I'm looking for a Beta Reader! If you happen to feel as though you're qualified for the position, I'm mainly looking for someone who can help me organize ideas about the story structurally rather than someone looking to polish my grammar, although it wouldn't hurt to have someone with eyes on the chapter before it's published as well. I want to try and practice improving on that myself!
Thank you for returning to Making the Grade! Especially after my elongated break!
But… planning for the next six chapters (including this one!) has been a bit of a herculean task, and I would really appreciate the help of anyone who likes these sorts of longer, multi-layered fanfics being released! This saga is intense as it is, but I have plans down the line to introduce One Piece's worldly scale with that flare of high school drama that makes Making the Grade so special. DM me with any relevant qualifications (even if that's just your own work) if you'd be interested.
Other than that, Homecoming is fast approaching! The winds of chaos are gonna be blasting through Grand Line High, and it wouldn't be a One Piece fic if Luffy and the other Straw Hats weren't at the front of it!
But what's going on with Usopp and Nami? Will Usopp be able to reconnect with Luffy and the others before he does something rash? Will Nami apologize for what happened at Arlong Park, or does Luffy need to do some soul-searching of his own?
Hope you continue to enjoy my re-imagining!
XXXXXXXXXX
One Year Ago…
"And so, if the rumors are to be believed… San Juan Wolf was a man who stood at a staggering two-point-thirty six meters, making him one of the tallest men in recorded history!"
Usopp lifted his hand high above his head, giving an exaggerated visual to the students who still listened to his presentation. At that point, it was only around four or so in the twenty plus capacity classroom he noticed were still even partially paying attention. Some of them had even fallen asleep. But if there was one thing Usopp wasn't afraid of… it was telling stories.
To further prove his point, he grabbed a marker from the whiteboard in front of the class and drew a dashed line right near the top, having to stretch his arm about as far as he could reach in order to make the mark.
"He'd most likely struggle to fit in this very room! But that mattered not to Wolf, known as 'The Battleship' by his enemies. When he was a part of an occupying force taking over the country of Dressrosa back around two-hundred years ago, many of his opponents noted that a battleship surrounding the ports would have been less effective in waging war as he was!"
"And I bet he was better at rattling off boring history than you, too." A kid in the back called out, causing himself and two of his friends to snicker in sadistic glee.
"Oh- well…" Usopp hesitated, his confidence in telling stories being immediately countered by his fear of people calling him out for being boring or inconveniencing. "I just- you know-"
"That should actually be enough, Usopp." The teacher called out to him with a monotone inflection, the majority of his focus being on wrapping up a series of notes he was writing out with a fading blue pen. Yet after the last line had been written, he slammed the pen on the desk to create a loud, echoing sound with the wood and glared over to the still-laughing students.
"Although making fun of other students' work will not be tolerated, Butchie."
The bully gulped, as now his friends began making fun of him.
Usopp looked to the teacher only to get a glance towards his desk, which he promptly followed and sat back down. But as other students went up to do their presentations, he could only tap his foot in impatience.
.
.
.
Soon enough, the bell had rung for lunch. After getting bumped in the shoulder by Butchie, Usopp fumbled over to the teacher's desk. He was still writing up information about the last presentation they'd watched, nose nearly buried within the paper.
"Uh… sir?"
"Yes?"
"Oh! Well, I was just wondering if I could see what grade I got on the report."
"Ah, yes. Your report. You did alright, Usopp." He shuffled through his papers and pulled out Usopp's grade sheet without even having to look at it. Slightly dazed at how he did that, he reached over and took the sheet, glancing down at the lines of review before hitting the grade:
"35/50".
"What?! But I thought I did really well…"
"You did well, it's just a difficult assignment. I'm actually very impressed with your presentation presence, despite how… uncomfortable you are with doing just about anything else in this school."
"But-"
"Don't worry about it. You're not a bad student. Keep it up and you'll be fine."
Before Usopp could say anything else the teacher turned back to his work, as though he didn't just have a conversation with Usopp a second before. All the student could do is dig his hands into his pockets and storm out.
"But what if fine ain't good enough for me, or my mom…"
His frustrations were short-lived. Once he walked out of the classroom, the rush of students heading to lunch surrounding him with an overwhelming sense of dizziness, he saw her. Usopp didn't know her name, but she was a cute girl who usually walked out of the classroom around the same time as him. She walked around confidently in rebellious clothing, sharp blacks and whites, keeping her ponytail loose on her pink hair.
He didn't know why he liked her, he just did. Not that getting a glance at her once a day five days a week was any sort of replacement for actually getting to know them, but it was a start. And once he had the courage to talk to her, things would be perfect.
Once that courage arrived, of course. As of now, entering a five meter perimeter of her presence caused his knees to shake and whole body to begin turning away, as though some sort of primal instinct was preparing him to run away. So all he could do was sit back… waiting for a moment of courage that might never come by.
"Hey!"
"Usopp!"
"What's up?"
Usopp turned around in horror to see his three neighbors; Pepper, Onion and Carrot. Those weren't their actual names, but after ruining a stew one of their mothers tried to make, and just overall having very cartoonish silhouettes that hit a little too close to home for the nicknames, the names stuck.
There was only one problem with their presence: they weren't supposed to be there.
"This is the middle school building!" Usopp scolded them, glancing around for anyone who might be paying attention. "What are you guys doing over here?!"
"Onion ate all our lunches!"
"Did not!"
"Well, it doesn't matter. We're out of lunch now."
"So we skipped class to get lunch with you! Isn't that great!"
"It'd be great if you were all five years older! You're going to get in trouble!"
"Yeah, but you'll protect us, right?"
"No!" Usopp immediately called back, beginning to push them back towards the direction they came from. "Now, get back to class before-"
"Oi! Long-nose!" The four turned around, Usopp still leaning against the kids as Butchie stomped over to them. Several students around them turned around to react, even the girl that Usopp had been noticing from the other classroom, as Butchie pulled him up by his shirt collar and sneered with the hiss of a cat.
"Oh, hi Butchie… I'm hoping my storytelling ended up being to your liking-"
"You better shut up, you hear me? First, you get me made fun of by my friends, and now you're off bringing little tikes over to this half of the school? You've got to be the biggest embarrassment I've ever seen!"
"Well, I…" Usopp hesitated, looking around to see the crowd had grown. The girl he'd noticed wasn't giving off any discernable reaction, but Usopp was sure it was probably pity, or embarrassment. And if he fought back, he knew his own strength wouldn't compare to the brutish Butchie. It'd just embarrass himself even more, and he was too afraid of having to deal with the consequences of being a laughing stock to fight back.
"Yeah… I guess I am."
Butchie pulled his fist back, raring for a punch, before the sounds of two hefty students echoed behind Usopp.
