own face. "I can't see him purposefully inflicting any sort of injury. He might be irritating, causing injury indirectly, but I can't see him doing this sort of thing to you."
Law didn't think he needed to say anything to Ichiji; he didn't need to explain his personal life to anybody. Besides, with how haughty this boy was, Law felt that if he said anything, the possibility of being mocked was a high one.
But he heard himself answer, "No."
"But it happened Friday, correct?"
Law felt his brow furrow once again, looking up at him as he tried to read that expression. Ichiji didn't present himself with any threatening gestures, but the air that came off him was confrontational. It was like facing off with a snake that carried venom, knowing it'd strike, but presenting itself casually. He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, not finding any advantage to answer that question. But it also made him wonder why Sanji had not said anything – he'd left the house in such a mess; wouldn't he have to explain himself to his family right away?
Law was confused by Sanji's reasoning for secrecy.
Ichiji frowned when he didn't get an answer. Law didn't like being put on the spot.
"Fuck off," he said uncomfortably.
Ichiji's brow furrowed as Law looked away, to stare down at his notebook, fisting his hands as he felt the air shift.
"'Fuck off'?" Ichiji repeated slowly. "I'm here, wanting to clear my brother's name, and you're telling me to 'fuck off'? Without doing anything, or saying anything, you managed to ensure a group of kids to have Sanji beat up, and you're telling me to 'fuck off'? I don't appreciate that my family is being dragged into some drama of yours without an explanation. If he had nothing to do with it, then I demand a better explanation from the source."
"Hey."
Both of them looked over at the doorway, seeing the boy from first period standing there, his friend behind him. They looked nervous as Ichiji turned to face them, but he said steadily, "Leave him alone."
"I am only trying to understand why my younger brother was cause of a group confrontation," Ichiji said, standing firm. "Were you the ones to say something to cause that Monkey boy provocation?"
"Yes. So?"
"Based off senseless words without weight behind it, you're the ones that caused the actual fight?" Ichiji asked, stepping away from Law's desk, Law looking after him uncomfortably, then at the boys that looked frozen as the eldest Vinsmoke moved towards them. "Then I suggest you go and rectify the actual story. It has been suggested that Sanji was not the one to cause the injury in the first place."
"Yeah right, considering how much trouble he's been causing since Trafalgar came to class - !"
"But if Sanji didn't do anything to cause it, then why take it out on him?" Ichiji asked, walking up to them, Law sitting up in his desk with discomfort, uncertain of what to do. "Apologize to me. For drawing our family into a senseless situation caused by hearsay, damaging our reputation. For one thing, if a Vinsmoke causes trouble, each one of us stands behind our actions; this doesn't seem to be the case at all. If Sanji had actually caused the injury, I'm sure he would have claimed to do so. But he didn't. He was senselessly attacked for something he didn't do."
The boys looked very uncomfortable, looking at each other, then at Law, then back at Ichiji as he stood right over them, looking quite intimidating as he did so.
"Oh? You lost your voices?" Ichiji asked, the bell ringing as the halls became active. "You're quite noisy when you're not being confronted."
The teacher walked in at that moment, startled by the scene at the doorway. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked crankily, lowering her Starbucks cup to her hip as she looked at Ichiji. "You boys, out."
The pair quickly left at her command, and Ichiji frowned back at Law. With that one look, Law felt like he'd just been fitted with a beacon of some kind, promised retribution. But the eldest Vinsmoke left the classroom without another word, and the teacher looked at Law for an explanation. He only shrugged in response, looking out the window as the classroom filled with students.
But he understood what Ichiji was saying – he'd made it loud and clear. He wasn't sticking up for Sanji; he was sticking up for their family name. He had a feeling that his situation with Sanji was completely separate; Sanji only picked on him because he thought to chose a victim that wouldn't fight him back, but he chose the wrong one because Law was capable of fighting back, so the challenge was only Sanji trying to reassert dominance. But Sanji was taking out his frustrations on him because he was his family's own target; it made sense, considering how much his brothers picked on him, how he had to 'try hard' for his own father's attention.
Uncomfortable with the dynamics, Law shook his head. He'd come into this school expecting to keep everyone at a distance, but somehow, it didn't turn into that, at all. At lunch, he wandered away from his usual spot to the quad, pausing at the corner of the hall to look out. Everyone enjoying the nice weather and lunch were loud and active, filling the area with noise, and anxiety rippled through him. He broke into a light sweat as his fingers curled into fists, his throat dry. He scanned the faces of those on the outside, heart pounding hard against his ribs. He spotted the Monkey kid eating a rather mountainous serving of hamburgers, burritos and nachos, a girl with orange hair cutting into apples with a pocket knife at his side. The group was loud and noisy, with games on cellphones being played, iPads out with Youtube up, and they were centered within the quad amidst a mixture of classes.
