Happy New Year everyone. Late again, I know. Sorry for the huge wait for an update. Kind of dropped out of the zone for a bit. To show my apologies, I shall not only give you this chapter, but chapter 8 as well. Please enjoy.

*A/N – Again, I'm sorry for the huge wait for this chapter. The death of people important to me took a huge hit on my motivation to do anything for the last few months.

Rest In Peace – Paul Walker, David Dreger and Brian Rickard. You are missed and will never be forgotten.

Chapter 7.

Luffy climbed out of Zoro's car. He yawned loudly and stretched his arms above his head. It had been three weeks since he'd started high school and he still wasn't used to getting up at 7:00am.

It seemed Zoro felt the same. He stifled a yawn as he locked his car. Luffy adjusted his straw hat over his eyes to block the glare of the morning sun.

Luffy adjusted his backpack, a small frown on his features. There was something about today that was supposed to mean something… But what was it? Lunch? No. No, it wasn't lunch. Something to do with school.

While he was spacing out, a blue compact car pulled up to the parking space that Luffy currently stood in. The driver honked the horn at Luffy. The freshman broke out of his painful train of thought and glanced at the driver.

It took him a moment to realize that they wanted the vacant space. He raised his hand in apology and backed out of the way.

The car pulled into the space. After shutting off the engine, the driver and passenger exited the vehicle. The driver looked familiar to Luffy.

It took him a few moments to realize that it was Usopp's dance partner. The girl with the messy orange hair.

Sadie stared at Luffy a moment before approaching him. She stood over him and pushed Usopp's knapsack bag against Luffy's chest.

"Your friend left this at my house yesterday." She said. "When you see him, mmmm, tell him that I am looking for him."

She left Luffy standing there and joined her friend, the blonde girl with sunglasses, and together they made their way toward the school.

Luffy stared after them when a strange noise caught his attention. It sounded like hissing. He looked around when the noise came again.

"Psst. Psst. Luffy."

Luffy glanced all around until he saw one of the tall shrubs that dotted the perimeter of the parking lot shudder and part as a figure emerged.

Luffy was surprised to see his friend, Usopp, hiding there. The curly-haired teen was motioning frantically to Luffy.

"Hey, Usopp!"

Usopp flinched at the unnecessarily loud volume of his friend's greeting. Luffy's shout attracted the attention of every student in the area.

Including a certain redhead that Usopp had been hiding from in the first place.

Usopp gulped his heart back into his chest as he saw Sadie turn towards them, her mouth set in a hard line as she made a beeline right for him.

He turned to his clueless friend.

"Why would you do that?!" He whispered in disbelief.

Luffy tilted his head, not understanding.

"What'd I do? And why are you in a bush?"

"I was hiding!" Usopp said, his eyes darting back to the oncoming senior and then to any available escape route.

It seemed that Sadie was thinking the same thing because she quickened her pace. She was on Usopp before he could blink.

Her hand closed around the collar of his shirt and she dragged him out of the vegetation. Usopp squealed in surprise at her strength. Despite her slender body, if she chose to hit him, she could probably knock him down for the count.

… Then again, a lot of people probably could.

Usopp trembled before the imposing female. Her face was unreadable. But she had a dangerous aura about her.

The freshman fidgeted uncomfortably when Sadie leaned down to whisper to him, her hot breath invading his ear. Usopp knew from his father that women did this when they flirted with a man, usually to send shivers of electricity through his body.

Usopp felt nothing but fear chilling his spine as he listened to her hiss into his ear.

"You were a bad boy to reject me and not apologize. You really embarrassed and hurt me. I prepared to make you feel comfortable with me and you ran. I won't offer you such a treat again. If you want my nice side, you'll have to earn the privilege."

If her venomous tone wasn't obvious enough that she was angry, the lack of her usual 'Mmmm' would have been another sign. But Usopp knew she was pissed. And worse, she was pissed at him.

She moved back to stare into his eyes. Usopp stared back at her. Much like a paralyzed rabbit stares into the eyes of a ravenous fox.

Her free hand struck like a striking snake and clamped around his genitals. Usopp yelped loudly.

