The Instrument

Chapter 1

Yo, I don't have much to say about this other than I have a 2nd part planned out with some Dad!Sabo, so keep tuned for that :3 Enjoy!

Beta'd by LeafyxThiefy

"Luffy, you need to pay more attention in class," Law started, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"You're a bright student, I know you are. If you wouldn't let yourself get so distracted in class and actually tried to focus a little more, you could easily be on the honor roll list," Law said appeasingly, trying to get the boy to understand.

Really, Luffy was a smart kid, if a little goofy at times- nothing Law hasn't dealt with before. There was something different about Luffy though, he had this charismatic aura to him that drew in every single person around him, Law included. Something about Luffy made people want to trust him and follow him in whatever crazy antics he got into. Law had made the mistake of trusting Luffy not to abuse that power, a trust that had clearly been misplaced. Law didn't know how, but somehow Luffy had managed to convince everybody in the class to contribute to his Leaning Tower of iPhones in the middle of a lecture, and what was baffling to Law was that nobody had even been angry with Luffy when the unstable tower finally tipped. It was the opposite actually; it had taken Law a full ten minutes to calm the class down from their laughing fit when it toppled. Which leads to the reason as to why Luffy was currently standing in front Law's desk after class for a talk.

Law honestly liked the kid; Luffy always managed to brighten his day even when Law didn't realize he was feeling down to begin with, and he always had something interesting to say, even if it was completely irrelevant to the lesson they were learning. Something else that was unique about the teen was that Luffy honestly cared about the wellbeing of the people around him, which was more than Law could say about his other students. So if Law sort of happened to accidentally overlook a few incorrectly answered questions on an important test, coincidentally bumping the student's score up a letter grade, it was completely unintentional and it certainly wasn't a thank you of sorts, Law promises.

"Mmhmm. Hey, what's that?" Luffy hummed noncommittally, pointing to a cello sitting in the corner of the room behind the desk.

Oh yeah, I need to go get that fixed, Law made a mental note to himself. The instrument had broken the other day during orchestra class and the school didn't have much to offer in terms of replacements, so Law had had to bring in his own personal cello for the student to play while this one was getting fixed.

"It's called a cello," Law told him, leaning back in his chair resignedly. He'd known nothing significant would come out of this talk when he'd called the student over, but Law needed to feel like he had at least tried to teach Luffy something, if only to make Law feel a little better about himself at night.

"A cello..." Luffy said thoughtfully, walking around the desk to crouch in front of the instrument. "I've never seen one before."

"Well, it's a string instrument. I also teach the orchestra class here, it's not as popular as the band," Law said hesitantly. The way Luffy was looking at the cello was strange, it made Law feel wary of what the student was about to do. To say Luffy was unpredictable at times was an understatement.

"It's broken, I need to take it in to be repaired. See the split on the side here?" Law got up, pointing out where the front of the instrument had started separating from the side, the glue finally flaking off after years and years of use. Luckily, the student who played this particular cello had noticed the split before it'd gotten too bad. Replacing broken instruments was a pain in the ass, not to mention expensive and time-consuming.

Luffy didn't reply to that. Instead, he picked up the cello carefully as if it was made out of glass instead of a sturdy maple. He then carried it over to a desk and sat down, placing the instrument in his lap and examining it curiously. Law fought the urge to snap at him to put the cello down before he broke it further, but something told Law that Luffy wouldn't break it. Not on purpose, at least.

"Do you need more?" Luffy asked suddenly after a moment of silence.

"Do I need more what?" Law frowned, not following Luffy's train of thought.

"More cello players. In orchestra."

"Oh." To say Law was surprised was a bit of an understatement. Luffy had never come across to Law as somebody who could ever sit still long enough to do his homework, let alone play an instrument. And a cello, nonetheless!

I would have pictured him being a violin player, something more exciting and difficult, Law mused, but he couldn't deny how good of a fit that cello was to Luffy. And upon further reflection, a cello was probably the safest instrument for him to play without accidentally breaking it somehow. Knowing Luffy, he would most definitely find a way, Law was certain of it.

"Do you want to learn how to play?" Law asked, still feeling skeptical.

Of course the orchestra needed more cellos. He needed more students in general actually, the orchestra wasn't as popular as it used to be. There were only about a dozen students playing this year and ⅔ of them were violins, which was creating big balance problems in their music. Law would take whatever he could get, Luffy included.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Luffy smiled up at him, and Law nodded.

"Meet me in the orchestra room every day after school from 2:30 to 3:30 for the next two weeks or so. I'll show you the basics, and if you're still feeling up to it two weeks from now, we can talk to guidance about adding the class to your schedule."

Luffy nodded excitedly at this, his grin stretching impossibly wide on his face, and Law found himself smiling too, already eager for the school day to end so he could start teaching Luffy how to play. Law was so excited for the meeting that he had completely forgotten the reason for calling the student over here in the first place, but he was reminded when the bell rang, signaling the start of the next period and making both of them jump in surprise.

"You may leave," Law allowed, scribbling Luffy a quick note for his teacher explaining why he was late. Law had expected Luffy to jump up and run out the door, but to his surprise, the boy stood up slowly, careful not to jostle the cello in his lap. He returned it to to its spot in the corner before taking the note and offering Law another small smile, quietly exiting the classroom.

Law let out a breath and leaned back in his chair, glancing up at the clock by the door. He couldn't wait for 2:30 to come around.