Chapter 6: Schoolyard Chaos

What was he doing? Was he really going to be locking Luffy up in a classroom with a bunch of other kids he didn't know…? What if they were mean to him? Or worse…? Was he was locking those kids up with a hyper Luffy?!

"Ace? What's wrong?" Luffy asked inquisitively as he hung off his brother's arm. The two of them were standing at the entrance of the school, literally at the front gate, but Ace hadn't moved a muscle in over a minute as his mind was racing with worry.

His own experience with school had been less than ideal, so his feelings may be bias, but he couldn't help but fear that something bad was going to happen to Luffy by leaving him here. But—he had to remind himself—he was always gonna have to start learning not to be so overprotective as Luffy grew up. This was the first step he needed to take in order for Luffy to grow up to be independent. He knew he would have to face this when he decided to put Luffy in kindergarten and it was far too late to turn back now.

So, he took a deep breath before crossing the threshold as he tried to focus on the building. After getting the initial look around… he had to admit that it didn't look half bad. It had a blacktop with containers of chalk set up for the kids as well as a gated playground near the back—with a tall fence all around the borders so that made him feel a little better about making sure Luffy didn't wander off. The kid would really have to put some effort into climbing the fence if he wanted out that bad and he hoped that the teachers would be able to spot him before that happened.

He was still holding Luffy's hand as he guided him up the front steps and through the door to find a small office that had various child-like pictures taped to the glass windows. At the front was a heavy-looking desk with a woman typing away at a keyboard as they approached. But before Ace could utter a greeting, the woman, who was slim with glasses and had her blond hair tied up in a tight bun at the back of her head, spoke up.

"Names?" she asked without emotion nor even looking up to see who was there.

"Portgas D. Ace," Ace answered as Luffy was looking around with fascination, "We're here for-?"

"Portgas D. Ace—it shows here that you are the official, legal guardian of a Monkey D. Luffy. According to our records…. Age: five. Date of birth: May 5th, this will be his first day of kindergarten," the woman interrupted as she read over whatever was on the screen before immediately going to a filing cabinet next to her to pull out a file. Quick as a flash, she flicked out a pen and set both it and the file on the desk in front of him before explaining, "We just need you to sign your name here to fully accept him into the school. If you are not able to do so at this point, you are free to contact another guardian or such at any time."

Ace was a bit taken aback by this before muttering jerkily, "Ah… yeah… right…?"

He opened the file and began to sign the forms, making sure that Luffy held onto his pant leg as to not wander off until he finished.

"You are late, by the way," the woman informed him professionally, never once tearing her eyes away from the computer screen as she went back to typing. "The children are in the auditorium for a quick assembly. The principal has just returned from one of his trips and has a few stories he wished to share with them."

"Yeah, sorry about being late," Ace said as he tried to explain as he flipped through the papers, "Had a bit of a late start and…?"

"Do try to remember that start time is 9:00 am on the dot every morning," the woman said as she adjusted her glasses. "The boy is already starting school behind his classmates, so he doesn't need any other reason to fall behind."

Ace gave her a glower but he bit down his retort as he finished signing his name. He knew that Luffy should have started school a few weeks prior, but he had still been on the fence about getting him enrolled in a good enough school at the time. But he was only a couple weeks off so… he only hoped that didn't hold Luffy back as much as he feared.

The second the ink dried on his final signature and he set the pen down, she snatched it up, looking through the papers with a critical eye, as if making sure that everything was filled out correctly before she shoved them back into the folder.

"There assembly should be over shortly," she explained without emotion. "That should be enough time for you to help your son find his classroom."

"Actually, he's my… never mind," Ace sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with minor irritation, already hating this woman and wanted to spend as little time as possible with her. "Do you know where…?"

"According to our records he was assigned to the Lamb room. Most of our teachers were unable to take in a child that would be starting this late. But one did make room for him. He will be assigned to Professor Nico Robin," she answered, "Head down the hall, turn left once you reach the end, and it will be the first door on the left. Your teacher should be waiting to greet you so I suggest that you avoid making her wait any longer."

