Hey guys. As always, you were awesome last chapter, I love reading all your reviews. Seriously, keep that up, you'd be surprised how much of a motivation they are for me. They're probably why I'm updating so regularly these days.

Like I said at the end of the last chapter, this one's a little different from normal, so I hope it's still up to standard.

"You need to pay attention more in class!" Nami scolded, Luffy's laugh in response only annoying her more. Luffy had just gotten a D in his English test, Mr Smoker as harsh a marker to Luffy as he always was."I mean it! Are you even listening?"

Zoro laughed. "What does he care? He's a professional soccer player now. What the hell does he need school for?"

"That's a horrible attitude…" Robin muttered, although Zoro did have a point.

It had been a couple of weeks since Luffy's successful trial at Dressrosa and it had been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks for the goofy teenager. Although after the trial Diamante had made the signing of the contract seem like a mere formality, it hadn't been. The only easy issue with that had been Luffy's wages. Garp and Ace had both figured as a youth player that Luffy would earn much at all, but Luffy was being signed with a view to being promoted into the senior squad as soon as the start of next season, possibly as a first team regular. It would seem that Luffy's importance to Dressrosa had been underestimated. Given that, the contract Luffy was signing, which Garp was able to persuade Dressrosa into only putting into effect as soon as Luffy finished school in the summer, had Luffy earning more in a month than Garp and Ace earned in a year. Seriously. And that was Luffy's first contract.

The issues in the signing were to do with how Luffy would train with the club during his final year at school. The teenager desperately wanted to remain at his current school with his friends, but that created the issue of training in another City, an hour by train away. The eventual conclusion was that Luffy was going to have to do a lot of travelling over the rest of the school year.

Another interesting issue that arose was that Luffy was no longer allowed to represent the school team. He was by all accounts a professional player now and so not eligible to play in school games. That meant that Luffy had to give up both his spot in the team and his captaincy. Even though Luffy's extremely capable deputy Bartolomeo took over the duty as first choice goalkeeper, the green haired teen was more upset at the thought that he wouldn't be able to train with Luffy from now on than he was happy at his promotion. Law was made the new school captain, although he didn't seem to care too much about his new role.

Nami, hearing what Robin had said, smiled triumphantly. "Exactly. See, Robin agrees with me. Promise me you'll study tonight."

Luffy shook his head. "Sorry Nami, can't. Ace's taking me to Dressrosa after school today for training tomorrow."

Nami's face fell, upset that Luffy was going to be missing not just today but also tomorrow, a second consecutive Friday. "Really? But I was hoping we could all hang out tomorrow. Man, this sucks, why do they need you to spend so much time there?"

"Actually," Sanji interrupted. "If it hadn't been for Garp not allowing them to make Luffy join the first team squad like they wanted him to this year, then he'd have to spend way more time there. To be honest, he'd have to live there. Even now, I'm amazed he only has to go like a couple of days a week."

Nami pouted. "Doesn't matter. It still sucks."

######

Bellamy blinked, unable to believe what he'd just heard. "Wh… What did you say?" he asked into the phone. From the other end of the line he heard Doflamingo's characteristic chuckle.

"I've changed my mind over Monkey D Luffy. Its true that Teach asked me to eliminate him, but I've been able to persuade him to reconsider. It turns out from what Diamante has told me that Monkey D Luffy will be useful asset for me in the future. It could have costed me millions of dollars to replace that dog, Spartan, but in this boy I've got a replacement for free. So don't you dare touch him."

"O… OK…" Bellamy reluctantly muttered. He had had a whole plan to catch Luffy too, this sucked. Before Bellamy could ask Doflamingo if he had any more orders, his boss hung up. The blonde teen groaned in frustration. He had planned to go after Luffy tomorrow, and now that he couldn't, he felt…. frustrated. Really frustrated.

Suddenly, Bellamy grinned crazily. He stood up, chuckling to himself slightly. If he couldn't have Luffy, he'd have to 'take out his frustration' on someone else. And Doflamingo never said he couldn't harm Luffy's friends, did he?

The blonde stood up, and excitedly headed to the cafeteria, looking forward to picking out a 'victim'. He kicked the door to the room open. As soon as he entered the room, he noticed someone watching him.

Nami eyed Bellamy carefully as he walked past their table. Just when he reached them he stopped, alerting the whole group who up until then, aside from Nami, hadn't registered Bellamy's presence. For a second he just stood there without doing or saying anything. Suddenly, just as Zoro was about to ask him what he wanted, he grinned maniacally, frightening the hell out of Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Brook, whilst seriously disturbing the others, bar Luffy, who just stared blankly at him.