Sadie's lips curled into a sadistic smile. "Oh, no. You'll have to try much harder to make it up to me." She said in a sweet voice.

Her grip tightened. Usopp felt tears sting at his eyes, blurring the face of torment that stared back at him. He whimpered in pain.

"I said try HARDER!"

Sadie's grip tightened considerably that it felt like his balls might explode. Usopp screamed in pain.

Sadie visibly shuddered in ecstasy and released her grip of his testicles, but kept her other hand clutching his shirt.

"Mmmm. That's better. I so love your screams." She said, running her tongue across her top lip. "If you keep that up, you might make it up to me sooner than I thought."

She darted forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. With that done, she released her hold on his shirt, turned her back on him and strode away.

Usopp clutched his hands protectively over the source of his pain and collapsed to the ground. He writhed and moaned loudly.

Luffy crouched down beside him.

"Gee, Usopp. You have a funny way of saying hello to girls." He said with a stupidly naive grin on his face. "Doesn't that hurt?" He asked.

Usopp tried to talk but couldn't manage anything more than a raspy squeak. Instead he nodded rapidly.

Zoro couched down beside Luffy. Unlike Luffy's seriously dim view on the situation that had transpired, Zoro had a knowing grin.

"Hey, Usopp. Think you can get her to do that again?" He said, "If I can record that and throw it on the internet. You could be famous. Millions of people would love to see it."

Usopp groaned in reply. It was all he could manage to say in disagreement.

Zoro crouched down and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. I was only teasing. I already recorded it the first time."

Usopp groaned again.

Zoro frowned thoughtfully. "What could we call it? 'Guy Screams Like A Girl'?... No. No, that's that been done already. Or maybe 'Girl on Girly-Guy Action'… Hmm, nope."

"Oh, I got it. How about 'Goodbye Usopp's Dignity'!"

Usopp groaned loudly in reply.

XXX

Kuro stalked into the boy's bathroom, laughter followed him in before the door closed and silenced the voices. He ground his teeth in irate. The days at school seemed to never end. Which made the constant teasing that much worse.

He stormed over to the sink and turned the tap. The faucet sprayed cold water in a torrent. He cupped his hands to collect the liquid and splashed it against his hot face.

His life had gotten worse the instant he had laid eyes on the cute freshman girl, Kaya. He had felt his heart beat quicker in his chest, his cheeks flush.

He had fraternized over her, behavior that surprised even himself. He was a model student who studied hard and got top grades. He had done nothing to put a bad mark on his permanent record.

Sure, he had been teased about his unfaultable school record and his outstanding test scores. He shrugged off the insults with a knowing smile. He was completely confident that those who made fun of him would wind up stuck in dead-end jobs while he made a good life for himself and then be able to rub their noses in his success at the reunion.

Kuro always had plans. It was one thing that he was especially proud of. He was always prepared, in one way or another.

Until the day he saw Kaya.

His sudden feelings for her was the one thing he hadn't planned on. When he thought of her, his plans to ask her out drove him crazy with critique.

After a week of planning, he had finally decided on an enjoyable night he could spend with her. He had practiced dinner conversation, and had even booked a decently positioned table for two at the Baratie restaurant in advance in case they were booked out on the night.

When he finally approached her with the question, he mentally calmed himself and schooled his features to ensure no betrayal of his real emotions.

She looked like an innocent young angel…

But she had turned out to be a devil in disguise.

She rejected him without a care. Kuro felt his stomach drop. His heart stop. He thought that perhaps he had heard her wrong. But he hadn't.

Rejection. Kuro had planned for it, but it hit him harder than he expected or even thought it would. He hadn't dated that often, instead focusing on achieving the groundwork for a promising future. Rejection wasn't something he had to deal with very often.

Yet there it was. Showing its ugly face and laughing at him. He saw it whenever he looked at her now. And in the face of every other student. They all pointed and laughed. And he couldn't shrug this off. It was different. More personal. More painful.

He hadn't planned for this…

His fuse was growing shorter and the anger he bottled threatened to break loose.