"Hey, we're on our way to class." One of the two students looked down on Butchie, one of the tallest Middle School students Usopp had ever seen.
"You gonna get out of our way, or…" The other spoke in turn, speaking the line as much a state of fact as it was a threat: stop the bullying now, or we're going right through you.
"Uh…" Butchie thought about his options for a second, before letting go of Usopp's collar and letting him drop to the floor. "Yeah, alright. Go on then."
"Don't you want to join us?" One of the two bulky students spoke roughly.
"Yeah… me and Dorry here got a few things to talk about with ya'."
Butchie scoffed, before following the two down the hallway. The others looked at them walking down the hallway, before giving Usopp one last pitying glance and going on with their day. Usopp looked for the girl… only to realize she'd already walked away.
"What was that?!" Onion called out to Usopp in frustration. "Why didn't you try to fight back?! Everyone was watching!"
"It's because…" Usopp hesitated to say the final words, but knew he wouldn't be honest if he didn't say the whole truth. "It's because I'm a coward. And I'm afraid of being embarrassed."
"Yeah." Carrot pouted.
"Let's just go back to the other building." Pepper suggested. "Wouldn't want to 'embarrass' our friend any more than we already have."
And just like that, Usopp was alone in the hallway. He felt like he had to run away from everything, and he couldn't please anybody. What was the point of fighting back against his fears if he was just going to keep ending up back on the ground, a cowardly embarrassing mess anyways?
All he could do was pick himself up, and hope that someday, someone might understand what he was going through as much as himself.
SLAM! A giant fist bounced off of Luffy's head, jolting him up from the bed beneath him.
"Ow! What gives?!"
Garp stood over him, fist nearly smoking from the force of his over-the-top punch of love. He was stuck somewhere between a proud grin and an overly frustrated glare as he began to berate Luffy. "Luffy, you idiot! You forgot to set your alarm, and now I have to drive you to school!"
"That doesn't mean you have to hit me!"
Garp's eyes narrowed. "Are you being smart with me?"
Just as Garp raised his fist up, Luffy held up his hands in surrender. "Wait, no no no! I'm sorry, alright?!"
Ace poked into the room, wearing his same shirtless attire that he always wore at home, toothbrush in his mouth. "You guys alright up here? I can hear your racket from the bathroom."
"Yes… we should be alright. Isn't that right, Luffy?" Garp teased Luffy with the threat of one final punch, which Luffy cowered to protect himself from.
"Yes! Yes, we're good!"
"Ah… that's how I like my kids."
"And yeah, you guys should really hit the road." Ace pointed to a watch on his left arm with his toothbrush. "He's gonna be late at this rate."
"Oh yeah! I can't miss lunch today!" Luffy shuddered in realization before leaping out of his bed, quickly attempting to swap his clothes into his usual mix of the school's uniform and his rebellious sandals and Straw Hat.
"Why? You got something going on for once?" Garp joked, ready to head out of the room before noticing Ace's childish grin.
"If I remember correctly… Luffy said he had a meeting about Homecoming Court."
The two glanced over at the changing teen… before bursting out laughing.
"Hey! What's so funny?!" Luffy called out to them, only unable to look at them because a large overcoat covered his eyes as he tried to put it on.
"Nothing, nothing!" Ace sarcastically defended himself. "I just didn't want our Homecoming King here to be late for his first meeting!" The two continued to laugh uncontrollably. Luffy didn't respond, letting the duo question whether or not he'd taken them seriously while wrapping up on the intricacies of his uniform.
As Luffy passed the duo and shuffled down the stairs, Ace gave one final grin to his grandfather. "If only, right?"
"Of course. I love my grandchildren, but I think the day he becomes Homecoming King is the day the world's gone mad."
One Piece - Making the Grade
New World!
Homecoming Saga (1/6)
If Usopp was going to prove Kuro was a threat to Kaya and their friends, then he needed proof. And if he needed proof, he needed a plan.
This was all under the assumption Usopp wouldn't royally screw it up, of course.
Yet after several days… Usopp finally had it. He had a plan to outsmart Kuro before Homecoming. He could save Kaya, keep his friends out of danger, and get one of the most powerful students in school arrested before he had a chance to harm him or anyone else close to him.
Usopp didn't take Kuro's positions of power, both literally as the school's Treasurer and metaphorically as the person threatening him, as he sketched out the final part of his plan onto a sheet of notebook paper. The finished result looked more like a railway map with scattered notes than anything coherent. But in his head, he knew the plan would have to account for several ideas… the only one he wasn't prepared for was Kuro expecting everything he had planned. But if that was true… then Usopp was simply out of his depths before this all started.
Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were all pushing him to be more independent. He knew being a bit distant from them lately wouldn't go over well in the short term, but in the long term… he could finally stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the psychopaths who impressed him every day of the week. A high schooler rivaling master Kendo fighters, a chef on the level of professionals at a top-star restaurant, and Luffy.
There was no reason someone as boundlessly energetic and passionate about life would be interested in what Usopp could pull off… but maybe once, he could tell Luffy a tale that was all true.
And Kaya… Usopp had been struggling not to talk to her. If he did anything too rebellious… then he might attract unwanted attention before he could stop Kuro in his tracks. Something told him that the only way Kuro could tell he was following his instructions was through Kaya's growing disdain over him.
That's why Usopp had to take him down today. Homecoming was tomorrow, and that night the school was planning to host a massive Homecoming celebration at the Skyball game. At the end, Luffy would be up with the rest of the Homecoming Court with the votes tallied on who would be Homecoming King and Queen. He had to fight this today, even if it was the most terrifying, threatening encounter with another person he'd ever come across. He'd lived with his fair share of bullies growing up, but none of them come close to a man who'd threaten your life, and the lives of everyone you hold dear, before leaving his actions entirely in your hands.
"I can do it…" Usopp muttered to himself, exhausted and lumbering over his desk. "I can stop Kuro from hurting any of my friends… and there's nothing he can do about it-"
Before Usopp could finish his morning affirmations, the light buzzing and rattling of his alarm went off. 7:45.
"Wait a minute…"
Usopp glanced around his room for a minute, before the realization hit him.
"HONK HONK!" The blaring sound of a bus stopping on his street hit him, causing the teenager to launch himself from his chair and around the messy room. He was already dressed for school (mainly because he hadn't gotten out of his school clothes the night before), but the sounds of the bus's gears turning and engines revving were masked by his panic to pick up his bag, his notes, and finally his cheap, worn headset before bursting out of the bedroom door.
"Have a good day at school…" Usopp's mother called from her room, her volume barely strong enough to hold an intimate conversation with.
But Usopp could always hear when his mother needed him. Without fear of missing the bus, he stopped, turned around, and looked into her room with as sincere a smile as he could put on.