"You're the guy that Barto beat up, right?"

Bellamy chuckled to himself. "That's right. And you're Monkey D Luffy, aren't you?"

Sanji cracked his knuckles. When he'd heard about what Bellamy had been about to do to Nami and Robin before Bartolomeo had turned up, he had been furious. "You should go away now. I heard about what you did to Nami and Robin and well… I won't forgive anyone who tries to harm a lady."

Bellamy switched his grin from Luffy to Sanji. He eyed the blonde chef, attempting to stare him down. When Sanji didn't budge, he mentally decided against choosing Sanji as his target. A quick look at the scowling Zoro earned the same conclusion. Franky looked pretty tough to him too. As did Brook.

That left four people. Robin, Nami, Chopper and Usopp. He turned around and walked off without another word, deciding he'd go for one of them. Luffy blinked as he exited the room. "What's up with that guy?"

Nami just stared at the closed cafeteria door. There was something about the way he had been grinning at them that had seriously freaked her out. "He's bad news. Everyone… stay away from him."

######

"Hey…" Someone whispered from behind Robin, who was packing her schoolbag at her locker. It was Friday afternoon and school was over, the start of the weekend. Robin felt someone's lips brushing against the back of her neck, causing the dark haired teen to giggle.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise…"

Zoro smirked as Robin turned around to face him, leaning up and pressing her lips against his. After a couple of seconds, Zoro frowned, surprising Robin who immediately pulled away. "What is it?"

The green haired teen continued to frown. "When… was the last time we kissed?"

Robin blinked. That was a good question. She thought back in her head, the last day of the summer genuinely being the last time she could remember. "Wow, that long…" she muttered.

With that, Zoro leaned in again, forcefully capturing Robin's lips with his own. After a few seconds he pulled away slightly for air. "looks like we'll have to make up for lost time…"

Robin giggled slightly. "I like the sound of that."

After a few more minutes of Zoro's and Robin's tongues getting reacquainted with each other, the two pulled apart, Robin pressing her forehead against Zoro's as her boyfriend held her close, his hands resting on her waist, hers around his shoulders. Robin looked into Zoro's eyes. "Where is this coming from?"

Zoro shrugged slightly, as best as he could with Robin holding onto him. "I'm not sure. It's just… I've missed this. Say… do you want to do something tonight?"

Robin smiled. "I'd love to."

#######

Nami sighed. She sure was lonely.

It was Friday night and here she was, home alone, just laying on her bed. I mean, it was bad enough for her that Luffy was away in Dressrosa. He'd be staying the whole weekend there, with him being invited by Dressrosa to watch their game that weekend. But Robin and Zoro were on a date, Sanji was working, him being given a lot of extra hours this year for some reason, Usopp was on a date with Kaya, and Brook, Franky and Chopper were at a concert. Nami couldn't remember the last time all of her friends had been busy at once like that, normally there was always someone she could call to hang out with. I mean, it was usually the nine of them together hanging out of course, but normally there would be at least one of them free.

This led Nami to think about something which she'd never really thought about before. The future. What would happen once school finished this summer? Their group of nine, nine friends who had been through so much together… they'd have to break up, wouldn't they?

Everyone was going to go their separate ways. Luffy would move to Dressrosa and become a full time Professional soccer player. He'd spend a lot of time training, travelling for away games and of course playing. Robin was applying for College and had interviews at some of the country's most prestigious institutions in December. It was the same for Usopp, although the schools he were applying to were a level below Robin's. Brook had been spotted by a talent scout of a big record company and it looked, like Luffy, he was going to go professional soon, just with his music. Chopper would be off to medical school. All of them would leave the city.

And then there was Sanji and Franky, who'd be taking full time jobs at the Baratie and Garage respectively. They'd at least be staying in the city but at the same time they'd have proper full time jobs, which they'd devote all their time and effort into. It wouldn't be the same as them just going to school like they were currently. That just left Zoro. Like Usopp and Robin, he'd applied to college, but unlike those two, he'd had no responses, plus it didn't really seem like he wanted to go anyway. No one really knew what he wanted to do once school was over.

And what about Nami? Well she was a lot like Robin in that she had applied to a lot of top class schools and she too had interviews next month. However in many ways, Nami felt she was more similar to Zoro. She kept trying to picture herself in some new city with a bunch of new friends she didn't recognise, kicking back and having fun like she did with her current friends, whilst they were all somewhere else entirely and she couldn't. That image just felt wrong to her. She couldn't picture life without Luffy and the others. She didn't want it to happen. But it was going to happen. It couldn't be stopped.

The orange haired girl shook her head, sitting up. She was done moping, thinking about such depressing things. It was Friday night, and she was going to enjoy herself.