"Damn, are you this friendly with everyone?" Ace grumbled as he took Luffy's hand again.

"I'm just efficient," she recited in a mechanical voice. "Now, please have a good rest of your day and rest assure that your children are in good hands."

He would have had an easier time believing that before meeting her. Still, he waited a moment to see if she would say anymore, but when she went back to typing after she put the file away, he decided that it was better to leave.

"That lady was weird," Luffy couldn't help but tell Ace as they headed down the hall.

"Yes… maybe you should avoid her for now?" Ace offered as he began looking for the right room. He looked around the hallway that was littered with all manner of artworks from the kids, each one flanked by doors on either side.

They walked down the hall until they turned left and immediately came outside a door that had a picture of a lamb with curved horns on it head with the words:

Going Merry Wing

Professor N. Robin

"Good, this looks like the right place. So now, let your big brother give you a few tips about surviving school before we go in," Ace said seriously, as he crouched down to eye level with Luffy. "This is important, Luffy. I need you to promise me a few things. First… you are not to leave the school grounds for any reason. You are not to leave or go with anyone unless I'm here to pick you up. You understand?"

Luffy nodded as Ace went on, "Second… if someone starts to bother you in a way you don't like… like if someone hits you…?"

"Would they?" Luffy asked in worry.

"Only if they're jerks," Ace answered before continuing as if he hadn't heard the question, "Now, listen… if someone tries to bully you… don't stand there and take it. You give them one warning. Give them a chance to think over their actions… and if they still insist on causing problems…? You hit them back as hard as you can. Remember when I taught you how to throw a punch without hurting yourself? Just do what I taught you, but only after you give them a warning. If you get into trouble by the teachers after that, you let me deal with them when I come to get you."

"Really? I'm allowed to hit them?" Luffy asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, but only if they pick a fight with you first," Ace said seriously. He knew that he was giving Luffy the complete opposite advice that he was given as a kid, but he didn't want to imagine his brother dealing with any kind of bullies. Not on his watch!

Luffy nodded, showing he understood, before Ace knocked and they entered the classroom.

It was bright and cheerful with almost every inch of the walls covered in all kinds of cute kid posters, such as ones that name out colors or days of the week, while the alphabet listed over a large chalkboard on one wall. There were many small tables and chairs set up on one half of the room while the other half had all manner of rugs and toys scattered about as if the children had just set them down mere seconds before.

"Hey Ace! Look!" Luffy cried as he let go of his brother's hand to rush over a rug where a large, brightly colored book caught his eye. He pulled the big thing up to show Ace as he came over to investigate and Luffy pointed to the picture of the pirate ship on the cover.

"It's the book you read to me!" he told him happily. Indeed it was, it was the book that Luffy always insisted that Ace read to him before he was forced to go to sleep. Ace must've read the book to him at least a hundred times over by now and he was sure that Luffy knew the stories inside by heart at this point. He had tried to find other books to tempt his brother with… but no. They had to be stories of pirates and adventures, otherwise he would quickly lose interest and getting him to sleep was even harder.

"Yeah, I guess we have a few pirate lovers here too," Ace told him as Luffy beamed back happily.

"Oh? Do you like reading?" a kind and soft voice spoke up so suddenly that both boys jumped, causing them to turn to see who was there. Standing in the doorway was a tall and slender woman that looked to be in her late twenties. She had shoulder-length, silky black hair and beautiful ice blue eyes with long limbs showing from a purple dress and matching heels as she stepped into the classroom—beaming at the sight of them there.

"Sorry for startling you," she chuckled slightly. "I just noticed that the door was open and peeked in. I overheard what you were saying. Do you enjoy reading?"

"Ah… no," Luffy confessed as he held up the book to show her, sounding a little embarrassed as he confessed, "I can't read yet. But I know this book! Ace reads it to me!"

