A/n: Thank you for returning back to Making the Grade!

I have everything planned out for the next few chapters. Technically I had stuff planned for the first four chapters (leading up to The Pig, the Snake and the Monkey), but now I have a bit of a longer-term plan. Instead of stories fully resolving within chapters, things will take a bit longer since I don't want to leave any of the Straw Hats behind. I know the original story is mainly about Luffy, but I can't write a One Piece fanfiction and not keep the crew as close to the heart of my writing as possible. It's just an impossibility for me.

Along with all that, I'm not even covering everything that was in the original story by this point! So, there's a good chunk more story I have to take into consideration as well, even beyond the climactic confrontation with Arlong in Chapter 11 of the original story. I'm in this for the long haul, so if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment! If I start getting enough, I might start responding to them in these Author's Notes!

Hope you continue to enjoy my re-imagining!

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"DEET DEET DEET DEET - BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!"

For the first time in a while, Kuro Klahadore struggled to get out of bed. He hadn't done much more the day before than any other, but his mind raced when trying to get to sleep the night before.

Things were off… and he didn't want to admit it.

'Click!' As he slid out of bed, the pixelated numbers blinked off of a screen and into his sunken face. The alarm turned off at the sound of a switch, Kuro just barely missing the timing for his clanking button press to match perfectly in time with the end of the third round of beeping and buzzing. Without hesitation, he reached over to the other side of the counter, grasped onto a full glass of water, and chugged it down in a matter of a few, rough seconds.

Not wasting a second to breathe in or out, Kuro lightly tapped the switch for a bedside lamp to flicker against a wooden desk. On its surface, a small notebook with a red ribbon bookmark and a fountain pen beside it sat, ready to be open once more.

1: Get out of bed at 5:30 on the dot.

His handwriting from the previous night glistened in stark black calligraphy, a small black box beside the writing being crossed out as soon as Kuro had a good hold of the pen.

At a certain point, Kuro found comfort in making and improving upon his morning routine. It was the only time of day in which he could completely craft the world around him to whatever he so desired, and as such, he would have as much room for improvements and perfecting as he could dream of.

Without a second to lose, he crossed out the next step before putting the notebook down.

2: Get in some light reading.

One of the improvements he'd made over the years was having some quality reading time, which would help exercise his brain, train his concentration first thing in the morning, and increase his general knowledge.

He'd originally done homework during this time period. Not the homework due that day of course, but some he knew he had to get done eventually. As he'd gotten better at getting ahead of his work though, it only felt right to do something in the morning that felt more like a reward. Especially for the day that was to come, enjoying a light reprieve from life by indulging in some fiction was just what he needed.

And so there he sat, in his slippery circular glasses, boxers, and a worn baseball jersey, tilting back lightly in a wooden chair at his desk. Light came from the small lamp on the desk and nothing more, perfect for reading but still dim enough that he wasn't straining his eyes with the digital glare of his room's white light or the LCD sting of his phone. The last thing he needed to do in the morning was look at his phone, unless he wanted to speedrun needing to update the prescription of his glasses.

In today's case, he read The Goodbyes, a story about a toxic relationship between a young woman and her boss wrecking the lives around them. He found the storyline a bit confusing, but was overall enamored by the characters and interested to see if the damage that their 'love' caused could be mended or not. In his mind, things weren't beyond repair, but as the chapters went on, the characters continued to make confusing decision after confusing decision. Why couldn't they just accept the consequences of their actions?

He might need to drop the book and find a new one, Kuro thought as he closed it up, a dark bookmark stretching out from it.

3: Workout, and clean yourself up afterwards.

Next was a quick workout, a jog around the complex he lived in, hoping to keep his reflexes sharp. His room was in a small building next to a large mansion, where the Torreya family lived and worked from. Thankfully, with the mansion existing within an upscale neighborhood, the idea of going for a jog around the block was simple and without the worry of many others bothering him. Kuro listened to older bands like Animal Band and the Big News Bulletin, cheery and energetic mixes of pop and rock to keep his adrenaline consistent without exploding into something like heavy metal might do to him. Being professional is key, after all. A spout of anger would do him no good, and anyone around him less than no good.

A quick cold shower brought out the rest of the adrenaline in Kuro, and when that wasn't enough, a small cup of hot coffee from a personal machine he kept in his room would do the trick. He'd brought it from where he'd lived before, both as a token of what had come before as well as a way to keep up his morning routine without having to enter the Torreya's estate. By the time he was done with his cup, his hair was a shimmering dark black, his tie sharp and symmetrical, and his shoes buffered. Ready for the day, and it was only…

He glanced at his alarm clock. '7:01'.