Putting himself out there was going to be a difficult task, and the thought of having everyone's attention on him while he attempted to speak made his stomach drop. He talked himself out of it, internally coming up with scenes that made the possibility of approach impossible. It was too noisy; he would have to speak up. Once he spoke up, people would be listening close, eager to learn the content. With all their faces on him, he'd grow self-conscious, and he would stutter, fumble, and everyone would hear his impediment. Then he'd burn with embarrassment, fumble with his words even more, and everyone would laugh at him. That Monkey kid would no doubt ask him to repeat himself because he wouldn't understand why Law was defending Sanji, and the thought of doing so made Law burn with reluctance.
No. He could not risk that. Not even for someone like Sanji and his family. Yesterday's efforts should be good enough. Ichiji would just have to get over it.
He turned to walk away when he realized a kid was standing there, staring at him with a frown. Another was crouched at his feet, eating a couple of hamburgers. Both of them seniors, mirroring each other's expressions. There was no doubt about it, they were approaching him with the intention of confrontation, and Law didn't want any more attention to the matter.
"I heard what's going around the school," the blond one said with a set of his brows. "Luffy got into a fight with one of the Vinsmokes over you? We had a few questions. We're his brothers."
"We're not looking for a fight. Just for clarification," the other one said, mouth full. "Plus, if those jerks are looking for a fight, they're picking it with the wrong crew. Luffy can't afford to be fighting all the time. Gramps is going to kill him. So they're going to end up fighting us, instead."
"So, explain what's happening, because I don't understand."
Law stared at his shoes, feeling his heart hammer against his chest. He didn't know these two; the situation was out of hand. He shouldn't have to explain himself to them. He shouldn't have to explain himself to anyone. He felt angry that he was put in this spot to do so. It reflected on his face.
He made to tell them to 'fuck off', but the one crouching stood up, and casually stepped to the side, trapping him against that corner. So he either had to walk out on the quad to escape them, or risk a scene with these two. One on one he'd be fine with, but these two weren't giving him any leeway. They looked pretty healthy, too, confident and secure; while not built like the Vinsmoke brothers, they looked like tanks in their own standing.
"Hello?" the one with freckles asked, leaning in to look at his downcast expression. "Can you English?"
"Ace, back up. Let him talk."
"Just wondering, Sab, because I heard the kids talking about how he doesn't talk very much."
"Look, a 'yes' or 'no' would do fine in these circumstances," Sabo then said, lowering his hands to his sides. "Was this caused by that Sanji kid? Luffy often mentions that he's a jerk."
"No," Law answered, full of frustration, still not making any eye contact with either of them.
"Did it have anything to do with Sanji?"
"No."
"Are you protecting him? Because I'm aware of how that family works," Sabo said with uncertainty. "My girlfriend mentioned how awful he is to you in first period."
"No."
Ace looked at Sabo with a frown, Sabo repeating the expression. Ace then asked, "Was Luffy in the right jumping him?"
"No."
"Can you give a little more than that? Because we're trying to clear his name, and - !"
"No."
"Ace, go play," Sabo then said, shoving him to the side, Ace stumbling a bit. "I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Okay," Ace muttered, giving him a pout before turning and ambling off.
Sabo looked back at Law, exhaling evenly. Law was aware that Ace had left, glancing up just to see the senior meandering his way back towards the cafeteria, but it didn't release any tension in him once he was faced with Sabo alone. His fists were still curled at his sides, and he could feel adrenaline start to pool into his veins – if he had to fight, then he would, but over such a dumb ass reason.
"Look, if this was a mistake done on Luffy's part, then we apologize for him. He doesn't like seeing kids bullied, and he would step in if it were brought to his attention," Sabo said with an apologetic air. "He was already looking for an excuse to fight Sanji himself, considering how Sanji's always cheap shotting him, but he couldn't stand it after hearing of the rumors that Sanji broke your nose. Everyone knows how he picks on you, so he thought he was being helpful."
It took Law a few moments to muster up an answer, and he stared down at his shoes to concentrate on doing so. "Sanji had nothing to do with this. Assumptions were made."
"You're not defending him at his threat, are you?" Sabo asked suspiciously.
"No."
"Those other guys aren't saying anything, are they? They won't really step in if it's Sanji's business, but that older guy tends to come in if he feels slighted in any way. From what the other kids say, they did nothing to interfere on Sanji's behalf, but Penguin and Shachi also told Luffy that Ichiji had confronted you this morning."
