Very sorry for the long wait on this chapter. The good news is the next one is planned out and just waiting to be wrote. Since I'm working long days it might take awhile, but shouldn't be as long as the wait for this one.

I don't own One Piece.

Shizunkana Hibi no Kaidan wo

Staying the Night

His practice had finished a couple of hours ago and Zoro was still wandering the streets of Tokyo with nothing but a slip of paper with an address on it for guidance. He was sure by now that he had to be in vaguely the right area, somewhere near Luffy and Ace's flats. A salary man was sitting on a small wall clutching a brown paper bag that obviously had some form of liquor in it.

Tired of walking around with only a vague idea of where he was going, Zoro decided the best course of action now would be to ask the salary man for directions. Since he didn't look to be swaying or giving any other indication that he was drunk, he'd probably only just started drinking so he should be able to answer some questions. Zoro walked over to the man.

"Do you know where this address is?" Zoro asked as he handed over the slip of paper. "Is it anywhere near here?"

"You're nowhere near, kid. It'd be best if you took the subway cos it's gonna take you at least half an hour on foot."

"Well, I got no money, so could you point me in the right direction so I can start walking?"

Zoro paid close attention to the complicated directions given to him and remembered to thank the man before heading off. He'd only gone about two steps when the man shouted at him.

"That's the wrong way. I said you go left from here, kid, not right."

That was what he was doing; he was heading left just like he'd been told. When he looked back to the man he realised that the man was right—he was heading right. How had that happened?

He turned around and retraced the few steps he'd taken. As he came level to the man once again, a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist to get his attention.

"You gonna be ok? I can write the directions down for you on that bit of paper with the address on it."

"I'll be fine," Zoro stated and the way he glared at the man made him release his hold on Zoro's wrist.

It was bad enough that he'd stopped to ask directions; the last thing he wanted was for them to be written down for him like a child incapable of remembering a few simple instructions. He wouldn't even have asked for directions if Luffy and Ace's flat was in a place he was familiar with, but Tokyo was a big city and he'd never even been to the area in which they lived. So directions had turned out to be a necessity.

Satisfied that the man wasn't going to try and stop him again, Zoro continued walking in the direction he'd been told to.

Several hours had passed since then. The man clearly had been drunk because, despite Zoro following his directions perfectly, it had still taken him just over three hours to arrive at the apartment building. That didn't matter; he'd finally managed to make it.

He spotted a young couple heading towards the building. They were both drunk, especially the young woman as she was leaning heavily on the man for support and even then managing to stumble every few steps.

He decided they either lived here or wished they did since from the outside it looked like a fairly expensive place to live. So they would either go inside, in which case he'd follow them in; or they'd collapse outside the building since the woman really didn't look like she could walk much further.

When they got to the door he heard keys jangle before turning in the lock. The couple stumbled inside and Zoro caught the door before it could close on him. He waited a moment before going inside, giving the couple a chance to head to their own flat. With them out the way Zoro headed inside and looked for any indication of where exactly flat 505 was located.

There was absolutely no clue to be found in the main corridor of the first floor as to where any of the rooms might be located. Flat 505 was probably on the fifth floor, Zoro concluded. That was usually how the numbering system in flats worked, with the first number indicating the location of the floor.

He looked around for the lift but couldn't find it. The stairs, however, he'd spotted when he first came in, so he headed back to them and began to climb upwards.

He took the door that lead to the fifth floor and decided which way to go. Left, right, or straight ahead were all the available options. He headed left first but found only flats 507-509 before the hallway ended. Next he tried right but found only 501-503 before again reaching a dead end. That meant it had to be the corridor that went straight across from the stairs. It was always the last one you tried. It happened whenever he was looking for something; the last place he looked would be where he'd find it. Zoro made a mental note to think of the last place he'd look before he started searching for anything so he could look there first and save time.

Flat 505 was the only flat located on the left-hand side of the corridor. He was about to knock on the door when his watch caught his eye. It was now 1.30 a.m. Two and half hours later from the acceptable time of 11.00 p.m. that Ace said would be the latest he could visit.

He was now tired. He didn't want to think about how long it would take him to get home. So he sat down against the door and fell asleep.