"Love you." He whispered, knowing he was asking for more trouble with this Kuro thing than she deserved.
His backpack rattled around in his arms and his headset slid around his neck as he dashed away, turned the corner of their shared hallway and nearly burst out of his front door. But that was before the sounds of a bus made its turn at the end of a long, busy road. Usopp bolted out of his house, an exasperated panic nearly sending his heart out of his chest.
He was going to be late for class… and he couldn't skip school. Not today.
Barreling down the road at a rate Usopp couldn't even fathom was legal, Grand Line High's signature bus was a blur to his eyes before making its way past a sea of suburban homes. For only the briefest moment, Usopp let out a heavy sigh on his porch… before dashing off into the street ahead of him.
Usopp couldn't catch up to the bus if he just followed it down the road, but he knew at some point the bus would eventually have to make another left. He could cut it off by just making his own shortcut through a block of suburban houses. What could go wrong?
The beats of a fast-paced song blared through Usopp's headset as he just barely missed being hit by a car, the thumping of drums covering up the sounds of a cursing neighbor whom Usopp would have to deal with later. Without even attempting to follow the road to the intersection, Usopp ran up the driveway of the house right across from his own and dashed through the backyard's gate.
"Hey!" Heracles, an older man tending to his garden, nearly fainted at the sight of Usopp barging through his plants. "My Pop Greens! I've been taking care of those for weeks!"
"I'll pay you back!" Usopp yelled hurriedly.
"Uh… don't worry about it…"
"What do you-?" Before Usopp could question further, he felt the solid CRUNCH of a bundle of seeds beneath his feet, before a series of long, sharp vines wrapped around his school shoes. Hoping to pull right through them, Usopp charged forwards-
Only to have the vines pull him right down to the ground, face first. With another solid series of CRUNCH CRUNCH sounds releasing as he hit the floor, more vines popped up from all around him, nearly holding him in place.
"Oh, come on!" Usopp cried, scrambling on the ground in some attempt to wedge himself out of the increasingly growing series of vines.
"Hold on!" Heracles called out to him, pulling a pocket knife out from a sleeve in his old-fashioned overalls and slicing most of the vines open with a quick swing of his arm. Without hesitation, Usopp launched himself back up, patted himself to make sure he had everything, and continued to dash towards a dingy wooden fence.
"You have weird plants, Mr. Heracles!" Usopp called out to him, exasperated before the full stretch of his run had even fully commenced.
"And you're a weird kid, you know!" He simply called back, sitting back down on a fading white lawn chair before taking a resigned breath.
Usopp, without much skill, scrambled over the wooden fencing separating Heracles' home from a more Northern residence, only to find three large dogs taking a nap near a doghouse just big enough for the three of them. One was beige and the other two were a dark gray, with the front of the red doghouse displaying a classically-styled 'Cerberus' nameplate over the door.
'Just be quiet', Usopp thought to himself as he slid down the other side of the fence-
CRUNCH! One last Pop Green had seemingly been stuck to Usopp's shoe, and as a pathetic string of vine shot out from the seed, the three dogs immediately woke up from their naps and proceeded to growl at the yard's intruder.
"Uh… hi?"
"BARK BARK BARK!" The dogs launched into a fury of noises and jolting movements, running up to Usopp with zero hesitation.
"AHHH!" Usopp screamed, dashing as fast as he could to the next fence over. He hopped over without so much as a glance over to what he was falling into. With the roar of the dogs pushing closer and closer, he didn't exactly have much of a choice before already flying down into the backyard below.
SNAP! Usopp coughed as a plume of sand blasted from underneath him, his location seeming to be the sand pit of some child's backyard. And underneath him…
A wooden toy lay about, its arm fallen off from his crash into it. At least the child wasn't there to-
"AUGH!" A young girl, no older than ten, leapt back in fear from just beyond the border of the sand pit. Wearing a white dress with blue polka dots, and draped in a large red blanket with bear-like ears, she collapsed in on her blanket with sheer terror as Usopp could only continue to cough from the sand lodged in his lungs.
"Sorry- cough! But I have to get to school!" Usopp scrambled to his feet, just in time to hear the roar of cars passing. From just beyond their house on the road ahead, a large street filled with cars made their way. And on top of all of that, Usopp could faintly hear the sounds of a bus screeching as it lumbered into a large turn. It was close to its final stop, and Usopp had to hurry.
Usopp slid and fumbled from out of the sand pit, letting out coughs every few seconds as he slowly stabilized himself, before dashing out and hitting the grass around them. He patted himself down, just in time to hear the bus approaching its nearby stop…
And the sound of a young girl crying.
Usopp turned back around to see the girl holding her half-broken doll, tears draining down her face like a faucet. It was the only figure out of all the toys in the ball pit, and it certainly looked worn. Usopp wondered if she really cared about the doll, or if it was just a special gift or something. But that wasn't the point. He let out a sigh, keeping his ear out long enough for the bus to hit its stop. If he ran out onto the house's lawn right then, maybe… but he couldn't run now.
"Hey…" He looked at the girl, a weary smile on his face. "I think I can fix that doll of yours."
"Don't bother." The girl pouted. "His arm's already fallen off."
"But wait!" Usopp lit up a bit, the thoughts of school and friends and enemies slowly being drowned away by this one little intimate moment. Kids were always his weak point, he supposed. "I like to tinker with things! I might have a tool in my bag here to fix him right up!"
"...Really?"
Usopp's smile was finally genuine, the relief that he could finally do something right washing away the sounds of a bus driving away. "Of course."
"Thanks for the breakfast, Gramps!" Ace and Luffy gave Garp a bow of thankfulness before digging into their plates of pancakes and bacon sitting in front of them.
The three lounged around a diner, the ticking clock on a paper-thin wall showing that school was about to start for Luffy. Despite the fact Garp was taking his time to actually bring him there, he cut up his steak and eggs at his own pace.
"Now, I'm not one to complain about free pancakes." Luffy got a full sentence through in between bites of what other customers could only consider a mountain of pancakes. "But I have to go to class today, remember? And Ace has to get to work-"
"Don't mind that, Luffy." Ace spoke in a comforting tone between bites. "Pancakes are pancakes."
Garp complained, before biting down on a meaty piece of breakfast steak. "Ah, when did you lose your spine? You certainly would've given anything to go out for pancakes a week ago, wouldn't you have? You won't miss your meeting, kid. I just…"
His solid glare wavered a bit, his fork hanging near his lips yet never biting down. Luffy knew about his grandfather. This was the look he made when he was actually trying to consider his words, for once in a very long time.
"You want to apologize for laughing at him earlier?" Ace teased.