######

Nami rubbed her hands together, trying to generate some warmth. She had seriously underestimated how cold it was outside, pretty foolish considering it was mid-November, not even bringing a coat with her.

After getting up and deciding to do something earlier, Nami had called up Hatchi, who she hadn't seen since the summer in Sabaody, and asked if he wanted to meet up to catch up. He, along with Keimi, had returned home in early September after spending the whole summer in Sabaody. Nami figured it must have sounded weird calling him out of the blue, but she didn't care. She just didn't want to be alone anymore.

Nami shivered slightly as she turned the corner, still a good few blocks away from the restaurant Hatchi had suggested. And, although the point of going out had been to get away from thinking about the future, Nami couldn't help but feel her mind drift onto something else.

Her's and Luffy's relationship.

What was going to happen to that? Luffy was moving to Dressrosa at the end of the year, that was for sure. What did that mean for them? She couldn't just follow him there, not unless she got a job there, but what would she do? She couldn't imagine being apart from Luffy, and it felt like nights like tonight were just a taste of the future, her stuck wondering what Luffy was doing whilst he was out doing whatever. It almost felt like he was drifting away from her, their lives were becoming separate.

That was the real reason why Nami had been scolding Luffy earlier. He messed up exams all the time, it was nothing new. But with the way Nami had been feeling, she guessed it helped her forget the fact that Luffy had a real future ahead of him that didn't necessarily even have to feature her, whilst she had no idea what she was going to do after she left school.

Nami shook her head. She loved Luffy and he loved her. Nothing else was important, they'd sort out and work around any small issues. As long as those two things remained true, there was nothing to worry about.

######

"Hey Zoro, can I ask you something?"

Zoro shrugged, leaning back in his chair. He and Robin were eating dinner at a restaurant before catching a late night movie. "Sure."

Robin bit her lip, worried that Zoro would get annoyed if she asked what she wanted to ask. "Promise you won't get upset?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow, not liking the sound of that. Nonetheless, he nodded. "Yeah, what is it?"

"What exactly is it that… you're planning on doing after we graduate? After we finish school."

Zoro sighed. "What are you, my dad?" he muttered.

Robin looked worriedly at him. "I'm serious. Everyone's at least mentioned at some point what they'll do apart from you. You always just avoid the question, and I'm not going to lie, that's really worrying for me."

"Why's that?"

Robin blinked, Zoro's slightly bitter tone taking her by surprise. She looked up from her food to meet his gaze. He was staring coldly at her. "Wh.. what do you mean? Are you asking me why I'm worried about you?"

"Yeah. Seriously, I'm an adult, I can handle my life on my own."

Robin narrowed her eyes. "Fine. You're an adult. Then lets talk like we both are. I want to understand that you have some sort of idea what you're going to do when school finishes. That's all."

Zoro met Robin's gaze, trying but eventually failing to keep his anger. He sighed in defeat. "And… And what if I don't?"

To be honest, Zoro hadn't really been angry with Robin. It was more that Robin had reminded him with what she'd said about a frustration that had been building up inside of him recently. Up until the start of September, Zoro's life had been living, mostly sleeping, through school and hanging out with his friends. There had never been this idea of all of that having to amount to something at the end in his mind. He had always just sort of felt like it would continue on like that forever, even though he knew that wouldn't be the case. When Zoro heard his friends talking about what they were planning on doing after they finished school, it really actually terrified him, because he had no idea what he wanted to do.

Like Robin, Nami and Usopp, Zoro had sent off applications to different places, but what he hadn't told anyone was that he had actually heard back from a few of them. He'd sent off to 5 schools, and had heard back from 3 so far. 3 rejections. In many ways, Zoro wasn't surprised. His grades were more or less the same as Luffy's, who literally didn't care about his grades. That said it all. Zoro still had two chances left, but in his heart… he knew he'd just get another couple of rejections. And honestly, Zoro wasn't that upset when he thought about that. Because honestly, he didn't want to go to University. School had always been a chore to him, something which he just dragged his feet through. The fact that he had his friends was the only thing that made it bearable. The idea of going through something harder than school without even his friends by his side was just impossible for Zoro.

Zoro often tried to reassure himself, saying it was only November, he still had time to figure something out. But he'd said the same thing to himself in September, and he was no closer to the answer now than he was then. Zoro's gaze dropped to the table. "What if I don't have a plan?"

