Chapter Text
8:00 AM: Tokyo Station
16-year-old Nami alternated her head between sides as she anxiously waited for her cab. She had just gotten off the long train ride from her home in Okinawa and now only had an hour left before she reached her new school. And not just any school… it was a boarding school! In fact, her favorite TV shows revolved around the characters attending boarding schools. And from what she saw, things looked more fun there compared to boring, non-boarding schools.
Even better, the school she was going to was in Tokyo! Hundreds of miles away from where she lived. She was so happy that she was given the opportunity to explore what the rest of Japan had to offer.
She skimmed through the pamphlet of Grand City Boarding School and had stars in her eyes. The dorms looked like real houses, which worked better for her. She hated the fact that she rarely got any privacy back home. But the dorms at Grand were two-story buildings that came with a few bedrooms and bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, and even an attic!
Nami tried hard not to gush as she continued reading the school pamphlet. The excitement she had for attending Grand suddenly deflated as she read the next part of the pamphlet.
She groaned as she read the part on the pamphlet that mentioned 8 students would reside in the dorm. Even worse, it would be shared amongst both guys and girls. So logically, 4 boys and 3 girls, Nami excluded.
She sighed, making a bad impression was the one thing she was critical on avoiding. She had jumped for joy when her mom had told her that she had gotten accepted to the Tokyo boarding school, even more when she found out it was on a full-ride scholarship! As the days until it was time to move got closer, she was grateful that she could put the crap that happened at her old school behind in a dumpster far off into the Bermuda Triangle.
But Nami wasn’t going to let that bring her down. She remained optimistic and was determined that things would turn out great at her new school. She wasn’t doing this just for her, but for her mom Bellemere and her sister Nojiko. Although she wasn’t related to them by blood, they were the closest thing Nami had for a family. Both have been there for Nami ever since Bellemere had adopted her.
Her thoughts stopped as she saw a black taxicab pull up in front of her. She grinned as she knew it was her ride.
The driver, an old but kind-looking man, stepped out of the cab, “Ms. Nami?”
“Yes, right here!”
The man nodded, “Nice to meet you. The name is Brook.” He walked towards her and picked up her luggage. He then placed it in the trunk and clapped, “Perfect. Off we go.”
Brook opened the passenger door for Nami, “Jump in.”
Nami nodded and entered the backseat.
8:45 AM
As the cab made its way towards her new school, Nami was making small talk with Brook.
“I’m so happy, yet at the same time nervous. I haven’t ever stepped foot inside an actual boarding school. I’ve only seen them on TV. I feel like a movie star!”
Brook laughed wholeheartedly. A second later, Nami’s phone vibrated. She pulled it out and saw a text message from her mom.
“Is that your mom checking up on you?” He asked.
“It is.” She sadly sighed. She saw in the front mirror that the driver’s eyes were sympathetic, so he might have misunderstood.
Nami clarified, “I just have never been so far from home before. It feels so weird.”
“Are you getting nervous? Should I turn the cab around?”
“Oh no of course not! We’re already almost there. It’d be pointless. I’m so excited, though I do admit I’m a little scared. The last time I felt like this, I ended up throwing up in front of the entire class.” She covered her face from embarrassment as that memory replayed itself in her head.
The old man laughed, “You’ve got that right. Cheer up kid, you’ll be alright. I’ve had my own share of not-so-great playground memories back when I was a young lad. But as I always say, Yohoho!” The way he said that earned a light giggle from Nami.
After about five minutes, Brook arrived and announced, “Okay Ms. Nami, welcome to Grand City.”
Nami looked through the front window and saw a couple of huge towers lined up behind the trees. There was a clock with Roman numerals on the top of the tower, which Nami assumed housed the classrooms. She looked out her window and saw students hanging around the school, mingling as they waited for classes to begin.
“Woah…” She commented in awe like a small child.
“Impressed? That’s only the school entrance. Which building are you assigned to?”
“Hmm..” Nami skimmed through the paperwork, trying to find the name of her residence, “Ah, got it! It says here I am supposed to be in the Anubis house.”
Brook gave her a thumbs-up through the front mirror, continuing his way into the campus.
8:55 AM
In the front quad, two girls, one black-haired and another orange-haired, clad in their grey and red school uniforms were making their way across. They were in the middle of a photoshoot session with the orange haired girl acting as the photographer and the black-haired girl was the model.
The black-haired girl was cautious with every step she took as she was walking backwards.
“Move back more Robin! I’m trying to get a good shot of you.”
Robin whined, “But you’ve snapped that camera so many times. I can’t even keep up. Do you even have storage left on your phone, Koala?”