"You laughed at him too!" He yelled out, slugging Ace's shoulder in frustration. "But… I know I can be a bit rough on you sometimes."
"Well, you're kind of rough on me all the time-"
"And I just wanted to say… you're a good kid. I highly doubt you're actually going to win Homecoming King, and I can't imagine a single girl in that high class school of yours wanting you to run alongside you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence…" Luffy munched on another bite of pancakes.
"But just remember to have trust in your gut, kid." Garp cleared his throat, the line he was finally able to get out being the most serious spoken Luffy had heard from his grandfather in a good while. Both him and Ace halted their forks at the gravely weight of his voice.
"Growing up is tough. Everyone's out for blood, but the only thing you can do is try your best. And have fun! Certainly don't forget about that… If you can do those things, then I don't care that you're getting yourself in too deep with Homecoming or friends leaving you behind or whatever. If you can try your best, then I know you'll do fine with all of it."
"Oh. Thanks, Grandpa." Luffy still hesitated in eating, and not simply from a desire to respect Garp's little speech. As his grandfather took another bite of a steak almost too big to come from any cow Luffy had ever seen, his words comforted him, at least in a vague, intangible way.
Luffy was nervous about making sure he didn't mess up Robin's request to help her do this Homecoming stuff, and at the same time figuring out how to make up with Nami. He still didn't fully understand why she was frustrated with him, even after Zoro and Sanji helped explain it to him later, but he could tell from the last time they talked that she was seriously upset with him. And with Usopp doing his own thing away from the other Straw Hats… things had just been quieter than usual.
This wasn't anxiety, anyone looking at him wouldn't be surprised if he'd just found inner peace. But he also knew his friends were important to him. Messing up on any of these fronts; Usopp, Nami, Robin… he couldn't afford that.
But there was no reason to overthink things, Garp helped him understand. Thinking things through wasn't his strong suit, he was sure. Letting things play out, asking his friends for help along the way, and being there in case they needed the same were all the things he needed to do to have a good day at school.
If he could do that, then he was sure getting through the rest of his troubles would be a breeze.
"What the-?!" Garp looked down to a plate emptied of steak, and bites somehow slotted onto the forks of the two grandchildren. The two realized quickly they wouldn't be conscious for much longer as Garp threw down his fork and bawled both his hands into fists.
"That was my breakfast!"
After a few minutes of fiddling with the toy's arm, Usopp was able to lock the arm back into place using adhesives and a thin screwdriver. He beamed with pride as one fixed toy was handed back to the girl whose nickname happened to be Sugar.
"There you go! One toy soldier, all fixed up."
"Yay!" She snatched the doll from Usopp's arms, hugging it in a tight embrace. "I'd thank you, but you're the one who broke her!"
"Yeah yeah…" Usopp scratched the back of his neck before getting up from the grass, patting down any stray pieces stuck to his pants in the process. "Well, I guess I should start on my walk to school, kid."
"You go to Grand Line High, right?" Sugar asked matter-of-factly.
"Uh… yeah. Why?"
"My cousin goes. He can drive you if you're gonna be late."
"Really?!" Usopp spoke with sudden surprise and interest. "Is he here?!"
"Yeah… COUSIN!" Her screech was as loud, if not louder, than her cry of sadness from losing her favorite doll. Within a few seconds, a tall senior in full school uniform bolted out of the sliding glass door attached to the backyard, just a wave of moppy blonde hair covered by a dark red hood with two heart-shaped accents.
"What's up?" He casually remarked, as though his young cousin screaming at the top of her lungs and a stranger in the backyard were common occurrences.
"Uh- do I know you from somewhere-?"
"This guy didn't make it to the buses on time because of me… can you please drive him to school? Please?"
"Uh…" He pondered for a moment, less of an incredibly thoughtful glare than a simple, inquisitive ponder. "Sure." Then, without hesitation, he closed the glass door and walked back into the house.
"That's it?!" Usopp questioned, turning back to the young girl who only motioned for him to follow her cousin inside.
"Go on! He's fine!"
"Alright! Alright!" Usopp gave the young girl one last nod, unable to stop himself from grinning as he noticed she held onto her fixed toy tightly. She smiled brightly as they waved each other off, likely to never see each other again.
After passing through what Usopp noted to be an oddly nice house for the neighborhood, he and the senior made their way into a garage where an old silver sedan awaited them. While the garage door slowly creaked open, the senior casually turned to Usopp like a stranger unusually confident in making conversation in an elevator.
"You're Straw Hat's friend, right?"
"Oh- yeah. How do you know that?"
"I'm the Student Government's President." He replied as matter-of-factly as their cousin talked to him before, but this time with the weight of his words hitting Usopp like a school bus.
"P-p-p-p-PRESIDENT?!"
And soon enough, Usopp was on the road with Grand Line High's Student Government President.
He was going crazy. It wasn't just because of who was driving him, or that he was going to school to take down a psychopath, or anything else. It was because it was happening at once, a story too convoluted for even him to make up on the spot. 'Oh yeah, so today I tried to outrun the bus because I had a very specific plan to capture my crush's murderous butler and failed to get there on time. So now I'm getting a ride from one of the wealthiest students to go to the rich kid school I got accepted to…'
Just a normal Friday for Usopp, no doubt about that. But this sort of stuff usually happened when Luffy or his friends were around, not when he was forced to fend for himself making conversation with the most elite student he'd have the pleasure of sharing a car ride with.
"Well, I'm glad you've been enjoying your semester." Rosinante commented, making a left turn down the busy roads in between Usopp's neighborhood and the private school.
"-Oh yeah, totally!" Usopp sunk into his seat, trying his best to say that with any sense of sincerity. "I mean, at least spending every day with Luffy and his friends has been great."
"That Luffy… he sure has a knack with people, doesn't he?"
"You've talked to him already?"
"Well, we're supposed to have our first meeting on Homecoming today, but I met him when they signed up last week. He barely understood what he was signing up for, but the look in his eyes was as close to a child's raw delight as one could get."
"Sounds like Luffy, alright." Usopp responded back.
"And you…" Rosinante trailed off. "Are you doing alright?"
"What? Why?" Usopp didn't mean to sound so surprised, but considering how little his President didn't seem to want to be even talking on the drive to class, the fact that he even asked how he was doing surprised him more than anything Luffy had been up to.
"Because it's my job. And while you certainly shouldn't have been missing the bus… it is my duty to make sure every student is growing into fine young adults. If I can do that for even just one person, then my job will have been done."
"Well, then-" Usopp trailed off, trying his hardest to think of something to talk about that wouldn't completely blow up his plans to deal with Kuro. Kuro…
"Kuro's the Student Government's Treasurer, right?"
"Yes… Do you know him?"
"Well, I- sort of. I actually wanted to get to know him more, for the sake of a friend of mine."