"Zoro…"

Robin bit her lip. For the past month or so she'd been so focussed on a combination of her own future, keeping an eye on Sabo for Ace, and trying to be a good friend to Law in case he needed her after what had happened to Monet, that she'd completely neglected one of the most important people in her life. He'd had to struggle through this difficult period in his life completely alone, without her help. Robin reached out to take Zoro's hand. When he looked up at her, she smiled warmly at him.

"Well then we'll come up with one… together."

Zoro smirked slightly. "Th… thanks. I love you Robin."

######

Nami sighed, glancing at her watch. It was 11:20. She'd been talking to Hatchi and Keimi, who'd come along too, for longer than she'd realised. That being said, she had enjoyed catching up with the two, who'd had a great summer in Sabaody. It turned out they'd both become great friends with Sanji's number one fan, Duval, who really had turned over a new leaf completely, doing well in his new job at the hotel. With Duval gone, the likes of Macro and the local Sabaody gangs were struggling, their influence completely eroded. It looked like their brief holiday in Sabaody had actually changed the island itself for the better.

In turn, Hatchi and Keimi were shocked to hear the story about Vivi. By the time Nami got to the end of their airport farewell, Hatchi was literally balling his eyes out. Nami had considered telling the two about Doflamingo and Moriah as well, but decided against it seeing as those particular plot lines hadn't been concluded yet.

After that the three had just chatted idly about their lives in general. Hatchi was currently in the process of opening his own restaurant in the city. And whilst Nami was definitely happy for him, especially considering how excited he seemed, she couldn't help but dully note that he too had a plan for his future. After talking for a bit longer, the three finally said their goodbyes.

And now here Nami was, walking home alone in the now freezing cold November night, not sure that she actually felt any better than she had been feeling before meeting Hatchi and Keimi. All the meeting had reminded her of was that she needed to think about her future which is exactly what she wanted to avoid doing by hanging out with Hatchi and Keimi.

Suddenly, Nami heard the sound of uncontrollable, almost maniacal laughter coming from behind her. She turned around, a grinning Bellamy standing behind her. Nami's eyes widened. She tried to run, but she was frozen to the spot. Bellamy laughed once before springing* towards her.

However just as he was about to reach her, someone stepped in front of Nami. It was a tall bony man who for some reason seemed quite familiar to Nami. Bellamy stopped and scowled at the man. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Ryuuma," the man calmly replied, seemingly the picture of ease. That was when it dawned on Nami. This was the man who had been with Absalom that night. So that meant… he was working with Moriah?

Nami gulped, unsure whether she was safer before when it was just Bellamy. Said boy just glared impatiently at Ryuuma. "And? What the fuck do you want dude?"

Ryuuma didn't even flinch at Bellamy's tone. He glanced backwards, Nami realising that there was someone else walking towards them. It was Absalom. He walked so he was standing alongside Ryuuma. Once there he looked angrily at Bellamy. He pulled out his phone and held it up so a text message was showing. "What the hell does this mean? 'the plan is off'? You fucking worm, you don't decide when our fucking plan's off, you got that you piece of shit!"

Surprisingly, Bellamy didn't look the least bit afraid, merely smirking cockily at Absalom. "Oh really? And just what are you gonna do about it?"

Absalom was about to lunge forward when Ryuuma held his hand out to stop him. "Leave this to me…" he muttered. Absalom was about to protest when Ryuuma gave him a serious look, apparently enough for Absalom to concede. Bellamy, however, let out the same crazy laugh as earlier before charging Ryuuma.

What happened next happened so quickly it was a blur to Nami. Within a matter of seconds Ryuuma had pinned Bellamy to the ground. He punched him hard once, knocking him out cold. Absalom chuckled. "Man, that was brutal…"

Ryuuma didn't respond to that, instead glancing back at Nami. "Who's this?"

Absalom shook his head. "Straw Hat's girl. No one important."

Ryuuma however eyed her. "I've been seeing that boy, Coby, with the kid with the Straw Hat recently. It would seem like Coby is yet to settle his debt with the boss as well. I wonder… do you think we could use this girl to… accelerate the payment process?"

Absalom's eyes lit up, whilst Nami's eyes widened. She took a step back, ready to start running. "I like the way you think Ryuuma. So we take this girl and only release her when Coby pays the boss. Yeah, maybe now that worm will finally give back what he owes…"

Nami gulped. This was not good.

*Get it?

So yeah, a pretty wordy chapter with a bit of new stuff introduced. But hey, I'm pretty sure every high school student worries about the stuff Nami was worrying about this chapter. I know I did. I hope you guys liked the way I wrote all that stuff.

Also, ZoRo! Where's it been? I know I've been kind of taking that couple for granted a little recently, so I hope you appreciate the couple of moments between the two I dropped into this chapter.

As always guys, thanks for reading and please review!