The woman chuckled as she approached before bending down to pat him fondly on the head.

"That's alright, that's why you're here. So you can learn," she reassured him kindly before looking at them both curiously. "Is there something I can help you gentlemen with?"

"Ah… yes. My name is Ace and this is my little brother Luffy," Ace began before she looked up at the mention of Luffy's name.

"Oh, so you're Luffy?" she asked his brother happily as Luffy nodded back. She had another kind smile as she answered, "That's great. I was told that we were getting a late addition today. I'm so happy to finally meet you. You're my newest student."

"You're the teacher?" Ace said in surprise, having been expecting someone a bit older.

"That I am," she confirmed. "My name is Nico Robin. But you can just call me Miss Robin."

"You seem to be a bit young for a teacher, right?" Ace asked, now deathly curious.

"I get that a lot," she answered back with a chuckle as she looked back to Luffy. "Anyway, we're so happy to have you with us from now on Luffy. You know this story?"

"Yeah! It's the best story in the world!" he declared happily. "Did you read it?"

"No, actually, we just got this book this week so I haven't had time to read it to the others yet," she confessed, "But if you like, I'll read this to you during story-time today."

"Really?" Luffy asked with excitement, his eyes pleading before reminding her, "... Make sure to do voices. Ace reads it with all the funny voices!"

Ace choked at that, turning slightly red, but Robin looked thrilled at the request and promised, "Of course. It wouldn't be as fun without them. Now then…?" She looked to Ace and asked, "I can take over from here and I'll be introducing Luffy to the others in a moment. The assembly is running a bit later than expected, but it shouldn't be much longer. If all is well in hand…?"

Ace nodded to that before he crouched down to Luffy and told him, "Alright kid. I'll be back in a few hours so you be good. And remember what I said? Don't leave the school with anyone until I come to pick you up. You understand?"

Luffy nodded, still smiling as he went running off to play with some of the toys before Ace went to Robin.

"Alright, I don't think snack time will be a problem for him," he told her, wanting her to know some basic information before he left, "He loves meat and juice though. He'll eat just about anything you give him. Except cherry pie. For some reason that's the one food he can't seem to stand. He loves cherries and he loves pie… but he can't stand cherry pie. I don't get it either. Also, don't take your eyes off him for a second. He's like a bird in that he gets distracted very easily and once he gets an idea in his head, then nothing can change it. So try to be patient. Also…?"

"How about I write all this down?" Robin offered kindly as she led him to the desk where Ace started giving her a list of just about anything that he felt that she should know about taking care of Luffy.

"…which is why his favorite color is red," Ace finished up explaining the importance of colors after a good ten minutes of talking. "Oh, and don't try to take his straw hat away from him. It's practically glued to his head and he gets upset if you try to take it. Also…?"

"My, you know more about Luffy than a lot of parents know about their own kids," she chuckled as she looked over the long list that she made already.

"I just want to make sure that nothing goes wrong," he said, trying to calm the nerves he felt.

"I understand," she promised him sympathetically, "There's no shame in how you feel. A lot of young parents are nervous when leaving their children for the first time. This is a big step for them as well as their child, but rest assure that we will look after him. If anything happens, we'll contact you right away. So don't worry. It's only for a few hours, like you said."

Ace slowly nodded, though looking more pacified he still seemed slightly nervous as he handed her Luffy's Chopperman backpack that was filled with his brother's things, like a spare change of clothes and whatnot, before he said goodbye to Luffy again.

He hugged Luffy tightly for a moment, finding this a lot harder than he thought it would be, but he pulled away, promising, "I'll see you this afternoon kid. You make a lots of friends today."

Luffy nodded, still smiling as a bell rang and the sounds of children were heard in the halls. Ace used the commotion to give Luffy a quick kiss on his forehead and left, feeling a sense of relief and anxiety in his chest as he left the classroom.

*15 minutes later*

"Alright, class!" Robin called, getting the other children's attention as they looked up, having just returned to the classroom. She then held up her hand to show Luffy as she said, "We have a new student joining us today. This is Luffy and I expect you all to be nice and welcome him here."

