Chapter Text
5 more minutes.
Monkey D. Luffy had to sit through five more minutes of class before he was free. Despite the teacher blabbering on and on, he was pretty confident that he could get through it.
Just 5 more minutes and then he could expel all of his pent up energy the only way he knew how.
There was the uncomfortable screech of a dry erase marker on the whiteboard. Low on ink, it hardly popped against the bright background. The teacher tried again, over the swelling chatter of impatient students. The ticking of the clock remained the loudest sound of all.
“Quiet down, I have you up until the bell rings!” Mr. Sohl scolded, though there was no authority in his tone. It was as if he had already given up on taming his class in the last few moments of the school day.
Luffy liked the elderly man, who’s afro was twice the width of his tall and skinny frame. It's jjust that Mr. Sohl was far more entertaining when he was demonstrating music instead of teaching it. Not everyone had the opportunity to be taught by a retired jazz musician who could play any instrument you gave him. His pockets empty of any money, Luffy had learned the hard way that he should never bet against Mr. Sohl when music was involved. The man was like a walking jukebox.
The brass of the trombone that Luffy held in his hands was beginning to warm, his palms growing sweaty and he bounced his knee up and down. He took a deep breath in, puffing his cheeks out as he counted how long he could hold his breath. He didn't have a particular reason. He was simply curious.
His exhale rustled sheet music propped before him, skimming over the top to graze the dark shaggy hair of the boy who sat in the row in front of him. The boy turned his head to glare over his shoulder, scowl twisting his lips.
“Watch it, Luffy,” He warned in a low voice, yellow eyes glinting in annoyance. Returning his attention to the tenor saxophone he had positioned in his lap, he adjusted his position. Fingers tapped noiselessly against the levers and triggers along the side of the golden instrument, preparing for the music teacher to lead them through one last round of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme.
Luffy blinked, admiring the tattooed letters on the boy's knuckles. D-E-A-T-H.
He wondered why Trafalgar Law had such a chip on his shoulder.
Mr. Sohl counted them in, the orchestra fumbling through the last page of the music. No one really seemed to be paying attention, Luffy included. He did, however, revel in the moments that had him dramatically extending the bar of the trombone. It made a deep sound that reminded him of an angry elephant.
Salvation came as the bell chimed, and with it the end of the day.
Leaping to his feet, Luffy packed up his instrument with exceptional speed, sliding it into the cubby behind the music room’s drum kit before bounding towards the door of the classroom. He skidded to a stop as he passed by the skinny teacher, pausing to spew, “Hey, Brook! We have a gig this week at Shakky's and you should come! We’re on at 9, and tickets are $10, and Franky is going too, so you won’t be the only old dude there!”
He inhaled deeply after completely emptying his lungs.
Brook turned on his heel, abandoning the whiteboard he had been clearing. With an enthusiastic nod, he let out a hearty, high pitched laugh. “You know I wouldn’t miss a performance by the best cover band in the region! Miss Nami already made sure to let me know in third period. She was kind enough to offer to bring me a ticket tomorrow.”
“Sick! See you tomorrow, Brook!” With a wave, Luffy took off, booking it out of the room as fast as his sneakers could take him.
“Luffy! It’s Mr. Sohl here!”
He ignored the teacher’s shout as he sped into the hallway, already teeming with students flocking to their lockers. Taking the stairs two at a time, he squeezed between those walking too slowly for his taste, cackling mischievously when anyone grumbled in irritation.
The stairs were too narrow, in his opinion, but that was to be expected from Grand Line Institute.
The school was old. Like, super old. He meant founded in 1852 old. In fact, it was one of the oldest school’s in all of Ontario, Canada, and that was pretty much the only talking point in the small city that was Sabaody. The heritage building came with stunning carved wooden ceilings, a beautiful arched entryway, tasteful vines that decorated the brick exterior, and an uncommon green copper roof. Unfortunately, those pros went hand in hand with many cons, including – but not limited to – an ancient auditorium that always reeked of moth balls, rusty lockers that had probably only been replaced once in the entire operating history of the school, a small mouse problem, and, worst of all, no air-conditioning.
Thus, narrow spaces were to be expected, and one could argue that as one of the many reasons an additional area was added to the school in later years, containing two more staircases, a library, and the cafeteria. Thankfully, these areas had access to chilled air, and were awfully popular in the summertime.
As Luffy ducked and dodged his way through the swarm of teens in the tiny staircase, he considered that air-conditioning would be rather welcome right now, as fighting against the current of bodies had made him rather sweaty.
Red faced and panting, he emerged from the stairs, skipped over to his locker at the end of the third floor hallway, and swiftly retrieved his yellow baseball cap. He beamed to himself as he tugged it backwards, his dark hair pulled with the fabric in the most unflattering manner. It didn't matter. He'd take the hat over good hair, any day. His Uncle Shanks had given him the hat.