'Well shit', he thought. If he didn't finish his morning routine by seven in the morning, he was going to have a bad day. Guaranteed. There were only a few superstitions that he could continuously rely on, and that was one of them.

Superstitions aside, he had a job to do. With that now stuck in his mind, Kuro turned off the lamp in his room and made his way through the Torreya's gardens to the mansion's back entrance. He made his morning wave to the gardener, who was also up early maintaining some sprinklers for the vast space of greenery in between the Butler's cabins and the mansion.

Once inside, through a large glass sliding door, he could hear the quiet shuffling of cookware from the kitchen. Making his way inside a lavish white kitchen, an older butler in full black (the same attire Kuro had to wear when not in school uniform) swapped between prepping one meal and the next.

"Ah, there he is." Merry the Butler cheerily chimed. "I assume you didn't make it before seven, huh?"

"I was off by one minute." Kuro muttered with a frustration in his voice, before shuffling over to help whisk some eggs in a silver bowl.

"Figures. It's the close calls that bug you the most. Hope you still have a good day, though!"

Kuro gave Merry a confused look, the older butler's whisking remaining consistent. "Why do you care?"

Merry returned the look with one of cartoon shock. "What?! Am I not allowed to have concern for my favorite coworker?"

"I'm your only other coworker."

"Well, that simply isn't true. There's the gardener, and the delivery man who stops by once every couple weeks…"

"If that's my competition, then thanks."

"Woah-ho-ho! I'll make sure the delivery man doesn't hear that!" Merry laughed aloud, as Kuro could just barely muster a smile in return.

"Um…" The duo turn to a door in the kitchen, where an exhausted Kaya lay leaning against the frame. "G-good morning, you two."

"Ah, Kaya! What a wonderful morning it is!" Merry put down a spatula before dashing over to her, making sure she got to a small seat nearby comfortably. "What are you doing here so early? I never expect you to be awake at least until you smell our fine cooking, you know."

Kuro rolled his eyes, as Kaya lightly chuckled at her butler's enthusiasm.

"Oh, well…" She mumbled, still in a minor daze of exhaustion. "I just couldn't sleep that well last night, that's all."

"Do you need any medicine?" Merry spoke with seriousness.

"No!" Kaya shouted a little too fearfully. " No… I mean, I should be fine."

"Well, fine. I won't bother you on that. But," Merry reached into a container on one of the tables, where an entire bowl of tea packets resided. "As I get you some tea, miss, would you at least tell me about how your day went yesterday?"

If she didn't look exhausted enough, her entire face turned a shade redder at the remark. "Yesterday! Yes, it was really fun, but traveling is just too much sometimes. The train was a wonderful deal to experience, though."

"Don't forget I could've driven you and your friends in my van." Merry cheerfully continued the conversation, as Kuro slowly realized he had to hop into all of Merry's cooking responsibilities while he prepped the tea.

"I know! But when's the next time I'm going to get on the Puffing Tom again, you know?"

"You're a growing young lady, I suppose. I'm sure being stuck in this stuffy old house all the time isn't your idea of fun, so I won't complain when you do get the chance to go out."

"But I will." Kuro spoke in-between the two's conversation. "You were short of exhausted when you came home last night, and yet you look like you haven't slept a wink. Are you sure those friends of yours aren't getting in your head?"

"I'm quite alright, Kuro." Kaya spoke with a light tease in her voice. "The Straw Hats are… energetic, to be sure, but they've been nothing but nice and considerate to me."

"More like that Usopp fellow's been nothing but all over you."

"Kuro!" Kaya nearly shot up in surprise and embarrassment, only for Merry to turn around with an excited glare in his eyes.

"Oh? Now, who's this 'Usopp' he's talking about?"

Kaya's face turned even redder than when the topic of yesterday was first broached. "He- well, he's-"

"He's a Freshman in Miss Kaya's classes."

"Oh!" Merry burst out into a massive grin, before laughing gleefully. Kaya became even more embarrassed, but it was clear from Merry's positive attitude that he was more happy to hear Kaya was doing alright in school than nervous about the people she'd been associating herself with. Kuro could only roll his eyes again, getting the reaction he'd wanted the least.

"What's he like?"

Kaya looked away from the two, just as Kuro turned to face her. While he made sure to keep a close eye on Kaya's life, he wasn't really knowledgeable about Usopp and the wild Straw Hats he associates with. Maybe… that'd have to change.

4: Make sure everything in Kaya's life is going perfectly. For her sake and for my own.

"Well…" She began, a smile on her face.

One Piece - Making the Grade

New World!

Sanji arrived from the parking lot right after '8:30', a few minutes behind Zoro in order to keep his smoking as far away from the school's campus as possible. He wasn't even nervous about getting in trouble with the school about it, but he knew that most of the girls he liked to flirt with wouldn't like the rotting smell of cigarette smoke on his lips.

