The Instrument

Chapter 2

And here's the second half of Luffy playing cello, featuring Ace and Dadbo! :D And I was just wondering, would any of you interested in a mini bonus chapter that would take place between the first and second parts? Like a chapter 1.5? Let me know (: Enjoy!

Beta'd by LeafyxThiefy

"Good luck!" Sabo called after his youngest son who was retreating from the car. With a wide smile, Luffy turned and gave Sabo and Ace a wave before entering the building, and Sabo drove off to search for a parking spot.

Tonight was the night of Luffy's first orchestra concert, and oddly enough, the teen didn't seem worried at all about the performance despite picking up his instrument for the first time a mere month ago. Sabo wasn't sure what to make of Luffy's confidence, but he had made sure to get tonight off from work so that he'd be able to come and see Luffy play, even if he didn't end up not playing a lot.

As Sabo and Ace took their seats in the auditorium where the concert was being held, Sabo noticed a package sticking out of Ace's pocket. Curiously, he pulled it out when Ace was distracted, and chuckled as once he identified its contents.

"Earplugs? Really, Ace? Don't you have any faith in your brother?" Sabo asked and lightly tossed the package back to Ace, who was now looking at him with a sheepish expression.

"You know how Luffy is, he can't sit still for anything. I'm just preparing for the worst case scenario here," he huffed defensively, and Sabo smiled at Ace, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Either way, he's worked extremely hard during his lessons and is excited to show us what he's accomplished, he hasn't shut up about tonight at all this past month," Sabo reminded him, and Ace rolled his eyes but Sabo could tell he was just as interested in seeing his little brother play as Sabo was.

The lights dimmed and the quiet chatter of the attending parents died down, all of their focus set on the now brightly lit up stage. It was then that all the students came out and took their seats, and the director helped them get organized for a moment before turning to the audience.

Admittedly, Sabo didn't pay much attention to the director's speech, choosing to instead search through the orchestra for Luffy, but he couldn't find him for some reason.

"And without further delay-" the director stopped, distracted by something off to the side of the stage hidden behind the curtains, and a few parents in the crowd chuckled at the irony.

"What are you.." the director trailed off, looking momentarily confused at something that the audience couldn't see. But after a moment's pause, Luffy stepped out from behind the curtain in front of the crowd, looking sheepish.

"Sorry! I fell asleep," Luffy grinned, and the audience laughed again at the boy's lack of shame. The director huffed like he was used to this kind of behaviour, which Sabo didn't doubt for a moment that he was.

"Take a seat, take a seat." The director motioned urgently at the teen who quickly complied, settling his instrument in his lap and putting on a show of paying absolute attention to his teacher.

"As I was saying, without further delay, we will now start the concert," the director finally finished and turned to the orchestra, his back to the audience.

They played the first song–something sweet and slow, but Sabo's focus fell mainly on Luffy, looking for any signs that suggested his son was struggling, but Luffy seemed to be easily keeping up with the other more experienced students.

The second song was much more upbeat than the first, and Sabo noticed that Ace had the package of earplugs ready, a wary look still on his face.

The third song played–Mozart, if Sabo was identifying it correctly. They had handed out programmes at the door, but Sabo gave his copy to Ace, thinking that his son was actually taking an interest in the concert, but he'd only made a paper airplane out of the paper and tossed it across the room.

When the fourth and final song began, Sabo could tell Ace was getting restless from all of this sitting with nothing to do. This song was clearly more advanced than the ones prior, and Sabo worried for Luffy. It wasn't that he didn't think Luffy could handle it, cause once Luffy was determined to do something, not even God himself was able to stop him. No, Sabo just didn't want Luffy to be put off from the cello just cause he couldn't play one song.

As he was thinking this, one of the stage spotlights brightened, focusing on a single person, and to Sabo's surprise, that person was none other than Luffy. He listened as Luffy began playing a long, intricate solo passionately, looking as if the instrument was nothing more than an extension of himself, and Sabo could feel his jaw drop. If he didn't know any better, he would have claimed Luffy had been playing since birth at the very least. He just looked so confident and utterly focused, Sabo had to question if that was actually his son he was looking at, and not some kid that happened to look just like him. But no, that was obviously Luffy, Sabo recognized the oddly colored tie he was wearing, a bright red that stood out sharply from the black outfits the rest of the orchestra was wearing.

The moment the song ended, the audience rose in a well deserved thunderous applause that lasted at least five minutes, an astounding feat for a high school orchestra.

"Thank you, and have a good night," the director said once the applause finally died down, and was that a smug look Sabo was seeing on his face?

"Luffy, that was.." Sabo said when he finally caught up to his son after the performance

"...incredible," Ace finished for him, and Sabo nodded fervently in agreement.

"And you said you didn't even know what a cello was over a month ago?" Sabo asked his son suspiciously. How could he have gotten so good so quickly? And only with short after school practices? It was unbelievable, in every sense of the word.

"Nope!" Luffy grinned, looking extremely pleased with himself. As he should be after playing a solo like that, Sabo allowed, patting his son's back affectionately.

"Well I'll be the first to say that you did very well," Sabo complimented him, and Luffy's infectious smile spread to his face as well as Ace's, even though the teen tried to hide it. Sabo knew that Ace was proud of his brother, no matter what jokes he had made before.

"So how about we three go get ice cream to celebrate Luffy's amazing solo?" Sabo suggested, and was answered with loud cheers as the two brothers raced off to their parked car. Sabo followed behind at his own pace, a smile still on his face while discreetly dropping the earplugs he'd hidden in his sleeve earlier into the trash can on his way out.