The children all looked at Luffy in curiosity as he waved back happily. A few kids even called out in welcome, which made Luffy giggle in excitement. He couldn't remember the last time he saw so many kids in the same place! He didn't even look like he was the youngest one here! The thought made him puff his chest out in pride.

Soon enough though, the children all turned back to their games or activities as Luffy tried to decide where he wanted to start. He wanted to make a lot of friends and looked over them all to see where he should start. He was thinking of running over to a table where a girl with bright orange hair was coloring…? But wait! Those kids were racing cars on the rug…? Or maybe he could try…?

"Luffy? Can I offer a suggestion?" Robin asked as she crouched back down next to him.

"Huh?" he asked, wondering why she was stopping him before she pointed to a corner of the room where a boy was sitting by himself, working on tearing up grasses and flower petals he brought in from outside. He was a rather skinny boy with curly black hair tied back with a bandana, while also having a very long nose that was impossible to miss. He has taken some tinker toys and made some kind of makeshift tools as he grinded the plants, working with his tongue sticking out as he focused on his task—working so intensely that he didn't realize they were talking about him.

"How about you go and play with Usopp over there?" Robin suggested. "He's really nice and I think you would both be good friends."

"Really? Okay!" Luffy gasped eagerly and went charging off, keen to make a new friend right away.

Robin smiled after him, glad to have such a spirited, joyful child in the classroom. She had been worried about trying to incorporate Usopp more into group activities to little success. Usopp was known around the school as a liar, so it was very difficult for him to make friends.

She stood and watched as Luffy leapt up in front of Usopp, startling him, obviously not having expected the new student to choose to talk to him right off the bat. Robin went to her desk, pretending to work, as she listened in to what they were saying.

"Hi there! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy announced proudly as he stepped up to Usopp, who jumped at his loud voice.

"Oh, ah… hi?" Usopp asked nervously as Luffy plopped down on the rug next to him.

"So what's your name?" Luffy asked, already forgetting what Robin said.

"Ah… Usopp…?" he said, looking around in confusion.

"Usopp? That's a funny name!" Luffy exclaimed, having never met anyone with that name before.

"Ah, yeah I guess it is. But it's better than Monkey," Usopp pointed out.

"Come on! Monkey is a cool name!" Luffy countered, "Hey! You wanna be friends?"

Well, he certainly doesn't waste time, does he? She smiled at that as Usopp looked completely taken aback, even looking behind him like he thought that Luffy was speaking to someone else.

"Great! So it's decided!" Luffy decided for him even though Usopp didn't answer back.

"Hey! I didn't say anything!" Usopp pointed out.

"You didn't say no though!" Luffy reasoned.

"You can't just decide that," Usopp tried to explain.

"Really? Why not?" Luffy asked, not seeing what the problem was, and Usopp opened his mouth to answer before he froze, as if he choked. He clearly had no good answer to that and it took all that Robin had not to burst out laughing at the look on his face.

"It just… doesn't work out that way," he finally said, "We just met."

"But isn't that how all friends meet?" Luffy asked as he looked at Usopp's project and asked, "OOOOOH! What's that? Whatcha working on?"

Upon having a willing and captive audience to his crafts, Usopp immediately brightened up as he proudly declared, "I'm working on a special project! This will one day be part of the special Usopp arsenal that can take down anyone!"

"Really? That's so cool!" Luffy said excitedly and Usopp rubbed his nose as he grinned, clearly enjoying the attention as Luffy asked, "So… what's it do? Can it really take down anyone?"

"Well, one day," Usopp promised, "But for now, it's only in the early stages so it's gonna need some time to perfect. I'll be calling it the Usopp Smoke Star! With some special ingredients, when it hits an enemy, it will burst into a thick cloud of black smoke which will blind them and give you a chance to escape!"