Popping a fifty-cent lollipop in his mouth, he made his way up through the opening walkway of the school into a courtyard. Getting a good look into the main area of the courtyard, a large group of students gathered in a circle, the beats of pop music easily hearable despite his distance. Walking up to a large tree in the corner of the yard, Sanji turned to see Zoro taking a nap underneath its morning shade, his eyes deeply closed and his arms folded behind his neck.

"Hey, Mosshead. Where's Luffy at?"

Zoro nodded his head to the group. "See for yourself."

Sanji casually shuffled into the crowd, getting a better look at both the viewers and the people at the center of attention. In the middle of the large circle, a group of students who appeared to be doing some sort of choreographed dance routine to recent top charts. He could never imagine himself doing something that embarrassing, but he knew Luffy enjoyed all sorts of music, so didn't blame him for enjoying cheesy stuff like that. But as he looked around the crowd, there wasn't a single sign of Luffy.

"I thought-" Just as he eyed the last end of the crowd, he knew there was only one place left to turn. In an instant, Sanji's lollipop dropped from his mouth to the grass below, jaw agape.

In the back of the dance crew, just wearing their normal school clothes, Luffy and Usopp matched the beats of the dancers almost exactly.

"Ah! There you are!" From behind Sanji, Nami made her way through a dense mess of students, which was growing by the minute as the time ticked down to the first class of the day.

"What are those two idiots doing?!" Sanji exclaimed, still exasperated from the situation.

"It's Thriller Bark! Who doesn't know the dances?" Nami called out, trying her best to speak over the volume of the crowd. Considering it was a flash mob in the early morning hours, most of the students watching were either dazed into energy from the exhaustion of a lack of sleep, or just generally gathering around while not giving a shit.

"There's a big difference between knowing how to sear a steak and making a big show of it!" Sanji yelled back, glancing around at the several students who were filming the whole show. "Especially when that show's in front of the entire school!"

Luffy and Usopp clapped their hands to the beat, before shifting their bodies (at the same time as the main dancers) into zombie-like strutting patterns. Shuffling a bit to the left, then back to the right, the duo weren't perfectly in-sync to their choreography, but were having fun nonetheless. The five dancers that made up the group performing, three boys and two girls, seemingly enjoyed the extra members and opened up their spacing a bit for Luffy and Usopp to hop right in the middle.

Before Usopp could protest, and just as the music was about to hit another high, Luffy dragged his friend into the center of attention. The shock from being moderately embarrassing to front-and-stage embarrassing made Usopp stumble around more than usual, but not enough to knock anyone down from sheer incompetence. Luffy, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, grinning and clapping as the song barreled to its conclusion.

Just as the song wrapped up, before the dancers could say anything to protest, several other students entered the large circle. They were the members of the school's hall monitor group CP9; Fukurou, the school's gossip, Kaku (Usopp's doppelganger), and… Rob Lucci.

"Alright everyone!" Lucci called out with a hardened expression. "That's enough disturbance for today! Make your way to classes, without delay!"

His yelling would've been louder than the crowd if they didn't have the forethought to quiet down as soon as his face was visible to the crowd. It hadn't been too long since school began, but there wasn't a single person on campus who didn't know NOT to mess with Rob Lucci, especially when it came to matters of the school.

"Aw, come on!" Luffy called out to him, a frown on his face.

Everyone, except Monkey D. Luffy.

Cool as a cucumber, Lucci made his way over to Luffy, facing him with a bare minimum of respect, towering over the Freshman. Several of the students made their way out of the crowd by that point, nervous as to what Lucci would do if he'd notice them loitering, waiting for a fight. Others (especially Fukurou) almost leaned in closer, excited for combat of some sort.

Luffy was equally calm, only more confused by Kaku's silent motions from behind Rob, swiping his neck back and forth with his hand, nervous to the bone. Not sure what it meant, Luffy did the same motion, not breaking his gaze from Lucci after starting.

"Luffy, maybe we should go-!" Usopp whispered, pulling on Luffy's arm.

"No, no." Lucci held a hand up, without so much as a glint of anger. When people are at their angriest, as Usopp knew, they were cold, silent time bombs.

"So?" Luffy asked again, still doing the 'please fucking stop it motion' Kaku had taught him.

"As a student here, it's my job to respect you and your boundaries. But, as a member of CP9, I'd highly implore you to stop making an idiot of yourself, for the sake of the students. Disturbing the peace, breaking out into a fight on the first day of school… you're just asking for trouble, aren't you?"

Luffy nodded no, accented by the hand motion he still wasn't tired of.

"I'd stop that if I were you." The older student gritted his teeth.