The door squeaked open, letting in the noise of the hallway. Kuro didn't even look up. He just stared at the sink, his hands gripping the basin tightly.

A tap at his shoulder made him look up. A student stood behind him, his mouth curved in an ugly smirk. Kuro scowled at the sophomore's reflection.

The sophomore grinned evilly. "Hey, pedophile." He snickered. "My ten year old sister wanted me to ask if you wanted to go out with her tonight."

Kuro growled dangerously. He could feel the emotional dam he had spent over a year constructing to control his temper back crumbling.

'Stop. Calm yourself. Think of the future you'd be throwing away.'

The ignorant boy kept jeering, oblivious to the warning signs.

"Although if she isn't young enough, my friend has a niece who is only six."

Kuro winced and then his face set. His eyes narrowed dangerously. His emotional dam exploded. Raw hatred flooded his mind. His anger drowned his reason. The teasing was going to stop. Now!

"I'd bet you'd probably like her mor-"

He broke off as Kuro turned on him and wrapped his hand around the younger student's throat. The sophomore's eyes bulged in terror and disbelief as Kuro's grip tightened and began to cut off his air.

He tried to pry the senior's hand away, but Kuro pushed the sophomore against the wall, grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed the younger boy' head against the hard surface. Again and again. Chips of wall's surface began breaking away from the repeated impacts.

Dazed by the blows, the sophomore barely felt Kuro's hand leave his throat.

The next thing he knew he was moving again and then he felt intense pain. Pain from his head cracking horribly against the edge of the sink.

The student fell to the ground, seeing only stars and blood. Kuro stood over him, his chest heaving with anger, but his face a calm, cold mask.

He rolled the boy over with his foot to inspect the damage. Then he raised his foot and stomped on the younger student's face.

He repeated the action. Slamming his foot into the downed boy's chest, his stomach, his abdomen, his groin.

Kuro vented two weeks worth of anger on the unfortunate provoker.

By the time he stopped, his shoes were covered in blood. As was the floor, the student, and even the mirror had flecks of red dotting its surface.

Kuro panted heavily with adrenaline. He studied the limp body, watching the blood leak from the various wounds. The sophomore's chest rose and fell unevenly.

Kuro calmed and moved to the sink closest to the door. His reflection stared back at him with the eyes of a person he hadn't seen for three years. A dangerous person. He removed his shoes and washed the blood from them as best he could. As he watched the red liquid mix with the water, an idea formed in his mind.

A new plan was born.

A plan that would take away the pain of his daily life. He smiled at the simplicity of it. It was easy to remove the unpleasant things in life. You just have to get your hands dirty to do it.

Now that he had slipped away from the idea of being a model student obeying the rules, everything seemed clearer to him.

Kuro smiled darkly at his reflection that stared back at him. He tugged his shoes back on and left the bathroom with the sophomore still lying in a puddle of blood inside.

He made his way to the front doors of the school. Once outside, he marched in the direction of the arcade. There were people he had to see. People who could help him. Pawns.

Kuro chuckled aloud.

He had a plan…

XXX

Zoro laughed loudly as Usopp explained his predicament to Sanji. The curly haired boy sat cross-legged on the grass in the shade of a stunted tree. Luffy lay on a branch above Usopp, gnawing on a chicken leg like an animal.

Sanji stood across from Usopp, leaning against the maintenance shed. He had a cigarette trapped between his index and middle finger. His eyes, while occasionally focusing on Usopp, but his eyes also darted around the surrounding area for any teachers that might wander by. He'd already had detention for smoking in school.

"I just know she's going to torture me, Sanji. What do I do?"

Sanji inhaled on his cigarette.

"Deal with it." Came the blonde's advice.

Usopp's mouth dropped open.

"That's it?!"

Sanji puffed on his cigarette.

"That's it."

"But she almost neutered me."

"Then you shouldn't have led her along." Sanji answered sternly.

"I didn't! She tried to have her way with me. It was practically rape!"

Zoro snorted derisively. "Women can't rape men." He interjected.

"Of course they can!" Usopp defended.

Zoro arched an eyebrow. "No. They can't."

Usopp looked flabbergasted. "Why would you say that?"

