There were some research labs which did work so secret, so powerful, that they were granted incredible resources, defenses, and freedom. There were labs with guards as good as special-forces soldiers, entrances hidden in mountains or waterfalls, and permission to violate basic laws of humanity, all for the purpose of obtaining the world-changing inventions they would inevitably produce. They were the source of body-armor that stopped blunt force and changed color, of self-modifying androids that could hold conversation or take down a battleship, or even of tentacles that granted incredible power.
The lab that a certain Monkey D. Luffy had come from was not one of those labs. Currently, he was being driven in a van to that same lab, and to his disappointment there were no tunnels or trapdoors or monorail trams leading to it. Instead, it was housed in a three-story building miles away from anything interesting, with a basement that held a certain machine.
The people who worked there were generally science enthusiasts when they were young, and managed to fail at becoming particularly successful but still hold onto a particular dream. They were men and women who wanted to find and prove the existence of parallel worlds. Education had managed to show them that even if they could be found, there may not be anything interesting. But some still held onto the dream that they'd see alternate versions of themselves, or worlds with societies completely different from anything they could imagine. There were a few with fantasies of even mating with a strange, but beautiful, creature from another dimension. Sadly, there weren't even enough employees for the regular ones to avoid the creepy.
When the lab did have some results in theories and ways of access to other worlds, their funding increased. Slightly. Nowhere near enough to power the machine they built, much less supply the employees with proper insurance. After all, it was very unlikely that their first attempt would succeed. Even most of the researchers knew it would probably blow up. They were harnessing some strange energies, and had no idea if the hardware could even hold it. It was, at best, a proof of concept. Maybe if it blew up, they could at least prove there wasn't enough energy for an explosion, to show that something mysterious was being tapped into.
"So why," Dr Yaba Erduo asked his empty office, "Did our funding spectacularly fail to improve, when we got some goddamn results! We power that damn thing up for months, and get a couple of honest-to-god humans outta there! We should be swimming in energy; have it open nonstop! We could be sending probes, even a full expedition! But instead that stupid tentacle group I hear so much about gets the funding. They won't even change the world close to as much as we will!"
His rant was momentarily interrupted when a researcher shouted to him. "Hey, boss, Luffy's gonna be here in five minutes! Better get ready!"
"Very well. Welcome him, since it's thanks to him that our division still exists." Fondly, he remembered the very day when the portal finally worked.
Nobody was quite sure what they expected to see in the portal generator. It wasn't really a portal, but that was the easiest name. Inside of the 12-foot diameter circle was a vague light, almost like a force-field, transparent enough that it was hard to not focus on the wall behind it. No shining lights or swirling vortex. Every few seconds in would crackle in some random spot.
The scientists chuckled a bit about whether or not anything would happen.
Then it did.
For a split second, directly in the middle of the circle, a youth in a straw hat was motionless, in a strange pose, as it he was just experiencing incredible momentum.
Then, that momentum returned. He flew across the room, skidding on the floor for dozens of feet. When he came to a halt, he shouted.
"Whoa! I knew that'd be fun." Then, turning to the gaping scientists, he asked a question. "Hey, who're you all?"
There was silence for entire minutes. Internally, every scientist was trying to wake up. Fruitlessly, of course.
"So… uh… do you have any food?"
Long before he would ever get an answer, the portal sparked again. Momentarily lacking any sort of decent reaction time, nobody looked until there was already a beautiful woman calmly standing.
"What was that, and where are we?" She asked.
The portal, having run out of power, switched off.
The woman suddenly winced, and closed her eyes and held her arms crossed over her chest. She stayed that way for a few more seconds, then visibly relaxed.
The boy in the Straw Hat spoke up again. "Anyway, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"
The next few weeks would become the most informative, mind-boggling, and frustrating weeks of every scientist in the facility's life.
Dr. Erduo's reverie was interrupted when he heard a familiar shout.
"Heey, ears-guy! I'm back!"
"Luffy my boy, it is wonderful to see you return!" Dr. Erduo replied. "I'm always happy to see the man who keeps me funded."
"So ears-guy, why am I back here today?" Luffy asked, while sitting on the Doctor's desk.
"The biologists we hired have some new tests they want to try. We'll be starting off by measuring your weight while you stretch…"
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Nico Robin spent her entire life hiding her troubles beneath surface.
She could often tell when somebody was doing the same.
It helped that she was listening in when Karasuma's subordinate said that Takaoka was extremely dangerous deviant. That all but confirmed that the bubbly kindness he exuded was some form of facade.
When he told Class 3-E that he'd be managing their physical education, and called himself the father of the family they'd become, Robin had to doubt he honestly cared. So she listened in to both the students' chatter and the words Takaoka and Karasuma shared.
Outside, gossip was rampant. "What do you think?" Chiba asked.
"Mehh." Kurahashi answered, sweating, "I like Karasuma-sensei better."