Before Luffy could even ask what he was referring to (which would've been a genuine question, still completely out of the loop), Lucci grabbed Luffy's hand, stopping the motion and grasping it tightly. It was the first time in a while Luffy had been the one to be caught off-guard by the presence of someone's strength, his mood going from cheerful and carefree to nervous within a second. Just as Lucci was ready to say more, and Luffy to respond with fists in turn-

"Alright, enough of this!"

A teacher made their way into the crowd and eyed Lucci, causing him to let go of Luffy in a heartbeat. Whoever was left of the crowd by the time Lucci was ready to kick the crap out of Luffy were greeted by a History teacher and the head of the dance club.

While having a man's physique, the teacher wore a pink suit that, really, either a man or a woman could've pulled off wearing. It was a bit jarring to those who'd never seen the Bon Clay before, especially due to the rigid fashion norms maintained by their uniforms. But to those who had seen them before, it was just part of the routine that was high school.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"This student was causing chaos, being disrespectful to the school environment. I was just-"

"Just nothing." Clay snapped, raising their chin up at Lucci in a childish manner. "It's your responsibility to let the school deliver punishment and discern justice, not yours. Do I make myself clear?"

Lucci angrily grimaced, breaking his calm facade for the first time. To someone like Usopp, just barely out of the crossfire, it nearly made him pass out in nervousness.

"Along with that, they might have been a disturbance, but they were mine and my students' disturbance, and we shall treat him with whatever kindness or disrespect we shall see fit. Have a good day, Rob Lucci."

Clay waved Lucci off, forcing him to take something akin to a walk of shame away from the remaining students in the crowd. By that time, Sanji, Nami and Zoro were all together, most likely nervous Luffy was going to get into some sort of fight without him realizing it. Koby was also in the crowd, shaking off sweat droplets of nervousness in a similar manner to Usopp.

"Now…" Bon Clay leaned over to Luffy. "Are you alright?"

"I'm great! The dancing was really fun! And everyone was super talented at it!"

Clay shot the Freshman a bashful pose. "Oh, stop! You know, you're always welcome to stop by the dance club after school, young man. And you too…" Clay glanced over at Usopp, certainly less impressed than the bundle of energy in front of them. "If your friend wants to join as well. Our next set is going to be songs from UTA's newest album."

"Oh, UTA?" Luffy leapt up in surprise. "I know her!"

"Yeah, sure Luffy." Usopp made his way over to Luffy's side after being referred to by Clay, patting his friend on the back with a sarcastic glare. "Of course you know UTA."

Luffy was never the best at catching people's sarcasm, but he could tell that Usopp wasn't buying it. "I know her! We hung out all the time when I was younger!"

"Alright, alright." Clay patted the two boys on the shoulder before turning to face the dance team. They'd stayed behind to make sure Luffy was alright, which were points in Usopp's book for how well Clay built the team up. "I have to make sure my team's alright. Think about that offer, won't you? Even if not just for the fun of it, Homecoming should be coming up!"

"Of course!" Luffy waved at his new friend as the teacher made their way off.

"Oh yeah, I guess Homecoming is right around the corner…" Usopp muttered, giving a smaller but still affectionate wave to the teacher who stopped either Luffy or Lucci from getting a face full of fists.

"What were you thinking?!" Kaku came up to Luffy, shaking his shoulders until the boy became nothing short of a cartoon-like vibration.

"I-I-I DO-DO-N'T KN-KN-OW-OW!" Luffy echoed and reverberated an 'I don't know' from his shaking form, before Kaku finally let go. "That Lucci guy didn't seem that bad!"

"He's the worst! Well, I mean, he's the best at what he does, but… whether anyone likes it or not, he follows the rules to the 'T'."

"What 'T'?" Luffy questioned, causing Usopp to smack his forehead.

"Usopp?" The boy turned to see Kaya, along with the butler he'd never been introduced to before, Kuro. It seemed that they'd just made it to school, which further cemented in Usopp's mind just how much worse him joining in on the dancing could've been. He wouldn't be able to leave his house for weeks, too caught up in a case of 'too - embarrassed - to - look - at - Kaya's - pretty - face - again - disease' to even think about returning to school.

"Usopp! Were you just dancing with them?!" Kaya called to him excitedly, Kuro's expression not leaving that of a stoic blankness.

"Uh…" Usopp thought for a moment about lying, but Kaya wasn't like his other friends. He only wanted to fudge the truth a bit to make her feel better, not leave her out of anything. "Yeah… I guess I was." Usopp turned his head slightly, hoping she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"That sounds like so much fun!" She grinned from ear-to-ear. "I wish I could do something like that, but I wear out much too quickly for it. What was it like?"

