Author's Note: This fic is basically what I imagine the main story line of One Piece to be like if it were set in the modern day. I've always wondered what a modern day AU of One Piece would be like, Devil Fruits included. I will try and add as many elements of the original story as possible.

So, basically, this fic is going to be like One Piece meets (insert high school-set story here), Darker Than Black, and Entourage with some elements from The Avengers and Doctor Who thrown in.

Also, just so you know, I will be using my OCs in this fic. However, there will be no pairings like Law x OC or Zoro x OC, since I don't pair my OCs up with canon characters.

So, let's get started!

Disclaimer: Eichiiro Oda owns One Piece. Please support the official release.

San Francisco, California, 1994

Seventeen-year old Shanks LeRoux sighed as he swept the floor of the small coffee shop. The radio in the background was playing Nirvana on a loop, as Kurt Cobain was found dead a week before. The selection of music was probably Beckmann's idea, even though Shanks and Yasopp were the only ones at the coffee shop.

"So, Shanks, what are you doing Friday night?" Yasopp asked from the back of the store as he mopped the floor.

"I don't know, man. I've got an English test next week and I work on Saturday night," Shanks said.

"I've got an extra ticket to the Green Day concert," Yasopp said.

"Didn't Bachina want to go?" Shanks asked.

"She can't. She's leaving tomorrow for the school's foreign exchange program in Australia," Yasopp answered.

"When will she be back?" Shanks asked as he put the mop into a bucket filled with dirty water.

"In six weeks. I'd throw a good-bye party for her, but dad grounded me for a week because I got a D+ on my Physics midterm," Yasopp answered.

"Maybe we could throw her a welcome home party when she gets back," Shanks explained. As Yasopp opened his mouth to answer to Shanks' suggestion, the "ding-dong" of the store's door alarm cut him off, signaling that customers had entered the coffee shop.

"Shanks! Yasopp!"

Two, black-haired girls ran up to the counter, their faces painted with worry and fear.

"Makino, Bachina, welcome. Can we get you anything to drink?" Shanks asked.

"No, thank you," Makino answered. "Something bad just happened."

"Did something happen to Bachina's foreign exchange trip?" Shanks asked.

"It's much worse," Bachina answered. "Mrs. Portgas went into labor earlier today, and she died in labor."

Both Shanks and Yasopp grew silent. Portgas D. Rouge was their English teacher, and she was loved throughout most of the school. Married to famous billionaire Gol D. Roger, Rouge used her husband's funds in positive ways to help her students succeed and prosper; between her philanthrophy and teaching methods, Rouge was well-liked among her pupils. Because of this, many of her students were sad when Rouge had to go on maternity leave several months ago and be replaced by a substitute.

"What happened?" Yasopp asked slowly.

"She had a difficult labor, so they had to deliver the baby via C-section. Her baby survived, but... Mrs. Portgas went into shock," Bachina explained, wiping tears from her eyes. Shanks took a sharp, deep breath.

"Fuck..." Shanks said under his breath.

"What should we do?" Yasopp asked.

"There's nothing we can do," Bachina answered. "The school is putting all activites on hold - including the start of my foreign exchange trip to Australia - for a week to let the students mourn. Roger hasn't said when the funeral is, but Dragon and Ivankov want to plan a memorial service for this weekend."

"Also, something else happened," Makino added. "You know how the most popular girl in school, Yuki-Rin, got knocked up by the captain of the kendo club, right?"

Shanks let out an annoyed sighed. Yuki-Rin and her friends were only popular because they were rich, beautiful, or both. They were also very arrogant, rude, and shallow to anyone outside of their circle, which caused a division among the students between who liked Yuki-Rin and who didn't.

"You mean Kazuma Miyafuji?" Shanks asked. Makino nodded in response. "Oh, yeah, I remember! Mr. Koshiro had him kicked out of kendo club after that because he said something about how Kazuma disgraced the club!"

"Well... I saw Yuki-Rin leave the hospital with her baby, and she was talking to her uncle, Howland," Makino explained. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it sounded like Yuki-Rin was going to put the baby up for adoption."

"And this means?" Yasopp asked.

"It means that not only one of the richest and most popular girls in school is giving her kid up for adoption, it happened on the same day Mrs. Rouge gave birth and died," Bachina explained. "This is not a good time. I think we should lay low for the next few days."

One week later...

Shanks sat in the living room of his house, studying for a rather difficult French test that next day. The funeral for Rogue was held on the previous day, and the students were given a half-day at school to attend the funeral and/or to grieve privately. Many students chose to show up to the funeral, including former students who had Rouge as a teacher.

However, as Shanks struggled to conjugate the past tense of several verbs on his worksheet, his life began to change in the form of a breaking news story that interrupted the rerun of an episode of Full House that played on the television as background noise.

"We have some breaking news coming into our newsroom, and some very sad news to report as well. Billionaire, philanthropist, and founder of the Devil Fruits, Gol D. Roger, has died at his home in San Francisco. The nanny the Portgas-Roger family hired recently to take care of their newborn son, Ace, discovered the body of Gol D. Roger and a bloody knife when she came in for work. It is believed that Gol D. Roger committed suicide, possibly in response to the death of his wife, Rouge, last week. We will bring you more updates as they become avaliable."

Shanks froze in shock. Now that the man who discovered Devil Fruits and their powers was dead, the Devil Fruit users were in danger. "Superheroes" or not, the Devil Fruit users lost the one man who had given them a safe space and protection for several years.

As Shanks got up and walked over to the phone, he felt that today was the first day of the rest of his life. Although not a Devil Fruit user, Shanks had a feeling that he was going to get caught up in the aftermath of Roger's death, and it was a bad feeling.

Yes, Green Day was performing in 1994. That's when they released Dookie.

I'm aware that this fic is going to start off slow. In due time, everything will be explained.