"Kaya, yes?"
"Yeah, exactly! How'd you know?"
"He won't shut up about her, or at least as much as someone who doesn't like to talk won't shut up about someone."
"So he's not very talkative about his life, or anything?"
"No, to put it bluntly. I offered him the position based on his academic successes in mathematics, and ever since I've yet to see a single plan of his slip up. Closer to a psychopath than your average student, he'll examine the budgets from nearly a hundred more angles than any other treasurer ever has, each considering the vast differences and breadth of scale that our Student Government offers.
"The ebbs and flows of powerful programs throughout the school are technically my domain, but depending on how the budget ends up, you could consider that power is just as much his as it is mine. Despite all of that, he's only ever interested in talking about Kaya… or his future, a life of comfort, or something like that."
"You've never seen him mess up once?" Usopp heard the words bouncing through his skull again and again.
"Not that I can remember. Honestly, I'm lucky to have such a studious student in my government, even if his personal life can be a bit of a mystery to me. I'd hate to be the poor soul who thinks they could outmatch him in a battle of wits, if my perspective puts any indication on his skill."
"Oh." Usopp said bluntly, sinking back in his seat as though he weren't even attempting to be comfortable until that very second of realization. If the Student Government President was worried about having to go toe-to-toe with Kuro… was the plan he concocted even any good?
Within a few hours of Luffy's delayed breakfast, Usopp walked up to his class from the left hallway of Grand Line High's East Wing, as Luffy ran up from the right.
"Luffy!" Usopp called out to him, slightly puzzled. "I'd heard from the others you didn't make it to school on time!"
"Yeah, I didn't!" Luffy giggled in glee. "Gramps took us out to breakfast 'cause I overslept, and I got a stack of pancakes that was THIS big!" He held out his arms as long as they could stretch, vertically towering towards the sky and wobbling with excitement. "And that means I got some extra sleep, so I'm feeling great! Haha!"
Usopp let out a sigh of relief, before turning towards the classroom. "That's good."
Usopp hoped to simply dodge more conversation from Luffy, but a stern, "Oi." rung in his ears just before he could follow the crowd of students entering their classroom.
"You're running off again."
"What?" Usopp turned around to face his friend, putting on his best 'everything's alright' grin. "I wasn't running! I… was walking at a fast pace, actually. Couldn't you tell? Heh…"
Usopp avoided Luffy's glare of direct eye contact for so long, that by the time he actually mustered up the courage to look at his friend, he was surprised to see a face of only the deepest, pure concern anyone had ever given him. Usopp's arms shuddered at the sincerity of Luffy's concern, almost fearful of the level of perception the Straw Hat boy could pull out of his hat from time to time. He was seeing right through him… but he just needed one more day.
"Usopp… if you need my help with anything-"
"Ah, what are you talking about, Luffy?" Before Luffy could pull him in any closer, Usopp put on the best suave grin he could muster as he wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders. "Everything's going great… and everything will be even better tomorrow, and hopefully the next day after that."
With a leading step, Usopp walked the two of them into the classroom, nearly tossing his friend off at his desk before giving him one final thumbs up and dashing to his own desk.
"Hey!" Luffy called to his friend one more time, at a volume that covered nearly the entire room. Several students who were just getting unpacked turned at the shock of the yell.
"Y-yeah?"
"If there's something interesting going on, and you're not telling me about it… I'm going to punch you in the face!"
"...Deal." Usopp nodded after several seconds of psychologically confirming to himself he could handle the consequence of being punched in the face by Luffy after having to tell him what's been going on.
"Sounds like you have a promise to keep, no?"
"AUGH!" Usopp leapt up in surprise, turning around to see a cold Kaya staring him down from her seat next to his.
He hadn't exactly been the master of keeping his distance from Kaya since Kuro's declaration to him, but the effects it had on her were a lot more than he'd expected. Her whole manner of talking to him had become sharper, the bags under her eyes almost unnoticeable compared to the energetic ice flowing through her whenever Usopp tried his best to keep conversations to a minimum.
And today was no exception, as her eyes shot daggers through his already-crumbling emotional barrier.
"Oh yeah, something like that." Usopp made sure to not divulge too much, concerned that even the slightest interest he showed in having a conversation with her could somehow make its way back to Kuro's ears.
The two quickly got to work, quietly pulling out and shuffling papers as other groups chatted up about their previous evenings. Anything from what they had to dinner the night before to what video game they couldn't put down were usual suspects, but even the most mundane of conversation made the deafening silence between the two all the more egregious.
But as the work continued to get done, the pages of assignments they'd received not long ago were soon finally completed.
"Alright!"
Usopp pepped up, at least a little bit, on the note they'd finally wrapped up on a project that lasted a lot longer than he anticipated. Not that he wanted the project to be over, and to be put with a new partner for a new project besides Kaya. Far from it. But considering the current situation, getting as far away from Kaya while Kuro had his eyes on the two of them was the best course of action.
"Once we each have our summaries put here, and fill out this little sheet here, we should be all done! Well, we'd have to make sure everything was submitted properly, and-"
Usopp halted his words in their tracks, turning slowly to reveal that Kaya's inquisitive, frustrated eyes were glaring at him with a passion he wasn't expecting from her, let alone in the middle of class.
"Didn't realize you were so excited to wrap this project up."
"No! That's not what I meant-"
"Then what do you mean?" She spat back, the venom in her voice stronger than he'd ever heard before.
"I can't talk about it." It technically wasn't a lie, since if he did tell her and someone in the class reported that back to Kuro (most likely Kaya herself), then her and his friends would be in deep trouble.
"You can't talk about it?"
"Not right now. It's- I swear on this not being a lie… it's complicated. And if I start talking about it right now you'll think I am making it up. And I don't think you deserve that. You deserve the truth. So… I just have a lot on my plate right now, but can I promise you I'll explain it all sometime in the future?"
She pondered the proposal, obviously a little frustrated with how well Usopp was balancing the tightrope of not even mentioning what he was dealing with. But as she thought about it a little more, the frustration in her eyes shifted to a sincere concern.
"The future… that's a little vague, isn't it? What if you just plan on not talking to me ever again?"
"Okay. Okay, um…" Usopp thought about it for a moment. "I promise that you'll know what's been going on with me before Homecoming is done. The sooner the better, in my case."
"It's something bad, right?" Kaya questioned, although she looked away from Usopp's eyes, indicating a lack of desire for a real answer to that question. "You're dealing with something bad, and… I can't help, can I?"
Usopp nodded his head.
"You better talk to me again before Homecoming." Kaya brushed her hair back. "Cause if I don't hear anything, then I'm not going."
"Deal." Usopp whispered.