Now that Usopp knew Kaya wasn't going to make fun of him to Hell and back, an over-the-top salesman grin formed on his face.

"Well, when a performance calls you, the soul just knows! Me and Luffy were out there among the people, giving the show of a lifetime!" Usopp moved around Kaya in an over exaggerated manner, keeping the energy of his story high as he swayed in a slightly-exaggerated dancing form. "Dance moves flowed from us left and right, and just as we thought the team might not like it, they invited us to dance in front of them!"

"Really?" Kaya asked, moreso enthused of his story than doubtful of the turn of events, even lightly bobbing her body along to Usopp's swaying motions.

"Yep! And like a dragon, I leapt to our given spot just as the song soared into its final crescendo!" Usopp pointed his finger to the air, as though it were aiming for Heaven itself instead of the clouds above.

"So… you crashed a flash mob?" Kuro asked, genuinely confused but with an air of mocking to it as well.

Usopp, stirred up from his story to Kaya, was more than a little shocked to hear Kuro speak. "Uh, well… I- you know, there's only-"

"Ah. Of course." Before Usopp could find his footing, Kuro spoke out of turn and confidently nudged Kaya's arm. "I'm sorry, miss, but we must get going if you're to make your first class in time."

Kaya, in just an equal daze to Usopp, looked away from him to hide the red on her face. "I'm sorry, Usopp. Maybe you could finish your story another time?"

Usopp lit up. "Of course! Let me tell you, you're gonna want to be sitting down for the epic conclusion to my dancing adventures!"

"The epic conclusion?" Usopp nearly leapt out of his skin as the rest of the Straw Hats trotted up behind him, Sanji himself covering his face in a playful grin.

"Well, that's-"

"It was pretty epic, right?!" Luffy stole a high-five from Usopp's partially-raised hand, not even catching that Sanji was making fun of them. At least for him, it was too fun to even imagine that someone could make fun of him for it.

"But man, that guy looks like he has a stick up his ass." Nami angrily glared at Kuro as he and Kaya were too far away to hear, nearing a final turn into a corner of the school that they wouldn't be able to see from the courtyard.

"He's the Student Council Treasurer, I think." Sanji nodded in agreement to her previous statement in addition to responding. "Big position for a school like this, and I'm sure the fact that he works for Kaya doesn't hurt."

"Are you sure you're any match for a guy like him?" Zoro playfully nudged Usopp in the shoulder, which for anyone else wouldn't have sent them into a dizzying spiral. But this is Usopp we're talking about, here.

"A- a match?!"

"What, like a fight?" Luffy questioned, before nervously looking at Usopp's physique. He loved his friends… but this cat guy was at least several inches taller than Usopp, let alone bulkier and more obviously fit.

"No! Like a date!" Nami jumped back in, almost disappointed that Luffy didn't track what they were implying. "You are planning to ask her out, right? Things went well at the mall, I heard?"

"Things went very well." Sanji agreed. "If Usopp had any more of a spine, I'm sure he would've asked her if it was a date then."

"H-how do you know I didn't?!" Usopp boldly proclaimed, even as he meekly followed behind the group as they made their way out of the school's center. Their prolonged silence at him made it obvious this was another bluff he couldn't get past them. He could only sigh in resignation, head facing the ground as he shuffled forward.

"What about Homecoming?" A voice from just down the hallway called to them, almost too eager to offer the suggestion.

"Oh, Kami." Zoro held his temple, hoping to relieve at least a small bit of the frustration in his head.

Up ahead of them was the school's prime gossip, Fukurou, with a sinister smile forming from one end of his face to the other. "It's just around the corner, and the perfect place to ask someone on a date. I'm really not tipping you off for any other reason."

"What do you want?" Zoro barked at the older student, which caused him to flinch.

"Alright, alright!" He held his hands up in nervous defense. "Just thought I'd give you wackos some warning."

"Warning?" Nami confusingly spoke.

"Wackos?" Usopp nervously shuddered.

"Give us?" Zoro questioned, doubtful.

"Yes, of course! Now, it seems your bold friend here has been the subject of our discussions as of late." He pointed to Luffy.

"Our?" Sanji questioned.

"Yes. Our. The grapevine. The network of juicy information and discussion. And even outside of that, a lot of upperclassmen have been talking about the boy who punched out a senior on his first day of school."

"I punched someone out?" Luffy genuinely questioned.

"He had a big nose or something." Zoro mumbled.

"Oh! Boogie!" Luffy burst out laughing at the memory. "That's right! He was a real jerk to Koby!"