“Well Luffy, now that your thinking cap is on, care to say hi to your friends?”
“Huh?” He poked his head past the open locker door to see six people gathered around, unlocking the nearby stack of identical lockers.
The voice belonged to a girl with ginger hair, rolling her eyes. She reached over to bop him on the head with her fist. “I take it back. The hat doesn’t make you smarter.”
Despite her frown, Nami's light brown doe eyes shone playfully as she reached into the locker next to Luffy’s and began to fill her teal backpack. Slinging the bag over the shoulders of her her pale blue cardigan, she adjusted the white camisole she wore underneath before slamming the metall door shut whith a flourish. She shot the group an expectant look, all business with her hands on her hips.
“If the school didn’t make me take it off every day, then I wouldn’t have to ignore you all before I put it back on,” Luffy pouted, his dark eyes following his friend’s gaze.
Usopp rocked back and forth on the heels of his worn sneakers, his curly hair bobbing against his skinny shoulders. Luffy noted that his curls were pulled back into a puffy ponytail, and he wondered just how wild his hair would be if left to its own accord. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Usopp squished his peculiarly long nose in confusion, adding, “Luffy, nobody said you had to ignore us without your hat on.”
Luffy mirrored Usopp’s actions as he thought they looked fun. Swaying on the heels of his red converse and placing his own hands in the pockets of his denim shorts, he protested, “But it’s part of who I am. And you guys are part of who I am. You go together.”
In reality, he had been too busy looking forward to the next couple of hours to notice the group by his locker, but playing along was always amusing.
A slightly older teen clad in a green shirt with grey sleeves, stretched tight over his muscular build, lifted a large head to scratch the back of his head, which was covered in a layer of messy mint green spikes. Zoro’s dark eyes squinted as he grinned, chuckling, “Whatever you say, Captain.”
“Captain? Why is Luffy a Captain now? What happened to Commander?” A girl with brown, almond shaped eyes piped up, her vibrant blue ponytail swinging as she shot an interested glance to Nami from where she had been digging in her locker. She shrugged on a pink denim jacket over her dark shirt, white shorts and black thigh-high socks combo.
“Please excuse the idiot moss-head, my dear Vivi,” A tall blond man with light stubble on his chin drawled, his blue eyes glaring daggers at the green-haired teen beneath an odd eyebrow that ended in a chaotic spiral. His long fingers fished in his navy jacket’s pocket for his box of cigarettes, and he tucked one behind his ear in anticipation of being off school grounds before he elaborated, “Luffy has decided that being Captain of the band is cooler than Commander.”
A short boy, clearly the youngest of the group, stared up at Luffy with awe in his big eyes, their size magnified by the thick glasses perched upon his pointed nose. The lenses made him resemble a cartoon character when you looked at him straight on. His mousey brown hair was shaggy and looked freshly tousled (most likely the work of Zoro), and his fingers tugged at the hem of the oversized white white shirt he wore. It bore Luffy’s band’s logo – A classic skull and crossbones, with a bright yellow and red straw hat thrown into the mix. “Whoa!” Chopper gasped, “That’s so cool, like the captain of a pirate ship!”
Luffy nodded excitedly before addressing the blond teen, “See, Sanji! I told you someone would get it! Our logo is a jolly roger, after all.”
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in exasperation, “As if you came up with that by yourself.”
“Usopp said it would be a good idea!” Luffy agreed, playing right into her hand, “He said the most important member of the band has to be the Captain!”
The curly haired teen winced as he was immediately drawn into a conversation he did not want to be a part of.
“I would argue that, as your manager, who books your shows, orders your merchandise, handles your finances, and delegates marketing responsibilities, I am the most important member,” Nami grumbled indignantly, narrowing her eyes at a trembling Usopp.
Vivi patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.
Zoro grunted.
Luffy chimed, “Yeah, but you’re not in the band, Nami!”
As Chopper asked Nami if there were any current marketing or social media related jobs for him to do, Sanji exchanged a glance with Zoro before turning to Luffy and stating, “Our sweet Robin is good to practice, if we want to head over there now.”
Luffy nodded enthusiastically, the raven hair that poked out of the closure hole of his yellow hat flopping animatedly along with his head.
“I can drive anyone who needs a lift,” Usopp offered, jingling his keys as if to remind them that he had gotten his license the second it had become an option. As he lived with his single mother, who struggled with chronic illness, he had been quick to secure the ability to drive himself to and from school and his part-time job, to alleviate any pressure on his parent.
Everyone nodded in response and Usopp blanched as he counted the six friends around him. “Okay, well, I can only take 4.” He added sheepishly.
“That’s cool, I’ll board,” Luffy shrugged.
“Don’t worry, Nami! You can sit on my lap,” Sanji cooed in a sickening, artificially sweet tone.
Nami crossed her arms across her chest and jutted out her hips, scoffing, “No way, Sanji. Chopper can sit in Zoro’s lap.”
