Chapter Text
Law gazes out of the car window, feeling nervous about the impending entry into his new school in an unfamiliar city. He hadn't set foot in a school for years; much of his life had unfolded in a hospital bed, and now everything was about to change.
"Nervous?" his father asks. "You know it's not mandatory to go on the first day, right? They usually don't do much on the first day."
"I'm fine, Cora," Law lies, concealing his nerves not to worry Cora.
"Yeah, whatever you say," his father replies skeptically, eyeing him carefully. "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself, okay, Law?"
"Fine," Law replies, offering a small smile to Cora.
"Anyway, if you feel sick or tired, go to the nurse or come back home," his uncle Doffy warns seriously.
The tension in the air lingers as Law nods, assimilating his uncle's words. The uncertainty of the new beginning blends with the promise of care and support from his family.
Cora parks in front of the school and looks at Law. "Are you ready? This is a second chance, remember? A fresh start."
Law nods. "Yeah, I know," he says as he opens the car door. "I'll be fine."
"And remember, after school, you have a medical checkup," Uncle Doffy adds. Law frowns at that.
"Yeah, I know," he responds, his face still expressing displeasure. "See you later," he adds as he steps out of the car.
"And one last thing, Law," Cora says, and Law looks at him. "I love you," he expresses with a smile on his face. Law returns the smile.
"And I love you too," he says as he closes the car door. "You too, Uncle Doffy," he adds, watching a small smile appear on his uncle's normally expressionless face.
"See you, brat," his uncle bids him affectionately as Law walks away.
Law says his goodbyes and walks towards the school entrance. He pauses for a moment, looking at the door, reflecting on the words his uncle Doffy said when Law told him he wanted to go back to school. Maybe he was right; maybe he wasn't ready to go back. Would it really matter if he changed his mind? After all, Doffy was the one who tried to persuade him to take homeschooling and even offered to stay with him.
Law thinks about it before opening the school door. He walks down the hallway, looking around for his locker. It's been a long time since he entered a school, and everything feels different. Finally, he finds his locker, checks his schedule, and takes out the necessary books.
As he heads to his classroom, there are still twenty minutes before classes start, but Cora had asked him to arrive early. Law told her he could walk alone, but Cora insisted, and he was never good at denying her things. So he's in the classroom twenty minutes before class begins. Law decides to take a seat at the back near the window and looks out of it.
He begins to question if he really should be here. First of all, he literally shouldn't be here; he should have died months ago.
"HI." Law jumps in his seat from the scare. A loud voice pulls him out of his thoughts. He looks at the guy who just interrupted his moment of reflection: a guy with a scar under his left eye and a strangely placed straw hat.
"Hey, never seen you around here. Are you new?"
"Yes," Law replies dryly. He's not a very social person, and it's not his fault. He never had the chance to interact with people his age.
The guy looks at him for a moment and then smiles. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and you?"
"I'm Law," he says dryly. He's not used to talking to other people, and he's not sure if he likes it.
Luffy sits next to him, and his smile widens. "Can I ask you a question?" Law hesitates for a second but nods. "Are you emo?"
Law looks at Luffy as if his comment offended him, and Luffy starts laughing at his expression. "What? Of course not. Why would you ask that?"
"Well, it's just that you're dressed all in black and wear eyeliner," Luffy says while running his fingers over his eyes.
Law feels uncomfortable with Luffy's observation about his appearance. Although he doesn't like the idea of being labeled, he understands that his choice of clothes and makeup can give that impression. Class begins, and Law decides to focus on it.
《♡》
When Law left the classroom and headed down the hallway in search of the nurse's office to take his medication, he realized he was incredibly lost. He tried to quicken his pace upon hearing Luffy's insistent calls, but soon found it futile. Turning the corner, attempting to blend in with the crowd of students, Luffy pursued him with boundless energy.
"Wait, Law!" exclaimed Luffy, catching up with his friend with an excited smile. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I'm busy," Law said, continuing to walk and ignoring the other guy.
