Chapter Text
Summer holidays were coming to an end. The cold wind announced the beginning of autumn. The last year of high school was about to begin. Still half asleep, Sanji waited the start of lessons. With his head resting on the desk, he couldn't concentrate on his surroundings. He heard a background buzz but couldn't distinguish the voices. His classmates laughed heartily at some of Luffy's jokes, while others exchanged stories about their summer vacations.
"How do they have so much energy in the morning?" he wondered.
His eyelids grew heavy, the world became blurrier and muffled. When the teacher entered the classroom, Sanji was the only one who didn't get up to greet him.
"Sanji, Sanji!" Usopp whispered, shaking him by the shoulders. His childhood friend tried to get his attention to no avail.
The teacher cleared his throat, looking in his direction. Getting no response, he approached, placing both hands on the desk. After another cough, Sanji opened his eyes. It took him a moment to remember where he was.
"Well, good morning" Teased the teacher. Still confused, the boy rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on the face in front of him.
"Good morning" He mumbled.
"Did you sleep well?" As soon as he realized that the whole class was staring at him, he widened his eyes and turned red in embarrassment.
He jumped up, finding himself a few inches away from the stranger's face.
"Good morning!"
"Well, now that your classmate is awake, we can start the lesson."
Sanji wanted to sink into the ground, and as he sat back down, he hid his face in his hands.
The professor introduced himself "I am Roronoa, your new literature teacher." While writing his name on the board. Walking between the desks, he stopped in front of the lectern and sat on it, rolling up his sweater' sleeves.
"This year, we will focus on 20th-century literature, reading and trying to write something of your own. Today, we'll begin with Kobayashi Issa, one of my personal favorite authors. If you have any doubts, I'm at your disposal"
"Unless you slept during my lesson," He quipped, eliciting chuckles from the class.
He had always hated literature classes, they were boring and repetitive, yet this one seemed different. The teacher spoke clearly and simply, reading aloud and emphasizing the words, managing to convey all the weight they carried. His eyes smiled and sparkled as he read.
"Do not weep, insects -
lovers, stars themselves
must part."
All the love he felt for that haiku resonated in the room.
"You, what's your name?"
"Nami"
"What do you think Nami? There are no wrong answer"
"Maybe he's talking about an heart break"
"Maybe, but there's more. You, what's your name?" He said poiting his classmate.
"Usopp"
"You agree with Nami?"
"Emh, I thought that he was talking about insects"
"Ok, maybe there are wrong answer" He said making the class chuckles.
"I'm joking, he have a point. You, sleeping beauty, what do you think?"
Sanji blushed at the nickname, remebering his blunder.
"What's your name?"
"Sanji" He whispered.
"So, what do Kobayashi wants to tell us?"
"Maybe he meant that separation is... part of life. An inevitable fate reserved to all of us, but not in a bad way..."
"Well done. You've hit the mark!"
Roronoa started to wander among the desks, smiling softly at his students.
"Separation is part of life, nothing lasts forever, you will never meet the same person twice. Stars fall apart, people's road split, nothing remain the same. It's neither good or bad, It's just how life goes. It's a nature's law."
Sanji was captivated by his words, the enthusiasm of how he spoke, his gaze that once in a while met his. His classmates remained silent, amazed by Roronoa's speech. The lesson came to an end too early.
"For next week, I want you to write a haiku"
"Of course, you will read it aloud in class" He smiled pleased.
A sigh of disappointment spread among the classmates.
Sanji waited for the room to empty before approaching the teacher.
"Sanji, right?" He asked, arranging his books in his folder.
The boy nodded without looking him in the face.
"I wanted to apologize for-"
"Don't worry, I had fun teasing you a bit" He smiled.
"What are you still doing here? Do you want to be late for the next lesson?" He added.
Sanji was about to run out of the room when Roronoa called him one last time.
"I'm curious to read your haiku"
"Now hurry up, you're going to be late!" He chuckled.
"Goodbye!" Sanji said bowing.
As he walked quickly through the corridors, the poem read in class echoed in his head. Perhaps studying literature this year wouldn't be so bad after all.