The younger boy bumped fists with the older teen.
As the crew gathered up any necessary belongings and headed towards the staircase, Usopp explaining that he had parked behind the school instead of the parking lot off the school grounds, Luffy turned back to his locker and grabbed his skateboard.
It was a nice maple model, with bright red wheels and a deck that bore the logo for his band, The Straw Hats. It had been a custom made gift from his bandmates for his birthday last year, and he treasured it almost as much as his yellow baseball cap.
Slamming the locker door with more force than necessary, making himself flinch, he shoved his headphones into his ears and scrolled through his phone to his favourite playlist. Not sure what he was in the mood for, he tapped the shuffle button, and grinned as Weezer’s Troublemaker began playing, engulfing his surroundings in the repeated strumming pattern and distinct vocals.
Charging down the staircase, he practically flew out the front doors of the school. Leaping off the top step of the five steps leading to the entryway, he hooked his board beneath his sneakers and soared through the air with a hearty, “Yahoo!”
Landing smoothly, he kicked off with his right foot, speeding towards the sidewalk just past the football fields. He cruised by the parking lot that sat right outside of school grounds, spying the teen who had scowled at him in music class.
Law stood next to the beat up rust-red Toyota Camry – that looked almost as old as the school itself – with the only two people he was ever seen with outside of the building, Penguin and Shachi. The two teens were smoking and laughing jovially, nudging at the far more sullen dark haired boy as if trying to get him to laugh at whatever joke they had made. Even Luffy knew that their attempts were in vain, and he hardly knew the guy.
A flash of yellow caught his eye, and Luffy noticed that Law was gripping the trunk of a skateboard, deck turned away from him for all the world to see the art display. The wood was painted in a deep blue, accented by a bright yellow submarine tangled in the tentacles of a giant squid. A school of sunny tangs swam by in the foreground, distracting from the deadly scene behind them, and adding more depth to the image the longer you looked.
Luffy considered it a shame that Law always headed in the opposite direction than him to go home. It would be nice to have someone to skateboard with.
He thumbed his phone that rested in the pocket of his red hoodie, cranking his music as he reached the sidewalk. He picked up speed, rocketing towards the rendez-vous point. He was itching to get on with practice.
The crisp October air was brisk, but still held a warm undertone that rendered multiple layers unnecessary. The leaves on the trees were only just starting to turn to a lighter green, edging on yellow, and Luffy smiled into the wind that whipped against his skin at the thought of the colourful leaves that would be falling in the coming weeks. Since he had no company while skateboarding, he always valued a good sight, and autumn scenery was up there on his list of preferred settings. Nothing beat passing the smoked meat shop around the corner from his home, though. It always smelled amazing, and had a rotating selection of different jerkies and fresh meats in the bay window. He hoped to buy an entire pig from there one day. It would be cool to try and eat the whole thing. He was sure his older brother, Ace, would support him in this endeavour.
A few songs that equated to roughly ten minutes later, Luffy pushed down on the back of his board, braking in front of a large 2 story building in the middle of a sizeable lot. He couldn’t stop the beam that split across his face as he arrived at his favourite place in all of Sabaody.
The exterior of the structure was made up of brick coated in a thick layer of white paint, with a handful of windows on the second floor, but none on the lower half due to the three large garage doors that were opened, revealing a series of cars parked within. Above the doors was a flashy neon sign that read Franky’s SUPER Autobody & Mechanical. There were more vehicles in the parking spots surrounding the building, that had certainly already been fixed up, or were waiting their turn for the expert mechanic’s tender love and care.
Spare automobile parts, as well as rogue nuts, bolts, and tools littered the concrete floor of the garage, and Luffy spotted a familiar pair of grease covered work boots poking out from underneath a jacked up car.
“Oi, Franky!” Luffy shouted, snagging his board by the trunk and waving enthusiastically at the older man, who pulled himself out from under the automobile’s body to search for the source of the greeting.
“Hey, kiddo!” The burly mechanic returned the gesture, his heavily muscled arm lifted over his electric blue hair. His hawaiian shirt was streaked with oils and dirt, and his ugly work pants were no better off. He jabbed his thumb towards the back of the garage as he called, “Everyone’s ready. Let’s get some rockin’ tunes up in here!”
Luffy didn’t need to be asked twice. He ran past the large mechanic and the car he was working on, making for the door in the back of the wide room. Tossing the door ajar, he was greeted by an impatient shout from Zoro.
The door opened up into a rectangular room the same width as the garage, as its intended purpose was to be an office or storage space. However, since Franky lived in the small house directly next to the lot, he chose instead to rent the area out as a jam space for The Straw Hats.
On the left side of the room was a circular high-top table with two bar stools nestled against the wall, where Usopp and Chopper sat, playing with their matching Nintendo DSs. Chopper’s feet didn’t quite touch the ground, and he kicked his feet absently, his face furrowed in intense concentration. Luffy could guess that they were in the middle of a heated Pokémon battle.