"Why is this anyone's business? Everyone needs to fuck off! I want nothing to do with anyone's attention!" Law finally snapped, lifting his voice to do so.
Sabo looked surprised at the vehemence Law spoke with, but it was tough taking it seriously when it came from someone that didn't look very threatening, and that speech impediment was fairly obvious. It made him understand why the Vinsmokes chose him to bully, and why Luffy chose to speak up for him. Instead of taking Law's words into consideration, Sabo figured that Law was only trying to direct more attention away from him, denying any trouble at all. He didn't think Sanji would stop bothering him, and he didn't feel that Luffy would stop interfering. He didn't believe Law at all.
"They're only trying to help you – " he tried to say, but Law only flipped him off and walked away, hunching his shoulders and looking down once kids looked their way. Sabo couldn't imagine how this kid stopped the fight in the first place when he couldn't even stand his own ground one on one, but he let it go. He walked out onto the quad, headed straight towards Luffy and friends.
"Hey," he said, catching the boy's attention. "Leave that kid alone, okay? He said Sanji didn't do anything to him, and he doesn't want anymore trouble."
Luffy spoke with a mouthful, looking indignant. "But, Sabo - !"
"Leave him alone. Jump in only if you see actual trouble on him. But for now, he just wants to be left alone. Listen," Sabo said, crouching aside of Zoro, who was napping loudly nearby, "from what I gather, Sanji's brothers are making fun of him, as well. I really don't think he did that to Trafalgar, because he would be the type to brag about it."
"He's such a jerk!"
"I understand that, but this kid doesn't want anymore trouble. He wants to be left out of it. Just…leave him alone. Let him ask for help if he wants it." Sabo looked away from Luffy. "If those two want to help him, let them do so on their own. He doesn't want it."
Huffing, Luffy lowered his sandwich to the tray, watching as Sabo walked off. He looked frustrated, but if Sabo was telling him to back off, then he would do so.
: :
That next day, he wandered into gym late, Garp yelling at him from down the other end of the gym for even showing up with "that face". After being directed to sit out again, Law took a seat near the end of the bleachers, looking down at his PE uniform, wondering if he could change back into his slacks and sweater. Rosinante had had a rough night, and both of them barely had any sleep. The things he had been shouting had been worrisome to Doflamingo, so Doflamingo had decided to stay home with him, today. Rosinante had once again mentioned that Doflamingo had killed their father, and had asked Law to verify this information from his tombstone; being that, sometimes, Rosinante said things that didn't make sense, Law didn't think about it too much. But he did wonder why Doflamingo was so upset this morning, having heard it all.
He closed his eyes for a few minutes of shuteye, feeling exhausted and hungry, the sounds of dodgeball going on from the court ahead of him. After yesterday's events, he was very wary coming into school, certain he'd be assaulted by somebody; now that he was aware of who Luffy was, Law had come to notice that those kids were everywhere. Luffy had looked at him with frustration in the hall, but walked off, and those two boys from first period looked pouty, but they weren't that far behind, either. The Vinsmokes themselves were a no-show, but Law had thought he'd heard Yonji hollering in the halls earlier. Law felt apprehensive of them because of Ichiji's confrontation, sure that it wasn't going to be the end of it, so he felt tense at the thought of seeing Sanji pop up anytime soon.
Really, it was too much stress to deal with, and Law thought it was ridiculous how many people it had drawn into it. He'd told Rosinante a little of it, last night, but had turned it into a story where his friends were only concerned about him, and everyone was happy Sanji had been there to help him. He didn't want Rosinante to know that everyone, in reality, had accused Sanji of being the one behind it and had been beaten up for it; during his moments of lucidity, Rosinante had been grateful for Sanji's presence, and had started talking nicely of him. Law would never give him the real story, though.
He opened his eyes, hearing something clatter noisily to the floor in the locker room to his right. He was startled awake at that moment, unsure if it were just a classmate dropping things in there, or if it had actually been a sound he'd heard. He straightened up in his seat, looking over the dodgeball game, and realized that all his classmates were accounted for. Several of them were clustered around Garp, drawing on his face as he snoozed standing up underneath the basketball hoop. Law glanced back towards the locker room, wondering if he'd actually heard something.
Quietly, he left the bleachers because he wondered if someone were going through his things – the sting of his conscience hitting him over his previous discovery of ten dollars from others' unlocked lockers – and walked in. The noises were a little louder, followed by a slam of a door. He hesitated for a few moments, picturing Garp's office door belonging to the source of that action, for it also connected to a side door near one of the stairwells. Then he walked in, peering around a row of lockers, seeing stuff on the floor near the shower stalls. It made him nervous, trying to recall exactly what he'd heard, and ventured further in.
