A/N: This is a series of drabbles, not meant to be anything serious. Do not expect regular updates, or even for this story to be finished at all. I was hit with a plot bunny and ran with it. Who knows, it might grow out to be something interesting.

First Letter - Luffy

There was not a lot that could surprise him anymore, these days. No excitement. No amusement. Just an endlessly stretching blandness.

Life had ceased to become the challenge it was supposed to be. The challenge it still was to those beneath his station. To him, it was a dull repetition, day by day, with the odd annoyances thrown in.

A near-imperceptible sigh breaks the oppressive silence of the darkened room.

Yellow eyes fall to the plain piece of paper, unopened on his desk. Small, yet a stark difference against the varnished mahogany. It stands out, luring him in, a splash of innocent white in the night, a candle in the dark.

One of the candles on the desk lets a molten drop of wax hit the metallic basin set underneath it with a soundless drip. His eyes are drawn to the movement, before turning back to the letter again.

He'd checked for poisons, of course, anything less would be foolish when opening correspondence from an unknown. Not that this… Person… Was an unknown to him, per se.

He had seen them, all the way back in the East Blue. The weakest of the seas. Surely nothing interesting could come from that place?

And yet, a traitorous voice in the back of his mind whispers. And yet it bred the first Pirate King.

Stoically, the man takes the letter off the desk, turning the envelope this way and that, searching the worn creases, the tacky blue postcard emblazoned with a gull, and the childish crayon scrawl on the front as if they held all the secrets to the universe.

Another pause, before with a swift movement of a dagger, a mere silver glint in the dim light, the white paper envelope is opened. Careful and slow, long, pale, callous-covered fingers pry out its contents, the crinkle of paper and soft, measured breaths the only sounds in the otherwise eerily silent study, all dark woods and red wine velvet, overflowing bookcases and a desk set in with elegant golden engravings.

If one were to open the thick purple curtains, cascading like waterfalls in front of the large, dark bronze-wrought gothic windows, there would be only grey clouds like an endless, toiling mass, covering the sunlight.

It is nighttime, and the chandelier on the ceiling has been left out. Why light it, when his eyes have no need for its glaring brightness, disrupting his rest and straining his tired vision?

The room, therefore, is lit by candles, perched on the desk and the stands in the corners. Two large, dripping candles right in front of him cast ample light for the dark-haired man to read by.

A passing thought flitters through his mind. To dangle the letter over the small flames, pinch it between his fingers as he lets it be devoured by them ever-so-slowly. He turns over the thought, observing it as he would a passer-by taking a leisure walk along a quiet boulevard.

And discards it.

The letter had, despite its unassuming appearance, caught his curiosity. And woe to the being that kept this particular man from satiating his curiosity… even if that being was himself.

No, he would not burn the letter.

He would read it.

His eye falls once more on the discarded envelop, face-up on the center of the cool mahogany surface of his desk. The words that had first drawn his attention drawing him towards it again. They laugh at him, taunting, unnerving… friendly.

'To: Guy with the cool eyes and the big sword

From: Luffy. Future King of the Pirates.'

Not once, in his lifetime, had he ever been referred to as such. It was demeaning. Or so he'd thought before anyone had had the audacity to actually address him as such. To his surprise, the swordsman found only amusement where he had expected scorn or, at the very least, distaste.

There was really nothing keeping him from the letter. Cautiously, unfolding it, he lets his eyes roam, and his mind wander to the first meeting with this stranger, on a floating restaurant at sea…

'Hey Guy with the cool eyes and the big sword!

Nami told me I needed a hobby and then Usopp was writing a letter to Kaya, and he said I could maybe write to a pen pal too! I didn't know what a pen pal was but apparently people can become friends with writing! THAT IS SO COOL!

Anyway, since Nami, she is my navigator by the way, the best in all the seas, because she's awesome and she will be the navigator of the future Pirate King of course, came back after I kicked Arlong's ass and she said writing Ace would be crazy since he's all the way in the New World and so is Shanks so I had to pick someone else. So I picked you because you looked cool!

Only I didn't like how you almost killed Zoro. And I don't know your name because I forgot. But Zoro's fine now. So it's fine. Maybe he will get really strong because you said those things! I hope so, he has to be the best, my crew will be the best after all, I said so.

Anyway, I'm Luffy and I'm going to be the King of the Pirates! Oh, wait, you don't know who Nami or Usopp or Kaya or Arlong or Ace or Shanks is. You remember Zoro, of course, you almost slashed him in two pieces. Then I would have had two swordsman on my crew! Cool!

Oh and Nami, because I said Nami is my navigator! She says I can't put too much "sensitive information" in here because somebody could steal the mail. Who would steal mail, you can't even eat it? Blegh.

You know me now, so I guess I'll tell you about what I like. I like meat! I like eating meat! I like my nakama! I like Sanji too because he makes me meat he is my cook. My dream is to become the King of the Pirates! I made a promise so now I am gonna prove I can do it. I am also happy I can write and read because now I can make a friend! Dadan taught me! She raised me and my brothers!

Ok. Now that I talked about me, you need to talk about you. Usopp said so. What do you like? Do you like meat? What is your dream? Or do you have your dream? What does that feel like? Why are your eyes so cool? Why is your sword so big? You are really strong to carry that around all day! Also the fire on your boat was green, that was cool! How did that work?

Bye! Oh, or until you write your letter of course.

Luffy, Future King of the Pirates, Captain of the Strawhat Pirates.

PS: I'm in Loguetown now! I don't know if the message bird thingy can find me but I guess they can if they found you. I want a messenger bird. Do you think they taste good? It's meat!'

Traitorous lips minutely twitch upwards at their corners. Their movement would be denied, if another were to ask after it.

The boy is lucky, the swordsman considers, placing down the letter and staring into the candlelight. His ennui and lack of tasks he feels like doing have made his existence drab and colorless. If there is nothing of interest to be found then it would not be remiss to consider other avenues... such as seeing where this would take them.

There could be no harm in indulging himself this once, could there?

In all honesty, he could not have foreseen the impact it would have in the long run, when he read the letter, dipped an old-fashioned, rich blue fountain pen into his inkwell, and retrieved a blank piece of paper from his drawer. Putting pen to paper to, as strange as it sounded even to him, reply.