Osaka, Japan

A Day Later After Gomi's Diagnosis

Sora rushed to Gomi's preschool as fast as he could. When he entered the school, he went straight to the principal's office. Once inside, he found Gomi on one of the chairs, pouting as he looked...just fine. But that didn't stop Sora from checking to see if his son was okay.

"Gomi!" Sora called out in worry.

Gomi looked up at his father's voice and blinked. Smiling, he said, "Heya, Pops!"

Sora knelt before him with his hands on his shoulders to check if he was alright.

"Gomi! Are you alright!? Is everything okay!? Are you hurt!?" Sora started to spitball questions at his youngest son.

The boy both nodded and shook his head to all those questions, smiling as if he wasn't in any pain and hadn't done anything wrong whatsoever, "Yeah! I'm alright! And nah, I ain't hurt!"

"Oh thank goodness," Sora sighed in relief. However, he put a serious look on his face and asked him, "Son, what happened? The phone call I got from your teacher was that you were fighting with some kids!"

Then Gomi pouted. "I didn't do anything. I was playing pirates with myself like I always do, and this boy in my class along with his two friends were all being mean to me. They were bothering me saying that I was weird and that I was just some Quirkless wannabe that was trying to substitute being an imaginary pirate because of my Quirklessness..." he looked confused for a moment. "Pops, what's a 'substitute'?"

Sora blinked, a little bothered by that claim. "Um...well, not that I condone this, but did you throw the first punch at one of the kids, Gomi?"

Gomi shook his head with a frown. "Nah-uh, Pops! The boy threw the first punch at me because I was ignoring him! I didn't even want to fight him! I was just playing until he got all mad that I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying!"

Frowning at that, Sora thought about the circumstances his son was in.

Then...why are the boy and his friends not in the waiting room to see the principal as well?

Then, the door to the principal's office opened to reveal a well-dressed but portly man with gopher teeth and slicked-back hair.

"Oh! The famed Rubber Band! Good morning!" the principal nodded.

"Good morning," Sora replied, but he was frowning at the principal. "Excuse me for asking, but where are the other boys that harassed Gomi?"

The principal blinked. "Oh, um...well, they were already at my office before Gomi came."

Sora looked at the principal for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. What did they say?"

"Well...they said that Gomi was making fun of them," the principal told him.

"What!? That's not true! They were making fun of me!" Gomi said with wide eyes full of surprise.

Turning to his son to see his expression and turning back to the principal, he asked the older man, "You don't certainly believe those kids, do you?"

The principal just stood there, adjusting his tie to somehow relieve some stress. "Um...well, I wasn't there, but...a-actually, Mr. Toyomistu, I was about to talk to your son and hear his side of the story. Maybe you would like to hear what he has to say?"

Sora raised an eyebrow but complied and said, "Um...alright then." He turned to his son and told him, "Come on, Gomi, let's go inside."

"...Okay..." Gomi pouted as he got off the chair and walked inside the principal's office with his father.

Sora and Gomi entered the office, the principal closing the door as he went over and behind his desk to sit down on his chair.

The principal heaved a sigh and started to ask the Pro Hero and his son, "Well...I really want to ask Gomi if he has any...violent tendencies?"

Sora looked at the principal like he had just now noticed he had gopher teeth. "What?"

Gomi tilted his head at that. "Violent ten-den-cies? Does that mean I'm extra mean or something? Cause I'm not that! I don't have a mean bone in my body!"

"Um, right..." the gopher principal cleared his throat. "I guess what I'm asking is that..." He glanced at Sora. "W-Well, just to let you know, Mr. Toyomitsu, the boys that approached your son...they were actually quite roughed up a bit."

"...Okay," Sora frowned at that. "My son here said that one of the boys threw the first punch at him."

"Um...yes...w-well, I say that the boys were roughed up a bit, because..." The principal took a deep anxious breath, and turned to Gomi. "Um, excuse me, Gomi, I have to ask you this, but what did you particularly do to the boys?"

Gomi looked puzzled. "I didn't do anything to them. I just dodged."

"You...dodged?" the gopher principal asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah! I don't know how, but I saw them coming. It was like I knew what they were going to do, so I got out of the way!" Gomi told him.

"You...saw them coming?" the gopher man asked him with a hint of disbelief.

