The sun was slowly rising, and many students that lived in the female side of the dorms were barely rousing from their slumber. Many sleepily turned off their buzzing alarms while others slept through it. A few girls got up and started their long routine of preparing their look for school. The aura of the dorm was peaceful and quiet; which was horribly broken in the following minute.

The sound of feet pounding and several things dropping on the floor was heard throughout the second highest floor room's ceilings. The lone inhabitant on the highest floor of the building was wide awake and was getting ready to start her first day at the Muse Academy. She was starting her day by making pancakes. Pouring the mix on a hot skillet, she thought aloud. "Bras are officially the oddest thing I have ever worn. It's almost as odd as math."

Meeko who was still lying on the bed, picked her head up and stared at her with a confused look on her face.

"The entrance exams I took were easy except Math. I mean if you forget one step in the problem, BOOM! Your answer is wrong. Math sucks. Everything is better than Math. I mean if you mess up during a recital for dance or music, you can invent something on the spot and it might be awesome!" Grabbing the skillet she flipped the pancake onto a plate and repeated the process. When three steaming pancakes were on the plate, she sat down to eat her first breakfast on her first day of school.

Before taking her first bite, she quickly remembered that she had forgotten to feed Meeko. Quickly filling the dog's bowel she sat back down and ate her breakfast. She ate slowly and her mind began to wander. She thought of trivial things such as how her first day was going to be or to how her fellow classmates were going to be. Though she tried to stop herself, she couldn't help but thing where the crew was. Were they safe? Did they run into a dumbass who dared challenge them?

She knew she had a chance at finding their activities in the newspaper, but the news was written by the marines. She couldn't trust the marines, they were idiots. A fine example would be the Old Smoke guy and the idiot woman swordsman. She also promised herself that she would not focus on missing the Strawhats. The faster she became the best ballerina here, then the faster she could see them. It was that easy.

Before she could into depth of how long it might take her to become the best, she glanced at the clock and realized how much time had passed. Wolfing down the remaining pieces of her breakfast she placed the plate in the kitchen and quickly took one last look in the hallway mirror.

Her hair was in its natural state, she couldn't work those hair appliances if her life counted on it, and she was wearing the school's mandatory uniform. She was wearing the white collared shirt that the school allowed out of three colors, the other two being red and gold. Her gray skirt reached her knees and though she saw many girls hike their up, she left hers at where it fell. Her gray knee socks were on, but she noted that they were bunched at the bottom and were giving her a disheveled look. She would fix them later.

She was so excited for starting the school day that in a burst of energy she grabbed her bags and shoes.

"C'mon Meeko we are going to be late!" Running through the front door, shoes still in hand and her knee stockings still bunched, Greycie made quite the ruckus. Meeko followed her and the two sprinted down the hallway till they had to wait for the elevator.

"I'm nervous" Greycie whispered to her companion. Meeko's response was to stand on her back legs and bite down on Greycie's grey school skirt. The back of the skirt that was sticking up and revealing Greycie's shorts slid down. "Thanks." Greycie quickly said as they both jumped into the elevator.

Using the time to her advantage she quickly put on her shoes and fixed her socks. Making sure no one was around her, she also managed to pull out a wedgie. Gosh she hated wearing these tiny shorts. Once the elevator doors opened she quickly sprinted to the school. The dorm house wasn't too far from the building so Greycie made it there with time to spare. Before going through the school gates, she turned to Meeko and asked hesitantly "Will you be alright by yourself?"

The dog's response was merely a weak growl, and turning away to walk towards the ports. Before Meeko got too far she turned around and barked at Greycie. She nodded her head towards the gates and gave a sharp bark.

"Don't worry I'm going inside right now." Greycie laughed at the protective dog. She walked into the school but she slowed down when hearing a group of kids behind her.

"What a freak, she's talking to that dog."

"Well what do you expect she has no friends."

"Hey Lucia maybe you should be friends with the freak."

Greycie held onto her bags tighter when the group passed her laughing, no doubt at her. She wanted to fight both those idiots right there but she knew that fighting was not allowed.

She was really missing the pirate life right now.

Not knowing what to do with her free time, she decided that she might as well go to the admissions office and get her schedule. Stopping to look at the school's large campus ground, she decided that she might as well go right. It seemed right, so that is why she went right.

Thirty minutes later, Greycie was thankful that she had started the hunt for the office so early. The school's grounds were enormous and she finally had to ask some students where the office was located. She quickly made her way towards the building.

With the shrill of the school bell rang throughout the grounds the students headed towards their classes. Greycie quicken her pace to the office, and had to work against the flow of the student body. Finally going through the office doors she waited patiently for the office worker to notice her but she saw that she had to grasp the worker's attention.

"Excuse me, but I'm here to pick up my schedule." She said as politely as she could. She didn't need to make any enemies on her first day of school.

"Name please."

"It's Greycie Roronoa."

"Oh yes, you seemed to have scored very high on your admittance test, well except for math. Here is your schedule; a map is located on each floor next to the restrooms." The woman quickly went back to what she was doing and Greycie was left standing there confused.

Giving out a weak thank you she walked out of the office and went to go find a map. Five minutes later she was entering the west building. First class to go to was math. She hoped things would go alright.

For five hours Greycie felt like running away from the school and all the idiots residing in it. The kids were rude, and the teachers were no better. The first class she walked into she was given four hours of detention.

The old wrench that was her math teacher made her an example when following the uniform code. Colored shoelaces, they were supposed to be white not black, her shirt was not tucked in, her strawhat necklace was prohibited, and the woman claimed her skirt was wrinkled and not ironed. Each broken uniform rule, an hour was given to her.

The class snickered at her and Greycie felt her face grow hot. That was only the beginning of the horrible day. Teachers bombarded her with makeup work and embarrassing introductions to the class. The only reason she sat through those awful classes was to wait for her last class of the day, dance. She had to become the best ballerina in the school. She had to.

Finally, dance class had arrived. Changing out of her uniform, she slipped on her black tights, and a tight tank top. While changing she couldn't help but notice how completely flat chested she was. "Well I'm only thirteen." She muttered to herself in reassurance.