"Woo!" Luffy cheered throughout the hallway, the echoes of his voice being hit by the two smiling faces of Sanji and Robin walking alongside him. "Meeting! Meeting!"
"I've explained several times before that it's going to be the most boring thing in the world to him." Sanji chuckled, hands in his pocket and trying to keep his most suave posture next to the trim, elegant Robin next to him. "But I'm glad you've at least gotten him excited about Homecoming that much."
"Well, after asking him about it I learned he has a thing for parties..." Robin spoke with grace and elegance, her voice just crisp enough for Sanji to hear her and not a decibel higher. "So explaining that winning Homecoming King was like being the spotlight of a party certainly won him over."
"I don't even think he wants that for egotistical purposes." Sanji quickly added on. "I think he just really likes being able to party."
After walking for a minute more, the trio arrived at a back space of the school gated by two large, polished-wood doors. Letting the creak of age explode from the door as Robin lightly swung it open, the three were met with a decently large gathering of students.
In one half of the room, Robin quickly noted to the two, the majority of the Student Council stood around. Each wore regular student uniforms adorned with several extra-curricular or ceremonial pins on the left side of their blazers, denoting a status that even the pins seniors received couldn't overcome. Groups such as the principal's CP9, better known around the world as hallway monitors, were chosen due to recognized status by the staff of the school. Differing from that, each member of the Student Government had to earn their spots through a rigorous voting process that took place at the end of the year, on top of impressing the staff through respect to the logistics of running the school and leading their fellow students to greater heights.
On the other half of the room, stood the other competitors for Homecoming Court. Each of them would find themselves a spot on the court one way or another, just for participating. But the higher ranks of the court would only be made up of those voted for in good percentage by the student body, and only the highest collective votes from any team would get the honor of being Homecoming King and Queen and partaking in the ceremonial first slow dance of the night.
Robin also noted that those who were particularly close to each other kissed each other right before the first dance, but that she wasn't expecting anything like that from Luffy. Sanji sulked in disappointment from how close he was to being in Luffy's position as Luffy happily agreed that he didn't care if they needed to kiss or not.
"And over there..." Robin pointed to a few rows of seats in the back, where a select few minor members of the Student Government and overall student body resided. "That is where you can watch and take notes, Sanji."
"Sounds like a plan, Robin-swan." Sanji suavely spoke, holding his phone up to reveal it was on a note-taking application. "Just in case Luffy doesn't take it all in, I'll make sure he has everything right here."
"Oh come on, I'm sure I'll have it in the bag." Luffy cockily said, itching the inside of his nose with his pinky.
"Better to take precautions when it comes to this kind of stuff, anyways." Sanji said in a sullen tone, knowing full well from that confidence Luffy wasn't going to take a single item of information in from the meeting.
Just as he sat down though, closing his eyes for a second to recover at least the smallest bit of energy before a full shift at Baratie that night, a familiar voice caught his attention.
"Sanji? Is that you?"
His heart skipped several beats at the lovely, alluring voice of a girl he hadn't spoken to for quite some time. One Viola Riku stood over him, a mess of brunette hair bouncing behind her head acting as a hypnotic stopwatch, taking his full attention in.
After a few seconds of completely freaking out inside, Sanji went right back into his usual mode of 'putting on the charm' and leaned in just a bit closer to her.
"Well, if it isn't the lovely Viola."
"Oh, you flatter me. It certainly has been a minute, hasn't it?"
It had been more than a minute. Sanji had tried desperately to get her to go out with him a year ago, but despite everything, it had been an overall failure of an attempt. He didn't think that they left each other on such good terms to leave her grinning the way she was while looking down at him, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity slide.
"Time is a fickle thing when it comes to matters of the heart."
"Well, glad to know you're still as... romantic as usual." She took a seat next to him, letting one leg rest on top of the other as she turned to face his gaze directly. "So, what's a guy like you doing in a Student Government meeting? Have friends on the inside?"
"Just one." Sanji motioned to Luffy, who was standing next to Robin in the crowd of other participants.
"Aww! They're so cute together! How long have they been dating?"
"Well... it's sort of a new thing... but! Luffy is one energetic kid! Anything he hasn't done before is some kind of adventure to him."
"How romantic..." She trailed off, looking Sanji directly in the eyes as she did so. "I'm just here because I'm the Junior Class Representative."
"Representing your class is something to be proud of, Viola!" He said, lightly tapping her on the shoulder in encouragement.
"Well, thanks for saying that." She looked away for a second, biting her lip and thinking deeply before glancing right back. "So... what are your plans for Homecoming?"
.
.
.
Robin hadn't dealt with the overall popularity and influence of Grand Line High for a while. And so, being surrounded by the most likely students (in the entire school) to win Homecoming King and Queen, was a bit of a shell shock to even her prepared mind.
There were several couples she saw having a good chance; there was the couple that won 'Cutest Couple' in last year's yearbook, star student Russian and rebel punk Pink. There was the Spirit Squad Captain and her Skyball Captain boyfriend, Conis and McKinley. There was even a couple representing the new wave of hall monitors, Kaku and Kalifa, despite the fact she wasn't one-hundred percent sure they were even a couple. But, where did she have room to judge?
In the mix of all of those was a bit of a surprise, the transfer student from Lily Academy Hancock Gorgon. She was running for both King and Queen, which certainly put eyes on her. Nothing Robin had ever heard about her through connections, or even just through witnessing how she acted in the hallways, gave any indication that she cared about what other people thought, so this was quite a surprise. Of course, getting any answers out of her would be insane in this context, considering her icy reputation-
"Oh- HEY!" Luffy waved over to Hancock, startling nearly all of the students in between them waiting for the meeting to start.
"Luffy, I-" Robin tried to reach out and hold onto Luffy's shoulder to stop him, but just missed him before he dashed over to the tall senior. Hancock was standing in the far corner of the area they were waiting in, alone, so Luffy picking himself up and making his way over to her was a big visual cue to the others around him. He wasn't afraid of anything socially, like being perceived as impolite or cocky trying to talk to her.
"Forgot you went to my school!" Luffy smiled, a look of genuine surprise shining on Hancock's face as he finished approaching.
"You… you're from the train, right?"
"Yeah! I punched that guy off the train, remember?" Luffy tightened the grip of his right fist. "I think that's still the best punch I've ever thrown. You remember how that guy just flew off the train? Crazy!"
"So what?" Any sense of curiosity Hancock had in him was fading. "You want a favor from the Beauty Queen or something?"
"Who's the 'Beauty Queen'?"
Hancock blinked in surprise, as Robin's heart did the equivalent of a pace palm. Most of the other students running for Homecoming Court were listening in by that point, even if they were pretending they weren't.
"Are you serious?"