Koala chuckled, “That’s my problem, not yours. Just a few more shots I promise! Keep moving!”
Robin sighed and obeyed her friend’s order. As she kept walking backwards, she missed seeing a sneaky smirk shine brightly on Koala’s face.
Before she knew it, Robin had felt somebody’s leg instead of the usual grass. With no time to reverse, she lost her balance and screamed before falling on the grass. Koala chuckled and immediately snapped a picture.
At hearing a male voice groan, Robin turned to see who she had fallen near.
She looked away in shame as she realized she had fallen near her green-haired housemate, who had a book lying next to him.
Zoro picked himself up and patted his clothes before scowling at Robin, “Jeez. You need to watch where you’re going. Be more careful.”
As Robin quietly apologized, Koala flipped her phone so they could see the photo she took.
She cheekily grinned, “Now that’s going on my social media page.”
“Don’t you dare post that!” Zoro yelled.
Koala moved her fingers across her phone before showing Zoro the now posted photo, “Oops. Too late.”
Zoro growled at her, and Koala stuck her tongue out at him in response.
Robin laughed at her friends’ antics before glancing at the book that Zoro was reading. She picked it up to take a closer look. Upon reading the title, she was fascinated.
She smiled at Zoro, “The Art of Swordsmanship? Ah. A bit of light reading?”
He lightly blushed, “Y-yeah. It’s honestly a good read.”
“It happens to be on my list. Maybe I can read it once you’re done?”
The blush remained on Zoro's face, “Um…yeah, sure thing.”
“Looking forward to it.” Robin sent Zoro another smile.
Just then, the school bells began ringing, signaling that classes were about to start. Koala helped the two up and all of them began their way inside the building just as a black cab drove past them.
“Alright Ms. Nami. We are here. I’ll take your luggage to the front of the dorm.” Brook exited the car and moved towards the trunk to pick up her things.
Nami got out of the car and soaked in the sound of the school bells ringing. This was her life now. She couldn’t believe she was now a student of one of the most elite and prestigious boarding schools in the country.
“Hogwarts who am I right?” She laughed. She was a little confused when she didn’t hear Brook respond. Nami turned and saw the old man heading off somewhere with her luggage. He then made a quick right, disappearing from her eyesight.
“Hey! Wait up please!” Nami began running in the direction Brook went off.
She didn’t realize that she was running across the main entrance of the school until she bumped roughly into a student.
She glanced at the student for a millisecond and let out a quick “Sorry!” before running off.
Koala rubbed her shoulder and turned to her friends, “Who’s the new girl?” This earned shrugs from Robin and Zoro. Koala muttered a “Weird..” and rolled her eyes at the girl’s clumsiness before continuing her way in the building.
While Robin followed Koala, Zoro had stayed behind. He simply stared in the direction the girl fled with a frown on his face. There was something about her that just didn’t sit right with him. If it had been another student, Zoro would’ve just shrugged it off and moved on. But something in his head was telling him that he had to keep a close eye on her. But he was trying to figure out why the hell his head was giving him that message in the first place? Did he really have to? For a girl he doubted he was ever going to see again?
“Zoro hurry up!” Koala yelled impatiently.
Zoro looked to see both girls looking at him concernedly. He sighed and quickly shook his head to clear his mind before catching up to them.
Nami caught sight of Brook and thanked the heavens. Upon reaching him, she caught her breath before pulling out some yen as a tip for the old man.
“Thank you very much.”
“Of course. Have a nice day!” The old man accepted the tip and left happily.
Once Brook got into the cab and drove off, Nami turned to see the outside of the dorm she would be living in for the rest of her high school years. She allowed herself to gush out in the open now that she was alone. This was way better than the boarding school rooms she had seen on TV!
A small banner hung high near the front roof that read Anubis. Nami recalled that Anubis was the Egyptian god of the dead, who had a doglike head with a man’s body. He was the one who guided souls to the underworld after death. Why was the house named after Anubis though? Was it cursed or something?
Hmm. Nah.
Nami just thought of it as a coincidence. She walked up to the double doors and reached for the handle. To her shock, the door had opened by itself.
She rose her eyebrows. What the- How did that happen? Now that kind of spooked her out. Could the doors automatically have sensed her trying to come in? No way, it had to have been another coincidence. She gave the benefit of a doubt a second time and peered inside.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
Nami looked up to see the colorfully lit main foyer, noticing the walls decorated with magnificent artwork that captured life during the Edo and Meiji period, both historical in their own ways. Nami had a smile on her face as she stared around.
The aggressive slam of the door behind her caused her to stiffen in fear. She quickly peered behind to see if somebody was there. When she saw no one, she turned around and found herself locking eyes with an older man who sported a long and curved mustache, dressed in a long baggy coat with a terrifying look on his face.