"Really?! That sounds so cool! Then it's decided! You're gonna be my new friend!" Luffy decided with a finality that practically rang with determination.

"What? Wait, I didn't say that!" Usopp countered, still surprised at Luffy's bluntness.

"Come on!" Luffy whined with a pout, "Be my friend!"

"Ok, so… say I'll be your friend but… what if it doesn't work out?" Usopp asked slowly, as if trying to buy time in thinking of another answer.

"Then we just keep trying?" Luffy offered.

"What? No… wait… what do you mean?" Usopp asked in confusion.

Luffy thought it over and answered, "I don't know."

Robin couldn't stop herself from giggling to herself, finding them so cute that she couldn't stand it and had to bite down on her lip as to remain quiet.

"Well, I don't know you. I'll need time to think it over, right?" Usopp asked.

"Okay. Does a minute work?" Luffy asked.

"No, it needs to be longer than that!" Usopp said as he went back to working on experimenting with the plants he collected. She expected Luffy to continue to question him as he sat there surprisingly quiet, staring up at the clock. But at the two minute mark he broke his silence and asked, "How about now? You decided?"

"What? No!" Usopp called out.

"Hey! What do you think of pirates?" Luffy asked suddenly.

At that, Usopp's eyes widened at the thought, and Robin grinned, knowing that Usopp is always going on about adventures on the high seas and the brave pirates who sail them. He seems to have found a kindred spirit at last.

"Of course! I'm a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp declared.

"Woah! Really? You're a pirate?! Luffy gasped with wide eyes.

"Yes! I'm the proud Captain Usopp!" Usopp boasted as he stepped up, putting a foot up on the chair he had been sitting on, "I have 8000 loyal men at call! I've sailed the seas and fought all manner of danger! The great Usopp doesn't run from anyone!"

"Really? 8000 men? That's awesome! Can I meet them all?!" Luffy asked eagerly as Usopp blanched at that.

Robin could only chuckle as the boys continued to talk about pirates as she was soon distracted when Nami came running up to her, showing off some of her drawings.

That seemed like the perfect excuse to get them all ready for story time, gathering them all as she sat down in a chair while the children rolled onto all manner of rugs. Luffy and Usopp came over together, both their eyes bright and eager as Robin cleared her throat and began to read out about such adventures… making sure to change her voice for the different characters, much to Luffy's delight.

*Recess*

Luffy was having a lot of fun all day! After reading time they had playtime before snacks and that was when Miss Robin started teaching them about reading. Luffy wasn't too interested in the learning part since it hurt his head, but he was more curious about it now that she pointed out that he could learn to read his pirate book all by himself! That got him excited.

But that was over for now when she told them it was time to go outside for recess! Luffy was excited to explore the playground as he wandered around, trying to decide what he wanted to do first, as Usopp followed close behind to show him where everything was.

Luffy couldn't bring himself to decide on just one activity though as he went charging in, leaping up the jungle gym before he made a mad dash to the bright yellow slide, going down headfirst as he shrieked with laughter. Usopp could barely keep up before he begged that they do something a little calmer. But Luffy wasn't listening as his eyes spotted the monkey bars on the other side of the playground and made a beeline for it as Usopp went to sit under a tree—figuring that Luffy would be busy on the monkey bars while he caught his breath.

Luffy went running up the side of the ladder before he went jumping straight for the first bar, swinging back and forth like a little monkey as he went one way, then went back, before hanging upside down with the biggest grin on his face.

"Hey! This is my spot!"

At the sound of the voice, Luffy looked up—or down—as he realized another kid had just arrived. Directly below him, the kid was dressed in dark green karate robes that went with his moss-green hair, and had a piece of grass in his mouth as he chewed the end, giving Luffy a grumpy look as he glared up \.

"Hello!" Luffy said brightly as he swung about before spinning around and landing on his feet. He spun about to face Zoro and asked innocently, "I'm Luffy! You want to play on the bars with me?"