Seeing that some of the girls were already exiting to the studio she quickly donned her last item. She looked down at the pair of ballet shoes and spared a moment to hold them against her chest. They were handmade. She knew because inside each slipper was the strawhat jolly roger.

'C'mon Greycie you can do this." She reassured herself. She slipped on each slipper and tied them securely in place. She was glad that she had read the history and the regular procedures of ballet that Robin had left for her. She doubted that she would get any help from the other students.

Walking into the dance room, Greycie was in awe. To be as blunt as possible the studio was beautiful. The walls were covered with mirrors that were able to catch the reflection of every move. The barre was on one side of the room, and Greycie noted to herself how high it was set. The wooden floors, shone and she hoped that she wouldn't have too many falls on the hard floor.

Entering the studio Greycie saw that most of the girls were in their own little groups, with a boy scattered here or there in the group, while the remaining boys were all in one group. Greycie decided to stay by herself, and waited for class to begin. She didn't mind being alone, she kind of preferred it.

Before she could be alone for too long a young woman who walked with authority entered the room. When she didn't associate herself with the girls, Greycie realized that she must be the teacher. The woman was tan, and her brown hair was in a high bun. She was of small height, but her walk and demeanor spoke of power. Immediately the class assembled in lines, and to Greycie's shock people were fighting to be in the front of the line.

She noticed that the first line all had people with smug faces when they looked at the last line. Lucia was among the few who were in the first line. She guessed that the first line was most talented while the last line, the fifth, was the least talented. She didn't know where to stand so instead she just chose to approach the teacher.

The teacher ignored her presence, and some of the students began to whisper. Greycie wondered if she go back and wait for the teacher to acknowledge her.

'No, she's here to teach you, don't back down' She said in her head.

With a raise of her head she said with a bit of pride "I am Greycie Roronoa, your newest student, would you tell me which line I am to be in."

The whispers stopped among the students and finally the teacher looked up at her. "Well Greycie, show me where you belong." The teacher dropped her things on the floor and walked to the wall size mirror. Greycie followed her without a word. The two females looked at the mirror in front of them their faces both expressionless, while the class remained silent.

"Try to follow." The woman commanded. Greycie barely registered the words before she saw the woman was backing away from the mirror at a rapid speed despite her being only on tiptoes. Greycie followed her and stopped and waited for the next move. She easily kept her balance on her toes but when she saw that the woman started to spin effortlessly on one straight foot she froze. She tried to mimic the move but she couldn't go further than four spins. When she stopped she decided to not just stand there but instead she just raised her arms delicately in the air and stood her pose.

When the woman finally stopped spinning she looked at Greycie with a raised manicured eyebrow. She circled around her student and stopped to face her. Her brown eyes pierced into her gray ones and finally stated. "Third line."

Greycie nodded and quickly went to her line.

Walking out of the dressing room, Greycie shivered when the night wind brushed through her thin school coat. The sun was long gone and she wanted nothing more than to go to her bed. She was the last girl out of the dressing room because someone thought it would be funny to throw all her clothes around the room. She found a blonde hair on her skirt and with that she believed it was Lucia, who messed with her clothes. The blonde seemed to have something against her, she had no idea why.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the books in her hands fell to the ground when the door swung open and caught her in the elbow. Thinking it was just another student she quickly bent over and recollected her books. She however dropped all of them back down when a hand slapped her in the back of the head.

Spinning on her feet, she was ready to yell out a few chosen words to the bastard who decided to hit her.

"You stu-" The words died instantly when she turned to see that she was face to face with her teacher. A smirk was on the woman's face. Greycie felt her face heat up and before she could babble out a thousand apologies, the teacher waved it off.

"Don't worry about it, almost everyone in that class are little shits anyways."

Greycie's eyebrows rose at teacher's words. The teacher laughed at her expression and stuck out her hand. "I didn't properly introduce myself today, sorry about that. That bitch ruined my mood by passing another rule. Anyways I'm Ms. Dera, nice to meet you Greycie." Greycie shook the hand and was honestly surprised at the woman's actions and words. Who this 'bitch' was, was a mystery to her.

"You did well today for it being your first day, you definitely need some improvement but as long as you practice and don't be stupid, you will do fine. " She turned to walk away but turned back and scolded. "Also don't bend over when picking things up, bend with your knees not at your waist. It's bad for the back."

With that advice Ms. Dera, walked away. Greycie was going to say goodbye, when once again the door opened and knocked her elbow causing her books to the floor.

"Damn it!" She yelled as she quickly grabbed her books and this time threw them into her bag. Turning to the person responsible, she instead was faced with a shirt that covered a broad muscled torso. Backing away and blushing she looked up to see a young man in front of her. He looked about fifteen and Greycie recognized his face from the group of boy dancers in the beginning of class. He was about 6 foot, and his brown hair lay messily on his head. His brown eyes stared down at her and after a moment of just staring at each other Greycie yelled out. "Well are you just going to look at me, or apologize for knocking me with the door?"

He just stared at her and for a moment neither moved. Before Greycie could yell again, he bowed down his head down in one quick move and then turned and walked away. She wanted to go chase after him, but she stopped when she smelled something.

Turning towards the smell, she saw Meeko was running. She also saw that she was soaking wet and covered with seaweed. Knowing what was going to happen, she quickly placed her bags down and walked to a soft patch of grass. She then waited for the inevitable.

Even though she braced herself for the bodyslam that Meeko always greeted her with nowadays, it still knocked all the breath out of her. The large dog rubbed her face against hers, which caused some of the seaweed, to fall onto her face.

With a bruised elbow, a growing headache, the wind knocked out of her, and seaweed on her face, Greycie decided there was no better time to go home.

Greycie collapsed in her bed and kicked off her slippers. She grumbled to herself about sore feet and the homework she still had to complete. Before she could even relax, a heavy weight laid on top of her.

"Oh Meeko get off me you big mutt." Greycie cried. The dog lazily got off her owner and laid herself properly on the bed. The dog had certainly grown over the two weeks. She was now the size of a large teenager. Greycie lazily scratched her behind the ears, and the two lay there comfortably.

The moment was short though before Meeko went and grabbed Greycie's bag. She laid the bag and whined until Greycie opened her eyes.