"Is she a pop star or something? What's that kind of person called… who does the makeup for people… Oh! Is she a makeup person?"
"It's me. I'm the Beauty Queen. Or at least, that's what people call me."
"Why? Do you do people's makeup?"
If the people listening in weren't frozen in fear for Luffy by that point, they were now statues. The rumors around her weren't something done lightly… Many people feared Hancock because of them. They'd never seen her smile, let alone relinquish her ego and posturing for even a second.
So it was all the more surprising when she let out a light, involuntary chuckle. Not a mocking one, but a relieved one.
"Oh! Is that why you're running for Homecoming Queen? Cause you're already a queen? Oh wait, why would you want to be a double queen-?"
"I'm running for both King and Queen." She spoke in the lightest tone many around them had ever heard.
"Wow! That sounds awesome! So not only are you gonna be a double queen, but a king as well!"
"Well, that depends on if I win. But… I just assumed there are a lot of boys in this school who think I deserve the crown either way, so why not?"
"Why?"
"Well… I'm beautiful."
"That's stupid."
"What?"
"Looking a certain way doesn't mean you're a queen! But what about if you're wearing a crown… or one of those poofy red coats…?"
Hancock looked Luffy up and down, initially unimpressed by him despite what he did for her on the train. But now… she just had one question.
"Why are you talking to me?" She genuinely asked, a smile still holding itself on her face. "If you don't care about my beauty, what's your game?"
"Talking to people isn't a game." Luffy said bluntly. "I just thought you looked like you wanted someone to talk to."
Hancock instantly blushed a bit, taking a small step back in surprise. Covering her face, she turned to the side and broke eye contact with the Straw Hat boy.
"Thank you… but I'll be good. You should go back to your partner before they get jealous or something."
"Jealous? Why?"
Despite having her head turned from him, she let out a laugh.
"Don't worry about it, Luffy."
"Okay. See you around, Hammock!"
Hancock didn't have the courage to correct him as he made his way back through the group to Robin. As he casually strolled through them, many of the couples just kept their eyes on him. He walked back to his date like he didn't just chat up whom many in the school would consider the prettiest girl who'd ever gone to Grand Line High.
"Wow… what courage…" Conis spoke through her hands, covering her mouth in tension-filled surprise.
"Uh… thanks?" Luffy replied with confusion.
"That was pretty hardcore." Pink gave Luffy a manly nod, which Luffy did in return without any context for its meaning.
"Haha!" Kaku laughed heartily, patting Luffy on the shoulder as he walked by. "You're a crazy one, Luffy!"
"Seemed more like sexual harassment to me…" Kalifa added on, but still gave Luffy a look of general approval.
"What- what's going on?"
"You're just good at surprising people, Luffy." Robin said to him as he came up to where she was standing, a smile on her face. "It feels like I can't go a minute around you without being surprised."
"Well, what's the fun in school if everything went the same way everyday?" Luffy just casually agreed with the sentiment, the context of it relating to him talking to Hancock going completely over his head.
"Alright, everyone! Settle down!" Rosinante called from the other side of the room, heading in front of a podium with a file filled with papers. "Glad we could have all of our participants here before voting wrapped up. Now, let's get down to business on our 'pirate' theme for this year's Homecoming."
"Pirates?!" Luffy yelled with excitement.
Usopp flicked his wrist one final time, the painting of a bunny with the body of a bear confidently finished. Considering it had white fur, the lack of color really helped the actual silhouette of the work stand out, Usopp humored.
Anxiously, he glared at the door to the art room. No one was around, or looking as though they were about to enter.
'Perfect.' Usopp thought, putting his paintbrush down. When Kuro arrived, he would be ready. One on one. This was for Kaya and his friends.
And just like he expected, Kuro waited for him at the door.
"Ah, Usopp! A pleasure to see you again." Kuro walked into the room, his legs swinging around with a swagger generally uncommon for the straight-laced butler of Kaya. It only made Usopp further squirm in his seat, seeing the student who'd threatened him so confidently now in a confident enjoyment of his company.
"Uh… you as well. Want to take a seat?"
Kuro made his way to the open stool next to Usopp, peering at the painting in front of them with rapt interest.
"I assume this is yours, no? What is it about?"
"Well… I like combining animals when I get the chance to paint. I don't go for realism, so why should I try to paint anything that is real, no? So… that's a bunny, and a bear. At the same time. I call it a Laphan."
"Those are two very different animals, aren't they?" Kuro's eyes shone with curious pupils, but Usopp wasn't dumb enough to ignore the cut and gibe in his voice. It was most reminiscent of a father pretending to care about whatever whim their child was taking a part in, knowing full well they could use the most monotone voice in the world and their child wouldn't bat an eye as to why they were curious about their hobby.
"Well yeah, but that's what makes it… fun. Relaxing, even." Usopp swallowed, the intended effect of the art not working in the presence of such an intimidating figure. "Look, Kuro, I just wanted to make sure I was following what you wanted. I haven't told anybody."
"Told anyone about what?" Kuro questioned, his tone riding the line between genuine curiosity and a higher-than-thou mockery.
"What you told me last week… about Kaya, and my friends… and me. I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was breaking any of those rules we talked about."
"What in the world are you talking about?"
"What?" Usopp got a little annoyed by that point, both with his manner of speaking and what he was actually implying. "The- the threats. Against my life? And my friends?"
"Usopp, are you okay?" He reached out to feel Usopp's forehead with the back of his hand, but Usopp swatted it away.
"You know what I'm talking about!" Usopp stood out of his seat.
Without so much as glancing up at him, Kuro spoke in a tone that implied they were having a much deeper conversation. And yet, all he could be bothered to do is pull out his phone and begin typing away. The whiplash of Kuro's incoming tone and his complete apathy, looking towards his phone like it was a bother, was the most uncomfortable Usopp had felt yet.
"Usopp… I know I can come off as a bit harsh sometimes, but I just want you to know I'm only looking out for Kaya and myself's best interests…"
As soon as the last word left his lips, Kuro turned his phone around to reveal a scribbled notes application:
'I know you're recording us, idiot.'
Usopp grimaced, before pulling out his phone and hitting a small red button digitally projected on it.
"There. Are you happy now?"
Any sense of caring and genuine concern left Kuro's pupils, dilating to a sharp edge. His facial features hardened, and his shoulders deeply relaxed. It reminded Usopp of a monster's transformation in a movie, but instead of growing sharp fangs or releasing green mucus, Kuro just became what all humans have the capacity of becoming: absolutely horrifying.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. I'm glad you're such an idiot."
"Thanks, I get that a lot." Usopp retorted, slumping into his stool and letting out a frustrated sigh. "Really thought that was going to work."
