AN: I wouldn't want to spoil the story yet, but the canon world is part of the story.

XOXOXO

"What's up with you? You look as though you haven't slept a single minute."

That's because I haven't. I spent my night tossing and turning, my mind running rampant on thoughts concerning what just happened yesterday. When coming down to eat breakfast, Mom commented on the horrid dark circles around my eyes and offered to put make-up on me, but I refused. I didn't know why, though; I probably looked like Law now.

I lethargically lifted my head, seeing Ace looking at me. "Nightmare," I yawned, setting my head back down.

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else. He set his stuff down and plopped onto his seat, a wide grin threatening to split his face. "Have ya heard the news?"

"What news?"

"Kuro-sensei transferred out, dummy! First, my mysterious transfer student appears and now Kuro-sensei disappears without an explanation," he said with an eager tone. "Something is going on here, I just know it!"

Should I commend on his brilliant detective work? I think not. "Maybe he found a better job elsewhere?" I muttered, rubbing my eye tiredly.

"Che. I'm not buying such a lame excuse."

"Lame as it may be, but it is a reasonable explanation."

"Isn't it strange, though?" He leaned forward against his desk. "It was only one day between him receiving a job transfer notification and then moving out. Just what kind of job did he accept, anyway?"

"Maybe the type of job that made it urgent for him to move immediately?" I suggested.

"Impossible!" he rebuked. "This requires further investigation."

I felt sorely tempted to tell him that he should just leave things be, but then I remembered that this was Ace who I was talking to. Knowing him, he would be likely to not leave things be at all and come up with even more outlandish explanations, like something pertaining to the mafia or the secret service in the ministry, and then manage to convince himself that it would all be factual.

"As the supremely manly chief of the SOS Brigade, I cannot leave a mystifying event go uninvestigated!" he declared.

Oh brother, did he have to be so loud? Especially so early in the morning?"

"By the way, what's with your hair?"

"Don't ask," I muttered.

Ace looked affronted at my response, but it didn't matter. I couldn't find anything to tie my hair up with, so I figured I might as well come to school with my hair down. Besides, after nearly being slaughtered by a madman, I really have to re-evaluate how I view my life. Does this new look accurately depict what I'm feeling currently?

Having witnessed all this supernatural stuff firsthand and trying to tell myself that it never happened, I had to pick one of the following choices: I was either hallucinating, or something was wrong with my brain, or the world was strange enough already, or I'd had a very long dream.

There's no way I could admit the world was some sort of virtual reality.

Argh! A fifteen-year-old shouldn't have to face a life-changing crisis already!

Why does a first-year in high school like me have to deal with such philosophical inquiries, like whether the world was existent or not? Those weren't what I should be thinking about… I mean, shouldn't I concern myself with materialistic matters? Just like how Kuina and Nojiko live out their daily lives.

When the bell rang, a short man entered the classroom. I recognized him—he was the principle. He made an announcement that Kuro had made a job transfer. The students were stunned by this, and, like Ace, they questioned how a man can make a sudden move in one day. I was the only one who was unfazed because I was the only one who knew the truth.

XOXOXO

When I found another letter in my shoe locker, I felt my heart pound with dread, but then I took the moment to see that it was a bit different. For one thing, it wasn't just a scrap of folded paper without a name, but it was in a white envelope, and this one had a name: Tony Tony Chopper.

I stuffed the envelope into my bag and rushed into the girls' washroom to open it. The message was written neatly on a piece of notebook paper, saying, "I will be waiting for you in the clubroom during lunch break."

After what happened yesterday, my notion of reality had changed dramatically. Who cares about a boy professing his love to you? If this was another murder attempt, I never want to go through anything like that of the sort ever again!

However, there was no way that I could turn this down. I couldn't imagine Chopper doing anything like that, and even though I had no proof that this was by him, I couldn't deny its authenticity. He really did seem like the kind of guy who would pull an indirect, old fashioned way of conveying his words.

It was decided then. I would go to the clubroom to meet up with Chopper. But if he was actually trying to stain the floors with my blood then I'll count on Basil to be there to save my sorry butt.

By the time break came around, my mind was riddled with doubts…

Hey, I can't help it, okay? This was probably a life-or-death situation!