"I'll do my homework right now." Greycie grumbled into her pillow while kicking her feet. Meeko barked sharply and bit down on Greycie's socks. Just one tug was all it took for Greycie to be sprawled on the floor. "Alright Meeko I'm doing it!"

Meeko gave a short bark, Greycie knew she was laughing at her, but growled when she saw a yellow paper that slipped from her bag. Greycie grabbed the paper and walked to the fridge and taped it right in the middle. The yellow handout was given to all ballet dancers who were interested in participating in the dance recital. The first of many for the school year.

She already decided to be part of it and thinking aloud she confided to Meeko. "I'm going to try be the female lead in this play."

The dog whimpered and Greycie looked at her. With a roll of her eyes she groaned out "I think I'm going to be ready to be in a recital, it's three full months away! Besides I've been improving since I've been here."

The dog said nothing but looked at the handout that gave the info of trying out and of the play. There were to be two main leads, a female and a male. The play was a simple plot but it was quite emotional. It was about a girl who loses her brother in war and how she reacts when she receives the news. Such a raw emotion must be transferred into the movement of the dancer.

Meeko knew that Greycie had improved her dancing skills but she didn't know if she could beat any of the first line participants. But Greycie was determined to win this lead. Every day for a week, after homework and dinner she would practice the new routines, until Meeko had to drag her to bed.

That was how it was for the next three weeks. Greycie felt like her life was just one strong current, but instead of drowning in it like she did most of her life, she was swimming along with it.

She went to all her classes and managed to stay away from those horrible detention lists. She tried to pay attention and mostly got good grades in her classes. Except for math, math was just hard. She would always make one little mistake and her answer would go entirely wrong!

After all her regular classes, she would head to the dance studio, and for the next two hours her feet barely stayed still. At the end of the day, she would be exhausted. She would wait for Meeko, and the two would walk home where dinner was prepared and homework was done.

Sanji's cook book helped her greatly, unlike her cook book for cooking class. Sanji didn't make things complicated and she usually had the meal done in five minutes. She usually brought Sanji's book instead of the class approved book to class. She wasn't afraid of being told on for not bringing the right book.

There was no one to tell on her anyways.

Even though, she had been in the school for three weeks, she still had not made one friend in her classes. So whenever a partner assignment came up, she would immediately start working by herself. It didn't help that since she was in ballet, her classes revolved around that, which meant that all her classmates were also her dance classmates too.

Again Lucia, made it her job to give her a hard time to fit in. She would bring up stories of the past and how fun THEIR class had fun during it. When someone did try to talk to her, the blonde would call the person over and whisper something in the person's ear. Nobody tried talking to her after that. Greycie saw her tactics, she was being out casted.

But that was fine to her, she was getting fine grades even when she had to go solo on the partner assignments. She didn't need anyone, who was stupid enough to follow a blonde idiot.

Though she tried to show it didn't hurt her when she was alone, it was lunch time that really killed her. It seemed every department that the students belonged to, stuck together. The dancers would sit in one class each in their own little cliques, while the musicians sat in another and the art students ate outside.

She hated eating by herself, so she would usually walk around and find a suitable spot outside to eat. The art students had no problem with her there and on the second day she sat out there, Meeko joined her. How the dog knew she ate outside, she didn't know, but she was glad of the company.

Today however, Meeko didn't join her, and she was left to eat her lunch alone. Taking a big bite of the sandwich, she realized that she had forgotten to bring a drink. Dusting herself off, she walked towards the cafeteria. Fishing in her training bra, she finally found where her money was, there was a lot of room in that training bra.

Bringing out the money, she saw that there was a line for the drinks. Two people were in front of her, and she stared at the ceiling, daydreaming, until it was her turn. Her daydreaming was abrupt when someone tapped her arm.

The person in front of her was the boy who had bumped into her the first night of dance class. And right now he was staring at her with a bored expression.

"Um I'm sorry what do you want." She asked.

He sighed and gestured towards the woman who gave out the drinks. The woman held out two belis, enough for two drinks. Greycie looked at the woman, to the guy, to the money and finally back at the guy.

"Sweetie he is buying you a drink." The woman pronounced.

She felt her face heat up and the grip on her money tightened. "I knew that!" She retorted.

She looked back at the guy and nodded her head, "I will take this as a repent for bruising my elbow, but that's it." He didn't reply but instead a corner of his lip slightly lifted. She walked to the woman and ordered juice. When the woman came back she handed the juice to her and whispered. "In case you didn't know, the boy is partially deaf."

Greycie was sure shock was written on her face as the woman gave the guy a sympathetic look. Greycie thanked the woman for juice, and turned around. She nodded at the guy and she was about to leave when she remembered something.

This guy was in her dance class, but he wasn't in any of her classes. He was never in the class when lunch was going on. He wasn't part of the idiotic group.

"Hey where do you eat at lunch?" She asked suddenly. She made sure that she talked in his direction, she didn't know what partially deaf meant for his hearing but she spoke loud and clear enough for him to hear her. She was sure he did hear her, since he pointed at a sign that read Library.

So he ate alone too.

"You wanna sit with me, I eat outside. Sometimes Meeko, my dog comes to visit. Do you like dogs, well she's more like the size of a human. C'mon lets go outside to talk." Grabbing his hand, she pulled him outside.

For the following weeks, Greycie became friends with John. Though he didn't talk in public due to his speech being muffled, she learned that he was quite a chatterbox when they were alone. She also learned that he was deaf in his right ear, and it happened when his mother was caught up in a riot. An explosion happened and he lost all hearing in his right ear. That didn't stop him though from becoming a dancer. He went around his handicap by feeling the vibrations on the floor and the other dancers. It seemed to be working since he was in the second line. Though he could get around it in dance class, in his other classes he had to take separate from the rest of them.

Though they only shared one class together, they usually spent time after dance class. Greycie would invite him to dinner and he would buy her and Meeko dessert. After that, they would say their goodnights and leave towards their respected dorms.

Greycie would return to her home where she did her homework, did a few practice routines, then promptly crashed onto her bed and slept till morning.

This routine went on for a while to the point where Greycie knew what events were going to happen everyday. She didn't mind it; a routine was rare to her, so she didn't fight it. She was however getting bored and Lucia was getting on her last nerve. The dumb broad was having a bitch streak, and Greycie really hated that damn rule against fighting now.