"Yeah! I can't explain it real well, but I saw when they were going to attack me, and I dodged!"

"Hm...but those boys were injured..." the principal urged him to explain that.

Sora didn't like the overall subtone the principal was carrying, almost like he was suggesting and accusing Gomi of being the one to start the fight.

"I didn't do that. They probably did it themselves while I was dodging them and while they were trying to attack me," Gomi explained.

"Probably?" the principal reiterated, almost as if he was testing him.

"Excuse me, Principal..."—Sora read his name on his desk—"...Souchi. I know my boy here is telling the truth. And I don't want to come out as judgemental, but you're making it seem like he actually antagonized these boys."

Principal Souchi turned his attention to Sora with wide eyes. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I-I wasn't...w-well, the boys who harassed him had Quirks, two of them being mutated types, while the other was an emitter, the latter being the boy who...h-harassed your son. He emits smoke out of his hands."

"Okay," Sora nodded with a frown. "And that matters, because..."

"W-...Well, you see...we...um...want to let every child here feel, um...'special', so to speak. And well, we are going to call the parents of the other boys who approached your son and tell them the situation, but...well...since I didn't see the fight at hand, and I heard from their accounts, I...I'm just..."

Sora then narrowed his eyes at Souchi to look like a glare. "Let me ask you something, Principal Souchi. How long did each of the boys that attacked my son stay in your office while you asked them questions about what happened?"

"Um...a-actually...the three boys all came in at once," Souchi told him a little uneasily.

"...Okay...how long did that go?" Sora asked him, trying not to seethe.

"Um...well...they explained their situation and...I-I let them go..."

Sora urged him to continue, his eyes almost turning into glare.

Souchi took a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wiped his forehead, the severe look Sora gave him making him nervous. "L-Look, M-Mr. Toyomitsu, I can assure you, we are not discriminating against your son-"

"Then why are you still interrogating him?"

Souchi's eyes widened even further. "I-I'm not interrogating! I-I was just trying to know the whole story!"

Sora still kept his frown and pressed the principal. "Gomi already said his story. And I think Gomi is telling the truth."

"N-Now, hold on! I-I'm not saying that Gomi's story isn't true-"

"Then this whole conversation should be over," Sora told him. "In fact, this conversation is over." He got up and turned to Gomi in his seat. "Come on Gomi, we're leaving."

"Huh? We are?" Gomi wondered with a blink.

"Yes. You're leaving school early today." Sora grabbed his hand, making Gomi jump off the chair and stand beside his father.

"N-Now wait!" Principal Souchi called out, trying to stop them. "P-Please, Mr. Toyomitsu, d-don't be irrational-"

"Irrational?" Sora turned to the principal with a full-on glare. "What's 'irrational' is that you would rather take sides and listen to kids with Quirks that would put my son in trouble! Kids who were obviously discriminating against my son because of him being Quirkless!"

"U-Uh, h-hold on-"

"And another thing, my son doesn't lie! He's not very good at it, I should know! So when you listen to his account, you better heed his word, because he's speaking the truth!" Sora then turned forward, his hand still holding onto Gomi's as they walked out of the office.

Ignoring the desperate cries of the principal, Sora and Gomi walked down the halls, the former trying to keep his cool as he didn't want to let people think he was angry with his son- far from it. Meanwhile, Gomi was a little confused about the whole thing.

Once they got out of the preschool, they went to Sora's pickup truck, with Sora opening the door for Gomi.

"Go on in, Son," Sora said to Gomi with a warm smile.

"...But...what about my school?" Gomi asked him, puzzled.

"Believe me, I think we're done with that school," Sora said. "I think now would be a good time to try some homeschooling."

"Homeschooling?" Gomi blinked.

"Yeah. I think you're too good for that school," Sora told him, his smile still in place.

"...Okay..." Gomi then smiled to himself. "That's fine with me! I like to play pirates at home anyway!"

Sora chuckled as Gomi went inside his truck. Closing the door, he went around to go to the driver's seat, opened the door, and entered it, closing it as he started the truck. The Rubber Hero looked at his son who was putting his seatbelt on, and couldn't help but keep smiling at him.

Don't worry, Gomi. I'm certain people will see you just the way your brother and I see you as...a very wonderful and special kid.