I started to wonder things like, "What if Basil wasn't in his usual spot in the clubroom?", "What if this letter wasn't by Chopper after all?", and "What if was another data entity like Kuro, out to kill me to provoke a reaction from Ace?" Thoughts and thoughts passed through my head.

My hair was in my eyes, so I brushed it back, remembering why I kept it in a ponytail in the first place. And as my hand touched the back of my head, I remembered why I was wearing my hair down at all.

For a silly moment, I felt like an ancient peasant farmer who had been dutifully stacking sod and straw, only to be surprised by a flash flood. For another moment, memory took me back to yesterday, when I was frozen in fear. Kuro was standing before me, his lips taking shape of a sinister smirk, his claw glinting from the sunlight that filtered through the windows.

His blades cutting my hair-tie when it was aimed at my throat. It was a brief tug at my hair.

And then a rush of reality hit me when there really was something tugging on my hair.

I was dimly aware of two things: a voice calling out to me, saying, "Oi, what are you doing, spacing out and playing with your hair?", and my hand suddenly on my bento.

The next thing I knew, I was standing rigidly, looking down at the desk behind me, and a cry ripping through my throat. My heart was racing and I felt completely out of breath. Ace was sitting there, blinking in what looked like shock, a small trickle of blood coming from his nose. My lunch was splattered all over him, and everyone in the classroom was staring at me.

I found my senses, coming to the world of consciousness.

Well, what had happened? It wasn't actually Kuro out to get me, for what I had a mental picture about, but, according to Nojiko, it was Ace who had reached out and tugged my hair while I was staring off into the distance. I had screamed "really loudly", so Nojiko assumed that he must have pulled too hard. I didn't bother correcting her.

Nojiko said that I screamed out a simple word of "No", and then she saw me shoot out of my chair and smack Ace in the face with my bento. "All in one movement," was what she said. And you know what happened then? She laughed. She laughed! She said that it was the weirdest thing she had ever witnessed, and she laughed. When Kuina returned to class, she had to wait until Nojiko could breathe again in order to hear the story. I wasn't willing to say anything.

Now, the next thing I remember, the teacher who had been there to witness the whole thing was dragging me to her office, where I had to spend the rest of break assuring her that I was just startled because Ace surprised me while I was nodding off. In all honesty, it seriously was a dream—no, a nightmare that I put myself through.

Apparently, the other teachers had to make an even bigger deal out of it because they dragged Ace to the guidance counselor's office. The following period, Ace didn't show up to class, which was a blessing. Although, on the other hand, I was mortified—I was the object of everyone's attention.

I assumed that the teachers had sent Ace home, but his schoolbag was still here. He was skipping, I think.

Ace didn't show up for the period after that, either.

XOXOXO

Lunchtime came around and I was instantly surrounded by curious classmates who wanted to know what happened during break. I guess this was better than being interrogated by Kuina and Nojiko about what I was doing with Basil yesterday after school.

I was surprised that those two haven't confronted to me about it during break, although they could have been waiting to ask me during lunch. Seeing them coming towards me, I ducked under the crowd and ran to the clubroom.

I was breathless by the time I reached the entrance. Running was definitely not my forte.

Opening the door, I expected Basil to be inside already…but he wasn't there. Instead, there were two other people: One was a boy around my age with short curly flaxen hair. He was garbed in a blue jacket and a pair of dark jeans, obvious that he wasn't a student. The other was a young man, wearing a doctor's coat. This guy resembled Chopper.

They were sitting down on the chairs, their heads turning to me. I looked around and couldn't spot Chopper anywhere.

The man grinned. "It's been a while, Kyonko," he said.

My eyes widened.

There was a whistle.

"Ah, the tea's ready." The man got up. "Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable."

I blinked and looked at the boy, who smiled at me. Stiffening with nervousness, I sat down nonetheless, but, by no means, did I make myself comfortable. The situation was terribly off, and I couldn't tell what was going on. Who was this man who looked a lot like Chopper? And who was this boy who sat across from me? And why were we having tea?

"Here we go," he said, setting the cups down. "I hope I didn't mess up. It has been such a long time since I last been here."

"Nostalgic?" the boy said.

The man smiled. "Yes, it is."

That's when I couldn't take it anymore. "Uh, are you Chopper-kun's big brother?" I blurted.

He looked at me in surprise, and then chuckled. "No, no, it's me, Tony Tony Chopper, except where I come from is further into the future."

