So here it is - my 3rd and final update for the day. Or, well, week, technically. I hope you guys enjoy it! And remember: feedback is appreciated! This story is an experiment, after all!

This story is going to be a lot of fun to write, I can just tell.

NOTE: Until my hiatus is over, I'll only be updating on Thursdays.

Disclaimer: Intensive classes are intensive for a reason.

"Well, here it is," Sabo murmured, double-checking the card in his hand where an address was scribbled sloppily over one of his brother's doodles—because, at the time of writing it, he could find nothing else to use. He hadn't been too impressed to find that Ace had been using his business cards as surfaces to practice his oh-so-talented artistic abilities. Not that it mattered much…

The house—if it could still be called a house—was easily the most intimidating residence he'd been invited to yet. Put simply, it was huge. Four stories high and covering at least an acre of land, it had enough rooms to accommodate ten families, probably more.

…Was the owner compensating for something?

Sabo shook his head, freeing his mind of any further thoughts that were influenced by his brother's logic to observe it seriously. Having had dozens of students under his care thus far, the blond understood that an important part of tutoring was to understand who he was teaching and adjust his methods accordingly. Observing their living space could help in identifying what they were like and how they grew up. With as large of a mansion as that at his disposal, that Trafalgar Law fellow probably had everything handed to him. He was born with a silver spoon, so to speak. It wouldn't have been surprising if he adopted a rich-boy persona, not bothering to study because he didn't feel the need.

If that was the case, he was dealing with a true moron—one of Ace's caliber. That was a sad, sad scenario.

Stammering up to the front gate, still taken aback by the size of the mansion, Sabo hit the buzzer. There were a few moments of silence before the speaker crackled to life.

"Hello?"

The voice was deep—calm. With that family's wealth, it had to belong to a servant, more than likely the head butler. If Sabo were honest, he'd have to admit that he was a little jealous of the set-up. It wasn't that he wanted servants, but cash like that sounded pretty damn nice. "My name is Sabo. I have an appointment with Trafalgar Law." The butler said not a word, silently pressing him for more information. "I'm his prospective tutor."

"Ah," the man noised, "I'm sorry. Please come through."

With that the gates sprang to life, parting automatically. Now granted passage, Sabo stepped forward into the estate's grand front, though it seemed the house was still far-off. He hated that his visit involved so much traveling. Alas, he hadn't the money to afford a car. The bus ride there was a painful forty-five minutes and the extra ten it took to reach the main building's entrance certainly wasn't welcomed.

When he reached the front door, he was greeted by a tall, pale fellow in black he assumed to be the butler he spoke to. His appearance was striking, his white-blond hair and red eyes being his most notable features.

Albino?

"I'm sorry," he apologised again, bowing his head sullenly. Why he was doing that, Sabo couldn't be sure. He simply nodded and allowed the man to lead the way down corridor after corridor. There was something eerie about that place. Every room, every hall, every space had white walls. Not off-white, not cream, not eggshell—pure, unyielding white. It made the tutor feel like he was in a hospital, walking through the intensive care unit to visit a family member who was about to expire.

He shook his head. Why such disturbing thoughts?

In ordinary mansions, one would expect to see lavish furnishings and expensive décor, but that one had nothing of the sort. It was plain, bland and off-putting. In fact, Sabo was so brazen to think that his small, two-bedroom home had better interior design. It was certainly more welcoming. There were no plants, no pictures, no valuables… It didn't feel like someone lived there. Even Ace put more thought into his living space.

Eventually the blond was brought to a white door, not unlike the countless white doors he passed on his way there. He wasn't sure how he'd find his way back out with everything looking the same as it did. Maybe that was the point. Maybe Trafalgar was like his father, using unwilling guests as test subjects in a slew of unethical practices before killing them and burying their dismembered—

Focus, Sabo!

The butler knocked, standing at attention. There was no answer. He wasn't put off by that, though, and repeated the action. Eventually there was a groan, followed promptly by, "Go away, Bepo."

It seemed Sabo had his work cut out for him. Well, that wasn't a first; most of his students tended to be on the slow side. A large percentage consisted of vulgar, uneducated brats with little to no real-world experience—kind of like Ace, in a way. He could handle Ace.

"I'm sorry, Sir," the butler, recently deemed Bepo, apologised again, "but you have—"

Sabo raised a hand, stopping the man mid-sentence, before reaching for the knob. He knew how to deal with self-important rich kids, which he could safely assume Trafalgar was. If his guess was wrong then, well, at least he'd make an interesting first impression. Doflamingo warned him of how uncooperative his new student could be, so being a little forceful wouldn't do any harm.

Ignoring the servant's quiet protests, the blond opened the door, met with almost complete blackness. He cocked an eyebrow, surprised to find something other than blinding white within that place. So the kid was still sleeping even though it was midday? He certainly didn't seem to have many worries if he could indulge so heavily in sleep.

Pacing immediately to the far wall, he tugged at a cloth he could barely make out, pushing it to the side to reveal the bright sunlight of noontime. He heard the student cringe and curse behind him but paid the noise no mind. Black-out curtains. Of course.

"Shit," cussed an unfamiliar voice. Sabo turned towards it to see a young man sitting on the bed, legs still beneath the sheets of which he slept. The youth held strongly to his head as though he was trying to keep it from falling off. Finally he looked up, the sclera of his eyes standing stark against his dark skin and gray irises. He looked tired, if not for the fact that he was still in bed then for the dark, black circles beneath his eyes. "Get out," he sneered.