The material on the floor was clothing – a pair of scissors sat nearby, abandoned on the floor. What made it alarming was a feeling of dread that hit him, hastening his step towards the clothing and seeing that someone had cut through a pair of slacks, a sweater, the maroon top required underneath. He picked up the remains of the sweater, catching sight of the pen mark left behind where Sanji jabbed him with his pen. A few feet away from that was his notebook, all the pages torn out and tossed in random directions. Law dropped the shredded material and went for his locker, seeing that it was opened. He swore he'd locked it, and when he opened it, all that was sitting inside was his pen and wallet – he drew that out with trembling hands, and looked inside, seeing that the money he'd had inside was cut into tiny pieces, mixed together in a clump within the middle pocket. Horror hit him – granted, it was only the cash he'd taken from others, but the fact that someone had taken the time to do this was painful. He was being specifically targeted, and he had an idea of who it was.
He dumped out the clump of bills, watching it flutter to the floor. Looking back at his uniform, he knew there was no saving it; he had enough cash to buy another set, but he couldn't keep doing it, not with October coming up quickly. He swallowed hard, shutting the locker, holding tightly onto his wallet. He spun the dial, very positive he'd locked it earlier.
There was only one person that had access to this type of thing.
After class, aware of the looks his male classmates were giving him as he left the gym in his uniform, Law marched to the front office. He was aware people were looking at him, but he didn't care. He needed to stop this before it could continue. He couldn't afford to keep replacing his uniforms, his school supplies, and he wanted those boys to leave him alone.
"Hey…hey! STOP!"
He did stop in view of the front office, where Ichiji was standing at the front desk with a smug expression. But Law turned and looked at Sanji, who was frowning at him from the main hall, phone in hand, kids looking on with interest. To the right, from the corridor that led to the science hall, Niji was grinning as he leaned against the large pin board with school news and cheery pep signs blasted over it, arms crossed over his chest. Coming down the stairway to Law's left was Yonji, who was smiling with the same type of expression as Ichiji was, and once those around recognized a confrontation, most stopped in mid-movement to watch, phones being hefted into view.
Law glared at Sanji, finding it easy to picture him being the culprit behind the mess, but the smaller teen glared back at him, phone clenched tightly in one hand. He did have bruises on his face, but he seemed to be carrying himself differently, today; Law couldn't tell what it was.
Yonji gave a whistle, pausing at the bottom step to leer at Law. "Nice legs. Forget to change into something?"
Law looked at him, feeling anger rush through his veins. His fingers tightened around his pen as Yonji looked at him smugly.
"I'm sure he has no problem buying another," Niji snickered, walking along, shoving some kids out of his way. "He looked loaded."
"Turn around and walk away," Sanji told Law, having difficulty lifting his voice to be heard. "Just walk."
"No, let him continue," Yonji said, wiping his nose. "This is interesting. This is fire. It seems like he has something he wants to say."
"This wascally wabbit gots wohds to say to the big bad woffs," Niji commented, chuckling as he grinned wide. He and Yonji ventured closer towards Law, who stood his ground stubbornly, knuckles whitening over his pen. "Say them, then!"
"You wanted to talk to us? Here we are, emo kid," Yonji said, using his one inch advantage to face him. "Say whatever you want to us. We're right here in front of you. You want a conversation, we'll be glad to participate."
He made to say more when he stumbled forward over Niji, who had intended on walking around Law, leg out to trip the kid. Instead, both of them hit the floor in a jumble of limbs, cursing at each other, much to the amusement of the kids around them. Seeing that Yonji hadn't tripped over himself, Sanji retracting his foot and lowering his hand, Law glared down at him.
Sanji pointed away, at the hallway. "Go. Hurry up! Don't just stand there like a fucking retard, get out of here!"
"Sanji, you fucking jerk!" Niji shouted, shoving Yonji off him, the wrestling star grunting as he was tossed away. "What'd you do that for?"
"GO!" Sanji repeated forcefully, grabbing Law's gym shirt and yanking him into movement, then pushing him hard to keep him moving. He then turned to face Niji as the other Vinsmoke darted over to exact revenge, shoving him back. Their resulting shouts caused a couple of office workers to emerge, hollering for a teacher, but Law did listen to Sanji's command. He glanced back to see Ichiji frowning heavily from the office, looking displeased at the turn of events. Now that his anger had swept away, replaced by confusion over the scene, Law didn't understand what had happened.
He knew the Vinsmokes had been the culprits, but was Sanji interfering on his behalf? After what happened, why would he? Confused, Law walked off, pushing through the flow of kids that were racing towards the sound of the fight, wanting to see what was happening.
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