Once he put his seatbelt on, Gomi looked back at Sora and gave him a big smile.

Sora chuckled at his son once more and ruffled his hair and drove them back to their home after putting on his seatbelt.

Two Days Later After Being Taken Out Of Gomi's Preschool

"Hmm..." Sora read the resume of the tutor that he was looking over. "...Well, I have to say, you certainly got quite the credentials, Miss...um, excuse me, but what's your name again?"

The thirty-year-old woman, who had her purple hair in a bun and wearing a gray turtle-neck sweater, jeans, and slip-on shoes, with glasses on her face, smiled at Sora. "Fujina. Nugoro Fujina."

"Ah, okay. Is it okay if I call you Miss Nugoro?"

"Oh no, I don't mind," Ms. Nugoro said with an even brighter smile.

"Okay then! But yes, I will say that you have quite a resume, Miss Nugoro," Sora complimented, "You've been a substitute teacher for how many years?"

"Oh, well, just for four years. I love to teach kids, and I have a degree in child psychology, so I can observe how kids act at certain times."

"Ah, alright. And you say that your Quirk is...?"

"Oh! Seamstress! I make quilts and banners and...whatnot out of my fingers," she said with a sheepish smile and sweatdrop.

"Oh, that's very nice," Sora smiled as he nodded. "I'm certain the kids you taught loved seeing something like that."

"Oh, they get amazed by it. I usually make something for them to let them remember me by when I leave," she chuckled.

He also chuckled, saying, "Aww, that's sweet!" He looked at the resume, "So, you're knowledgeable in teaching subjects such as language, history, world history, geography, science, and algebra? Goodness, I don't know if Gomi can learn all of that in the scope of a preschool year!"

"Oh, no! I mean, I can do those, but I won't let the little guy be overloaded with information or anything like that! Those are just like examples to let you know that...you know, I could teach him that down the road."

"Heh-heh. Oh no worries, I was just joking! But really, you have a great list of credentials! I feel like I should hire you right away!"

"Oh! R-Really?" Miss Nugoro blinked.

"Well, there's one thing I need to ask you before this decision is sealed...what do you think of the Quirkless?"

"Oh...well, I was raised to only see people for who they are, mostly on the inside. I've actually taught some kids who were Quirkless...and I must say, they are the most intelligent and down-to-earth people that I can ever have the privilege to teach. I mean, not that I'm saying people with Quirks aren't intelligent! I was just...well, the Quirkless are also the strongest people that I have ever come across.

"With some kids being Quirkless, they have to go on with life thinking they wouldn't amount to anything, which they do amount to anything. They are worth everything to us as a society, a people that even teach us, that we as Quirked people, have to humble ourselves and love the neighbor of a Quirkless person. Cause even though they don't have a Quirk, they are still so strong in terms of ideals, will, and grit..." She cleared her throat. "Um, so, uh, yeah, th-that's what I think on that matter..."

Sora couldn't help but smile. "Well then...how would you like to meet Gomi?"

"Gomi, this is Miss Nugoro! She'll most likely be your new homeschool teacher!" Sora told his son.

Gomi, who was drawing something on his little desk, looked up from his paper. Smiling, he gave a wave and greeted the woman, "Hi!"

Miss Nugoro smiled back, "Hello, Gomi! It's nice to meet you!"

Sora let Miss Nugoro in and let himself out, saying, "I'll let you two get acquainted. And Miss Nugoro? Just be yourself, okay?"

"Oh, uh, sure! Of course!"

Nodding at her with a smile, Sora left the room, but with the door a crack.

Miss Nugoro turned her attention to Gomi. "Well, little guy, may I ask what you're doing right now?"

He smiled brightly, "I'm drawing some characters! They're pirates!"

"Oh? Pirates? My, that's interesting!"

"Yeah! Look!" Gomi then picked the paper up and showed her five crudely drawn characters, "This character? His name is Zoro! He's a swordsman!"

Aww, he's a little artist! And these little characters he made are...well, they're pretty unique! ...Oh dear. There's a girl character who's...well, she's wearing a bikini top...well, boys will be boys, I guess.

"Ooh! Wow, this is really good, Gomi!" she complimented.

"Thanks!" He beamed, "And this character is named Usopp! He's the sharpshooter! That means he can shoot really well! He also has a long nose!"