Zoro adopted a look that suggested that Usopp may well be the biggest moron on the planet. "Because men enjoy sex. Rape is sex and it can't be rape if you enjoy it."

"That's the worst logic ever. Of all time." Usopp said.

"Hey, Nami."

The two teens broke out of their argument to see Luffy hanging upside down from the tree branch, waving at the redhead.

The female freshman gave the straw hat-wearing boy, along with the rest of them, a very icy look. She had heard everything they had said.

"Hey, girl!" Zoro called out to her. "Can you settle a bet?"

Throwing her nose in the air with an audible 'hmph!', Nami marched away.

"The hell is her problem?" Zoro grumbled.

"Her problem is you, you moronic shit." Sanji snapped, jabbing his cigarette in Zoro's direction. "You can't discuss rape with women. It's taboo. That is such a vulgar topic."

Luffy dropped to the ground, landing on all fours.

"Maybe it's her 'time of the month'." He suggested, straightening up and crossing his arms as he stared at the departing redhead.

"Luffy!" Usopp gasped. "That's incredibly inappropriate."

The gears in Luffy's head churned at the long word Usopp had said. It produced a relatively simple answer.

Inappropriate means ?

Inappropriate has something to do with food?

Inappropriate is another word for steak sauce?

No.

It's a big word, it must mean another big word.

.

Inappropriate = Delicious?

"I didn't say she was delicious, Usopp." Luffy replied matter-of-factly.

Zoro snorted in laughter at that remark.

Usopp sighed

"That's not what inappropriate means..."

Sanji interrupted the curly haired boy.

"What he's trying to say is that you shouldn't say such things about any lady." Sani said to the boy in the straw hat.

"Even the most beautiful woman falls victim to the curse that is 'That Time'. Sadly, that is the price they pay for giving us life and brightening our day with their dazzling smiles and beautiful eyes. But no matter what, you should always treat them as if they were a fragile crystal that you treasure always."

Luffy didn't understand one bit, if his expression told Sanji anything.

"You didn't explain that much better than Usopp, Swirly-Perv." Zoro muttered loudly enough for them to hear.

Sanji rounded on the green-haired teen.

"You should pay attention to what I say, you cross-eyed Neanderthal!" Sanji snapped. "Then maybe you wouldn't lose another girlfriend like you did Kuina!"

Zoro's eye twitched at the mention of the name.

Usopp's mouth dropped open.

"Wait… Zoro had a girlfriend?"

"He DID. But he neglected the poor thing with his obsession of working out at the gym. He even made her practice with wooden swords. The sad thing is, she used to beat him every time."

Zoro arched up.

"Hey, she insisted we spar with wooden swords. It was how we'd do our date nights."

"Women don't want to spend a date with a sweaty guy trying to beat each other senseless with sticks. They prefer fancy restaurants with French names, a romantic movie every now and then or even a picnic on a beach. Maybe if you treat them right they wouldn't break up with you."

Luffy noticed that Usopp was taking notes in his English notebook of everything Sanji said.

Zoro got a dangerous glint in his eye. "She didn't break up with me, dumbass. She moved away and that was the end of it."

"So you're saying you couldn't make a long distance relationship work? Did you even TRY to contact her?" Sanji shot back.

Zoro faltered. "Uhh... Yeah. Like, once or twice…"

"I rest my case."

"Sanji, that's a backpack. Not a case." Luffy said, pointing at Sanji's schoolbag.

"Sometimes I wonder how the hell you even made it to high school." Sanji replied. He took a big drag from his cigarette.

Which was the moment that the Woodwork teacher, Franky, rounded the corner and spotted them.

"Shit." Sanji muttered.

"Hey, hey. What's going on over here, Straw Hat Gang?" Franky greeted.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Since when are we the 'Straw Hat Gang'?" He demanded.

Franky flicked his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose to settle on his forehead as he regarded the green-haired teen.

"Since now. Isn't the name SUPEEEEEER?!"

"Uh… Yeah. It sure is." Sanji agreed half-heartedly while he tried to get rid of the cigarette as inconspicuously as he could.