-------------------

"Why do you think Zoro didn't come last night?" Luffy asked around a mouthful of sausage and bacon. Ever since they'd been to England with their Uncle Shanks, Luffy had made the full English breakfast his favourite breakfast on account of the large quantity of meat it contained. "He said he was going to, so why didn't he come?"

"I wouldn't worry about it."

"But I wanted Zoro to see our flat."

"He probably just got lost like Sanji said he would. If he can get lost in a school, it wouldn't surprise me to find out he got lost last night. Come on, finish up, we've got to go."

Luffy quickly finished what little remained on his plate and went to grab four of the six bento boxes that were waiting on the side.

"Only three of them are yours," Ace admonished. "And I'm going to keep them till lunch. If I let you hold onto yours, they'll be gone before lunch."

"Can't I just have at least one to eat in the morning?"

"Not a chance. Now come on, we've got to get going."

Ace put the six bento boxes in a separate bag from the one he carried all his schoolwork in. They both picked up their school bags and headed to the front door. As Ace opened the front door and began to walk out, he turned back to make sure Luffy still had his tie. He caught Luffy about to drop it on the small table.

"Luffy…"

"But I don't like it. It's horrible and I don't want to wear it."

"That's kinda tough considering," Ace began but fell to the floor before he could finish.

"Ace, are you asleep again?" Luffy questioned with his head cocked to the side. He couldn't hear any snoring so he wasn't sure. But when Ace fell down like that, it always meant he had fallen asleep. He bent down to give Ace a shake to wake him up so they could leave for school.

As Ace was picking himself up, Luffy spotted Zoro just waking up underneath his brother. Ace stood up and Zoro raised himself to a sitting position and stretched his hands above his head as he yawned before standing up.

"Zoro! You came," Luffy exclaimed. "But why didn't you come in?"

"It was 1.30 when I got here. Since it was so late and I was tired I decided to just go to sleep here."

"I knew it! You are just like Ace—you've got narcolepsy too."

"I can control when I fall asleep, so I'm not narcoleptic."

"But you fall asleep all the time and in really strange places, just like Ace does."

"Are you listening to me?" Zoro got no response from Luffy so turned to Ace. "Does he actually understand what's wrong with you?"

"Sometimes I wonder," Ace replied with a grin.

"It doesn't matter. You came, Zoro, even if you didn't get to see our flat, that's what's important," Luffy declared as he threw his arms round Zoro's neck.

Luffy looked up to Zoro, wondering why he wasn't hugging him back. Zoro's face looked unsure and confused, which made Luffy confused. After all what was wrong with hugging a friend?

Slowly Zoro put an arm round his shoulder and Luffy smiled up brightly at him.

"Come on Luffy, put him down," Ace began. "For one thing, you don't know where he's been and for another we're going to be late if we don't leave now."

-------------------

Sanji was walking to school with the promised bento lunches for Nami and Vivi tied up in a piece of cloth along with his own. As he came to the end of the road and lit a cigarette, Nami and Usopp walked past the alley he was standing in. It was unusual that Vivi wasn't with them. The three of them all lived quite close to each other, and as such, walked to school together every morning.

"Good morning Nami-swan!" Sanji cried as he ran towards his two friends.

"Ah, good morning Sanji-kun," Nami replied as she and Usopp stopped walking to let Sanji catch up to them.

"Where's Vivi-chan this morning?"

"She's sick so she won't be coming in today."

"Poor Vivi-chan. What's wrong with her? If I know what's wrong with her I can prepare a meal to help her recover."

"I've no idea. Her dad only said she was sick."

"That means I've got a spare bento. Would you like it Nami-swan?"

"One is more than enough for me. I'm not some pig like Luffy and Ace. Though, at least Ace has table manners."

That at least told him what he should do with his spare bento. If Luffy had more food, then it might be able to stop him from trying to steal Nami's lunch. Since Ace seemed to have an appetite that was about the same size as Luffy's, Sanji supposed he should give it to both of them.

Or he could just let them fight over it.

-------------------

He knew it was Marshall who was glaring daggers at the back of his head. He had been doing it all morning and it was beginning to bother Ace. It was better than earlier in the morning when he had not only had Marshall glaring at him from behind but Smoker-sensei from the front of the classroom.