Sabo remained unfazed by his threatening tone and ignored him. He spotted a set of chairs and invited himself to sit, motioning for the other to do the same. "Well? We haven't all day," he stated, adjusting his posture.

"Um, Sir…" Bepo's tiny voice entered the room, filled with unease. Clearly what the tutor was doing was unheard of. Well, he'd always been a fan of spontaneity.

To put the butler's nerves to rest, Sabo gave him a warm smile. "Bepo, why don't you prepare something for the young master and I to drink, hm?" When those red eyes enlarged, the blond knew that the servant understood what he was doing; he was giving the man a chance to escape. Not taking the opportunity for granted, the albino nodded, bowed and promptly shut the door.

Instead of the slew of curses and vulgarities he expected, his client simply glowered at him in silence, as though he was studying him. Sabo didn't mind. In fact, he was intrigued by it. In all other scenarios, only he participated in behavioural observation when confronted with a student for the first time. The other party never bothered. That man, however, was different.

"Who are you?" Trafalgar asked with narrowed eyes, not bothering to remove himself from his sheets.

Now, there were a few different ways Sabo could go about answering that question, but which one would best fit his character? He hadn't seen much of the youth so there was no definite answer. He bore witness to the high levels of irritation exuding from the man and the way his eyes glassed over, as though still partially asleep. But did he have a temper? Well, why not find out?

Curving his lips mischievously, he leaned forward. "I'm your new babysitter."

The glare Trafalgar sent him could kill. He ignored it, though. When faced with privileged brats, he tended not to take their threats seriously.

"You have ten seconds to change your answer," Trafalgar stated, voice hard and full of resolve.

"It is what it is," Sabo said with a shrug. "I'm here to take care of you—bring up your grades."

The teen snorted. "So Doflamingo hired a tutor?" His voice dropped then, to almost inaudible levels. "That dirty bastard…"

"Babysitter," Sabo corrected. Looking the man up and down, he added, "You need more than what a tutor can give." Wearing a black and yellow hooded sweater, spotted jeans and a similarly pattered hat, Law certainly didn't look as wealthy as he was. In fact, he appeared quite dingy. Shouldn't someone of high social standing dress better? "Now, come here so I can begin your assessment."

His only response was his middle finger.

"Very mature of you, Trafalgar," Sabo said, lacing his words with sarcasm.

"I don't take orders from anyone," he stated, voice flat and unyielding, "especially not you."

"You wound me." Sabo's face dropped its amusement, resting lightly on his knuckles. "Then would you kindly join me so we can begin?"

Thoughtful for a moment, Law dragged himself out of bed, cursing under his breath as he stammered across the room before coming to a stop across from Sabo and dropping into the chair. Still his eyes wandered, studying the one he was faced with. "You look familiar."

Closing his eyes, the blond released a breath and turned to face the ceiling-high windows to his right. He looked from behind his eyelids to the sky that showed through the glass. It was such a lovely day out. He wondered how Ace was doing with his job hunt. Maybe he already found a placement. Knowing that man, probably not. He likely wound up distracted by something. Oh well.

"I assure you, we've never met." Again he faced the man, gaze lingering over his darkly-rimmed eyes. Despite his 'fuck off' appearance, he was actually being a lot more cooperative than one would think. "Let's get started, then. My name is Sabo."

"Just Sabo?" he questioned.

"Just Sabo," the blond affirmed with a nod as he opened his briefcase, removing a small bundle of papers. He flipped past the personal information to the third page, containing the details of Doflamingo's request. And what a request it was; he apparently had failing grades in every subject. Normally his students needed help in only math or science. No wonder the pay was so good. "Seems I've got my work cut out for me," he mumbled, giving a sigh.

Law narrowed his eyes, watching the blond with distaste.

The tutor tapped his paper, turning it around for his charge to see. Listed on it was every class he was currently taking and their allocated grades. Nothing was above 35%. It was quite sad for Sabo, considering it meant more work. He'd been hired to reform a delinquent—great.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Care to explain?"

Trafalgar leaned back, arms crossed with an almost bored look on his face. "It is what it is," he replied plainly.

Sabo sighed. That brat wasn't going to make his job easy, was he? Well, he was always up for a challenge.

A/N: So, how's their first encounter? :D Thanks to everyone who's reviewing this story - I really appreciate the feedback, especially since this is an experimental story.

To my lovelies~

azab: Glad you like!

Kitsune Foxfire: Right?! And yes, that was Thatch. Because we need more Thatch in our lives.

shimarin: It's definitely an odd set-up :P I will~

Felixsk1: Marco's great, isn't he? Really happy to hear that you like the way I write him ^^

MyLadyDay: Same, I'm actually having a lot of fun with it!

Guest: I'm not sure. I guess if you guys suggest couples and I like one, I can add it as a side-pairing :)

Vergina-spva: Really? I actually imagined in in anime style myself XD You flatter me ^-^ But I'm really happy to hear that you're liking it!

denOden: Oh trust me, this Sabo's going to be sarcastic alright ;) So far I don't think it's going to include much - or any - fighting so I don't know if he'll be badass, but we'll see! Lol I'm not sure about Dofi's partner, if he has one. Like I said, this story is a huge experiment of mine so I'm not even sure what's going to happen myself. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

G: I will :)

spoons-are-evil: You'll see :) It'll be better explained in future chapters. That's what I like about writing Sabo - because we never saw him grow up, I can change him a lot in each of my fics. I do that with Ace in my fics, too, and Lufy, but not to the same extent. That's what makes it fun :D

(Thanks so much for the feedback! Hope you enjoyed! Adieu~)