"OWWW! Don't try to butter up to me just because I caught you smoking." Franky said. "Don't like butter 'cause I'm cholesterol FREEEEE." He announced, pointing up into the sky.

Sanji and Zoro exchanged a glance before looking back at their crazy teacher.

"Anyway, I need you boys to head to the auditorium for a special announcement. It's SUPEEEER important!"

With Franky leading the way, the four boys headed back towards the school. Sanji and Zoro continued their previous bickering. Luffy tapped Usopp's shoulder. The long nosed teen looked at the boy in the straw hat.

"I never said Nami was delicious." Luffy said.

Usopp just slapped his palm over his face in defeat.

XXX

Kuro expected he would find Django at the arcade. It seemed like that was the only place he was nowadays. After Django had discovered drugs, which seemed to have been in seventh grade, he dropped out of school and only ever went to the arcade.

Kuro entered the building. Although 'dimly lit cave that stank of unwashed bodies and stale farts' would have been closer to Kuro's opinion of the place.

Adjusting his glasses, Kuro wound his way through the maze of bright, flashing screens until he found to the game (and person) he was looking for.

Django stood before the screen of Dance Dance Revolution. His eyes glued to the screen, his feet striking the pads in synchronization with the arrows on screen.

Django had, in Kuro's opinion, an unhealthy obsession with DDR. It was the only game he ever played. Kuro suspected it had something to do with the fact that Django had once been top of the Dance class, but now he only ever seemed to dance when he was under the influence of marijuana and in front of the DDR screen. Why else would Django be wearing sunglasses indoors.

Kuro watched his acquaintance impatiently for a few moments, waiting for the game to finish. Before too long, he strode over to the back of the machine and ripped the plug out of the wall.

Django's enraged cry followed a moment later. The arcade-dwelling teen stepped off the dance platform and stomped over to Kuro.

"Hey, Jerk! You betta put that back in or you'll be wearing it around your neck!"

Kuro turned and adjusted his glasses. "Oh, really? I'd like to see you try, Django."

Django flinched at the sound of the other teen's voice.

"K-Kuro! So good to see you." Django exclaimed in an obviously fake cheerful voice. Kuro noticed but didn't mention it.

"Django, I need your assistance with a little 'project' of mine."

Django caught the emphasis on the word project and his suspicion rose. Kuro seemed different… He spoke in a manner that held a dangerous undertone. His eyes were cold and uncaring.

Django shivered. He hadn't seen Kuro like this even once after he transferred from their old delinquent school to Grand Line, and that Kuro had scared the shit out of him. This time was no different.

"Fear not, Django. I have a plan to make us all achieve a more comfortable lifestyle. We can make a lot of money from this."

Django perked up at the sound of that. His financial situation wasn't the best. His dealer was threatening to cut him off if he couldn't get the cash for the weed. His greed was quickly winning over reason.

"What are you thinking? How much can we score?" He asked.

Kuro smiled a dark smile.

"Oh, don't worry Django. I have a plan."

Django nodded. "Right, a plan. So what did you need from me?"

Kuro readjusted his glasses.

"Have you still got the number of that brute, Arlong?"

XXX

More than one week had passed since Usopp's lesson of pain from Sadie. On this Friday night, the aforementioned boy sat at one of the back booths of The Spider's Café.

The Spider's Café was unique in the sense that it had the theme of an old fashioned 50's diner, and a pizza place. It was unique because its style didn't match the name, but then again, it drew in the customers with its friendly staff, good food and good prices. In a sense, it caught customers like flies in a spider's web.

Luffy and Zoro sat with Usopp. Sanji was absent due to another shift at the Baratie restaurant.

Zoro raised his glass of coke. 'A toast to Usopp. To the speedy recovery time of your nuts, and the three million views you've received on YouTube in just one week. Thank you for the memories, you theoretical celebrity."

"Sounds good." Luffy said, raising his own glass. He waved to the waitress to gain her attention. "Can I have some toast, please?

"Guys, can you please be serious. I mean, look at what happened to that guy that they found in the bathroom in school. He was almost dead!"

"Why? What happened to him?" Zoro asked.