I couldn't envision the stupid expression of shock on my face, but I certainly felt it. I think I could believe anything after yesterday, so I did believe that this person was indeed Chopper from a farther future. Looking closely now, he not only did resemble Chopper, but he was quite handsome. He must have grown out of his childlike body and matured fully.

Leaning back against my seat, I sighed and pulled my bangs back against my scalp. "Alright, I'll believe you for now," I said.

He smiled. "You really do believe that I've come from the future to this temporal plane?"

"Sure." And then I frowned. "But…then wouldn't there be two Choppers right now?

"Correct. The me from the past is now sitting in his classroom, eating his lunch with his friends." He sat next to the boy and took a sip of his tea. "I want to thank you for coming here, Kyonko. I have an important message to tell you, so I got permission from my superiors to allow me to come here. Also, I asked Basil Hawkins to leave us for now."

So that's why he wasn't here.

"Kyonko," Chopper—well, the adult version of Chopper—started, appearing serious, "I cannot stay here for long, so I'll get to the point. Have you heard of The Frog Prince?"

"Well, yeah."

"Whatever you'll face from now on, I hope you'll remember that story."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean the story where the prince was turned into a frog and a princess had to kiss him in order for him to change back?"

He nodded. "That's the one."

"But why do I have to remember it?"

"I'm sorry, but that's classified information," he said, smiling apologetically. "Just remember The Frog Prince, and all is well."

I pressed my lips into a thin line, wondering whether there was some sort of subtle message in knowing about the story, but couldn't detect anything. Well, whatever. "I'll remember it."

"Thank you." He smiled again, and then pushed himself up from his seat. "Well, I better get going—" His eyes landed on the clothes rack, and then shifted from foot to foot in an uncomfortable manner. "Oh, I remember this."

I guess he really was Chopper from the future if he were to remember the times when Ace forced him into weird costumes. "Did Portgas ever stopped dressing you up?" I asked, deeply curious.

"Eh heh, well, you'll see in the future, I suppose," Chopper chuckled nervously. He then straightened up and gave me one more smile. "Goodbye, Kyonko. It was nice seeing you. I hope that you'll be willing to hear one more message from Sabo-kun here." With that said, he walked out the room.

Sabo-kun? I turned to the boy, who drained his cup empty. "Mmm! Chopper makes the best tea," he said, smacking his lips. He lifted his head and grinned. "Oh, that was fast. I guess he left already, huh?"

I felt my forehead crease. "Um, so, who are you?"

"Sabo," he said, grinning in a similar fashion as Ace whenever he had a plan. "Not from the future, though a friend of Dr. Chopper's. I'm an alien."

My heart skipped a beat. "A-an alien? Wait, did you call Chopper a doctor?"

He nodded. "In the future, Chopper becomes a doctor, but don't tell his younger self that. And, yes, I am an alien, just like Law and Hawkins."

He didn't mention Kuro. Could it be that he wasn't out to kill me? I hope so. "W-would that mean that…you'll be around to observe Portgas D. Ace?" I inquired.

"Nope. I've been transmitted to this world to collect data from other regions, but once in a while I'll drop by, I guess."

He said that as if I'll miss his sudden company. "So what's your message for me?"

"Don't have one," Sabo chirped. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a yellow ribbon. "I've just came to deliver this." When seeing my face, which I probably looked baffled, he launched an explanation. "For your hair. Your future self told me to give that to you."

"But I thought that you said you weren't from the future," I said, accepting the ribbon anyway.

"I'm not, but once in a while I do some time-traveling of my own. It kind of puts off the actual time-travelers," he said, chuckling a bit. "You know, this is the first time I've encountered you as a fifteen-year-old. I gotta say, you're still as short as ever."

"Am I always welcomed by your pleasant comments?" I muttered sardonically, shoving the ribbon in my pocket.

Sabo laughed. "Ah, you really haven't changed, Kyonko, whether you're from the past or future!"

As if I would know what I'm like in the future. I wonder how far into the future, though. He said that this was the first time he met me as a fifteen-year-old, so he was probably seeing an adult version of me… I wonder… Wait, does this mean that my life was still connected to paranormals? Gosh, did I ever go back to my life of normalcy?

I frowned lightly. "How do I know that you're not just pulling my leg? I mean, I thought that only time-travelers were the only ones who could travel through time, not aliens."