"Yes, that incident. Well, now's about the time that the seniors with a good chance of winning a spot on the Homecoming Court decide who they want to partner off with. Some, obviously, choose people they're genuinely interested in going to the dance with. Others… decide people based on who they think will attract the most attention to their campaign. As you might have experienced before, ballots like that require branding over much else. So, having a popular or iconic name on the ballot-"

"Will bring them to the top." Sanji spoke, flabbergasted.

"Wait…" Nami took hold of the conversation, although pausing long enough to process what he was saying. "Are you saying there might just be random seniors coming out of the woodworks to ask Luffy to Homecoming?!"

"That's perfectly right!" Fukurou cheerfully clapped, only stopping when he realized Zoro was even more annoyed now than before. "Well, anyway. Just thought your group deserved a warning."

"Deserved a warning?" Zoro spoke with sizable doubt. "What are you really doing here?"

For every step forward Zoro made towards the gossip, Fukurou took more than double back. "Fine! You caught me. I just… wanted to make sure your friend chose the most interesting choice. Luffy would kill at Homecoming, I just know it!"

"Yeah!" Luffy happily cheered along with Fukurou, oblivious as to what he'd actually be good at.

"Luffy's not going with anyone to Homecoming!" Nami spoke defensively.

"What?!" Luffy leapt up in surprise, almost with a child-like twinge of sadness in his voice. "I'm not going to Homecoming?! That's just like a big party, right?!"

"I- well," Nami began, before getting a surprised glance from Sanji and a cocky smirk from Zoro. "Of course we're all going, Luffy. We just don't want you going with someone that's going to manipulate you."

"Well, I can't control who's going to a party or not." Luffy spoke definitely.

"She means a date, boy." Fukurou snuck in.

"Alright!" Zoro made his way up to Fukurou, scaring him off like a rat being hit with bright light. "Now get out of here! And don't bother us again!"

"Do I need a date to go to Homecoming?" Luffy innocently asked Usopp.

"Well, it might make it more enjoyable, depending on how you plan on spending the dance. It's-" Usopp paused, trying to think of the right way to describe the situation to Luffy. "It's like asking ahead of time if someone can be your priority, and if you'd be comfortable with you being their priority. That's why Nami- or, well, all of us, wouldn't want you going on a date to Homecoming with someone who isn't going to respect you."

"Ah." Luffy nodded, a blank expression revealing to anyone with eyes that he didn't really understand. But now Usopp, having to dumb down the idea for Luffy, finally got it through his thick skull that he was gonna have to ask Kaya to go to the dance with him, or he'd regret it. Maybe he could just put it off for a bit longer… take a night to sleep on it, and all.

Listening in, Nami couldn't help but put herself in a similar situation as Usopp. She wasn't really sure about a lot of things concerning Luffy, mainly just due to how much of a chaos object he could be at times. But maybe she did want to take Luffy to Homecoming, if he'd even be interested in the concept.

They were close friends before, and while she didn't doubt her own looks and getting with any guy she set her mind to, she could at least be confident that however Luffy felt about the whole thing, that was the truth. With the fear of other random competitors for Luffy's affections at least known to her now, Nami thought she could take a night to sleep on it.

'What's the worst that could happen?' Nami and Usopp thought in unison.

As the bell rang for Lunch, Kuro packed everything into his bag except a small notebook and a pen. Carrying it with him outside of the drab classroom, Kuro kept a confident strut all throughout the hallway, no matter who crossed his path.

He only had an hour during their lunch break to find out as much about the Straw Hats as possible, as he didn't want to keep deferring days away from having lunch with Kaya. The further he separated himself from her now, the more likely she'd begin falling back on someone like Usopp… a situation he couldn't afford happening.

After making his way through a few more hallways, Kuro found himself side-to-side with Fukurou, the school's gossip.

"Do you have the cash?" Fukurou cheekily asked.

Kuro casually handed the shorter student a wad of cash, which was quickly checked over before being pocketed. "Alright!"

With an equal motion to Kuro handing him cash, Fukurou handed him a manila folder, stuffed to the brim with papers. "I hope they're all accounted for."

"Yes, of course, all five are present. I'd considered doing some research on that kid who joined the army club recently, but if I were to put anything in the folder about him it would be a real wet blanket. Otherwise, you got enough dirt on these five to do whatever you want, really."

"Perfect." Kuro quickly threw open his backpack, before carefully sliding the folders inside.

"Now, that little Straw Hat group has been the 'talk of the town', as it happens. If you don't mind me asking… what do you need so much information on them for?"

"Are you willing to part with five of those stacks of cash?"

Fukurou felt the heft on the one stack in his hand. "My apologies. Just like getting the clearest picture possible."

"All you need to know…" Kuro murmured lightly, as though people could be listening in. "Is that I'm wondering just how much of a disturbance that little group could be in K- … my friend's life."