Usopp's mouth dropped open.

"Are you kidding? Did we not attend that special assembly about it the other week?"

"Well, yeah, but I was asleep."

"Why would you even be asleep during something like that?" Usopp demanded.

"Because I can, duh. What are you, a girl scout? Don't you ever do impulsive things like that from time to time?"

"Well… Of course I do." Usopp said unconvincingly.

"Good," Zoro said. "Then how about you call that blonde girl you like so much and ask her out on a date."

Usopp realized too late that he walked into Zoro's trap.

B-Because I'll get the mumps-" Usopp started.

"Bullshit." Zoro cut in. "Come on, you can't be so scared of such a small thing."

He spied a lavender-haired waitress bringing Luffy's order.

"Here, I'll show you how it's done."

The waitress stepped up to their table and set a plate of toast in front of Luffy. Usopp took in her features. She looked to be around twenty years old. Her dark eyes looked intelligent. Her lavender hair was cut at chin level, but swept away from her face so as not to hide her beauty. Her full lips were curved in a warm smile.

"Shmenks Suh Muush" Luffy replied through a mouth full of food.

The waitress smiled and turned to leave. Zoro reached out and touched her arm to gain her attention.

"Hey, uh-" He glanced at her name tag. "Nojiko. I think you're really cute and all. Would you like to get drinks with me after your shift?"

Nojiko looked him up and down before she replied.

"Sorry, sweetie, you're cute and all." She said in a mock impersonation of Zoro's proposal, "but I'm not into school boys."

She turned and left Zoro staring after her, his jaw dropped from shock.

He recovered quickly and levelled a glare at Usopp.

"Shut up. Not a word from you."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Usopp said. Although he was trying hard not to smile.

Zoro banged his fist on the table.

"Let's just finish eating and get some friggin' movies from the video store!" He said irritably.

Usopp couldn't help himself. With a poorly repressed smirk he said, 'want to watch "The Break Up" or "Heartbroken"?'

Zoro threw one of Luffy's slices of toast at Usopp's face.

XXX

The mobile phone rang eighteen kilometers away in the city of Saboady, the neighbor to Grand Line. A custom made tune taken from the chorus of a heavy metal song. It rang three times before the owner answered.

"Speak."

"Arlong. It's Kuro. Are the preparations complete?"

"What? No hello, no how ya doing? Just straight to business. My feelings are hurt." Arlong said.

"I am in no mood for games, Arlong. You agreed last week to do this job. I'm paying you to complete said job. Are you going to keep your end of the bargain or not?!"

Arlong stopped smiling.

"Fucking hell, calm down. I'm just having a bit of fun. I'm giving up my Friday night to help you, ya know."

"Yes, I know. Are you clear on what you have to do?" Came Kuro's reply.

Arlong bared his teeth in anger.

"The fuck am I? A school kid? Yes I know what I have to do! Keep those fucking pig cops busy so you can go steal some bitch's fortune. Does that sum it all up for you? And you better not forget our cut!"

"And you will be rewarded for your assistance. Now tell me, are the preparations complete or not?"

"Yes. We're ready to go. Just tell us when."

"Now."

"Now? Perfect. How long are you going to need?"

"I'd say less than an hour. Would that be too much trouble for you?"

Arlong snorted derisively. "For 'The Warlords'? No fucking way. We can handle that."

"Excellent. Get started. I'll be monitoring."

"Yeah, you do that-" Arlong said. He terminated the call. "Asshole." He finished.

Arlong sighed and rubbed his eyes. He hated that Kuro prick. When he had first met him a week ago, he had just wanted to smash that smug bastard's face in. But Kuro had presented him with an offer. A great offer.

Kuro was planning to rob some rich girl from his school. But he needed the cops distracted long enough to pull it off. And everyone knows that Arlong's street gang 'The Warlords' are best at messing with cops.

Arlong had agreed to do the job, but tried to put pressure on Kuro by saying that he'd only do it for $5,000. He had been a little surprised when Kuro agreed to the amount without even blinking. Arlong had then angrily stated that if he didn't get his cut, he would kill Kuro.