During one of the cooking classes, the teacher decided that they would have a contest, to see who can make the best dish. The winner wouldn't have to take the upcoming test and thirty points towards their grade. The room was filled with movement and the clinking pots and pans. As the time passed, smells of various dishes filled the air. Soon following that were the smell of burnt ingredients and wails of failure. One dish burned so bad, that the teacher and the student left the room in order to throw the smell away and get the awful smell out of the room. Ten minutes before the class ended, Lucia was the first to finish her dish. The teacher was still out, and Lucia was taking full advantage of it.

"A pot roast!" She proudly exclaimed while posing in front of the dish. "Only the best of the cooks know how to properly cook it." The class crowded around the dish and the cook began to point out at people who would be receiving a piece. "Okay everyone who didn't get picked, go away now."

One of the boys who did not get picked sulked in the back of the class. He was muttering about not getting a piece, when he stopped and his mouth started to water. Looking towards where the smell was coming from, he found himself staring at the new girl. Gracie was her name.

He walked towards her and peering over her shoulder, looked at what she was cooking. Meats and vegetables were on sticks and were being grilled. Every now and then, the student would grab a spice jar and dabble some on the meat. She turned the sticks over and quickly fanned the smoke that came from grill. She stepped to the side and looked at one of the ovens.

The boy now got to see a full view of the meal, and his mouth watered at the sight of the large chunks of meat. The girl Gracie came back and gently nudged him. "Careful the flames get high sometimes." She told him.

He nodded dumbly, and watched her continue flipping the sticks, then placed them on a plate, and added three new sticks of raw meat. He was watching the new sticks on the grill, that he was startled when a stick was pushed in front of his face.

"Hey you want one? You've been drooling since you came by." She pushed the stick into his hand and smiled at him. "Hold it by the skewer so you won't get burned."

"Thanks Gracie, these look great." He professed.

"Greycie, the name's Greycie." She corrected politely. Flipping more of the skewers she repeated the process and added more to the grill.

The boy ate the food off the stick and his mouth burst with flavor. "Oh man, these are delicious." He continued eating at a rapid rate until he was flicked on the forehead. Looking up in surprise he saw that Greycie was scowling at him. "Slow down and actually enjoy the food. " She scolded.

He laughed and apologized. "Sorry, it's just that they are really good. For sure you are going to win this contest."

Greycie just smiled at the compliment and turned to retrieve her cake from the oven. Placing the pan on the counter, Greycie saw in the corner of her eye, a streak of blonde go towards her station.

"So you think this piece of shit, can really win over my amazing potroast." Lucia glared at the boy and with a push of her hand, the dish that held all of Greycie's finished skewers fell to the floor. No one heard the crash of a broken plate, and a second later they found out why.

Greycie held the plate above the ground with her foot and with a kick, it flew upwards into her waiting hands. She placed the plate down and took one of the empty skewers in her hand.

Grey piercing eyes met wide blue ones. With a frown on her face, Greycie growled "Don't ever think you can touch my things again. If I catch you even trying to do anything to my things, I will make you regret that decision for the rest of your life." To impact her words she stabbed the skewer into the counter, centimeters away from Lucia's fingers.

Blue eyes darted from her hand to the Cheshire smile on Greycie's face. She drew her hand back and yelled out. "You're a freak! Just like those people who dropped you off!"

Greycie laughed and in one fluid movement she was in Lucia's personal space and was standing on straight on her tiptoes in order to be face to face with the fifteen year old. Leaning forward she whispered into Lucia's ears. "If you ever talk bad about my family ever again, then I will single handily beat you to the point where you have an inch of your life left."

Drawing back, she saw that no one had been able to overhear what she said, but all had seen what had happened. Going back to her feet she picked up her plate and walked past Lucia. She side glanced at her and saw that her face was red with anger. She couldn't help but smile. Though her back was turned to the blonde, she heard every movement Lucia made.

The sound of her shoes squeaking against the ground as she turned around, the sound of her foot lifting from the ground. The dumb broad was going to kick her in the back of the leg. Gripping the plate tight, Greycie turned around and seeing the limb coming towards her, she acted quick and pressed her shoe flat against Lucia's midair one.

She pushed the shoe back and watched as Lucia's face fell in surprise. She fell to the ground and Greycie walked out of the room.

"You stupid freak!"

Greycie still walking away, promptly flipped her off. Going through the door, she ran into the teacher and quickly explained that she was not participating in the contest, so she was leaving early. The teacher nodded and before she left, Greycie yelled out "Hey kid, clean off my station and I'll let you have the rest of the kabobs and the cake."

The boy already eating the kabobs threw her thumbs up. Taking one last look at the classroom, she caught the hate filled glare Lucia sent her way.

Why did the dumb broad have a grudge against her?

Sweating and out of breath, Greycie did ten more sets of Deboulé.

They were her favorite as the fast sequence of half turns performed by stepping onto one leg, and completing the turn by stepping onto the other, was usually excelled by people with great balance. The move had to be done by her stepping high on her toes and with her legs held very close together.

She was practicing with the other people in the third line and minding her own business. When she was in the studio, she was in another world. So when a person tapped her, she wasn't surprised when she saw that Ms. Dera had called them. The dance class was gathered around the woman, and was eagerly waiting for the woman to announce something.

With a clap of her hands, she announced. "Next week we will have a ball for the entire dance department. Ballerinas, formal dresses and ballerinos you must be in tuxedos. The entertainment for the night will be dancing, if you are interested then please stay, if not please leave. Now."

A third of the students quickly left the studio and the teacher waited for all of them to leave before continuing. "If you would like to perform then you must have a partner and a routine down by day of the ball. I'm leaving all of this in your control, you can either shine, or you can embarrass yourselves in front of the entire department."

With that announced, Ms. Dera left the studio. The moment she left everyone began to partner up. For a second, Greycie was frozen. She didn't know if John left with the group of students who weren't participating. If she didn't have a partner, she couldn't dance at the ball.

Wringing her hands, she searched the room for him. When someone tapped her on the shoulder, she whirled around to see John smiling at her. He raised his eyebrow at her and she knew that he was asking to be partners.

For the next days, the students who were going to dance dedicated all their time to making a routine. Ms. Dera even allowed them to practice during class. Greycie saw many people dancing but watching them make a routine was truly fascinating.