"It's quite an uncommon tactic, I'll give you that. More people than you would believe just stoop to the realization that I'll be able to cover my tracks however I can, without putting in so much as a fight. So… does that make you an idiot or a genius?"
Kuro stood up from his seat before slowly pacing around the room. Each step was similar to a heavy weight, taking its time on rise before stomping where it stood.
"I babysit when I can, so I'm used to kids' attempts at trying to get a leg up over me. That's just a little trick I use to catch them in a lie, like when little Carrot said he didn't take the pizza but later admits he wasn't where he said he was."
"I'm sure that's a lot of fun, Usopp. But this isn't a game… this is the real world. This is a plan I've been working tirelessly on. Do you know how hard it is to plan for someone notorious as a liar and an overall unreputable source? Especially when he's friends with some of the biggest wildcards Grand Line High has to offer?"
Kuro eventually made his way to a large wooden cabinet, leaning against it with a cat's slump.
"Like, for example, having to realize someone like you wouldn't just let himself get caught in a plan? Especially if someone you cared about was at risk? Must've rubbed off from that boy with the Straw Hat, no less."
Usopp's eye twitched. "What's that supposed to mean? You beat me."
"Well, not yet. It takes a fool to fall for your first attempt at getting me 'on the record', but… I'm no fool. I know when someone, say, tries to do it twice?"
Without hesitation, he opened the cabinet to reveal a small device with a microphone connected to its end.
"Shit." Usopp spit on realization, not even meaning to say it out loud.
"It's a clever ruse, I'll give you that. But when people's lives are on the line, do you think I'd just drop dead?"
Before Usopp could respond, Kuro took the device out from the microphone and slammed it to the ground, smashing it on impact. For good measure he stomped on its shattered remains, confident that this little trick was Usopp's last. And as all sense of acting and conversation drained from Usopp's face, Kuro was sure it was.
"Don't worry. I'll have the library take care of the fee for renting that little device of yours… I know your family might not have a ton of spare money to pay for repairs right now. I wonder how it must feel… not having to work a day in your life and still coming out the short end of the stick? You have a cripple of a mother, and a disgrace of a father-"
Before he could continue, Usopp lunged over and threw his right fist at Kuro's face, landing a direct hit.
The force of the punch caused him to stagger back a bit, but it wasn't strong enough to cause more than light bleeding on his nose. In fact… his glasses weren't even broken. The realization of how weak the punch was caused Kuro to hiccup a laugh or two, the chuckling sound sounding more guttural and unnatural than any laugh Usopp had ever heard before. His crescent smile showed just the lightest specks of his teeth, a grin of pure evil.
"I know what's going on here. You really thought that you had a chance, playing to your strengths. I was decently convinced by your acting that your phone was the last of your tricks, but it would seem you were the one out of the loop. Because for every moment like this in my life, where I have to take what's rightfully mine by any means necessary, people have underestimated what I know, and how I know it. They've underestimated my willingness to go all the way, to play beyond the point of where most would consider the heights.
"And you… you really thought you had wings in this equation. But really, you were just Icarus, flying too close to the sun because you thought you had the power of flight within your grasp. But little kittens don't have wings, do they?
"I want to say that, you know, if you'd just stuck to your guns, or come up with a slightly better plan, you could have bested me. But the truth is… I don't think you have it in you. Really. I'll always have wings, I'll always have a way out. If a situation is going South, I'll find the best way out. Guaranteed."
By this point Kuro had made his way back to Usopp's figure, burning with frustration, leaning in as close as he could to the student with frustrated fury in his eyes. Kuro eventually turned around, taking a pace forward before letting through a few deep breaths.
"I've still kept my end of the deal." Usopp said sternly. "And you've proven your point."
"That's true… but that wasn't the end of my plan."
"No?"
"Did you really think I'd let a witness of mine exist out in the world, even if their only evidence is in their mind? No, that's not my style."
"So what? You're just gonna kill me?"
"Now now, no. But… How about Homecoming?"
"What?"
"Yeah, Homecoming. Sounds like I'll have lots of fun, you know. Your friend is even running for Homecoming King… wouldn't want to miss that before I murder you, you know?"
Usopp was stunned. "And… if I don't go?"
"Then I'll kill everyone you know at Homecoming, and make sure it's the worst night of their lives. The boy with the Straw Hat, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Koby… all of them. And I'll get away with it, cause who in the world would suspect me of such a crime?" He used his shoe to brush a broken piece of recorder on the floor. "It's not like I'll leave any evidence, you know."
"But if I go… then they'll be safe?"
"Yes. I'm fair, after all. You bravely take the end of your pathetic little life like a champ… and I'll see to it that your friends have a safe, non-life threatening rest of their school year. If they don't look into the murder of their friend, that is."
"And why not just… I don't know, kill me without telling me? Wouldn't that be easier?"
Kuro began walking towards the door. "For one, it wouldn't. If I can guarantee you in a place, ready to sacrifice your life, that's a lot easier to take care of. I would know. And second…" His eerie smile shone in the light of the room one last time. "It's sort of fun… when the mouse knows a cat is about, but has to go for the cheese anyways, don't you think? Those sorts of cartoons were always my favorite."
With that, Kuro made his way out of the room, lightly closing the door behind him with a faint click!
~ X 'To Be Continued' X ~
BTS (Behind the Scenes) CH.8 -
This was a tough series of scenes to write, y'all…
We're in the Homecoming Saga! This is my first continuous series of chapters where things directly play into each other, and usually occur over a small period of time. Despite that, I felt like I really had to set the scene for the battle to come.
Opening the chapter on the flashback was a difficult choice. I was originally going to make it another scene with Kuro, setting him up, but I realized that it's more important right now to get across just what's going on in Usopp's head before his plan begins to crumble around him.
But Luffy is also a player in this story, too. Competing with other couples for the chance to win Homecoming King is fun enough for him, but Garp reminds him during breakfast that he's still a kid. And while that usually has a negative connotation, here Luffy takes it in as there's still room for him to enjoy the life he has going on. And knowing himself well enough, taking the complexities of friendship in and simplifying them to his base, emotional self will do others a lot more of a service than trying to overthink things.
This comes to a head in the Homecoming Court meeting hosted by the Student Government, in which Luffy doesn't care less about how the people around him feel despite the massive risk he took in talking to Hancock. Of course it's a risk he took unknowingly, but still, he put his direct approach first and it paid off. Hancock is as impressed by him as much as those running, turning an overall tense body of students into his allies. And what's the deal with Viola and Sanji…?
I was also planning on saving the full clash between Usopp and Kuro for the next episode, as it's also a very Usopp and Luffy-centric one, but I wanted each chapter to have a great beginning, middle and end. Leaving things on a cliffhanger just isn't my style.
Hope you're enjoying the Homecoming Saga so far!