Adjacent to the table was a mini-fridge that Franky kept filled to the brim with all sorts of beverages: water bottles, sodas, juice, even some beers. An old TV sat atop a stand that held an ancient VCR and a series of VHS tapes right next to the fridge. The beginning of The Lion King was playing on the grainy screen, and Vivi and Nami watched from the battered couch that was positioned opposite the high-top table, acting as a divider from the sitting area to the band space. Nami’s feet, clad in blue socks dotted with tangerines, rested on a wooden coffee table in front of her. The wood was covered in scratches, and they had carved various phrases and words into the surface with their keys over the last two years. Luffy still snickered every time his attention was caught by the six pairs of initials on one end of the table, and the pair on the opposite end, as if Zoro was so directionally challenged that he couldn’t even find his way around a table. Of course, Zoro had not found the joke as funny as everybody else.
The right half of the room was decorated with a beautiful, bright red drum kit in the far corner, adorned with the logo for The Straw Hats on the front of the kick drum. Zoro sat behind it, two drumsticks in hand, and a third in his mouth, just in case he dropped or broke one mid-song. He was tapping his foot, as if he was so full of energy he couldn’t hold still. He resembled a dog waiting to go outside when he could see the squirrels through the window.
Against the wall to Zoro’s left were two large amplifiers, next to a stand holding four different guitars (3 electric, and 1 acoustic). Sanji had a fifth guitar slung across his torso, and a pick jutting between his lips as he carefully tuned his instrument. When he was ready, he stepped forward and grumbled a low, “Check! Check! Hey!” into the microphone that stood in front of him. There was an excited glimmer in the blue eye that was not obscured by a curtain of golden bangs.
To the right of the drums was a massive bass cabinet, and a stand holding 2 electric bass guitars. A tall woman clad in a grey long sleeved shirt dress stood next to the amplifier, a purple bass hanging around her abdomen. Her dark hair was tied up in a messy bun, her blunt bangs brushing her eyebrows above her piercing blue eyes. Robin shot Luffy a composed smile as the teen hurried through the door, using the opportunity to test her rarely used microphone with a simple, “Welcome, Captain.”
There was an air of anticipation in the room. It had been two weeks since they had last practiced, which was a long stretch for the best cover band in the Grand Line region. They were all chomping at the bit, giddy grins and flashing eyes. Even their friends were anxiously awaiting their personal concert, having shut off the movie the moment Luffy had walked in, Chopper and Usopp placing their games down.
In a blur of red, blue and yellow, Luffy dropped his board and backpack by the guitars before snagging the middle microphone, freeing it from its stand and exclaiming, “LET’S GO!”
Without waiting for anymore instructions, Zoro began to pound the opening drumbeat to Blink-182’s Feeling This, Sanji joining in with the distorted guitar riff as the song began.
Luffy wrapped the microphone cord around his knuckles as he jumped up with the beat and began to sing roughly, “I got no regret right now!”
Sanji leaned into his mic, shouting back, “I’m feeling this!”
Robin grooved along with the fast tempo that Zoro maintained as Sanji and Luffy bounced the vocals off each other, the latter using his pent up energy to pump his fist and move his body as if he was performing to a crowd made up of more people than his best friends.
As they reached the chorus, Sanji took the lead, singing in his melodic tenor, “Fate fell short this time, your smile fades in the summer.”
Luffy joined in with the higher harmonies, chiming along with the blond guitarist, “Place your hand in mine, I’ll leave when I wanna.”
Nami and Vivi wooed in encouragement as Luffy bounded across their makeshift stage, running over to the couch and singing in their faces. Nami crinkled her nose in disgust as some spittle flew from Luffy’s mouth and landed on her face. The blue haired girl next to her laughed unsympathetically, just to get a face full the very next line.
Usopp and Chopper had moved from the table to be closer to the action, leaning against the back of the couch and bobbing their heads to the music. They didn’t seem to mind Luffy getting all up in their faces as much as the girls did.
Sanji took over the sing-speaking in the bridge, letting his guitar hang as he crooned over top the bass and drums. He leaned into the mic and winked teasingly at Nami when he caught her staring. He sang, “This place was never the same again, after you came and went. How can you say you meant anything different to anyone? Standing alone on the street with a cigarette on the first night we met.”
Zoro and Robin were in sync as always. They made a killer rhythm section, with Zoro’s aggressive style excelling in upbeat songs, and Robin’s technical prowess on the bass guitar allowing her to master any melody. As they grooved beneath Sanji’s vocals, Zoro flashed the dark haired woman a silly, extremely unflattering face, and Robin giggled, before crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at him in return.