"Oh, well I can answer that for you before you even open up that folder, and that's a resounding yes! Everywhere they go, the group seems to have little-to-no respect for boundaries or preconceived societal fears, except maybe the girl. If this was a bestselling book, they'd be the main characters."

Kuro thought about the description for a moment, before zipping up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "Duly noted."

As Luffy tore into a pile of food at his cafeteria table, Kuro knew that his toughest opponent laid out in front of him.

Hidden away in a back corner of the large room, Kuro took notes as he observed the five passionately laughing and enjoying themselves, rowdier and more unrestrained than any other table in the main building. Most who would care enough to actually enjoy their time during the Lunch Period would find a place as far away from the cafeteria, the center of attention, as possible.

But there they were. They didn't care about perception or anything like that. And that's what both impressed and scared Kuro the most.

"That was the last of my lunch!" Usopp complained, as Luffy scarfed down half of a sandwich.

"Sorry. I'll get you something after school." Luffy spoke, after he chewed enough to be able to speak.

"I had a feeling you'd do this again." Usopp dramatically spoke, as though he were trying to land the role of lead in the school play. "I thought there'd be a chance you wouldn't… but that's just how you are."

"What?" Luffy looked at him, confused as to what he was getting at.

"But I have wants and dreams too! Just to let you know how serious I am about this, I shall attempt to take my own life." From his pocket, he pulled out a small knife.

And, without hesitation, he plunged it into the left side of his chest, blood spurting from the wound almost instantly.

"HOLY SHIT!" Nami leapt from her seat, while the others just gave Usopp annoyed glares. After a few seconds of dramatic wailing, Usopp turned back upright in a non-wounded, serious glare.

"What gives?" He questioned.

"Obviously you wouldn't kill yourself." Zoro plainly put.

"And I could tell that the knife you used was a fake." Sanji spoke.

"And I saw you putting ketchup packets in your shirt earlier!" Luffy laughed.

"Wha-?" Nami glared at all of them, before pulling Usopp in close and giving him an earful. "What's wrong with you?! If anyone else actually thought you did that, you'd be in deep shit!"

"Sorry!" Usopp nervously walked over his words, making sure he didn't say anything to set off Nami further. "I was just testing out a new gag… I see it works… heh heh…"

"Pretending to kill youself isn't a joke, Usopp." Nami grumbled.

"I know! I know! But this could have a lot of practical applications!" He began. "If someone wants to fight me, I could just pretend to kill myself before they have the chance to attack!"

"Ugh… just don't try stuff like that on your friends next time, alright?"

The table became silent, the four guys giving Nami a cheerful glance.

"What?"

"Just… glad you think of us as your friends." Sanji quietly spoke, the rest of the table nodding in agreement. "You're the newest member of the group, after all. Well, me and Zoro have known Usopp for about as long, but Luffy had been hanging out with him all of last year."

"Oh." Nami's cheeks brightened up a bit, before reaching out to take a bite of her salad. "I didn't realize-" She would've continued, but soon realized that there was nothing in her salad bowl.

"Wha-?"

She glanced over to her right, where Luffy had cheeks more stuffed than a squirrels.

The rest of the table burst into laughter as Luffy was now the one at the center of Nami's anger.

The Lunch Period was broken into two parts at Grand Line High, and by the second half, most of the members of the Straw Hats were divided between several tasks. Luffy had to go to the guidance counselor, which Kuro could easily predict was about his grades. Nami went to work on as much schoolwork as she could get her hands on, which Kuro could also easily make a prediction as to why. He hadn't skimped out on glossing over the papers he'd received before beginning to follow them.

Zoro, whom he'd needed to trail very carefully, was getting in a quick workout in the school's gym before his next class. The actual dedication to workouts didn't surprise Kuro, but his relationship to Koby and Tashigi, two members of the army club, did catch his eye. He'd need more time to fully understand the depths of his relationships, in case they were also willing to step in on the Straw Hats' behalf.

Sanji was off flirting with the beautiful upperclassmen of the school. While most would take the rejections he'd received to heart, Sanji just took the criticisms of his personality in stride. He'd even been changing his tactics and attempting to improve on his 'suave' nature through the conversations he'd have with these women. It certainly wasn't the most healthy way to spend a break in school, but he'd be a tougher nut to crack than he'd anticipated.

And finally, Usopp was in the Art Studio, which on this particular day was abandoned except for him. Looking at him from the outside, Kuro could tell that he was taking the sketches he was working on very seriously. He couldn't see from where he stood what Usopp was working on exactly, but each new page was more detailed than the last.

Usopp was thorough, determined, and relentlessly comical. He was never the main character of any story he could wind up in, but his charms made it easy to see why Usopp was a valued member of the Straw Hats, even when paired up against the more crazy and thug-like members beside him. The people he surrounded himself with seemed unbalanced and out-of-control on the outside, but with an anchor like Usopp around to ground them, Kuro wasn't surprised they were still as low-radar as they were.

