It started with the apples. 

Not that he could have known that at the time.

He held an aversion to meat, while he wasn't against consuming it, he did his best to avoid it when he could. When he heard that a new shipment of fruit had come in, he'd instantly headed for the shop run by one of the more prominent, elderly figures of the village. As her bony hands shifted one page of the newspaper to the side, he lifted the bag he'd gathered and settled it on the counter. Her eyes flickered away from the page then, her lips pursing in obvious distaste. 

"Just the apples?" she demanded. "Why, a little guy like you should be eating more! See, this is why all those girls pick on you. You even look the part of the pushover, they pretty much assume you'll never get mad at them! If you don't eat more, you won't grow into a handsome man who they know won't take their antics!"

As she spoke, she laid her paper to the side and shoved off the stool she'd been settled on.

"Here, I'll throw in some eggs. Protein is important for a growing boy! I'd offer you some of the fresh venison, but I know you wouldn't take that. So just let me..." 

As she shuffled around the counter and started for the coolers, he simply sighed. Within a second he'd reached her and caught her wrist, giving a small shake of his head. 

"Just the apples, ma'am." 

She stared at him for a moment, her lips just barely upturned enough that her expression didn't quite qualify as a scowl. Eventually, however, she sighed as well and gave a reluctant incline of her head. Tearing her gaze away from the boy's mud-brown eyes, she reached the counter once again and set about weighing them out. 

"Fine, fine, just the apples. I swear, child, you are too stubborn for your own good." 

With a shrug, he returned to waiting for her to complete the purchase. His eyes carefully followed each movement, well aware of what she would try if he didn't. As he'd expected, instead of announcing the resulting price, she just jotted something down on a piece of paper and spun around to hand him the bag. Stubbornly, he laid his money on the counter before taking it. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she instantly released the bag and swatted him atop the head. Grimacing, he rubbed a hand through his raven-toned hair as if the action would take away the sting of her hit. His lips pursed in a firm frown when she eyed his money with obvious reluctance. 

"I don't take charity," he grumbled. 

"It's not charity when I try to help," she countered instantly. "It's called being neighborly, you proud idiot." 

Dropping his hand to his side, ignoring how the apples thumped against his leg, the boy simply shrugged and turned to go. The elder woman watched him, annoyance clear in her features as she slowly tucked the money away in the front pocket of her apron. The moment his hand fell to the door handle, however, face relaxed and showed nothing but concern. 

"Minori?" 

The boy paused. 

"How have you been doing? You know, since..."

"... I'm fine." 

Then, without another word, he stepped through the doorway- moving aside so that another figure could go in as he did. 

Once outside, Minori held the bag up for a moment, simply staring at the fruit as if something about their appearance had changed in the few moments he'd been looking elsewhere. The pale red and green colors were mixed over the skin and coated with darker, freckled spots. His mother had never been fond of the pure toned fruits, saying that green apples were too tart and red apples too sweet. When he'd brought her these the first time, he'd seen one of those rare smiles she offered. The ones that made him certain that that he'd done the right thing. 

As the memory crossed his mind, Minori bit down into the soft skin of his lip, only relaxing when the pain managed to pull him from his thoughts. The moment it had, he started down the street, once again dropping the bag to his side. A short time later, he pushed through the front door of his house, eyes shifting around the dimly lit room as he shut the door behind him. 

"... I'm home." 

It wasn't until he'd reached the kitchen and dropped the bag on the table that another set of feet sounded against the floor. His eyes flickered behind him, a faint smile appearing as he dropped down to one knee so he could ruffle the large animal's pitch-black fur. 

"I'm happy to see you, too." 

Her tail beating the ground, the dog simply shoved it's head against his hand in greeting. A smile almost touched Minori's lips as he stood once again and patted the side of his leg. In response, the dog simply let out a loud, agreeable bark.

"Come on, let's have some dinner." 

_______________________________________

"Fuyu! Fuyu, I'm leaving!" 

A rush of feet and excited barking met Minori's words as he paused by the door. His lips twisted up slightly again as the dog reached him and he ruffled her hair affectionately. The black apron tied around his waist shifted over his black pants as he knelt.

"I know, I know, I just got home. I gotta head to work, though, you understand that, don't you?" 

Fuyu barked in response and jumped up, her paws landing on the slender boy's shoulders. Laughter escaped Minori's lips as he shook his head and grabbed the dog's paws, dropping them back to the ground. Fuyu made a rumbling noise in the back of her throat, voicing her disapproval with the action.

"Now look what you did, I've got fur on my uniform." 

As he shifted back to his feet, Minori brushed the shedded fur off of his white collared shirt and pushed open the door.