"But," Okajima chimed in, "There's really no way of telling what Karasuma-sensei's thinking, y'know. He's always got that stern expression, and if we invite him over to eat or play around, he could at least hang out with us once in a while. On that note, Takaoka-sensei is just a naturally friendly guy. This training might end up being a real blast all the time."
"Yeah, and it's the same with Nico-sensei," Sugino remarked. "At least Bitch-sensei tells us some raunchy stories and relates to us, in her own strange ways. Nico-sensei just teaches and leaves all mysteriously. The only one of us she's ever talking to is Luffy, and that doesn't make her any more normal."
"Well," Okajima added, "She does joke sometimes. Except most of them just put everyone off. And we always have History right before lunch!"
"I don't know, I think they're pretty funny." said Karma.
"Only you, Karma," thought everyone with a sweatdrop.
Robin heard every one of those comments as she walked back to the schoolhouse. She couldn't help but feel amused by the students' reactions to her 'jokes'. She removed the ears she had hidden around them and focused on the ones inside of the classroom, where the former and current physical education teachers were talking.
"I saw the results of your training earlier, Karasuma." Takaoka said as they spoke inside the classroom. Bitch-sensei was leaning against the opposite wall and Robin parked herself out in the hall, but with a couple of eyes and ears already observing.
"After 3 months' worth, they should be much further along. In the army, it would have only taken a month to reach their current level."
"Don't confuse them with professional soldiers," Karasuma replied, "Their primary role is that of Junior High students. Any more training than that, and it would interfere with their studies."
"Geeeez. You're so laid back, even though the future of the world is at stake!" Takaoka started taking out a couple of photos from his coat pocket.
He showed him one of the pictures, four men with defined chests and small smiles to the camera while Takaoka hugged two of them with a grin. "When an instructor gives his all, it gets his pupils fired up! The training might be a little harsh, but the students respond to a little enthusiasm like that." He said cheerily.
"You just wait. We'll have your head in no time Korosensei!" He continued "I'll finish turning the students into first rate assassins faster than Karasuma would" With that said, he dropped the photographs on the table and went outside to continue the students' training.
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"Well," Dr. Erduo asked, "Tell me something good." A biologist at the lab had just told him some results were gained from testing Luffy.
The biologist sighed. "Leave it to that rubberbrain to defy everything any of us have come to understand."
"At least you can just take some cells and be set for weeks," a physicist chimed in. "We don't get a tenth of the time we should have to study him." He was one of the many researchers currently devoted to figuring out Luffy's strange, 'Haki'.
Above all else, it was Haki that gained the Japanese Government's attention, but they quickly turned away when it became clear that nobody else could learn it. Soon enough, studying had ceased, when it was decided that saving the planet was of higher priority, and they threw Luffy into Class 3-E. Once his mostly docile tendencies became clear, any additional funding to simply power the portal was cut.
"Ear-guy! Anymore fun tests to do?" Luffy came shouting.
Erduo smiled. He could never get tired of Luffy. He made the lab more fun, and was the reason they all still had jobs.
"Not much, son, but there's something special we're finally doing today. Come over here."
The two walked back to the room where Luffy had first appeared in. The room with the portal.
"Today, Luffy, we'll be trying to open the portal again." He braced himself for the inevitable outburst.
"REALLY?" Luffy began, "Can I try going through again? Is anything else going to come through? Oh, and can we finally go through from here?"
"I'm afraid not, Luffy," Erduo answered, "Honestly, we haven't even been able to keep it open long enough to get the necessary data to calculate how long we can potentially keep it open for. And we aren't sure how to generate the field in the opposite direction. I can tell you, however, that some small generations have shown the field to be attracted to heat, for reasons we don't know. It explains why it appeared by you originally, and means we may get another person."
He lost Luffy not to far into that.
No matter. They began the actuation sequence of the portal.
.
"Nurufufufu. What a naive sensei." Korosensei chuckled.
"I don't want to hear that from the one being fed sweets," Karasuma said.
Korosensei started opening the window. "As far as P.E. is concerned, since you are both so adamant about it, I'll leave the matter to you. That being said, I'm not going to criticize this change of leadership. But you are Class E's P.E. teacher, Karasuma-sensei. I believe it can't be anyone else but you." With that, he climbed out and flew off to find some exotic treat from a faraway country.
"He seems to have quite a bit of faith in you, Karasuma-san." Robin pointed out, having walked in. "Some men can expect so much from their comrades, and somehow gain the results they want with mere encouragement."
Karasuma didn't respond.
Robin continued. "But that's not so simple when his expectations are so vague. Takaoka has done nothing wrong."
"But still, are you really alright with this?" Asked Bitch-sensei. "That guy's personality seems kinda forced."
Nothing was said, so the women left.
Karasuma, as well as Robin, continued to watch Takaoka as he trained the students. He acted as if they were together, as a team. Playing the ham to make them laugh, cheerfully shouting to keep up the spirits. He was magnificently winning them over. It appeared he was able to properly differentiate between the students and army troops.