Miss Nugoro giggled, "Oh my, yes I see that!"

"Yeah! And this guy is named Sanji! He's the cook! And this lady here? Her name is Nami! She's the navigator! And this last guy with a straw hat is..." He paused for a moment.

"Hm? Something the matter, Gomi?" Miss Nugoro asked him.

"...Hmm...oh! His name is...Luffy! Yeah! I was gonna say Luffy! He's the captain!" Gomi explained.

"Oh? Luffy, huh? Well, my, that sounds like a funny name!" Miss Nugoro smiled good-naturedly.

"Hey, Luffy doesn't think his name is funny," he pouted.

She blinked. "Oh! I mean, I'm sorry, I was just...I mean, what I meant to say is that it's a cute name!"

"...Okay. Luffy thinks that's good enough," he nodded.

Chuckling nervously, Miss Nugoro sweatdropped.

Okay, so Gomi has a very vivid imagination...hm. Maybe I should ask him more about his characters?

"So, what kind of pirates are these characters of yours? They're not pillaging villages or anything, are they?" she asked with a kind undertone.

"Hmm...I don't know what pillaging means, but they just go on adventures and be free! Also, they want to make their dreams come true!"

"Oh? Well, that sounds like fun! So, this is the whole crew then?"

"Oh nah, there are more. I just did five of them so far!"

"Well, how many are there?"

"About five more."

"Ten? Wow, that's a big crew!"

Gomi and Miss Nugoro both talked about the quirky pirates that the former made as he began to tell them the adventures that they'd been on. The woman listened as the little boy talked about how the pirates (which he called the Straw Hat Pirates) 'beat up' bad guys and saved people, which honestly kind of astounded Miss Nugoro, mostly because of the way he was talking about it, it all sounded so...well-thought-out? Detailed? Either way, the teacher became pretty intrigued by all the adventures these pirates were on that Gomi made up.

Then, an hour later, Sora opened the door and came into Gomi's room saying, "How is everything in here?"

Gomi looked up at his father, "Everything is great, Pops! I was talking to Miss Nugoro about the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"Oh, pirates again, huh?" He chuckled, "My son has an astounding imagination, so you'll have to excuse him."

"Oh no, it's perfectly fine! Actually, his whole story about these pirates is really fascinating! He really does have quite the imagination!" Miss Nugoro told him with a smile.

"And it happened!" Gomi said with a smile and a fist in the air.

Sora chuckled once more, "Okay Gomi, I think Miss Nugoro has to go now, though."

"Aww, but I was going to get to the part where Luffy bent the bad fish guy's nose!" the boy whined.

Blinking at that, Sora wondered, "Um...should I ask?"

Miss Nugoro laughed, "Well, that was the first I heard it too! My, you really have a creative mind, Gomi!"

He smiled back at the woman, "Thanks! But it did happen!"

She giggled, "Okay, I believe you." Standing up, she told him, "Well, I have to leave now, little guy. But it was so nice to meet you! I hope to see you again soon as your teacher!"

Nodding to that, Gomi grinned. "Yeah! I like you!" He turned to his father. "Is it okay if I have her as a teacher?"

Sora smiled back. "I don't see why not."

"Yay!" Gomi cheered, which made Miss Nugoro laugh and Sora chuckle.

"Wow, you got yourself a homeschool teacher already, Gomi?" Taishiro asked his little brother at the dinner table as he ate his supper.

Gomi nodded. "Yeah!" He took a big bite of his sliced teriyaki chicken and proceeded to talk with his mouth full. "Sheuf wuf real noife!"

"Gomi, don't eat with your mouth full," Sora corrected him.

"Sowffy!" He gulped his food. "She was really nice! Her name is Miss Nugoro! She reminded me of Robin!"

"Robin?" Taishiro perked up at that. "I heard you say that name before. Who is she?"

Sora also listened in as he ate.

"Robin is like a super smart lady! She's part of my pirate crew!" Gomi told the two men.

"Part of your pirate crew? You mean...she's made up?" Taishiro raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Nah-uh, she's not made up!" Gomi said, a little offended, "She's a part of my crew!"

"Whoa! Okay! Okay, little guy, I'm sorry." Taishiro put his hands up in defense. "So, she's like...super smart or something?"