The young man simply adjusted his glasses and agreed to the terms. He said he would call when he was ready and then left.

Arlong ran his hand through his greasy long, dark hair. He needed a drink. The gang leader reached over the bar until he found a bottle of whiskey. He twisted the cap off and drank straight from the bottle. It annoyed him to have to go through so much trouble to get fifty g. But it would be worth it.

Slender fingers touched the tribal shark tattoo on his neck. He glanced back. His favourite of the bar skanks and whores that ran with his gang sidled up to him. She ran her hands along his muscled arms and chest. Her breasts just about popped out of her low cut top as she rubbed them against his shoulder.

He knew what she wanted. She only ever wanted three things from him. Booze, cigarettes or sex.

This time was booze.

"Baby, can you spare a bit of that?" She cooed in his ear, confirming his thoughts.

Arlong spun on the bar stool and stared at her. He wasn't about to give it up without something in return.

She knew this so she grabbed her top and pulled it down to show him her breasts.

Arlong stared at them for a second before he looped his arm around her and pulled her close. He poured a bit over her right breast and lapped it up, running his tongue over her skin and nipple.

Wordlessly, he passed her the bottle.

"Thanks baby." She said, taking a swig from the bottle while trying to pull her top back into place with one hand.

Arlong watched her. He was bored of her. She had been fun at first, but now she didn't do it for him. He wanted someone new. Unfortunately, he'd already slept with all the chicks who frequented the run-down bar that the Warlords had "appropriated" as their own. He wanted a girl with a bit of fire. With some fight. And younger than these chicks. A high school chick.

He chuckled. Maybe he'd check for some tail at the school Kuro went to when he collects his payment.

The thought of Kuro pushed pleasure from his mind and made him focus on business.

Arlong grabbed the bottle of whiskey back from his chick and took a big gulp of it. A trickle ran down his chin. She licked it up greedily and giggled. He pushed her aside and stood up.

He shouted, "Warlords!"

The noise died instantly and all eyes turned to him. He looked at all the collected thugs in the room. Some were still in high school, like his younger brother, Hodi Jones and his friends. Most were from his original crew and the rest he had picked up along the way.

"Boys! We got the call we've been waiting for. So follow me. It's time to have some fun."

A collective cheer went up and Arlong reached over the bar, grabbed a cleaning cloth and made his way to the door. His gang crowded behind him.

Arlong led the posse outside. He stuffed the cloth into the mouth of the whiskey bottle and retrieved a lighter from his pocket.

He turned to the gang that stood behind him, all armed with bats, chains, pipes and knives.

Arlong smiled like a shark. He flicked the lighter to life. He raised the flame up for all to see and then touched it to the alcohol stained cloth.

The fire took immediately and began to cover the fabric.

"Warlords!" Arlong shouted. "Raise some hell!"

The crowd of men roared in approval and Arlong tossed the makeshift Molotov cocktail towards a parked car.

XXX

Kuro sat in the passenger seat of Butchie Meowban's van. Or, as the chunky boy liked to call it, Pussywagon.

In the back was Butchie's older brother, Siam, and Django.

Despite it being night time, Django still wore sunglasses. Kuro had told the fool not to smoke any drugs before the heist, but Django had done it anyway. To 'calm his nerves'.

"Why are we parked outside the police station anyway?" Django asked. His voice quivered, as if he were afraid police were going to surround the car with guns drawn.

"I told you Django. If Arlong causes a riot in Saboady, the police will be forced to call for reinforcements. Which means that even a large township like Grand Line will have to step in to help. And if the call is urgent enough, the more officers that will assist. We're here to count how many leave."

"So why didn't we just get Arlong to do this job. Why are we doing it?"

Kuro's tone hardened.

"I've told you before, Django. I don't trust that moron to do a job like this. You know that old saying 'If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself'? This is a good example of that."

A sudden flurry of activity from the police station ended their conversation. Kuro readied himself, focused his attention on the building.

Seven officers scrambled from the front doors, carrying shotguns, riot shields and body armour. They loaded their equipment into four vehicles. Three sedans and one SUV. They jumped in, two per sedan and one in the SUV. They sped off, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Kuro smiled as he watched the departing vehicles. Seven left, only one remained. No problem.