Reflecting on the empty room, Karasuma wondered if his methods were wrong all along. He always tried to distinguish himself from his students, keeping professional, staying at a distance. And yet being a family seemed to have them excited about learning. He picked up the photo Takaoka had shown. The students and instructors all smiled wearily. Almost too tired, beaten down, but training was tough after all. Maybe that was the only tradeoff for strength.
Suddenly, something else caught his eye. Beneath the one he picked up, there was the other photo Takaoka had, the one he didn't show off. It showed the same men but from behind, with Takaoka still facing the camera.
And those trainees hands were bound with rope, their backs and arms coated in scars and bleeding marks, all around Takaoka's happy face.
Before Karasuma could even vocalize his panic, Robin had formed a full body right next to him, wearing the exact same expression of fear.
.
Outside, Takaoka handed a new brand new schedule to Class 3-E's students.
There were a few typical periods early in the day, of standard school subjects.
But nearly every day until 9 o'clock in the evening was training.
"You're... kidding, right?!" "10 periods…" "Training until… 9 PM…?" exclaimed some of the students.
"This much is a given." Takaoka announced. "I got the Board Chairman's approval, too. He said the Earth is in a time of crisis, so there's no helping it."
Extending his arms wide with a smile, he continued. "If we follow this curriculum, your abilities will grow by leaps and bounds. So without any further delays…"
"Just a… hold on a second! This schedule is impossible!" shouted Maehara.
He elaborated to Takaoka's confused face. Though everyone else was quiet with disbelief, he was lashing out. "If this is all the time we'll get to study, our grades will drop! The Board Chairman knew that when he approved it! And there's no time for us to have fun, either! There's no way in hell we can do this!"
Takaoka's knee went straight into Maehara's stomach.
"It's 'we will'. Not 'we can't'."
The teacher's smile didn't even falter. "I told you, right? That in our 'family', I am the 'father'. Is there a single family in the world where the father's orders aren't absolute?"
As Maehara retched, his classmates cowered in fear.
Karasuma watched through the window, and immediately began running for the door. He recalled what his subordinate told him about Takaoka. In the armed forces, he was inferior, and resorted to instruction of trainees as something to excel in. He produced elite, loyal troops in short periods of time by connecting as a family, and at the same time, standing atop a dictatorial regime as a violent father.
Apparently he planned to do the same with middle school students.
"Okay! First up is three sets of 100 squats each." Takaoka said with a clap. Shaking, the students obliged. "Anyone who wants to quit is free to do so. If you do, I'll use my authority to fill the gap with a new student. There are plenty of strong soldiers who I raised personally with loving care. Even if one or two of you are replaced, that octopus won't run away."
"But…" The instructor continued, "I really don't want to do that. You're all my precious family, after all. As the father, I don't want to lose even a single one of you. Let's all save earth from this crisis together, as a family! Okay?" He hugged two of his students from behind, but this time, it instilled only fear.
Fear itself was a key part of Takaoka's method. It's partner was affection, with a ratio of 9 to 1. Constant fear to make small reward worth weeping with joy over.
Kanzaki, however, was crying.
"Alright?" Takaoka questioned her. "You'll follow your father, won't you?"
"...W… Well, um," Then, with a smile as out of place as her "father"'s, she answered. "I don't want to. I'd rather have class with Karasuma-sensei."
Suddenly, there was a quick lurching movement. Kanzaki flinched, but did not scream in pain. Takaoka looked as if he was about to hit her, but something stopped his arms from making the movement, and a second later, he was on the ground. Strangely, there were flower petals beneath him, quickly blending in with the grass to hide the lack of any source.
Takaoka brushed himself off as he got up. For a second, he looked down, hiding his face.
But his grin turned into an angry scowl.
"Now… which one of you did that? The worst crime a member of a family commit is to be violent towards their father." He said, his eyes wide and filled with madness.
"And children who do that are worse than those who disobey. For those, we give them what they want. We let our fists do the talking." He finished while cracking his knuckles.
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There we go, that's the chapter, folks. Sorry to introduce a random OC, but I felt like giving backstory to the reason why Luffy and Robin were in the AssClass world. I wasn't planning on doing it so early, actually, but it fit. Tell me if you think it flows with the storytelling.
And the way in which you should tell me, of course, is a review! That's a thing you should do! I love it when you do that! Don't you, too?
Anyway, to address the elephant in the room, yes, I could not think of name for my random scientist. So yes, his name is Dumb Ear in Chinese. Deal with it.
Anyway, to address the actual elephant in the room, I am super sorry this took so long to update. Schoolwork was hell for a while, then writing this was hard just because I was creating my own plot elements. The next should come sooner, I hope. I will be away from home in a few days however, so it all depends on whether or not I finish before that. The ideas are certainly flowing right now, but don't get your hopes up, because I don't want to disappoint you.
Also, I'm kinda pleased with how many favorites and follows my story now has! It sort of just went up little by little, so it took me a while to notice that there were some pretty decent numbers! So, yeah, doing that is great, as is reviewing the story.
Funky man, out.