“Hm, was the doorbell not working?” When he didn’t receive a reply, he rose his voice, “Well?!”
Nami smiled nervously. “Oh well um, the door opened by itself so I just--"
He interrupted, “So you thought you could just walk straight in?”
“Well….yes.” She laughed, thinking he was making a joke. When she noticed him still wearing an emotionless look, she thought it would be best to move on and start with greetings.
“My apologies sir. My name is Nami.” She brought her hand forward to exchange a handshake with the man, but he ignored it. Instead, he pulled a pocket watch out from underneath his baggy coat and scoffed.
“You’re also late. Two weeks late might I add.”
“I know. I’m sorry. We had just found out that I had gotten the scholarship and so--”
“I am not interested in knowing why you’re late.”
Are you serious?! This was the second time he had cut her off! She was doing her best to not let her bad thoughts out and cuss him out. Seriously, what was up with him? Did he not realize he worked at a school? You know, where kids attended? Kids who looked up to the adults? God, not even the rich kids at her old school acted as cruel as this old fart.
What a great example for the future generation.
“Roger, for your sake I hope you are giving our new guest a warm welcome!”
Nami and the now-identified Roger looked up to see a woman with a mix of pink and blonde hair in a casual blue blouse and pants make her way down the second floor. Nami sighed in relief, mentally thanking the newcomer for saving her. She didn’t know what would come out of her mouth had the lady not shown up.
At least there was one respectful adult who worked at this school.
The woman reached the bottom and gave Nami a small hug. She introduced herself with a motherly smile, “Hello dear. My name is Portgas D. Rouge, your dorm mother, and this manchild right here is Gol D. Roger, your groundskeeper. I hope he hasn’t been giving you much trouble.”
Rouge lightly chuckled when she saw Roger roll his eyes. Nami was about to laugh madly, but when she saw Roger turn to glare at her, she covered her mouth to stop it.
Roger dropped his glare and began his lecture that he would give all the newcomers to Anubis, “As you are aware, this dorm is named after the Egyptian god Anubis. It was built during the late Edo Period but was modernized after the occupation of Japan. The builders were inspired by--” Now it was Roger’s turn to be cut off.
“Oh stop boring her Roger. Enough with your lectures. Girls her age only care about boys.” Rouge winked at Nami, “Have you seen any boys that are your type here yet?”
Nami shook her head no. Great, a grown adult who tries to involve herself in our personal lives.
“That’s alright love. It’s only your first day here. I’m sure you’ll find your Prince Charming soon. Now, let me show you around.” Rouge took the lead and motioned for Nami to follow. Nami did so without hesitation. Anything to get away from the creepy groundskeeper.
“In here is the living room.”
Nami looked around to see the living room decorated with pictures of old Tokyo city life, two big couches, a small TV placed on top of two brown drawers, a fireplace with vases lined up above it, and colorful red curtains hanging from the numerous windows in the home.
“Wow, it’s so beautiful. I bet the people who lived here before made great memories!”
Rouge then pointed to the right, “And over here is the kitchen where I serve meals. When I’m not here, Sanji usually takes over. You’ll love his cooking.”
“Ah, okay.” Nami said, having no idea who this Sanji person was.
She observed the kitchen, which looked very ordinary with a big table surrounded by 8 chairs, and a bowl of fruits and vegetables at the center that looked hardly touched. Nothing real special.
Her eyes then caught a portrait of an older man and woman on the east side of the kitchen. She walked closer so she could observe it. They were dressed in traditional clothing from the 1500s.
Nami was impressed, Wow. So this is what life was like during the Sengoku Period. The scenery was painted pitch black so nothing else could be viewed from behind. Maybe the painter meant for it to represent the trouble that occurred during the era.
She then noticed a small eye that was rotated. It kind of threw her off. She tilted her head to see if she could make out the symbol. Her eyes widened as she realized that it resembled the eye of Horus. The main idea of the eye was that it was meant to protect one from harm. Nami found that intriguing. She idly wondered about who the painter was so she could ask them why they had included it the painting.
Roger noticed Nami staring at the art piece and walked up to her, “Those two are the original inhabitants of this house. Not much is known about them.” Roger briefly paused, “except that they died. In a very tragic accident.” He said without emotion.
Rouge nervously smiled, “Alright that’s enough of that Roger. Now Nami, are you ready to see your quarters?”
Roger’s eyes suddenly widened, which made Nami smirk. That was the first time she had ever seen fear or honestly any type of emotion on the creepy guy’s face. It was kind of funny.
“Her room is ready?!”