Using the opportunity where he wasn’t needed to run over to the guitar stand, Luffy slung his favourite red telecaster over his shoulders, shoving in the patch cord and flipping his amplifier on. He joined in on the last chorus, pouring his entire heart into his movements as he strummed vigorously, building on the sound as he joined Sanji in his harmony.
“Fate fell short this time, your smile fades in the summer.
Place your hand in mine, I’ll leave when I wanna.”
It was then that Robin leaned into her microphone and added the last vocal part, her soothing alto chiming, “So lost and disillusioned. So lost and disillusioned. Are we alone? Do you feel it? So lost and disillusioned.”
The music faded out as the three sang the last chorus together, their voices mixing with the shouts and applause of their friends. Even Zoro let out an enthusiastic holler, the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Luffy was breathing heavily, his face flushed and sweaty, though it was barely discernible beneath the massive smile he wore on his face.
This. If he could do this for the rest of his life, he would be the happiest man alive.
“Zoro!” Usopp shouted over the chatter from Nami and Vivi, “More cowbell!”
To appease the curly haired teen, the drummer shot him an arrogant smirk and rapped on the triangular black bell with his drumstick, making an amusing thonk! ring throughout the room.
“THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” They heard Franky cry from the other side of the wall, accompanied by what sounded like a wrench being slammed against the drywall, “KEEP ‘EM COMING, KIDS!”
Not wanting to keep their landlord and local mechanic waiting, they ran through a handful of songs before deciding to take a break.
Considering they hadn’t practiced for two weeks, they sounded awfully in sync with each other. It was as if they had brought their A-Game to rehearsal, and faced minor hiccups while they ran through their set list for their upcoming show with Cherry Bomb and Victoria Punk that Saturday. They had to restart a couple of songs when Zoro had flung a drumstick at Sanji’s head after the blond had insisted that the drummer had counted them in way too fast, and when Luffy had accidentally swung his microphone too aggressively, sending the expensive piece of tech careening into Zoro’s kick drum. Usopp, who had been The Straw Hat’s sound engineer for the last two years had yelped in protest, and immediately stopped their song to check on the state of the microphone. Thankfully, no mics had been harmed in the process.
Hurdling the tattered couch and tearing open the mini fridge, Sanji tossed a water bottle to every member of the band. As an aspiring chef, he had been taught the importance of food and clean water for the human body. He always looked out for the wellbeing of his friends, and made sure that no one ever got dehydrated in the middle of a show.
Cracking open the bottle and taking a sip, Robin sunk onto the couch next to Nami and Vivi, who were eagerly discussing the upcoming Halloween dance at Grand Line Institute. Zoro plopped himself down on the floor, sitting cross legged and placing his water on top of his initials that had been carved into the wood. Usopp and Chopper returned to their seats at the table, and Sanji perched himself on the back of the couch.
Luffy flopped down onto the floor, on the other side of the coffee table from Zoro. The rough carpet was scratchy against his bare calves, but he didn’t mind. He quite liked sitting on the floor, and this seat allowed him the perfect view of every single one of his friends. He would never get sick of looking at them.
“So, we were thinking black and orange streamers – ” Vivi started.
“Naturally,” Nami cut her off, flicking her hand as if to accent just how obvious the statement was.
“Right, and fake cobwebs and spiders on the walls,” The blue haired girl continued, unfazed by her friend’s interruption, “We were also going to have red punch hanging in IV bags for beverages.”
“An IV bag is awfully hard to spike,” Zoro grumbled, the frown on his face a clear indication of how he felt about the lack of punch bowl.
“That’s the point, dumbass,” Nami scolded, “The dance is on a Wednesday, and putting aside the fact that this is a school event, we don’t want to be hungover the next morning.”
The green haired drummer simply shrugged in response, and everyone was fully aware that he would be bringing a multitude of flasks for himself and his friends, regardless. It was the only way Zoro would agree to go to school events, as he absolutely despised them.
He claimed dances were just a sad excuse for a bunch of lonely, horny teens to get sweaty and grind up on each other while the teachers chaperoning watched creepily. Luffy couldn’t deny that he was right, however Vivi was the Student Body President, and Nami a member of the Student Council, and the two girls would never forgive them if they didn’t participate in each and every event.
Luffy didn’t mind so much, as long as there was food.
“Will there be those tasty pumpkin cookies?” Chopper asked, his attention returning to the console he gripped in his hands. His voice jumped up an octave and he squeaked angrily, “Oh dammit, your Espeon has Magic Bounce?! Not cool!”
Usopp chuckled, “Serves you right for trying to set up Stealth Rock. You know I use my psychic fox to set up walls.” He turned his attention to the women on the couch, “But, I second that request. You know, the Pilsbury ones. They’re addicting.”