"That's because I'm…" he trailed off, staring blankly at the empty cup, and then he shook his head and smiled. "Never mind. Let's just say that I get special offers."

"So…does this mean that there are other aliens who can time-travel like you?"

"Nope. I'm the only one."

Sabo left after telling me that he had to go back to gathering data since it'd look bad if he was caught slacking off. So I found myself alone in the clubroom, feeling a bit perplexed. For something like this to happen… Well, never mind that now. I had a feeling that this wasn't going to end for the longest time, that a string of abnormalities will continue being part of my life. All because of what? All because of Ace.

Hearing my stomach growl, I figured that I might as well go back to the classroom and beg Nojiko and Kuina for food. Maybe if I continue to stuff my face, I wouldn't be able to answer their inquiries about what they had seen the other day. Ugh, if only I hadn't smashed my bento on Ace's face…

Then the door opened, leaving a Basil Hawkins standing there, face stoic as always.

"Oh, hi, Basil-sempai," I greeted half-heartedly. "Did you happen to see someone who looked like Chopper-kun passing by? Or how about this guy wearing a blue jacket?"

"I had seen Tony Tony Chopper's differential temporal clone already this morning," Basil intoned, moving silently to his usual seat, "along with a fellow data entity named Sabo. Tony Tony Chopper's future self had left this timeframe."

"Hmm. Sabo." I paused, not quite sure what to call him, but I shrugged and continued. "Sabo told me that he could time-travel despite being an alien. Can you do it?"

"Impossible," he said, cracking open his book. "No data entities posses the capabilities of traveling through temporal planes unless given warranties."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Too bad then, huh?"

"Too bad."

I smiled wryly to myself. It was pretty pointless talking to such a wooden person, but I wondered to myself why do I keep trying. I guess there was some part of me that hoped for Basil to open up from that shell of his. I wonder if my attempts were actually making a change or something. Probably not…

I got up from my seat and moved towards the door, but before my hand touched the knob, I said to Basil, "Thanks for yesterday, sempai."

He lifted his head and looked at me expressionlessly. "There is no need to thank me. Kurahodal was my responsibility, yet I was careless with my supervision." He dipped his head slightly—was that a bow?

I sighed, yet I felt a smile worming on my face.

XOXOXO

As I walked back to the classroom, I smacked right into a body of bulk. Looking up, I saw that it was Ace.

Whoa, was this fate or karma or something?

"I, uh," I sputtered, my mind running blank, yet my impulses urged me to say something. I never got the chance to, anyway, because Ace cut me off.

"Try not to space out in class," he told me, flicking me on the forehead. Ignoring my yelp of pain, he went on. "You know how hard it was to get that eggroll out? It slid into my shirt! Anyway, you act stupider than usual when you're sleepy, so be careful next time."

I guess he's alright when he starts insulting me.

"By the way, where did you run off to? I thought you'd be back sooner. I didn't even eat lunch because I was waiting for you."

Good, now you can share some with me. Kinda your fault that I don't have any lunch, in any case.

His expression contorted into that of impatience. "Jeez, you were supposed to follow me. Are you still sleepy or what?" Without warning, he hoisted me onto his shoulder and ran up the staircase.

"Whoa!" I cried, clinging desperately at his blazer.

"After I finally got out of the counselor's office, I went to ask a teacher in the staffroom. Apparently, the teachers only learned about Kuro-sensei's transferring this morning. Earlier in the morning, someone claiming to be Kuro-sensei's wife called, saying that they had to leave due to something urgent. And you know where they're moving? Canada. Canada! Sounds fishy, doesn't it?"

"Really?" I grunted, wincing when his shoulder dove right into my gut.

"After that, I asked if I could somehow get contact with him because he was my favorite teacher."

Oh please. You hardly even spoke to the man, not even spared him a glance when he was around.

"And you know what they said? They said that they didn't know! Normally, if someone were to move, wouldn't they usually leave some sort of contact info? I'm telling you, there's something weird going on here!"

"Or not," I grumbled, but my words, as usual, were wasted on him.

"So I asked for sensei's old address from before he moved. We're gonna go there and have a look after school. Maybe we can find something there."

I frowned. "Wait, 'we'?" I reiterated. "Why do I have to come?"

He looked over his shoulder, his eyes reading me as if I was retarded. "Because you're a member of the SOS Brigade, moron!"