"I'll be back soon, alright? I've got the short shift tonight. Boss said he'll let me off at two, that way I can make it to the afternoon shift tomorrow without fainting from exhaustion. Sounds good, right?" 

Fuyu barked once again and Minori smiled, letting the door fall shut between them. A short time later he'd made it to the restaurant, pausing in the doorway as he caught sight of the girls gathered around the bar. 

"Hey, Minori-kun's working tonight, right?" 

"He is, isn't he?" 

"Come on, tell us," the third girl urged. "Minori-kun's working, right?" 

"Ladies, how many times do I have to tell you, leave the poor kid alone. If you're going to buy something, then buy, otherwise... move. You're taking up good seats." 

The first girl sighed dramatically, dropping her head on the counter. 

"But we haven't seen our Minori-kun in forever!"

"Yeah," the second added. "You keep giving him day shifts!" 

As the bartender spotted Minori standing in the doorway, his lips twisted up in a wry smile. 

"He asks and I have no reason to object. Perhaps he likes the peace and quiet that comes with you kids being in school." 

"Nu-uh," the third protested. "Our Minori-kun loves us!"

"Yeah," the second tagged on. "You can't keep him from us forever! We'll find him!" 

Minori had the feeling that perhaps he should turn tail and head back home. The boss would understand. He'd been the one to suggest Minori shifting his schedule around in an attempt to avoid the girls. Just as he'd been about turn and head the other direction, however, the door opened once again to an excited, black-haired kid. With his hand holding the straw-hat atop his head in place, the kid rushed through the doorway and directly for the counter. 

"I'm starving! I want meat!" 

"It's your fault we were out!" a red-head announced as she followed him through the doorway at a much slower pace.

"She's right, because you ate everything I couldn't cook for Nami-swan!" another voice announced, a blonde tagging along right behind the red-head. 

The girls, their attention drawn by the newcomers, turned to face the door. With a sinking feeling in his heart, Minori's shoulders dropped. As several more people filed in after the first three, the girls scrambled to their feet.

"Minori-kun!"

"There you are!" 

It would seem he wasn't escaping. 

Giving in, he started towards the bar, only pausing to glance at the newcomers who'd piled in. 

"Take a seat wherever you wish," he commented. "I'll be with you shortly." 

The redhead paused for a moment, eyes widening slightly as they settled on Minori. Almost instantly, a scowl appeared on the blonde's face. Used to such reactions, Minori simply offered a polite smile as the girls from the counter reached him. 

"Minori-kun!" 

"You look even skinnier, have you been eating enough?" the second demanded. 

"Is he pale? I think he's pale. Boss, you have to let him rest before work!" 

"Yeah," the first added. "Minori-kun needs to rest!" 

Minori's smile became strained. 

"I'm fine. Why don't you find a seat? I'll take your guys' orders as soon as I've helped the other customers."

The girls pouted. 

"But why?" the first demanded. 

"We were here first!" 

"You have to take care of us first, Minori-kun!" 

"You'll be here all night," he pointed out. "They won't be. If I take care of them, it'll give me more time for you, don't you think?" 

Their eyes lit up, each nodding excitedly as they took off to monopolize their usual table, one close enough to the front door that if Minori tried to escape, they'd see him. With a small sigh, he rubbed the back of his head then headed for the counter where the black-haired boy was already shoving food into his mouth. When Minori shot a questioning look at the bartender, the man just shrugged. 

"He didn't seem to care what he ate, so I just gave him what we had fixed already." 

"Ish gweat!" the boy spat out between mouthfuls of food.

Minori regarded the boy for a moment, amusement slowly flickering over his expression. Glancing over his shoulder to double-check where the redhead and blonde had sat, he vaguely gestured in their direction. 

"You know, your companions sat over there if you want to join them." 

His cheeks so stuffed full of food that they looked like they might burst, the boy glanced in the direction Minori had indicated. 

"Oh!" 

Dropping down from the stool, he grabbed his plate and darted over to join them. Almost instantly, the redhead started scolding him, much to Minori's continuing amusement. 

"Go take care of them," the bartender instructed, shoving menus across the counter. "I feel like they'll eat a lot. This could be a pretty good night!"

Simply nodding, Minori grabbed the menus and made his way over to the table the three had occupied. 

"Here you go..." he began, setting the menus out. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

The redhead smiled, lightly picking up the menu as she spoke. 

"Sake would be nice, and we have some others joining us soon. They stopped to pick up supplies for the ship."

"I'll get more menus," Minori replied simply, then paused curiously, the words having instantly made the connection in his mind. 

"You guys are pirates?"

The black-haired boy who had been shoveling food into his mouth until this point, paused and grinned at Minori as he swallowed down the massive amount stored in his cheeks. 

"Yup! I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the pirate king!"

A/N: So, what do you guys think of Minori-kun~?