At least with Smoker-sensei Ace had some vague idea why he was being stared at. Smoker-sensei's looks were almost daring him to fall asleep again in his class. Marshall's looks he couldn't figure out.

Marshall was still giving no indication that he'd taken a disliking to Ace because he felt like it or if he suspected anything about Ace's past. Either way there was nothing Ace could do about it. If Marshall knew nothing and just hated him, then confronting him would certainly make him suspicious. When you have something to hide, the best way to hide it is to just keep your head down and try not to attract attention to yourself.

The only way Ace was ever going to find out was if Marshall confronted him. That idea didn't thrill him. A part of him preferred to live not knowing the truth. He wasn't sure he was ready to handle anyone besides Luffy knowing the truth. Just having Luffy know the truth was hard enough for him. He didn't know how Luffy coped with knowing. If it ever bothered Luffy, he certainly never showed it.

It was possible that Luffy cared for him so much that he was glad they could still be together. But to know your brother was a murderer must have some impact on the way you saw him. Still, nothing had changed in their relationship. Luffy was still as cheerful and loving a brother as always.

On the one hand Ace was glad that nothing had changed. But he worried that maybe Luffy was bottling things up. And that worried him.

His thoughts went blank as he passed out on his desk.

-------------------

He had been playing for just over a day. The first twenty-four hours were over but the next twenty-four had just begun. He was amazed he'd made it through. Even though he was determined to survive, actually surviving with his narcolepsy handicap was going to be one hell of a challenge.

But he'd made it through the first day. That was something considering so many of his classmates had died that day.

He stopped and grabbed the map that hung from his neck in a plastic wallet. He had a feeling he was coming close to one of the danger zones. After checking his surroundings and then checking the map he realised he was right. He was just over 10 metres away from 3-E, which was a danger zone since midnight.

He quickly changed direction. It would probably be better this way. He was now heading towards a forest which would offer him some cover should he fall asleep at an inappropriate moment.

So far he'd killed two people. And he would kill morehow many more he couldn't say. But there was one thing that bothered him. What would he do if he met Hajime? Anyone else he could kill no questions asked. But he wasn't sure what he'd do if it were Hajime he was facing.

For now it didn't matter since they might never meet. Someone else could get to either of them before they met. Either one of them could die at any moment. Even if they did meet perhaps by that time Ace's first instinct would be to kill first and check who it was later.

He didn't notice the body on the ground before him until he tripped over it. He pulled himself up and looked down to see who it was. The body was lying face down with a gaping wound between the shoulder blades.

He touched the hand. It was still slightly warm so whoever this was had not been dead long, which meant there was a good chance the killer was still somewhere near the body and now near Ace. He knew he should move on but he had to know who it was. He couldn't wait till the next death list and danger zone announcement to figure it out. With the body before him now he wanted to know now.

He turned the body over to find himself staring into the lifeless eyes of Hajime. His chest was riddled with bullet holes and it was most likely having his chest torn apart that had caused his death rather than the wound on his back.

So why was the wound there? It was possible that whoever killed him had snuck up on Hajime and attacked him in order to take his weapon and then kill him. Or it was possible that the killer had done it after Hajime had been killed.

It was a more far-fetched theory than the first but it wasn't impossible. This game drove people mad. So mad it was possible that a person would maim a dead body. It disgusted him but there was nothing he could do about it.

He was distracted from his thoughts as he noticed a tear splash against Hajime's cheek. He hadn't even realised he'd been crying till he saw the tear. He wiped at his eyes and was about to move on when the classical music that heralded another death list and danger zone announcement blared through the speakers located all over the island.

He grabbed the plastic wallet that held his map and quickly removed the map and pencil. As each new danger zone was announced he marked off the time it would become a danger zone to the correct zone on his map.

With the new zones marked off on his map Ace put both it and the pencil away in the plastic wallet and got up to leave. After taking only a few steps he turned back to Hajime's body. He stooped down next to it and closed Hajime's eyes then stood and carried on in the direction he was heading.

-------------------

Ace's shoulder was being lightly shaken. He woke and lifted his head slightly to see Nico-sensei smiling down at him.

"Class is over, Ace-san."