Their routine was progressing nicely and they incorporated many jumps in order to help John get the timing right. They also worked around his partial deafness by having moves that directed his left ear towards the music. Many people frowned at how many jumps and leaps were in their routine. Greycie whose balance was amazing and was on par with some of the first liners, was capable of being thrown and landing straight on her foot.

It just came naturally to her, and she could tell that she was frustrating some people. It didn't help that John was capable of easily lifting her, and throwing her was like throwing a pillow. Glancing at other partners' leaps and jumps, she saw that the some ballerino's face would look strain when they lifted their partner with one hand.

Over the days, their routine was coming out great, and the day before the ball they practiced the entire class time on it. When they were practicing, Greycie saw in the corner of her eye, Lucia staring at the both of them. She watched them perform the entire routine, never once saying anything or eyes straying from them. When the music was done, she turned to look at the blonde, but saw that she was walking out with her partner.

Watching her walk away, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. That dumb broad was up to something.

"Stupid dress. Stupid ball. Stupid flat chest!" Greycie grumbling caused a few people in the dress store to turn and look at her. Now blushing from embarrassment, she busied herself by leafing through more dresses. She had no idea where to start in dress shopping. She didn't know what color she wanted, strap or strapless, what kind of cut she wanted, frills or no frills. Let it be noted that all these terms she had heard from the other girls, and she still didn't know what the 'cut' meant.

Meeko who was standing beside her, growled at any people who threw her any weird or rude glances. She had been quiet the entire time, but with the growl a worker at the store quickly rushed over to them. The woman with large red teased hair and a small shirt that showed off her bust, quickly said. "Excuse me, but there are no animals allowed in here. You will have to take your dog outs-"

The woman stopped talking, when Greycie turned around to face her. The woman's mouth quickly shut and she folded her hands together. "My apologies, I was not aware that the dog was a seeing dog. Do you need any help with finding something sweetie."

Greycie who was getting ready to leave the store, stopped and stared at the woman. Confused she asked. "Um seeing dog?"

"Why yes, though we don't allow animals, this dog is here to guide you because of you blindness, then it is fine."

The woman thought she was blind! She never thought of her grey eyes being mistaken for blindness. She was going to correct the woman, when an idea came to her.

"Oh yes, my seeing dog. Because I am blind, therefore cannot see where I am going." Greycie bit her tongue when she realized what came out of her mouth. She hadn't lied in a while and her skills were getting rusty. Coughing slightly she tried again.

"Can you help me find a dress? I am going to a ball and I would like to nice."

The woman smiled and said in an overjoyed voice. "Of course sweetie! I'll find you the prettiest dress in this entire store! You just go sit and rest in the dressing room."

Greycie nodded and thankfully Meeko was by her side and acting out the 'seeing dog' part. Sitting and waiting for the dress, she thought about the ball. This event is where she could show everyone that she would be the next prima ballerina.

The woman came back with a dress, and after assuring her that she was fine, she quickly tried it on. Meeko wagged her tail and gently bit on the back of the dress in a sign of affection. She batted the dog away and said "Yes yes, I'm going to buy it." Taking it off, she quickly placed it back on the hanger. She was sure she was going to shine the night on the ball.

"I'm coming out!" Greycie yelled out. Meeko's head shot up from where she was laying and her tail wagged in excitement. Turning off the bathroom light, she stepped out and did a full circle spin so Meeko could see everything. Her hair was in a high bun, and she wore no jewelry, but it was fine since they would have been overshadowed by her dress. The short dress that stopped at her knees was a dark blue that sparkled in the light. It wasn't sequins, but some other material that just made the dress look like the starry night sky. On her feet were simple flats.

She knew most of the girls would wear heels, but she was only thirteen. Besides they looked painful to walk in. Looking into the mirror, she decided that she looked fine. Grabbing her bag that held her ballet shoes and outfit, she and Meeko walked out of the door.

Meeko walked by her side and when they reached the building where the ball would take place, she gently nudged her and pointed her paw to a large hill. The hill's view was upon the building's main ballroom and she saw that Meeko would have a perfect view of the ball.

She bent down a little to hug her and realized how fast she was growing. The dog now the size of an adult, was now nudging her to the entrance of the building. Walking away, Greycie waved back at Meeko, who barked happily at her.

Walking inside the building, Greycie saw that the dance students with bags were all entering into a room. Following them she found herself in a room filled with shelves on one wall while the other wall was filled with dressing rooms. Quickly placing her bag in one of them, she left the room and joined the festivities.

Just by looking at the dress of the girls, Greycie could tell what dancing department they were in. The contemporary dancers wore loose light pale colored dresses while the jazz dancers could be seen from a mile away with their sparkled, skin tight, bright colored dresses. The girls from her class majority wore midlength dresses each with a basic color. Nothing extreme but they would be noticed. Greycie kept walking and looking for John, but stopped when she saw a blonde head in the crowd.

Lucia was wearing a beautiful evening gown that had a long train in the back. She was in the middle of a large group, but Greycie kept her eyes trained on her. Something was off about her, and looking closely, she found what was bothering her. There were bruises over her wrist that oddly looked like the shape of fingers. She was covering it with a large bracelet, but Greycie was able to see it.

When Lucia strayed away from the group, she quickly followed her. Tapping the taller teen, she whispered. "Hey Lucia are you ok? I couldn't help but notice the bruises on your wrist and I-"

Greycie stopped talking when Lucia turned around and faced her with a furious expression. Gritting her teeth she snapped. "Listen here bitch, you mind your own fucking business."

Greycie shocked enough that she couldn't reply, watched as Lucia turned back around and walked away. Clenching her fists, she growled out. "Dumb broad."

The festivities went underway by dinner being served. John still nowhere in sight, she decided to sit with some jazz dancers who had an empty seat at their table. They were good company, and the time they were waiting for dinner, was filled with laughter and jokes. When their food finally arrived, Greycie was disappointed to see it was chicken. She was even further disappointed when she tasted how bland it was. Grabbing the salt and pepper she decided to flavor it to where it was actually edible. The people at her table quickly passed their plates towards her so she could the same to theirs.