"Really? What are you busy with?" Luffy asked as he caught up, now shoulder to shoulder with Law.
"I need to go somewhere."
"To where? I can take you!" Law sighed at Luffy's words. He really didn't want Luffy to accompany him, but he was lost, and he needed to take his medication soon.
"Fine. Can you take me to the nurse's office?"
"Sure!"
As they started walking in the opposite direction of where Law was originally headed, he realized just how lost he was.
《♡》
The nurse's office was nothing out of the ordinary. It had basic medical equipment, posters on the walls discussing health care, and two beds, one of which was occupied by a red-haired guy with bruises, scratches, and an annoyed expression.
The nurse was attending to the guy. Law headed to one of the chairs in the room to wait for the nurse to finish with the guy, or so he had planned until Luffy spoke, or rather shouted...
"Doctor Kureha, I brought someone!" The doctor turned around and looked at them, raising an eyebrow.
"Neither of you seems injured," said the eccentric-looking doctor.
"I came for my medication," Law said timidly.
The doctor looked at him with confusion for a moment, but then her face changed to surprise. "Oh, you must be Law. If I have your medication, wait here for a moment, and you, out," the doctor said, pointing at Luffy.
"What? Why?" The doctor frowned at that.
"Because the last time you were here unsupervised, you almost set the nurse's office on fire," said Doctor Kureha as if the reason for wanting Luffy out was obvious.
"It was one time, and I apologized," Luffy said, pouting.
"The fire incident was one time. Every time you cause trouble here, I want you out!" The doctor said surprisingly. Luffy turned around ready to leave through the door, but before doing so, he turned back and stuck his tongue out at the doctor. The doctor sighed and then looked at Law.
"Wait here for me," the doctor said as she disappeared behind the other door in the room, which Law assumed led to a storage room.
Law stood there not knowing what to do. His gaze wandered around until it stopped at the guy lying on one of the beds. The guy looked at him with a bored expression, making him feel uncomfortable. Law shifted nervously in his seat, trying to avoid the guy's piercing gaze.
"I've never seen you before."
"I'm new in town," Law said as if that explained everything. Instead, the guy looked at him as if it were obvious. Law was genuinely nervous; he rarely interacted with people who weren't doctors, and he didn't really know how to carry on a conversation. "And you, have you been living here for long?"
"Quite a while. Too long, I'd say," the guy said irritably. "Born, raised, and will die in this place."
"That's not a pleasant thought."
"I know, but honestly, I don't care," the guy said with a bored face. "And tell me, what are you doing here? Why did you move to this crappy town?"
"It's none of your business."
Law knew he got defensive very quickly, but he didn't like talking about the subject. The reason Law had moved was to have a second chance in life. He used to live in a small town where rumors spread quickly. When his parents and sister died in a fire, everyone looked at him with pity. When they told Law he was sick, everyone found out, and no one really wanted to be near him, thinking his illness was contagious. And then, when he defied death, everyone in the town treated him as if he were made of glass.
"I was just asking; you didn't have to get like that," the guy said clearly annoyed.
"Yeah, you're right, sorry," Law said embarrassed. The guy just rolled his eyes and sighed. The guy was about to speak again, but the doctor came back with pills that Law recognized as his medicine and a glass of water.
"Here, take your medicine." Law took a pill and the glass of water.
"Thank you very much," he said as he took the pills.
"Well, I guess with that, you can go. Enjoy your first day of classes, Law, and you," the doctor said, pointing at the red-haired guy, "stay here, I'll go get some bandages," the doctor said as she entered the storage room again. Law turned to leave until he heard the redhead.
"Your name is Law?" The guy said, bored. Law nodded. "Good to know, mine's Kid."
Law opened his eyes wide, he moved his gaze away from Law, turning to look out the window. "Yeah, whatever, see you around, I guess," he said as he kept looking out the window.
"Yeah, see you," Law said as he left the nurse's office with a small smile on his face.
Maybe being here isn't so bad, he thought.