"No, this is my space," the green-haired boy said as he folded his arms, about a head taller than Luffy, "All the others stay clear of it so you should to! So leave!"

"But why? There's more than enough space for us both!" Luffy pointed out reasonably.

"Well, I called dibs on this area," the kid retorted, growing more and more annoyed by the second.

"Well, what's your name?" Luffy asked.

"Zo—I'm not telling you!" the kid snapped, almost slipping there.

"Zo? That's your name?" Luffy asked, thinking it was a strange one.

"It's Zoro! Roronoa Zoro!" Zoro answered with a shout before his voice died in his throat for a second upon realizing that he told him his name. He turned red at that before yelling, "Whatever! The point is that this is my spot so you need to leave!"

"But I don't want to leave!" Luffy whined back, "I don't see your name on this area!"

"You trying to pick a fight? I'm the strongest kid here!" Zoro warned.

"You beat everyone else up here?" Luffy asked innocently.

"No, I don't need to!"

"Then how do you know you're the strongest kid here?"

Zoro blinked, having never thought of that. As he tried to think of a comeback, Usopp had finally noticed what was going on and went sprinting over to Luffy with a terrified look on his face.

"Luffy! Luffy! Come on, bud! How about we go to the swings?" Usopp cried out, shaking as he looked at Zoro.

"Huh? No! I wanna play on the monkey bars!" Luffy whined.

"Luffy! You shouldn't be picking a fight with him!" Usopp whimpered, trying to pull on Luffy's arm to get him to follow him. "That kid's supposed to be a demon! They say he got kicked outta his last school because he was so violent!"

"Demon? Well, I guess that's pretty cool but how's he a demon? He's so short?!" Luffy asked as Zoro choked once again.

"WHAT? I'M TALLER THAN YOU!" Zoro yelled, "I JUST DON'T HANG OUT WITH WEAKLINGS LIKE YOU TWO!"

"WHAT?! I'M NOT WEAK! I LEARNED HOW TO THROW A PUNCH FROM MY BIG BROTHER!" Luffy yelled back.

"SO WHAT? YOU'RE STILL WEAK COMPARED TO ME!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"NOT!"

"TOO!"

"SHUT UP, YOU BIG MEANIE!"

"YOU BE QUIET YOU RUBBER-BRAINED IDIOT!"

The whole time they argued back and forth, Luffy puffed out his small chest to try and look stronger as Zoro stood over him, trying to intimidate him with some of his scary expressions. Damn it! His glowering looks usually sent most kids running for their mommies! This kid's scrawny friend looked like he was about to wet himself so why didn't this Luffy kid also run for the hills?

Luffy growled, the two of them pressing their faces against the other, trying to push the other back even as Zoro snarled at him, "You're so annoying!"

"And you're a jerk!" Luffy retorted childishly.

"Alright? You think you're strong? Then how about we put it to the test?" Zoro decided, spitting out the piece of grass before stepping on it like it was a cigarette.

"What do you mean? How are you…?" Luffy asked before was interrupted with a small, yet strong, fist collided with his stomach. Luffy choked and hit the ground, holding his stomach in pain as he felt dazed and confused from getting hit. Upon seeing this, Usopp turned and ran to get a teacher as Zoro smirked over him.

"Not so tough now are you?" he taunted.

"That was a cheap shot!" Luffy wheezed, rubbing his belly to try and quickly recover.

"Wow! You were taught how to protect yourself from your big brother?" Zoro went on with a harsh laugh, "I saw the two of you from the window when I was skipping the speech earlier. That guy who came in with you was your brother?"

"What about it?" Luffy hissed, his eyes watering from pain.

"He looked like a big sissy! No wonder you're so pathetic!" Zoro said and anger flared up inside Luffy at the thought of anyone saying anything mean about Ace.

He glared up at Zoro as Ace's words echoed in his head as he asked, "This is your one warning! Apologize or else!"