Vivi nodded, making to write a note about the cookies when Sanji spoke up, lighting his cigarette and taking a drag as he mused, “Vivi, my dear, don’t listen to them. Those cookies are garbage. I’ll personally craft an artisanal sandwich platter, bake some sweets from scratch, and bring a bag of smoked jerky for our gluttonous Captain over there.” His blue eyes glared affectionately in Luffy’s direction.
He snickered, “Thanks Sanji. Can you make sure you get the spicy ones?”
The blond’s demeanour changed immediately, morphing from kind gentleman to snarling monster immediately. “You get what I give you,” He hissed.
Luffy simply laughed harder.
“Thank you Sanji, that is very kind of you,” Nami smiled, placing a supportive hand on the man’s knee, which calmed him immediately, reducing him into a puddle of lovesick goo. His eyes practically turned into cartoon hearts.
Vivi turned to the quiet university student on the couch next to her, inquiring, “Robin, I was wondering if you had any black candles that I could borrow? I feel like that’s right up your alley.”
Robin’s eyes crinkled in the corners as she responded with an even smile, “Unfortunately, I do not possess such candles, though I can ask Perona for you. It would certainly suit her aesthetic.”
“Oh! That’s a good idea,” Vivi exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the mention of the gothic pink-haired beauty who rented the second apartment upstairs. She had graduated from Grand Line Institute the same year as Robin, and the two had stayed close post secondary school, with Perona attending New World University for Literature and even co-managing the same flower shop, Lily Carnation, as the bassist.
Whipping out her cell phone, Robin fired off a text, with a, “I’ll let you know when she gets back to me,” to the two girls next to her.
Sanji peered over her shoulder as she typed, quipping, “Tell her that Sanji hopes she is having a perfect day befitting of her beauty.”
Zoro snorted and rolled his eyes, but his expression changed to one of amusement when Robin held her phone out to him, and he read what she had actually typed. “Good one, Robin,” He chuckled in satisfaction.
Sanji blinked, “Wait, what? What did she say?!”
The drummer shook his head, “None of your business, Curly Brow.”
Robin nodded in agreement.
With a growl, the blond resorted to pouting, sucking on his cigarette as if it was his imaginary girlfriend.
Checking the time on the VCR’s display, Usopp stood from the high-top table with a smug grin, ignoring Chopper’s groan of defeat as the younger boy slammed his Nintendo DS shut. Stretching out his skinny arms, the long-nosed teen exclaimed, “Well, it’s been fun, but Wally World needs me.”
He grabbed his backpack and made for the door, turning back to acknowledge the group as Nami whined, “No, Usopp, you’re my ride. Wal-Mart’s electronics aisle will be fine without you.”
The teen shrugged, offering, “C’mon, I’ll give you a lift now. Those Nickelback CDs and B-List DVDs ain’t gonna sell themselves. Usopp the salesman extraordinaire has one hell of a pitch and a book full of barcodes for discounts.”
Nami gathered her belongings with a sigh, followed by Chopper and Vivi. Disappointment flashed across Usopp’s expression, and he protested, “Wait, hold on, I’m driving you guys too?!”
When they stared at him like it was obvious, Robin smirked, a dark expression on her face. “You wouldn’t want them to get mugged and murdered in an alley on their way home, would you, Long Nose?” She mused, a teasing glimmer in her brilliant blue eyes.
Grumbling passive-aggressively, Usopp lead the group out of the jam space. The remaining teens heard them holler a farewell to Franky, promising him that they would stay for drinks next time. Luffy wondered why Usopp would drive Nami home when she lived across the city from his workplace, though he supposed it wasn’t too surprising. Usopp was a good friend.
Robin’s phone jingled, the screen lighting up with what was most certainly Perona’s answer. Sliding into Vivi’s previous spot on the couch, Sanji leaned into the bassist’s side to read the conversation. He gasped, hurt written all over his pale features, “Sweet Robin! I am not a hopeless pervert! How could you say that?”
Zoro let out a hearty guffaw, holding up his hand for the woman to smack with her own.
“Shut it, shitty drummer,” The blond guitarist scowled, standing stiffly from his seat, “You’re lucky I have to work the dinner rush tonight, or I would beat you to a pulp right here and now.”
Zoro was unfazed, “With what? Your kitchen knives, ero-cook?”
“Jokes on you, they’re in my backpack. Another word and I’ll filet you and serve you to Luffy.”
“I bet Zoro tastes good,” Luffy piped up, licking his lips and staring at the green-haired drummer, hunger in his eyes.
Holding his arm out across the table, Zoro laughed, “Want to try?”
Luffy and Robin snickered, while Sanji slung his bag over his shoulder and grumbled, “You guys are weirdos,” adding in a far more enthusiastic tone, “Except for you, my dear Robin!”
“I’m pretty happy being a weirdo,” Robin disagreed, waving a parting gesture to the blond as he made for the door.
Luffy bounded up to give Sanji a hug, “Say hi to Zeff and the rest of the Baratie kitchen team for me! Bring me leftovers tomorrow!”