"Looks… odd."

Usopp nearly leapt out of his wooden seat in surprise, the cool figure of Kuro standing behind him like he was still working as a butler at the school.

"Woah! Hey! Don't sneak up on me like that, alright?!"

"Apologies." He spoke plainly, without a hint of sincerity. "I need to talk to you."

"Oh- me?" Usopp shuddered, nervous as to what Kuro could want with him.

Scratch that. Usopp thought to himself, he knew exactly what Kuro wanted to talk to him about: Kaya. He knew that someone like Kuro would want to make sure that he wasn't some sort of scumbag, or out to get her money or anything. Despite any effort Usopp could have put out beforehand, he knew that Kuro thought very little of him. Who didn't usually have a negative opinion of him?

"I've been very impressed with you."

"Yeah, well - wait, what?"

"You seem like a great friend to Kaya. Spirited and courageous, even when you put up a front as a coward. You've been there for her emotionally, and I can tell you host no true ill will with being around her, or being close to her."

"Obviously!" Usopp lied as naturally as he breathed. "That's, well, just the kind of person I am!"

"And your friends… they're a fun bunch too, you know? You seem very close to them."

"Well, me and Zoro are still off the table a little bit. And Nami, well, she's a mystery to me even now. But yeah, I think they're great."

"Perfect." Kuro clapped his hands together, the pieces fitting perfectly into place. "Then I just have one request for you."

"Yeah?"

"Don't ask Kaya to the dance. Or, well, maybe you should just stop being around her altogether. And-"

He halted the pace of the conversation in order to glare at Usopp as seriously as he'd hope the teenager would take his words.

"If you ignore my warning, I'll kill all your friends, and then you, in that order. This isn't a joke, nor a threat. It's simply a matter of fact."

It was only with Kuro's twisted words did Usopp realize how close the upperclassman was to him. The weight of someone much older than you looming overhead was intimidating enough, but Kuro's presence was unmatched by even Lucci that morning. Menace, with a clear purpose and order to it all.

"I- uh-"

"I'm just giving you the heads up now because I know to expect the unexpected from your… crew of friends. So, if my words before weren't clear enough, here's what's going to happen: you will not be able to tell Kaya about this conversation, because if you do, she won't believe you. You won't be able to report me to the school, because if you try, they won't believe you. My position isn't one of luck or nepotism, but pure skill and respect from my peers. If you try to get your friends involved, and I hear about it, then I'll just kill them at my earliest convenience. These aren't just some cheap words for you to mull over, they are the end all be all."

With that, Kuro finished his words as he slowly made his way to the door. "That's all. I genuinely hope you have a good one, Usopp. Just not a great one, if you know what I mean."

.

.

.

What… just happened? Usopp thought to himself, a pale, shivering wreck of himself as the door to the art room closed behind Kuro.

Outside the art room, Kuro pulled out his notebook from his jacket's pocket and crossed out the fourth step of his daily routine.

5: Have lunch. You've earned it.

BTS (Behind the Scenes) CH.5 -

Wow! What a way to start off a storyline, huh?

I knew the first chapter of this arc had to be about Kuro, or at least mostly from Kuro's perspective. In most versions of the character that I've seen (the real manga or fanfiction adjacent), it's hard for me to fear him because he wants to be seen as competent but makes fatal mistakes of ego when it comes to the Straw Hats or Kaya. In this case, the hope is that by fleshing him out, we can see just how competent he truly is. And if he's really thought everything out, how will the Straw Hats deal with a threat like that?

Not to spoil anything coming up, but most of the conversations with the Straw Hats themselves are really just set-up for the future disguised as fun conversation. I had to work a while on it, because I really want things to happen in this story for a reason, and if I didn't think about the consequences of what the characters say and do for wayyy down the line, then it wouldn't really matter.

Also, this is where I decided to slot in Luffy's first interaction with Lucci from the original Making the Grade. I tried to make him a bit more collected, like the Lucci from the early parts of Water 7 was in the manga, because it just wouldn't make sense for him to be 1000% a bully right away. Despite that change, I think I fit the dance scene and Clay's eventual role into the story very well.

To be clear: I'm NOT doing Bon Clay like the original story does him. The original story was written a while ago, and I personally don't agree with some of his characterization in terms of a modern-day context. Oda can do whatever he wants because it's a story about pirates and magic fruit, but if I just had a grown-ass man yelling Okama WAY then there might be some issues, both in terms of representation and just… making scenes awkward with catchphrases and personality quirks and the like.

Hope you're enjoying the story!