"Uh-huh! She knows complicated stuff, like inscriptions, and...something..." Gomi took a second to think about it, but then his thoughts went back to his food as he took another bite of sliced teriyaki chicken.

While Gomi ate, Taishiro looked at his father with a look that told him, 'See?'.

Sora nodded back to his older son and looked back at his youngest, "Um, Gomi...you said you've been saying certain names lately around in your old school?"

Turning to his father, Gomi swallowed his food and said to him, "Yeah. Some of them are my crew! And some are like family!"

"Family?" Sora blinked.

"Yeah! Like big bro here reminds me of Sabo! He was one of my brothers...uh...maybe?" Gomi looked confused for a moment.

Taishiro looked at his father a little worriedly. Sora was also concerned a bit. Their father then told Gomi, "Um...Gomi, you know that you only have Taishiro as your brother, right?"

Gomi looked up at his father. "I know! I just...uh..." He paused, looking like he was wondering something.

Both eldest son and father looked at each other and back at Gomi.

"...I mean..." Gomi muttered...but then saw that there was food on the table and grinned. He then got another slice of his teriyaki chicken and ate it.

...This made the two men concerned.

"...Um, Gomi...are these...names, characters you're talking about...are they...real? To you?" Sora asked his son.

Gomi swallowed his food and said to his father, "Yeah! They're real! But...I mean...they may have gone away now...uuuh..." He looked confused for a moment. "...Wait, what are we talking about again?"

"...Um, we were...actually, Gomi, how about we finish our supper first?" Sora advised.

Gomi grinned big. "Okay!" He then proceeded to eat his meal.

As he did, Taishiro and Sora gave each other looks of worry.

Either way, supper remained as normal as it could be.

Once Taishiro put his little brother to bed, he met up with his father in the den area.

The eldest son then spoke, "Gomi has...a wild imagination."

"I'm beginning to think that," Sora muttered.

"...Dad...do you think we should let Gomi have...I mean, I don't want to say it, but...a kid psychiatrist?" Taishiro asked him in concern. "I mean, I don't think he's like...well, you know, I thought he was just being a creative kid, but...it's now kind of worrying me."

Sora thought about that...

"...The homeschool teacher I hired, Miss Nugoro, said she knows child psychology...I think I should tell her in depth about Gomi's behavior..." Sora stood there in thought as he frowned.

Seeing that something else was bothering his father, Taishiro asked him, "What else are you thinking about, Dad?"

"...When...Gomi...when he was born and..." He shook his head, "No. Nothing."

Taishiro frowned. "Dad...tell me, please. I care about my brother as much as you do as well."

"...I was just thinking of when he passed...and was revived when he was a baby..." Sora rubbed his head to somehow ease his mind. "...I don't know, but...have you ever heard of anything like...reincarnation or something?"

The eldest son blinked. "Reincarnation?"

"...Again, I don't know, it's...just a theory..." Sora looked down, bothered.

"...Well...it's an interesting theory," Taishiro commented.

"..." Sora sighed, "Let's...just not worry about it for now. Gomi is just a toddler, and he's healthy physically..."

Taishrio nodded, although he was a little worried still. "Yeah...it, uh, it could be pretty much a phase..."

"Yeah..."

They stood there, trying to feel confident about it...

...But they still remained unsure.

Alrighty! Chapter done! :)

Some of my readers suggested that the other Straw Hats will be in this. Well, I'm sorry to say, but...just so you can all know, there will be NO other Straw Hats being reincarnated here. Sorry, I thought that was clear when I introduced this concept. Now, for a time, I thought I could include them, but...it would be too much work, and I just want Luffy to be the only reincarnated soul here. So, I'm sorry that I have to burst people's bubbles like that.

Other than that, I think I have some good pairing options for Gomi, so it won't just be Momo, as you can see in the tags! ;D I honestly know who he's going to end up with, but I ain't gonna tell! Unless you can keep a secret... ;)

But yeah, chapter one and done (or chapter two, depending on how you view it)! Tell me what you all think of it so far! I'm going to be writing my other stories during the month, so I won't be going back to this instantly or anything. I only ask you all to be patient and I'll get back to it whenever I'm ready. :)

Oh, also, special thanks to my beta on Discord: chickenwingcookie! :D

Thank you all for reading and keep on rocking everybody!

-TSP