Pushing the excitable teen off his frame, the guitarist drawled, “Luffy, you know if I even so much as mention your name, our prep guys start crying. Last time you came to visit, you ate our whole fridge.” He paused before sighing in resignation, “But I’ll try to snag you some leftovers. See you guys later.” With a casual, two fingered salute held to his golden locks, the man slid out the door just as Franky was opening it.
The mechanic shouted a farewell to the lanky teen and joined Luffy, Zoro, and Robin in the jam space, 4 bottles of beer hanging between clenched fingers. He plopped down on the couch next to Robin and distributed the beverages, knocking his beer against the glass of the other bottles in a toast to the first practice in a while.
They drank 2 rounds with the brawny mechanic, who had changed out of his work clothes and was now clad in a hideous, but clean, patterned shirt, open over his muscular chest, and a pair of comfy sweat pants. They fell into their usual routine of effortless conversation with the older man, chattering about the last couple weeks at school and what they had been up to on the weekends. He entertained with the tale of a particularly irate customer who wanted to salvage a car that was beyond repair, and had been reluctant to trust the expert’s advice on the matter.
Franky was an eccentric fellow, a bit odd some would say, but Luffy loved him just as fiercely as his school friends. They had been practicing in his shop for 2 years, and if it wasn’t for Chopper, Luffy would go so far as to say that the mechanic was their biggest fan.
He hadn’t sound proofed the room specifically so he could listen to them rehearse while he worked on the cars in the garage, and was always happy to bring them beverages and hang out once the shop had closed for the night. He went to every single show and would bring some of his engineering buddies that he had met in college, but the fact that his acquaintances hung by the bar all night did not stop Franky from standing in the front row and dancing their set away. He would always strike Luffy’s favourite pose at the end of their performance, where he would slam his forearms together above his head, merging the two blue stars that were tattooed on them into one, hollering a trademark, “SUPER!”
He had become the unofficial ‘band dad’ of The Straw Hats and they loved it. He would attend Zoro’s Kendo tournaments, and let Luffy skateboard around his lot on days when they weren’t practicing. He bought Sanji his smokes, and frequently went grocery shopping with Robin just to keep her company. He was always giving Usopp spare mechanical parts for his various creative projects, helping Nami run the merch table, and building miniature Pokémon out of nuts and bolts to give to Chopper. The latter had a pretty extensive collection going. Though Vivi was not around as often as the others due to her various commitments as Student Body President, Franky made sure the fridge was stocked with at least one bottle of her favourite beverage (blue raspberry Jones soda) at all times.
Last year, he had gotten a little straw hat tattooed on the inside of his right elbow, and Luffy had been absolutely thrilled. They would never have been able to keep the band going for as long as they had without Franky, and Luffy would be eternally grateful for his unconditional love and support.
When his bottle was empty and the clock had struck 8pm, Luffy decided that he should be getting home. He hadn’t had to worry about dinner, as he rarely ate with his family at the same time, but his stomach was growling and he was eager to scour the refrigerator for scraps. If he was lucky, his brother would have left him half of whatever he had made himself.
Wishing the others a goodnight, fairly surprised that Zoro chose to stick around with Robin and Franky despite his best friend heading out, Luffy grabbed his bag and skateboard and exited the building. He popped his headphones into his ears, allowing the playlist to pick up where it left off, and began the twenty minute trip home. Feeling exceptionally giddy, still riding the high after rehearsal, he laughed into the wind as he flew down the sidewalk. He liked to smile, even if there was no one around. It was important to smile when you felt happy, and he was on cloud nine.
He felt a surge of pride swell in his chest as Zoro’s actions. They had been an inseparable duo for so long, despite the green-haired boy being two years older than the energetic teen. They had met on the playground of their elementary school when Zoro, in Grade 8, had marveled at Luffy’s wily strength as he had fended off two pathetic bullies. He had rushed over to help the Grade 6 student, yet his assistance had not been required. Luffy was scrappy, quick, and had already broken one of the bullies’ noses, and had tackled the other to the ground.
When a teacher had caught them and sent Luffy to the principal’s office, Zoro had punched the bully without the broken nose in the face, just so the other boy didn’t have to make the walk of shame alone. They had swiftly become best friends, with Zoro always listening to Luffy ramble on about a new bug he had found, and Luffy asking Zoro to teach him the basic martial arts that Zoro’s adoptive father taught at the local dojo. When their mutual interests turned to music, Luffy had picked up guitar while the older teen had turned to drums, and they had begun to mess around with their instruments in Zoro’s garage. That had been the birth of The Straw Hats.
Due to their deep bond, Zoro and Luffy were almost always together, and it was out of character for Zoro to not offer to walk home with Luffy. It didn’t upset the younger teen. If anything, he was glad Zoro was spending more time with his other friends. He wasn’t jealous. Zoro would always be his best friend, and Luffy his.