"Or else what?" Zoro demanded before taking a step forward. Seeing that, Luffy was able to get back up, catching Zoro off guard, and with a blaze of determination, Luffy curled up his hand into a fist and punched Zoro with all the strength he had. While he was the smaller of the two, he caught Zoro by surprise and he watched as he fell backwards into the dirt.

The action was enough to get the rest of the children to stop whatever it was they were doing and stared as Zoro wiped his mouth.

"Why you-" Zoro muttered, standing up and let out a battle cry as he launched himself at Luffy. Luffy took another punch, but he leapt up, jumping onto Zoro while pulling at his green hair as they began to wrestle the other to the ground.

Their fight descended into rolling around in the dirt while shouting insults, pulling each other's hair and biting while throwing out kicks and punches—the two were so evenly matched it was hard to tell who was winning until the principal, had to force the two apart even as he accidently got knocked to the ground with the two.

*One Hour Later*

Well, this was certainly a strange feeling being on the other end of being sent to the principal's office as a parent instead of being stuck in the 'chair of shame' as he waited for his mother to show up.

Ace suddenly felt a lot more sympathy for his mother and her many trips down to the school the moment he stepped into the office. Sitting with Luffy was a boy, around his age, with green hair and a few scratches on his face, as well as a girl that looked to be around sixteen. The girl had big, round, black eyes that were sharp with suppressed anger as her light-pink hair was tied back in two long pigtails. She was huffing in her chair, next to Zoro, with a bright red umbrella tucked under her arm as she listened to Shanks explaining what happened.

"So… just so we're clear… Luffy got into a fight with Zoro… who hit him first over the monkey bars?" Ace asked as slowly, just making sure he understood everything before he got mad at someone.

"That's pretty much it," the principal, Shanks, said with a nod, and it looked like he was fighting the urge to grin. After he succeeded in pulling the two boys apart, he dragged them inside to hear their sides before calling their families.

Since it was nearing the end of the day, he decided to keep the boys in the office until they were picked up. Which was why Ace was directed to the principal's office the second he arrived.

Ace could only shake his head upon hearing that his little brother got into a fight on his first day over such a stupid reason…? Why did he not see this coming?

"Now I get that it's a lot to take in for kids on their first day, and I get that tempers can erupt…?" Shanks said, still smiling, "But I hope that I don't need to remind you that violence isn't tolerated here? Though it was a pretty good fight. So much so I couldn't bring myself to punish them with detention or anything like that. But… think of this as a one-time use of a 'get out of jail free' card so to speak. If it happens again, we will have to talk."

"No, I get it," Ace said as he looked to his scuffed up brother, who was sucking on a Popsicle that Shanks gave him. Meanwhile Zoro, who refused a Popsicle, was sitting grumpily in his seat while the girl—was shaking her head in exasperation.

"I'm surprised that the older siblings are here rather than their parents though," Shanks said light-heartedly.

"Dad couldn't come in because of his work so he sent me to pick Zoro up," the girl said in annoyance before she added to Zoro, "This isn't cute at all!"

Zoro just tittered at her and she rolled her eyes in frustration before turning to Ace, who braced himself for the worse. But to his surprise, she bowed her head apologetically and said, "I figured my brother was the start of the fight, so I'm sorry about that. The name's Perona, by the way. I'm afraid my less than cute little brother is always getting into fights. But I promise he'll be getting a good telling off later. My father will pay for any kind of settlement or hospital bills if they are needed."

"Ah, no… I mean… yeah I think we're alright, right Luffy?" he asked as he looked to his brother, who nodded back, his face sticky with Popsicle syrup.

"Alright, but if it happens again, don't be afraid to let us know," Perona sighed as she stood up, dusting off her dress.

"And that's it?" Ace asked, a little surprised that it ended to well. When he was still in school, whenever he got into a fight with someone, the other family would threaten to sue him or the school. He looked to Luffy, who apart from some scratches and bruises, seemed to be happy so he was willing to let this go, even though he was more than a little annoyed at what happened. He'll be sure to talk to Luffy about it when they get home.

