Chapter Text
Zoro decided to use his free period to take a nap. Technically he was not allowed to leave school grounds, but the small pasture surrounded by trees right behind the building was calling for him. Surely no one would notice him slipping away and resting his eyes a little.
To his surprise, there was already someone else sitting in the shade of the trees. The boy had blond, shiny hair and pale skin. The only thing disrupting his rather slim, delicate face, was a pair of curly eyebrows. Well… at least Zoro assumed both of the boy’s eyebrows were shaped so oddly, but he couldn’t tell for sure, as half of his face was hidden by his hair.
Zoro didn’t love the idea of someone taking his favorite spot, but he simply shrugged and walked over to a different tree.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you.”
“Huh?” Zoro turned back around to the boy, who was now staring at him with a rather startling blue eye.
“That’s poison ivy,” the boy explained, pointing to the leaves growing under the tree Zoro had picked.
“Okay? So?”
“Are you stupid or something?”, the guy grumbled. “Even if you have even less knowledge about plants than a toddler, shouldn’t the word poison mean anything to you? Or is that word too big for your tiny vocabulary?”
“What the fuck, dude?”, Zoro asked, stepping closer to the boy and glaring down at him. “Stop being a jerk! Also, you are in my spot, so you should be glad I am not kicking your ass right now.”
“As if you could. And I don’t see your name on it!”
“It’s right there! And I could wipe the floor with a weakling like you!”
Oh. He had not meant to say that. Weakling? That- That was something Sensei would call him, right before throwing him back down into the basement. Zoro wanted to take it back, but the boy seemed distracted by inspecting the letters Zoro had carved into the tree a few weeks ago, marking his spot.
“Ah, Luffy mentioned you. You are even dumber than I thought.”
Fucking asshole. Still, Zoro had never seen this kid before, and if he had talked to Luffy, that meant…
“You are the cook,” he sighed, letting himself fall down next to the boy.
He should have guessed it. The captain had not told them much, only that Sanji would start at Grand Line soon and that Luffy had found him in a forest. Apparently, the cook loved being outside, because he ‘needed to be free’, whatever that was supposed to mean.
“I am a cook,” Sanji corrected. “I don’t play along with your little pirate game.”
“Oh, so Luffy is not your captain?”, Zoro challenged.
“Watch it, mosshead.”
Huh…? Zoro had not heard that one before. Usually, people told him he looked like mold when they wanted to make fun of him.
His gaze wandered over the green pasture and old trees covered in moss. No wonder Sanji had picked this spot if he liked being outside.
Wait… Moss?
“Oh!”, Zoro grinned. “You like my hair?”
“What?!”
“It’s okay if you like the way I look!”, Zoro grinned at Sanji, who was suddenly getting very pale. “I like the way you look too. You are pretty.”
Well. Sanji clearly wasn’t a weakling, judging by the punch he landed directly on Zoro’s eye.
……
“Dracule.”
“Mr. Dracule, this is Grand Line Academy calling. There has been an altercation, involving your son.”
Mihawk jumped out of his office chair, frantically looking for his keys. “An altercation? Has he gotten injured?”
“Roronoa Zoro got into a physical fight with another student. Our nurse has assessed him and further medical attention does not seem necessary.”
“Further medical attention?”, Mihawk repeated. “So he was injured?”
“A few bruises and a split lip, but no signs of concussion.”
“I see. I will be there as soon as possible,” he said, rushing out of his office and giving Paul a vague hand gesture, trusting his assistant to handle the dojo while he was gone.
……
Dammit! Why today? Why the one day both Ray and Shakky were not at school? Now Zoro had to convince a stranger that he hadn’t started this stupid fight.
The teacher who had pulled them apart marched Zoro and Sanji to the office. At least she had taken them to the nurse first, so Zoro was now pressing an ice pack to his swollen eye. Was it wrong of him to secretly enjoy the fact that the stupid cook was forced to switch between holding the ice pack to his bloody nose and split lip? Maybe, but Zoro did not give a shit right now.
“We will have to inform your parents,” the teacher had said. Perhaps Mihawk had given him permission to defend himself, but Zoro had definitely taken it further than necessary. His instincts had told him that Sanji would not hit him a second time, but something about this boy just made his blood boil.
Mihawk would be so disappointed in him… Had this happened a few weeks ago, maybe this wouldn’t hurt so much, but now that the man had actually allowed Zoro to be his son… He felt so dirty for betraying his trust.
“So, care to explain what the hell you two were thinking?”, the teacher asked.
Sanji uncomfortably shifted in his chair, but kept his mouth shut. Arrogant prick. The least he could do was admit it!
“It wasn’t my fault!”, Zoro said loudly. “I just-”
Suddenly the door flew open.
“Hey, you can’t just walk in here!”, the teacher scolded, but that didn’t stop Luffy. He calmly walked over to Sanji, and- What the fuck?! With wide eyes, Zoro watched his captain take off his straw hat, before firmly placing it on Sanji’s head, his eyes locked with Zoro’s. Without saying a word he walked away, leaving both Sanji and the teacher staring at him in confusion. Zoro, however, did not have a single doubt in his mind.
“I punched him,” he said clearly, his voice not wavering the slightest bit.
“Are… Are you admitting you started the fight?”, the teacher asked, only slowly recovering from the confusion.
“Well,” Zoro smirked. “That shitty cook was in my spot.”