With perfect timing, his phone buzzed in his pocket just as he arrived in front of his home. Fishing the cell out of his hoodie, he checked the notification and grinned, responding swiftly.
- 8:26pm – firstmate
Home? - 8:27 – captain
Yeah.
They were just so in sync like that.
Though, he regretted responding that he had safely made it home a moment later, when he realized that his bag did not contain his house keys. He rummaged through the yellow canvas bag, pushing aside empty candy wrappers and loose, very crinkled, notes from classes, yet there was no sign of the blue carabiner with the Blink-182 key chain.
With a carefree shrug, he trotted to the side of the house, scaling up the fence with ease and landing heavily on his feet in the backyard. The overgrown grass licked at his ankles and he wondered if his grandfather would make him mow the lawn soon. He was in the middle of an experiment to see how long it could grow before Garp got annoyed. Garp liked to think he was scary when he was mad. Luffy considered that that may have been the case when he was a little kid, but now he just found his grandfather’s throbbing forehead vein thoroughly amusing. He didn’t understand why he got so angry about the simplest thing. Luffy had asked him about it once, and he had answered with something about wanting to see him grow up into a fine young man with proper work ethic, but in all honestly, the teen hadn’t really been listening.
Reaching the large maple tree next to the house, Luffy scampered up the knobbly bark of the trunk, pulling himself onto the thick branch that extended to a familiar window. Ignoring the creaking protests of the tree, he rapped a playful rhythm on the glass pane, unsurprised when it opened immediately.
A freckled face, a head of shaggy black hair that was a little longer than his own, and a curious gaze looked him over.
“Luffy. It’s only 8:30. You could have knocked, oh I don’t know, on the door?!” Ace chuckled, his tone betraying the fact that he didn’t really care if his little brother chose to climb in through his bedroom window instead.
Snickering, Luffy clumsily slid through the opening in the second story, falling face first onto the carpeted floor of his brother’s room. “Yeah, but this is more fun,” He chirped, pulling himself into a seated position in front of the large LCD TV that was playing a rerun of The Office, “Oh, good episode.”
Ace nodded, joining him on the coarse rug, “You have no idea the physical toll that three vasectomies have on a person,” He quoted along with Steve Carell’s character, causing his younger brother to chortle.
Looking at the man seated next to him, Luffy could really notice the differences between them that revealed they were not biologically related. When they were younger, everyone assumed that Ace was kidding when he said he was adopted, but as he got older, it started to show. Despite similar hair colour, Ace’s skin was more tan, as if it was permanently kissed by the sun, and covered in thousands of brown spots. His eyes were hooded, opposed to Luffy’s bright, round orbs, and his build was naturally more broad and muscular than the younger boy’s slim frame.
That being said, they still looked enough alike that Luffy was often able to get away with using his old ID.
“How was practice?” Ace asked, his gaze still fixed on the television.
“Great! You coming to the show on Saturday?” He answered, his voice barely holding back his excitement for the upcoming gig.
His brother shook his head, “Sorry, buddy. I promised Sabo I’d go visit him on campus for some sort of barhopping night.”
Ace was in his second year of a Fire Sciences program at Red Line College, though he chose to live at home in order to save up some money, unlike their other adopted brother Sabo. The latter was attending New World University for Political Science, and lived in residence. Despite complaining about the campus food of horrendous quality constantly, he insisted he enjoyed the freedom and independence of living away from home. Ace went to visit him fairly often, but Luffy had only gone once or twice. He missed Sabo. He made a mental note to accompany Robin to school one day to visit him.
“No biggie, dude,” Luffy shrugged, a wide grin across his face, “You’ll have to drag him out to the next one, though!”
Ace clapped a big hand onto his brother’s shoulder, “You got it. It’s been too long since Sabo and I have been to a gig. Remember last time?”
“When you two beat up eight giant bikers?”
“Well, no one makes fun of our little brother’s band and gets away with it,” He laughed, moving his hand to pat the top of Luffy’s yellow baseball cap.
“Zoro was impressed. He didn’t realize how strong you had gotten since starting your course.”
“Ah, yes, these babies,” He flexed his biceps, planting a kiss on one of them, “Are necessary for fighting fires, you know.”
There was the sound of feet stomping up the stairs and a distant shout of, “ACE! WHERE’S MY GOOD-FOR-NOTHING GRANDSON?!”
Luffy giggled and spoke in a whisper, “Don’t tell him I’m here.”
The young man chuckled, “Want the leftovers I saved for you while I’m at it?”
Luffy’s eyes shone with pure adoration. His face was flushed with an excited blush, and he was sure that if he were in an anime, he would be sparkling in front of a bubbly pink background.
Ace shook his head cheerfully and exited the room to go tell Garp that Luffy was at band practice.
Luffy’s cheeks hurt from smiling. It had been such a good day.
He hoped his life would never change.