After the meal, the headmistress gave a formal speech, addressing the dancers of what the future classes held. There would be new equipment and also new outfits for all the dancers. The dancers grew excited at this, but Greycie was troubled. She knew that the music students needed new instruments and new music sheets, but it seemed the scale was in favor for the dance department.

It could be from Lucia being the headmistress' daughter, which pissed Greycie off. Speaking of being pissed off, she still hadn't seen John and right now the routines were going to start. The contemporary dancers were first, followed by the jazz and ended with ballet.

She watched all the routines and when jazz ended, she and the rest of the ballet performers excused themselves to go get changed. The class went to the dressing room but she waited outside where the entrance was. She hoped that John was running late. He wouldn't ditch her for the performance. Any minute now he would come running and apologize for making her worry.

She heard the announcement calling all performers, but she remains rooted in the entrance. Looking towards the ballroom she was able to see the performances and she saw that Lucia was first.

Greycie wanted to turn away but the music started and the duo began to perform.

She was at loss of words, on how beautiful Lucia moved. She was graceful and her movements lured the watcher to never stray their eyes from her. Her partner was just a prop compared to her. Her jumps and leaps were elegant, while her spins were close to perfection.

When the music stopped, Lucia and her partner bowed and left the stage. Greycie turned back to entranced and was going to turn away when she heard something. The sound of heavy footsteps against gravel caused her to step out of the building and look to where the sound was. Looking through the night darkness, she saw a group of men, walking towards the building. She had never seem them on the island before.

Their laughter was loud but Greycie could hear the drunken slur in their speech. They had guns to their side and some had swords. Though they were far off, Greycie could smell them. Alcohol, meat, cigarettes and seawater.

"Pirates." She whispered. Acting fast she started to close the grand doors to the building. They were heavy but she worked fast. She heard the yells of the pirates telling her to stop, but she quickly tried to close the other door. Locking the front doors, she ran to the ballroom and saw that the second performance was going to start.

Cupping her hands, she yelled out. "PIRATES ARE COMING!" The room fell into silence but soon chaos erupted. The adults quickly opened the back door and everyone went running to it. Greycie was going to run with the crowd, when she remembered that her ballerina slippers were still in the dressing room. Running now, she went to the dressing room and grabbed her bag. Before she could exit the room, the sound of a gunshot echoed the hallway.

Looking at the front door, she saw that the pirates had shot through the lock. The sound of broken wood, echoed the hall and in a matter of moments the doors would be broken down. Hiding her bag behind a shelf, she took a deep breath and hoped that in the next moment she would not be killed.

Three men were walking into the hallway, all of them laughing like drunken idiots. Deciding to act now, she stepped out of the room and into the hallway where the three pirates were walking.

"Well what do we have here? A pretty little dancer we got here."

Greycie widened her eyes and turned to the source of the voice. In a small weak voice she asked "Excuse me, can you guide me to the ball room."

"Boss, the girl's blind."

"Yeah look at her eyes, no doubt it."

The man who was addressed as boss stepped so close to Greycie that his long dirty blonde hair tickled at her neck. His shirt was ripped in several places, and dirt coated it. His lackeys were no better. Not only did they look dirty but they smelled awful.

She was going to step back when the man named boss, grabbed her wrist in a tight grip. Smirking at Greycie, the man yelled back to his lackeys. "We have to thank the blonde girl for letting us on the island. Looks like we are going to have a midnight snack." He violently pulled Greycie forward, but she was expecting that.

Bringing her knee up, she kneed the man in the groin and punched him in the throat with her free hand. The man made a choking voice, and his two lackeys called out to him in surprise. Fists up, Greycie glared at the two. She backed up when the two took steps towards her, their faces filled with rage.

'C'mon Meeko." She whispered to herself. The men were coming to close to her now and she tightened her fists, in case she did have to fight. The man quickly reached out to grab her, but he let out a strangled gasp. He fell to the floor, and the two remaining standing people looked at what caused him to fall.

"Meeko!" Greycie exclaimed in relief. Meeko ignored her and instead lunged at the last remaining pirate. Biting down on his shoulder, the man screamed. She quickly shut him up by headbutting him. Greycie for the first time saw just how powerful Meeko was. But now was not the time to admire, she had to get her bag and get her and Meeko out of here.

Walking over the three bodies, she sprinted to the changing room and grabbed her bag from the hiding spot. Running out she whistled at Meeko, and the two ran out. She saw the police and quickly waved them down. Pointing at the building, she and Meeko quickly left and ran for the dorms.

When they were finally safe, in their room, Greycie let everything that had happened that night hit her. Only one duo was able to perform. The pirates mentioned a blonde girl letting them onto the island. And on her wrists were bruises identical to Lucia's.

Lucia approached the pirates and was probably grabbed by the 'boss' man. She promised them access into the building where they would be able to loot it. They came after her performance.

Lucia set everything up, just so she was the only ballerina to be seen tonight.

"Thank goodness, those marines stopped those pirates. There's no doubt she let them in. Greycie came from pirates. She probably knows those three and let them on the island. She is a danger to us and everyone around her. She needs to be expelled. Because of this, none of the rest of the performers was able to perform. Also that dog of hers bit one of the pirates. That dog is vicious and dangerous. Thankfully though the authorities are looking for it, and are going to put it down."

These were the words that Greycie was greeted with when she walked into the studio. She didn't care about what she said about her, but what Lucia said about Meeko. She turned around and ran out of the building and towards her dorm. She hoped she could find Meeko there. Before she could start running, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Ms. Greycie, you are to be brought to the office for questioning. Also we need to know the whereabouts of your dog." A man wearing a marine outfit ordered her.

Greycie felt all the color drain out of her face. The dumb broad was telling the truth for once. Again thinking on the spot she did the only thing she could do, she lied.

"You need to see me and my guide dog? Very well then, she usually waits for me at the cliff of the island. You could find her there." She pointed at the highest cliff the island possessed. When the marine looked back at her she added. "Since you are taking my guide dog, I will wait here until you two come back." The man looked at where the cliff was and sighed as he began to walk in its direction.

She hoped by the time the marine came back, she could find Meeko and hide her until the search died down. Though she tried to keep calm, worry began to fill her. Meeko was getting bigger every day; hiding was going to be difficult.