“Yes, everything has been cleared.”
“Very well. Please follow me, Miss Nami.”
As Nami followed Roger behind, she was distracted when she passed by another picture hanging on the wall. This picture looked to be taken recently, showing a group of 8 teenagers, posing happily dressed in their school uniforms. From left to right, she saw a girl with pigtails, a blonde guy with hearts in his eyes, a guy with green hair, a girl with long black hair, an incredibly short guy who could not be older than a first year, a guy with a big nose, a girl with glasses, and a girl with short orange hair. Nami swore that the girl on the right could have been a long-lost family member.
“Who are they?”
Rouge answered, “Well, starting on your left that’s---” She was interrupted when Roger quickly returned and took the photo off the wall.
“Any minute now.” Roger said hastily before walking away, carrying the frame.
Nami frowned, which was noticed by Rouge. She was likely sad that she didn’t get the chance to learn who her new roommates were. She reassuringly spoke to the girl, “Oh don’t let him get to you. You are lucky. You are living in one of the nicest houses on campus.”
Nicest house on campus be damned. Not worth it when our groundskeeper is an asshole.
Nami kept her thoughts to herself and instead nodded at her dorm mother’s comforting words. She followed Rouge’s motion to lead the way and begin the route to her room.
As the three began their journey up the stairs, Mr. Roger began covering the ground rules, “Girls will sleep upstairs, boys sleep downstairs. The front doors lock precisely at 9 PM, and lights are to be out at 10 PM. Except for non-school nights with curfew being midnight.”
He reached the top step and pointed to a door at the end of the hallway, “That room is where I work. Not necessary to say that it is off limits.” Roger immediately disappeared to his office before Nami could ask a question.
Once Nami reached the top step, she saw a great number of closed doors. So? What kind of things laid behind the extra number of doors? Or did that mean everyone got their own rooms? She grinned happily. She didn’t mind that one bit!
But she wanted to check on the rest of the top floor first before she got to see her room. She walked down the corridor to see a door at the end of the hallway that was socially distanced from the rest.
Nami asked, “What’s in there?”
“Oh, that’s our attic.” Rouge answered.
Roger suddenly appeared once again, startling Nami “Going straight into the attic or down into the cellar is also off limits. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir.”
“Now then, onto your quarters. This way.”
Roger led Nami into a room not too far from the attic. Upon reaching her room, Nami saw one half of the room already had a bed set up that was decorated with posters, stickers, as well as some sword drawings hanging on the side.
Meanwhile, her side of the room was empty, as if it had been cleaned just this morning. The only things present on her side were an empty bed frame and a nightstand.
And another thing: a picture of an orange-haired girl and black-haired girl that looked very familiar to Nami.
She widened her eyes as she realized two things. Not only were they the same girls from the picture on the wall, Nami also realized that when she was chasing her taxi driver, the girl with the orange hair was the same one she had bumped hardly into! And the girl with the black hair had been next to her, as well as a boy but she couldn’t recall what he looked like.
She cringed. There was a chance that her roommate was the same girl. No doubt she would instantly recognize her and hold a grudge.
Nami pointed to the picture, feigning cluelessness, “Oh who are these?”
“Oh, that’s Robin’s and that’s---” Rouge was cut off again.
“Robin has left.” Roger bluntly said. He then took the picture and broke it in half before throwing it in the trash can. Nami cursed as she realized orange-head would be her roommate.
“Rather suddenly too.” Rogue murmured, which caught Roger’s ears. He turned to glare daggers at Rouge.
“Stop it.” He said coldly, not wanting Nami to hear and get suspicious. Luckily, the young girl was too busy looking around the room.
“Alright Nami, I shall take my leave and allow you to unpack.” Roger didn’t bother waiting for Nami to respond. He simply turned around and disappeared.
Rouge sighed, “I must go too. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything, Nami.”
“Thank you again, Mrs. Rouge.”
“Of course, dear. Have a nice day.” The dorm mother turned around and shut the door from behind.
Nami sat down on the floor as she stared at what would be her shared room. Although she was upset that she would have to share a room with a potential enemy, she decided to push that off and focus on the bigger picture.
She was starting a new chapter in her life by going to an all-new school with all new classmates. Not just that! It was one of the best rated schools in all of Japan. This was a dream come true!
Nami suddenly remembered that she promised to call her mom and sister once she got to her new school. She had planned to unpack and get her room ready before her first day of classes tomorrow but figured that could wait. She knew Nojiko and her mom were waiting patiently for her to update them on everything so far, and she couldn’t have her family wait up on her.
With a happy grin, she pulled out her phone and dialed Nojiko's phone number.