Author's Note: Here's a Yuki-Rin, Kazuma, and Daisuke-centric chapter. No seriously, this chapter only stars Yuki-Rin, Kazuma, and Daisuke. But, no worries, all of your other favorite Capricorns will be back in the next chapter, which will end the Three-Mile Island Arc. The Cult of Bya no Kuei Arc will begin in chapter 99 with a filler-ish chapter before things kick into high-gear for the hotly-anticipated 100th chapter.

Now, let's begin the chapter.

Disclaimer: One Piece is still the property of Eichiiro Oda. Do I own it? No, but I own One Piece merchandise and this story.

Ch. 97: "The Laboratory of Enviromental Sciences."

Yuki-Rin and Kazuma trudged along as Daisuke skipped a few paces ahead of them.

"Who died and made us follow Daisuke?" Kazuma asked Yuki-Rin.

"No, the question is 'Who let Daisuke go with us?'" Yuki-Rin corrected Kazuma, who sighed.

"Why can't we ever get alone time together?" Kazuma asked Yuki-Rin.

"Let me put it this way – Our crew is like a band of injured and/or lost animals. You take one in, you have to take the rest in as well. Unfortunately, you get too attached to these animals and you keep them," Yuki-Rin explained. Kazuma's face turned to a face of shock.

"Yuki-Rin, don't you dare compare us to animals! We're humans!" Kazuma cried. Yuki-Rin sighed.

"Couldn't think of a good comparison," Yuki-Rin said. Kazuma walked over to Yuki-Rin and hugged her.

"It's okay. I guess we'll have our alone time later," Kazuma explained. "Damn you, Daisuke."

"Hey, Yuki-Rin, Kazuma, look what I found!"

Yuki-Rin and Kazuma turned their heads to the sound of Daisuke's voice. Daisuke was standing in front of an abandoned laboratory behind a chain-link fence.

"For once, Daisuke actually finds something useful without screwing up royally," Yuki-Rin thought to herself. "What is it, Daisuke?"

"I think it's a lab. Come on, let's check it out!" Daisuke said before he began to climb the fence. "Come on, guys! We don't have all night!"

"We'll be right there!" Kazuma yelled. "Yuki-Rin, are you coming?"

"Yes, Kazuma," Yuki-Rin said before she began climbing the fence, with Daisuke helping her down. Kazuma joined them a few moments later.

"This is the life. We're just three teenagers spending the night tresspassing at an abandoned lab," Daisuke said.

"Does anybody know where we're are?" Kazuma asked Yuki-Rin and Daisuke.

"I don't think so. Think of this as the Capricorns' smallest adventure," Yuki-Rin said as they entered the lab. Inside, the lab was dark, save for the moonlight streaming in.

"Okay, now I wish we brought somebody who has a flashlight or a fire source," Kazuma said.

"Did you ever consider trading those items yet?" Yuki-Rin asked Kazuma as she pointed to the sack over Kazuma's shoulder. Kazuma looked to his sack.

"Shit! I was too pre-occupied with Daisuke, and we forgot to go trade this stuff!" Kazuma cried before he turned back. "Yuki-Rin, Daisuke, I'll be right back! Yuki-Rin, make sure Daisuke stays here."

Kazuma ran out of the lab.

"Why should I stay here, Kazuma?! I'm eighteen, not eight!" Daisuke yelled.

"I think it's because it's dark in the lab and we have no light," Yuki-Rin pointed out. A few minutes later, Kazuma returned with a smaller sack.

"Okay, I'm back," Kazuma said as he spilled the contents of the sack onto the ground, which consisted of three gas masks, a book of matches, and a block of wood.

"Decent haul…" Yuki-Rin remarked as she struck a match and touched the match to the wood. "Shall we go on?"

"Let's go!" Daisuke said.

"Wait, wait – Gas masks on," Kazuma said as he put his gas mask around his neck. Yuki-Rin and Daisuke followed suit. "Ready?"

"Ready. Everyone, follow me," Daisuke said before he began walking down the hall with the burning piece of wood. Yuki-Rin and Kazuma sweatdropped.

"Again?" Kazuma asked Yuki-Rin as they began to follow Daisuke.

"Either that, or it's because Yulia's not around to keep him from doing these things," Yuki-Rin and Kazuma explained as they followed Daisuke into a large room with many computer screens showing images of the island.

"Hey, look, I see everyone else! Hi, Yulia!" Daisuke said as he waved to a screen showing the Capricorns.

"They can't hear you, you know," Kazuma pointed out.

"But I can see them," Daisuke argued. "Hey, look, Wolfgang and Enlai are fighting again!"

Kazuma facepalmed.

"Why couldn't somebody else go with us? We could've gone with someone smarter, like Wolfgang or maybe even Kartik or Matsu, but no. We get stuck with Daisuke," Kazuma whispered to Yuki-Rin.

"I dunno. Did Hana even want to go with us?" Yuki-Rin said as her eyes trailed to a paper on the wall. "What's that?"

"See for yourself," Kazuma explained. Yuki-Rin walked over to the paper, which was a mission statement for the lab.

"The Laboratory of Enviromental Sciences is committed to the enviroment and the well-being of the residents of Three-Mile Island. Ever since the laboratory's inception, we have been dedicated to the cause of cleaning up this island's enviroment and the surrounding oceans and atmosphere. We want our children and our grandchildren to live in a healthier, prosprous, and enviromentally conscious world, and that's what we aspire to here at the Laboratory of Enviromental Sciences," Yuki-Rin read from the mission statement.

"Huh. These guys don't seem so bad. They acutally WANT a better tomorrow for people like us," Daisuke commented.

"All I have to wonder is why the lab shut down. These scientists had good goals for this island, and they suddenly close up the lab and leave," Kazuma explained.

"Actually, I remember something from a couple of years back. I read in the paper that noxious slime and deadly plants have overtaken the lab, and the scientists had to flee for their safety," Yuki-Rin explained.

"Well, so far, I haven't seen any deadly plants OR slime, so I think we're good," Kazuma explained. "Why don't we head back? Our nakama must be getting a bit worried about us."

"Gas masks on!" Yuki-Rin said before she put the gas mask over her face. Kazuma and Daisuke slid the masks over their faces. "Let's go!"

A few minutes later, Yuki-Rin, Kazuma, and Daisuke managed to get out of the lab.

"Well, that was an adventure," Daisuke said almost sarcastically. "I mean, where's all the dangerous stuff a lab normally has?"

"They probably packed it up," Yuki-Rin said. Daisuke shrugged.

"At least we're still alive," Daisuke said. "Now, let's get back to everyone and tell them what they found! We have to show them this place!"

Daisuke threw the burning piece of wood back into the lab before he joined Yuki-Rin and Kazuma.

Ending Note: Is it me, or does the Laboratory of Enviromental Sciences sound too much like Apeture Science from Portal, but without GLaDOs, the experiments, and the cake?

Review if you want the Capricorns to show up again.