As if she didn't have enough worry, she was grabbed by the shoulder and turned around.

"Greycie! Listen I left a note to saying I let the pirates onto the island. When they pull you into the office, just say that it was me. Do you hear me!"

Greycie stared back at John and her head whirled in the confusion. "No are you crazy! If I tell them that, then they are going to expel you!"

John held her head in her hands and made her look at him in the eyes. "Greycie, I love dancing I really do, but you love it more. It's okay if I don't go to this school, because as much as I love dancing, it's not my dream. There is something out there and its pulling me stronger than dancing ever did to me. I'm going to leave this island and sail away. I'm going to help people from injustice. And you Greycie are going to be my first save."

Pushing him away she corrected him. "I do not need to be saved John." She stared at him and she felt her chest ache with what she was going to say. "Take Meeko and please get off this island with her. Save her for me. Protect each other." Going through her bag she pulled out a key and placed it on John's palm. "All her stuff is in my dorm. Take it and get off the island as soon as you can. Please watch over her, and she will watch over you." She hugged him and muttered "Thank you John, for everything."

She released him and he nodded at her before running in the direction of the dorm. She hoped that Meeko was there. She hoped that those two would be safe.

" We will ask you one last time. Where were you, when the pirates came to the building?" The headmistress pressed on.

"I was in the restroom. That chicken tasted like shit, and didn't sit very well with me. Next time you should hire some decent cooks."

The headmistress' face turned bright red and between clenched teeth she demanded. "Were you affiliated with those pirates?"

Greycie turned away from the headmistress to look out window. The view was of the ocean and it was beautiful. She saw something in the ocean and when she focused her eyes on it, she saw it was a sailboat.

John and Meeko were on it. They were sailing away. Meeko was safe.

Weight was lifted off of her shoulders, and turning back to the headmistress she simply replied. "No." She knew that if she tried to tell the truth about Lucia, the headmistress, Lucia's mother, would not hear any of it. As long as Meeko was safe, and John was happy with his decision, she was happy.

For the following weeks, Greycie had to rely on her enhanced senses in order to get through the day. She constantly had to watch her back. Lucia's little followers would throw things at her and try to take her stuff, when her back was turned. She didn't know how long this pathetic act was going to last since everytime she caught a person trying to get in her stuff; she would intimidate the person until they no longer bugged her. Lucia was running out of followers who would actually dare go near her.

Though her followers now didn't go near her that didn't stop them from talking about her everyday. Lucia would whisper things she would do to Greycie if there was no rule against fighting. Greycie wished she could ignore them, but due to her enhanced hearing she was forced to listen to every single thing Lucia and her followers said about her.

Though it bothered that she couldn't beat up Lucia, she focused everything on practicing for the recital tryout. Every morning, break, dance class, and at night, she would practice the routine. She had to get this lead. She had something to prove and damn it, her ball night was ruined, but this would be her chance to show the threat she really was.

She was going to be Prima ballerina.

"Today's the day" Greycie exclaimed to herself. She was tying her ballet shoes in place and she turned to the strawhat flag. Looking at it, she threw it thumbs up before leaving.

While walking to the dancing studio, Greycie wondered what was going on with her best friends. Were they safe, were they happy. She couldn't ponder for to long for when she stepped out of the dorm building, she felt it. Something was wrong.

She didn't know why but she started to sprint to the school building. Taking a deep breath she focused on her eyes and quickly scanned her surroundings. To her right, she heard glass breaking and turned to the sounds. That's when she saw it.

Chaos.

People were everywhere, running, yelling and just plain out acting crazy. Something was wrong, she knew it. Running a bit faster she stopped at the entrance gates and saw that a large group was standing near a large screen. The screen was showing a blurry picture that Greycie couldn't tell what it could actually be. Closing her eyes, she focused on her hearing.

"The marines are going to win, just watch."

"Ha that scumbag will finally get what he deserves!"

"Is the broadcast back on yet?"

"Yeah but it's kinda fuzzy."

"Hey everyone it's back on!"

Before Greycie could step out of the way, she was pushed and shoved by the large crowd that was ushering towards the screen. Stuck in the crowd she had no choice but to look up at the screen.

That's when she saw him.

Ace was chained on a platform with two men on each side of him, each man holding a sword over his head. He was dirty, hurt, and looking down as if already defeated.

Her stomach lurched and she her nails bit into her palms as her hands turned into fists. This wasn't happening. Ace was strong; he would get out of there. Where ever he was. At that moment the camera zoomed back to show the full area. Marines were everywhere. He was surrounded and each marine looked intent on keeping him there.

But why Ace. He wasn't bad, he was nice and a good person.

"Yeah kill that fucking bastard!" Someone yelled behind Greycie. The man threw his fist into the air and stepped forward. Greycie almost fell but regained her balance. She tried to turn away from the sound of his cheer.

"Yeah spill that pirate's blood!" Someone else joined. The crowd agreed and all began chanting in encouragement of killing Ace.

Greycie stood there in the midst of a crowd, all cheering for Ace's death. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She shouldn't fight them since fighting could get her kicked out.

"That scum should never have been born!" The person behind her added. This resulted in cheers of approval from the crowd.

That was it. Taking her bun out, she let her hair fall in her face in a weak attempt to conceal her identity.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and bringing her foot up in rapid speed she kicked the guy behind her in the genitals. He squeaked and fell to his knees with a groan. Greycie didn't let up there and she straddled the young man. With no regret she began to relentlessly punch the guy in face.

Her senses went out of control. She punched exactly in the same spot, mesmerizing the touch of broken and bruised skin. She heard the sound of a hand grabbing the cloth of her tank top. Turning quickly she pushed the hand away and attacked the man by grabbing his face and headbutting him. The man fell back and Greycie quickly followed the headbutt with a kick in the torso. The kick was weak but it did wonders when the guy fell onto a fellow onlooker.

The man pushed the fallen body and soon the crowd was pushing and shoving one another. Greycie avoided all the extended arms and hands that tried to push her down. She was trying to find her way out but with all these moving bodies she couldn't find it.

Trying not to panic, she focused on her hearing and eyesight. Working with the flow of the crowd, she avoided punches, kicks and outstretched limbs that tried to grab her. When she finally made it out, she was near tears from what she just witnessed. She ran away from the crowd that was now a full on riot.