"This isn't new," she shrugged before turning back to Zoro and added, "Didn't dad tell you not to keep picking fights like that, Zoro? You got kicked outta the last kindergarten because you couldn't control your temper! You know he's going to stop your kendo lessons if you keep acting this way."

"What's done is done. There's no need to tell him," Zoro stated matter-of-factly, as if he expected his sister to keep quiet about this.

"Which is why I'm gonna tell him everything! Come on, we're going home!" she growled, grabbing his hand and ready to drag him all the way back if she had to.

"Alright, if that's all settled, you guys drive safely home!" Shanks smiled and waved.

'I can see now why Whitebeard suggested this place,' Ace thought to himself, not sure if he should laugh or not as Luffy leapt up and Ace scooped him into his arms.

"Thanks for the Popsicle Shanks!" Luffy called happily over Ace's shoulder at the red-haired man, who just smiled and waved back as Ace carried him outta the building. Once it was just the two of them, Luffy shifted in Ace's arms to tell him, "What a nice guy! Shanks was telling me jokes and stories while we were waiting for you, Ace!"

"Yes, that's real nice of him. But getting back to the matter at hand, what happened?" Ace asked him, wanting to know what it was that caused Luffy to want to pick a fight like that. "What happened with Zoro? Why did you punch him?"

"He was being a big meanie!" Luffy pouted, "And he said some bad stuff about Ace after he hit me! So I hit him back!"

Ace arched an eyebrow. Saying mean things about him? He felt strangely touched that Luffy cared so much that he would defend him like that, but he had to ask, "Just tell me, did you warn him first?"

"Yep! I did what Ace told me! We were arguing and then he hit me! I warned him before I hit him!" Luffy promised as Ace shook his head in an exasperated way. Though he wasn't happy about this development, he couldn't help but feel proud in a twisted way that his little brother got into his first fight.

"Alright, but let's try to keep the fighting to a minimum. You get into too much trouble then you could be kicked out and I rather not have to try to find another school on such short notice," he said as they began the trek home. He was wondering if he should reconsider taking Luffy out of school from this point, but as they were walking out of the parking lot, a black car slowed down next to them and they looked up as the back window opened. Zoro was sticking his head out and he called, "Oi! Luffy!"

Ace tensed, wondering what the punk was gonna say, and ready to start pulling out his arsenal of insults and choice words should he say something uncalled for. But to his surprise, Zoro was smirking as he hung out the window, and said, "That wasn't a half-bad punch!"

Ace stared at him, not sure what to say. Even more surprised when Luffy was grinning and gave a friendly wave to Zoro as he answered, "Thanks! You're not so bad yourself! See you!"

As Luffy waved, Ace looked to the driver seat to see Perona was looking back, looking just as confused as he felt. At least, he could assume that was how she felt, judging from the shocked expression on her face before she held up her hands, as if asking God for strength before she drove them out of the parking lot and out of sight.

Once it was just the two of them, Luffy looked up to Ace, beaming up proudly, he said, "I liked that guy! Can I play with him tomorrow?"

Seriously? He gets into a fight with the kid, gets dragged to the principal's office, and suddenly he and the kid are now friends? How the hell does this work out? Ace could only let out a wild laugh, wondering if this was how his mother felt when she picked him up?

"We'll see," was all he could say as he doubled his grip on Luffy's hand and they left for the walk home as Luffy told him all about everything else that happened that day.

(Come on… Luffy going to school? With Ace as his big brother? How could it not end without him in the principal's office? Sorry, my hand slipped and it had to add a little more drama into the mix. I wasn't planning on adding any of the Straw Hats in until later on, but I just couldn't help it. I needed to give Ace that little push in finding someone else who can watch Luffy and we needed a little humor with Luffy meeting other friends, while adding some sweet moments in as well. Will be taking a slight break to work on a special project for a friend so that's why this chapter is out so soon. But I will be back once I finish my other project, which should be done right around Valentine's Day. Until then, please enjoy!)