"Show time." He said.

XXX

As soon as the three friends entered the video store, Luffy raced off to the Adventure genre section. Zoro made a beeline for the New Releases. Usopp trailed after the green-haired teen. But he wasn't looking at the movies on display.

He was looking at Kaya's number on his phone.

Zoro was right. He should just man up and tell Kaya how he felt.

He should. He's a man and he shouldn't be afraid of something like this. But he was. He was afraid of her answer.

Usopp looked up as Luffy sped past him, a pile of movies clutched in his arms that he wanted to show Zoro. He returned his gaze to the screen.

Kaya

Call

Usopp's thumb hovered over the button. His nerves, however, prevented him from pressing it.

Luffy trudged by, less enthusiastic since Zoro told him he could only pick one movie. He glanced at Usopp and noticed that his friend was movie-less.

"Usopp, you can't not pick a movie. If you want to make a phone call first, you should hurry."

He snatched Usopp's phone, hit the call button and tossed it back to his friend.

"There you go." He said and hurried off.

Usopp stared in horror after his friend. The Judas had betrayed him.

"Hello?"

Kaya's voice snapped him back to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Uh, yeah. H-hi Kaya."

"Oh, Usopp. How are you?"

"Good. Good. Yourself?"

"I'm well, thank you."

"Good. Good." He said again. "Hey, uh. You remember how that guy Kuro asked you out the other week?"

"… I remember. I didn't like hurting him. I heard he was being picked on because of it."

"Yeah. Well the reason I ask is because I was…uh..was wondering…"

"Usopp, are you there? I can barely hear you."

Usopp cleared his throat. It didn't do any good. It felt dry and hurt when he swallowed.

"K-Kaya… I wuh-was hoping… that-t-t you -AHEM- wou-wuh- would, uh…umm.."

Zoro finally lost patience with the curly-haired boy. "Usopp, either ask her out or stop standing there stuttering at her through the phone and grab a movie!"

Usopp froze. Zoro's voice was loud enough for Kaya to hear.

She confirmed his fear.

"Are you asking me out, Usopp?" Kaya asked.

Usopp's breath caught in his throat and he began to shake and stammer even worse. "Ah... W-well, I-I guess…I, uh, no. No, never mind. I'm just being stupid." He said quickly, his words coming out in a jumble.

"Oh. I see." Kaya said softly.

"Um, I-I guess I'll see you Monday. Sorry I bothered you. See ya." He said and he quickly hung up.

"Usopp, you idiot." He muttered to himself and he rested his forehead on his knuckles.

XXX

The four teenagers crouched in the shadows of Kaya's house. Kuro was going over the plan again to ensure no mistakes from the others. "Basically we go in, get the jewelry, come out and disappear. Quick and clean. Got it?"

The other three nodded.

"Wait, what if we run into someone in the house?" Django asked. He began to light another joint to calm himself.

Kuro smacked the lighter from his hand. "Put that out, you fool. Do you want them to know we're coming?"

Django wanted to snap back at him, but there was something in Kuro's eyes that made him reconsider and bite his tongue instead.

After a moment of hard silence, Kuro answered his question.

"Do whatever you want. Knock them out. Tie them to a chair. Kill them. It won't matter if they see us. They can't possibly report us. The police have gone to that emergency in the next town over. There is no one at the station anymore because we all called in false reports to a fake crime happening on the other side of town to lure out the last officer. I thought of everything, remember?"

Django nodded. He felt more confident now.

Kuro stood, pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and slipped on a pair of black gloves.

He led the small party towards the door to the rear of the house, an evil smile creeping onto his face.

'Prepare yourself, Kaya. I've gone through this plan a thousand times, and now everything has fallen into place. The end of my torment has finally arrived. Tonight is the night I erase your existence from my life. Tonight I will kill you.'

End Chapter.

Climatic? Perhaps not. I did so many re-writes of this chapter to make it entertaining, but serious as well.

Again, sorry for the absence these past several months. I'll try to keep to a more regular schedule.