Author's Note: Well, here's the first out of three chapters where it will be told in the POV of somebody else. Don't worry, I will resume to third-person narration at the end of the arc.

Just a heads-up, I will offline for most of the day next Saturday, because my friends and I are going to Anime Expo, and we're going to be there pretty much all day. I will be going as Mugiwara Chase/Color Walk Cover!Sanji while my best friend is going as Zoro.

Disclaimer: Eichiiro Oda owns One Piece. Support the official release by buying the DVDs and manga.

Ch. 11: "Holden."

Holden's POV

"Holden Sarutobi… You are expelled from the Celestial Dragon Boarding School for ditching and failing your classes."

These were the words that put me in shock and horror. No matter how much I enjoyed leaving this crapshack and how much those words wouldn't mean anything to me, I was going to be screwed no matter what. I knew my parents were probably going to literally kill me for disgracing the Sarutobi family name, as usual, but, on a much bigger scale.

Before I say anything else, I should describe myself. My name is Holden Sarutobi, either the middle or youngest – I was born the same time as my other brother - son of Saint Sarutobi. I'm seventeen years old, and I have black hair with some parts of it dyed blue (which was a personal choice for me to dye parts of my hair) and black eyes. I never did any activities World Nobles did, since my brothers and I liked punk rock music and hated World Nobles for their stuffiness and inhumanity. Because of this, the three of us were often shunned by the other kids of Nobles.

As I was going over in my head how to face my parents, the principal of this place asked me something.

"Is there… Anything you want to say to your parents when I call them to inform them of your expulsion?" The principal asked me. I sighed.

"If Soren answers the DenDen Mushi, tell him that he's the one to come and pick me up," I explained. If my parents picked me up, I don't know what would've happened.

It was after dark when I got back to the lonely dorm I've had to myself ever since coming here a year and a half ago. I wandered the school, deep in thought on what to do next. As I took a shower, I considered my options. If I faced my parents, I would be in so much trouble, and I will probably be sent into slavery. However, if I ran away from home with my older brother, Soren, we could become pirates and find my fraternal twin brother, Heathcliffe, and join him wherever he is. Heathcliffe was the best brother ever when he was still around. My parents sent him away to sea when he was very sick and in a deep sleep and they claimed he died. That's not true, since I know that he's out there somewhere.

After my shower, I decided to put on some traveling clothes. I put on a plain, black, long-sleeved T-shirt, black-and-blue checkered pants, and black sneakers. I then began to pack all of my worldly belongings; my clothes, my money, my bass guitar, and some other crap I was probably going to need. When all was said and done, I sat in the reception room of my former school, awaiting my fate. There were three options I had in front of me – death, slavery, or piracy – and I could be sending myself to any of these roads in a short time. I also realized something – What if nobody comes for me? What if I have to be stuck here for days, weeks, months, or even years? Then, the receptionist snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Holden Sarutobi, there's somebody here to pick you up and take you home."

I sighed as I got up and picked up my bags. The mantra, "Death, slavery, or piracy", repeated in my head over and over again as I walked to the exit of this dump. I closed my eyes, expecting either my mom or dad to yell at me, Heathcliffe to jump out and hug me, or one of my dad's butlers or maids. Instead, it was the last person I expected to pick me up from Hell.

"Holden, is that really you?"

I opened my eyes, and I saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy of about nineteen standing before me. He wore a white, collared shirt with a black-and-white striped tie, a black sweater vest, fishnet gloves, black skinny jeans, and black combat boots.

It was Soren, my older brother!

"Soren!" I yelled as I ran up to him and hugged him. I may die tonight, I may die tomorrow, I may die soon because of my expulsion, but, damnit, I'm going to die happy since I saw my brother for the first time in a year and a half.

"How are you, bro? I missed you!" I asked my brother.

"I've been holding up fine. It looks like you've grown a bit," Soren noted.

"Yeah. I think you've gotten taller since I saw you, too," I noted. But, we soon grew silent. Where was Soren going to bring me to? Was he going to bring me to death or slavery at the hands of my parents or was he going to bring me to safety and, eventually, Heathcliffe?

"We have to go find Heathcliffe. As soon as we find him, we're going to the Grand Line. It's sure as hell safer than home," Soren explained.

"Have you gotten any letters from Heathcliffe?" I asked Soren as we walked to a horse-drawn wagon.

"No. Either that, or mom intercepted the letters," Soren explained as he loaded my stuff onto the back of the buggy. I noticed that I could see his stuff on there, including his beloved drum set.

"Where are we going?" I asked my brother as we sat down in the buggy.

"We leave this island tomorrow. I got us boat tickets to Lougetown. After we arrive in Lougetown, we're going to hitch a ride with a pirate crew until we can find Heathcliffe. As soon as we find Heathcliffe, we're ditching the pirate crew and staying with Heathcliffe and possibly whoever he's with," Soren explained as the buggy gained momentum.

"That sounds straightforward, yet, intricate. But, what will happen if Heathcliffe's enslaved?" I asked Soren.

"We'll free him, duh! Did you learn ANYTHING at that school?" Soren asked as he playfully ruffled my hair.

"Hell no. I didn't even care about what they taught us," I answered.

"High-five! You're an awesome brother, Holden!" Soren said as we high-fived each other. At this point, I realized that my life is no longer in danger. Soren is taking me somewhere where I will be safe and surrounded by people who care more about me than my Tenryuubito parents. Although the Grand Line was supposed to be a dangerous place, I think it was more desirable than the Celestial Dragon Boarding School AND the Sarutobi family compound combined.

"Soren, I think… I'm coming home," I told my brother.

"What do you mean?" Soren asked me.

"I'm finally going to be somewhere where people actually give a fuck about me – no, about you, me, and Heathcliffe. Wherever Heathcliffe is, we will follow him there no matter what. Heathcliffe's our baby bro, and we can't afford to lose him, especially on the Grand Line," I explained.

"I guess you really miss Heathcliffe," Soren commented.

"I do! When we were younger and all three of us were still together, Heathcliffe was always at my side, no matter what! I'd give anything to have my baby bro back at my side! I love him, and I want us to protect him from having all of us split up again! Can't we go back to the days when the three of us played together, ate together, practiced our instruments together, and lived together?" I explained. I then felt tears stream down my face, which I didn't notice until I started crying like a baby. Soren patted me on the back.

"Bro, everything will be okay. We have money, clothes, and, most of all, a future. I promise you, we will find Heathcliffe, even if it takes our entire lives to find him," Soren reassured me. We looked up to the starry sky. Somewhere on these seas, Heathcliffe was looking up at the same sky, looking for us.

Ending Note: Awwww! The sons of World Nobles really do care about their brother!

Hana: "Really? And I thought Yuki-Rin hated World Nobles."

Yuki-Rin: "Heathcliffe's cool! So are his brothers!"

Hana: "Right..."

Review, as always. All flames will be donated to Ace.