She ran inside the dance building and into an empty hallway and crouched down. "I can't go to that audition" She whispered to herself. She had to find another place where they were showing what was happening to Ace. She was going to head to the dorms but she heard something that made her sit back down on the ground.

" Monkey D. Luffy is there!"

Luffy would save Ace. He would win against the bad guy. He had to. Everyone would help him and save Ace. It was going to be alright. Getting up, she wound up her bun and set off to the dance studio. As much as she tried to comfort herself, she couldn't help but feel dread fill her.

"Greycie Roronoa" A young woman called out.

Standing up, she quickly walked inside the studio and saw Ms. Dera was sitting on a chair in front of the room, her hand on a record player while the other held a pen and paper. She tried to give her a smile but failed. For the entire time she was waiting, cheers and cries of excitement could be heard outside. For all she knew, Ace could be dead right now. She felt her eyes start getting wet and her throat felt tight.

No, she couldn't think like that. She couldn't imagine such horrid things! Ace wouldn't die, he was too strong. The strawhats would help him too; he was Luffy's brother after all. Things would be ok, they had to be.

Before she stood in the middle of the room, a large bang shook the building and loud cheers were heard. Fireworks were going off and people were screaming in happiness.

"He's dead, Fire Fist Ace is dead"

Greycie felt herself freeze and her mouth dropped in horror. She stood frozen before her teacher whose face was expressionless. Greycie tried to keep her expression of horror and despair in, but she couldn't stop when she felt that first tear fall down on her face.

The teacher took no notice and instead played the music and stared at Greycie intently. She tried to take a deep breath but a sob came out instead. Her face already had tear streaks, but she started the dance routine none the less.

Ace would have wanted her to beat all these snobs. She had to continue.

Though she tried her best, she felt that her movements were hesitant and rocky at best. Not to mention the continuous sobs that racked her chest were making her beat off. When things couldn't get any worse, her foot slipped on her Pirouette and she fell hard on her knees.

She stayed down on the floor for a moment and had the urge just to give up. The thought of Ace being dead, bore through her mind. She bit her lip but the sobs and tears broke though and echoed off the studio walls. The music was long over and her sobs were the only sounds of the room.

She had to do this for Ace. Ace would have wanted her to beat all these bastards. She had to continue, giving up was not an option. It would never be.

Greycie stood from the floor and taking a deep breath she finished her Pirouette and posed. She stood there frozen in her last pose and waited for the teacher to say something, anything. She closed her eyes in vain to stop the last tears from falling.

"Thank you Greycie you may go."

Upon hearing the words, Greycie quickly bowed and left the room. When she opened the doors and saw the celebration and festivities that was going, she closed her eyes and ran. She ran out of the school grounds and didn't stop running till she was in front of her apartment door. She tried her best to not breakdown in the middle of the hallway. She fumbled with the key but after finally unlocking the door she threw herself in.

That's when she completely let go. She fell to the floor and screamed, yelled and sobbed in a raw mix of emotions.

Greycie felt a nudge to her side that made her books tumble to the floor. Turning to the person closest to her she found Lucia who was laughing obnoxiously with a large group of friends. The girl turned to her and gave her a fake smile and waved mockingly at her. Greycie watched the group of friends walk away and quickly picked up her books.

"Don't start a fight, come on you got this" Greycie said to herself. It had been two weeks since Ace's death and the pain had not changed, but she was numbing.

Picking up her books, she went to her class. She was going to be prima ballerina, and kick Lucia's ass. She just had to wait. There would be a moment where everything would fall in place. She just needed patience.

Walking to dance class, she was daydreaming. Her dreams were halted when for the second time that day she was nudged. She looked up to see Lucia and her string of friends running down the hallway. One of the nicer friends turned to her and while bowing said "Sorry but the results for recital are up!"

Greycie quickly picked up her books and made her way to the class in a normal pace. Walking down the straight hallway she saw that Lucia was walking back. She was glaring at her and though they were still a few feet away she spat at her "Don't come near me freak, I'm not in the fucking mood!"

Greycie said nothing but instead chose to speed up her walk when she neared Lucia. When just inches away she steered towards her and threw her shoulder with all her strength against hers. Lucia not prepared for the impact, fell back. Greycie turned around and with a grin on her face she walked back and went close to Lucia's face.

"I don't know what the fuck I did to you for you to hate me but I don't care. I'm tired of this bullshit and I'm stopping it right now. I hope your shoulder bruises and yes I did push you on purpose. You see Lucia that's the difference between you and me. I'm not pathetic loser like you, who can hide behind all her idiot friends. You better hope that the no fighting rule stays in place for the next six years." Lucia said nothing but stared in horror at her.

With one last glare at her she walked to the dance room. Before she could even look at the results of the audition, she knew something was off. Seeing that the crowd of people in front of the results were not going to budge she decided to take an alternate route. Taking a deep breath she focused on her eyes and slowly opened them. Her eyesight was now as if she was looking though a magnifying glass and with ease she looked at the piece of paper on the wall.

She easily spotted her name and her mouth fell in surprise. Her name was in the lead section.

Female lead: Roronoa,Greycie

She had done it she had gotten the main lead. Closing her eyes she turned back her eyesight to normal and walked away from the crowd. She quickly dressed for class and when she walked into class Ms. Dera silently pointed her to the second line. She stepped into the new line and waited eagerly for the class to begin. She felt all the classmates' stares at her but she ignored them. She had to make her first recital the best….because she was going to dedicate this recital to Ace.

Thank you to RedViolentDragon, Luffy95,thakidisbac, triplebaka, MissDilemma,GoddessOfnight08, Piratezoro-san, Baby-gabby, dotwiper, ,Marakaki45, Vi-violence, Mikila94, Rays Lleuad, Steel-alchemist, CrazyFool65, Yuseffsan for reviewing.

I'm so glad that all of you enjoyed the last chapter and I was in disbelief when many of you said that you cried! I feel horrible for feeling accomplished, haha. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you VERY soon for the final installment of A demon to most, a father to one.

Any comments, suggestions or criticism on this chapter will be greatly appreciated. Thank you guys for waiting so patiently and I will see you next time. Stay lovely everyone.