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"Kaku, there a letter here for you."

Kaku winced at the attack striking his shoulder. He braced himself and muttered "tekkai" before falling to the ground with a giant thud and a large amount of dust flying into the air. He struggled to sit up, massaging his shoulder as he watched a dark figure materialize in front of him. "That hurt."

"Good," Lucci said, offering a hand and pulling Kaku up onto his feet. "Perhaps it will teach you to keep your full attention on your opponent."

"It was Kalifa with the mail," Kaku argued in an exasperated tone. Lucci gave him a look that read, 'I don't care if that's never going to happen in a real fight, pay attention'. Kaku deflated, sighing in defeat. "All right. Sorry."

Grabbing a towel and patting at his hair, Kaku walked over to Kalifa, who was waiting at the doorway to the training room. "You said I have a letter?"

"Yes." Kalifa handed him the envelope, watching carefully.

Kaku looked it over. "Was there any return address?"

"No," Kalifa said as she adjusted her glasses. "Nothing of the sort."

"Hmm." Kaku glanced over to find Lucci simply watching the two of them, towel around his neck. Frowning, Kaku filpped the envelope over and ripped it open. Inside was a solitary sheet of paper which he unfolded. Scanning it, he paled before folding the paper back into the envelope and tucking it into his pant pocket.

"Well?"

Kaku startled at the question, snapping his head up to look back at Lucci. He was frowning faintly; Kaku wasn't sure whether it was from concern or annoyance, but he figured it was the latter. He shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm just going to take a shower."

"We've been sparring for half an hour."

Kaku shook his head again, sharply, as if to rid the suspicion in Lucci's voice from his mind. "Yeah. Maybe we can pick up where we left off later."

With that in mind, Kaku nodded his thanks to Kalifa and began making his way to the door. He didn't even have to look at Lucci to feel those eyes burning into his skull, suspicion raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

This time around curiosity wasn't going to kill the cat, the cat was going to kill him.

"Orders came in today."

Kaku couldn't tell if it was a grunt or a hum, but the noise was enough to tell him that Lucci was listening, get on with it. "There's a pair of aristocrates living in Drum that are threatening to account for witnessing a meeting between Garp and Whitebeard. Apparently Garp was seen with something resembling a present."

Lucci sighed. "That idiot."

Kaku shuffled his papers. It was now or never. "I was thinking of giving it to Kalifa. She hasn't seen much action lately so I fugure she would want to go. It's not too complicated anyways..."

"Kaku, you're rambling."

Kaku looked up from the papers and found Lucci watching him from the couch, leaing forwards with his elbows resting against his knees. "Let's go to Alabasta."

Lucci frowned. "What was in that letter?"

"Don't we deserve a vacation?" Kaku hoped he didn't look as pathetic as he felt.

"Kaku, what was in that letter?"

Kaku had to look away from those piercing eyes for the first time in a very long time. "It was from the Alabastian king. Princess Vivi is turning of age and I've been invited to attend the celebration."

"Any particular reason?" Lucci asked, leaning back. His posture read uninterested but his eyes screamed something else.

"Princess Vivi..." Kaku stared back at Lucci, forcing defiance to mask the weakness he knew would otherwise show. "She's me second cousin."

For a moment Lucci did nothing but blink lazily. Kaku was sure the man was simply debating exactly how to kill him for withholding essential information that could potentially affect an assignment. Then Lucci exhaled, long and slow, and turned his gaze downwards to his nails. "I see."

During that moment Kaku was struck by the overwhelming experience of feeling very small and inexperienced compared to Lucci, something he'd heard others speak of but had never gone through himself before this. He didn't quite like it. Even so, this would probably be his only chance as far as he knew and Lucci was still just Lucci, no matter how powerful he made himself out to be. "Come with me."

Lucci looked up again. "You're aware I should tell Chief about this. Withholding information regarding royal family is a felony."

"I know."

Lucci frowned faintly. "Why did you tell me?"

Rarely does Lucci ask personal questions to anyone, Kaku thought. "I don't know, you asked. I guess I trust you."

"You shouldn't."

"I want you to go with me."

"No."

"Why not?" It too a great deal of will power to keep a whine from his voice.

Once again Lucci surveyed his nails, scratching at one with his thumb. "I'm busy."

Kaku frowned. "Do you understand the word vacation?"

"I do my best to avoid it," Lucci drawled.

Kaku couldn't help but sigh. "All right. I'll be gone about two weeks."

Lucci nodded. "Fine."

Kaku turned to leave but hesitated at the door when his heard his name.

Lucci eyed him. "You rarely hesitate to give information you deem critical, whether is has to do with you or not."

Kaku shrugged. "I find that royal blood has its affect on raising rank, but there's no fun without the effort."

Lucci almost smiled and Kaku had to compliment himself on the result; it was a rare feat to see Lucci smile in a blood-free environment, let alone be the reason for said smile.

Knowing this as he did, Kaku left the room before his mouth could rebel against his mind and say something to ruin the moment.

Kaku wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, but the whole experience seemed vaguely familiar to the first night he finally swallowed his fear of the infamous Rob Lucci. The door was large and made of high grade wood with a gold handle drilled in about half-way up, still the same as before. Kaku debated on knocking but decided it would be easier to avoid death with the element of surprise, or at least what little he still posessed.

The lights were off but the window was open. Lucci had always disliked artificial lighting, preferring to bathe himself and anything or anyone else in his roon with moonlight instead. Kaku, while personally enjoying all forms of light himself, had always found the whole idea a little intruiging.

When he reached the bed, Kaku could feel cool silk pool around his fingertips as he drew back sheets of deep purple. Hattori cooed softly from his perch, preening his feathers before settling back to sleep.

Kaku waited for a hand to spring out of the darkness and coil around his throat, but none came. Hoping the lack of bloodshed was Lucci's form of invitation, Kaku kicked off his slippers and crawled under the sheets. Settling down, Kaku could hear Lucci's heart beating in tune with his own. He almost laughed at the thought; Lucci and cheezy cliches worked together about at well as Spandam in a battlefield.

At the sigh of rustling sheets, Kaku was ripped from his thoughts and suddenly found himself nose-to-nose with CP9's finest, which wasn't as close as one would expect (for obvious reasons) but still enough to startle him.

Lucci frowned as is to ask what Kaku's nightmare his consisted of and whether he wanted a glass of warm milk. Egotistical bastard.

"I wanted to apologize," Kaku said before Lucci could get a word in and kick him out. He watched carefully for Lucci's reaction but the man simply stared at him from under half-closed lids.

"You're hopeless."

Kaku blinked. "What?"

"You entered my room in the middle of the right to apologize for what, withholding information on your bloodline or your bloodline itself?"

"Er..." Kaku was beginning to regret this expedition. His mind never did function well at one in the morning. "Both?"

Lucci drew his face away to rest on his pillow. "Go to sleep Kaku, I'll inform Kalifa of our vacation in the morning."

Kaku grinned. "Thank you."

"Go to sleep."

"Yes. One more thing, though?"

"What?"

"We're going to have to make a quick stop before Alabasta."