He looked round the classroom to see that everyone else had already left. Nico-sensei handed him some notes and Ace looked to her slightly confused.

"I took the liberty of asking Hirono-san to let you borrow her notes," she explained. "You'd best get a move on, Ace-san, if you hope to feed your brother before he eats the cafeteria."

"How'd you know Luffy has a huge appetite? Has he been sneaking snacks in class?"

"Not mine. I just assumed that those six bento boxes weren't all for you, which tells me you both have a large appetite."

"Pretty large," Ace agreed as he began to pack up all his possessions.

With everything packed away, Ace grabbed his bag and the bentos and went to leave. As he opened the classroom door, Nico-sensei's voice stopped him.

"I know everything about your past," she stated.

"That's not surprising, considering teachers have access to my files."

"You'd be surprised how many teachers don't bother to read student files."

"That might explain why Smoker-sensei seems to hate me. If he doesn't know I'm narcoleptic no wonder he gets mad when I fall asleep."

"Smoker-sensei is a stickler for the rules so he reads files. Sorry if that ruins your theory, but Smoker-sensei can sometimes just take a disliking to a student, especially if it seems like he's going to disrupt anything."

"I'm not looking to disrupt anything. I just want to move on with my life."

"It wasn't my intention to get into a discussion about Smoker-sensei's habits. What I wanted to say to you was that if you ever want to talk to someone, I'd listen. I might not always be available, but whenever I am, I'll listen."

"Thank you Nico-sensei. I'll bear that in mind," Ace said, leaving the classroom as soon as he'd finished speaking.

-------------------

Currently, Sanji was standing outside the canteen with everyone else, waiting for Ace. They had been waiting for about ten minutes, and already Luffy's cries of hunger were beginning to become more than he could bear. At the moment, the black-haired teen was slouched against Zoro, apparently too hungry to support his own weight.

He was beginning to think that he should just give the spare bento to Luffy and let him sit on the floor and eat it. As Luffy let out another moan of hunger, Sanji decided that the bento would have to go to him immediately. He was about to hand it over when Ace came running up the corridor.

He stopped just before them, panting slightly. "Sorry, I fell asleep and had to be woken be Nico-sensei."

"Let's just eat!" Luffy exclaimed, his energy returning as he grabbed hold of Ace's wrist and began to drag him into the canteen to the nearest empty table.

As the mad feeding frenzy of Luffy began, Sanji couldn't help but notice that Ace seemed a little distracted. He had seemed the same yesterday. Even though he barely knew either Ace or Luffy, he had always considered himself a good judge of people, and his initial judgements of Ace had been that he seemed to be preoccupied with something. The only way he was going to know for sure would be to talk to him.

From his position opposite Ace across the table, it was easy enough to get his attention. "You alright Ace?"

"Yeah, I'm ok."

"I just thought you seemed a bit distracted."

"I'm just having…issues with my homeroom teacher, Smoker-sensei."

"That's normal. Smoker-sensei's the biggest bastard around here. Rumour has it that he used to be an ok guy, but after being overlooked for the head of maths department job about five times he turned into an evil bastard."

"Well, if it's true it certainly would explain a few things."

"Only problem with rumours is that you never know if they're true. Could just be that he's nothing but a bastard, end of story. Well, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, otherwise you'll probably be worrying about it forever."

"Thanks for the advice. I'll bear it in mind."

"I think you'll find that this might help," Sanji said as he handed over the spare bento. Ace looked at him, confused. "Most people tell me my cooking is so good it'll distract you from everything else."

"Most people don't have taste buds," Zoro shot from the other end of the table.

"A pig has more taste buds than you."

"How come Ace gets another bento?" Luffy whined as Ace opened up the box.

"It's for both of you to share since Vivi-chan's sick, and two bentos are too much for Nami-san."

"Yahoo! I get more food!" Luffy cried as he grabbed his chopsticks once more.

"We get more food," Ace reminded him as he grabbed his own chopsticks, well aware that if he delayed, Luffy would eat every last grain of rice.

For the time being, Sanji was satisfied that Ace was a little less distracted. Even if it wasn't his cooking that was distracting him but a fight for food with his brother, it was an improvement.

Even though Ace's explanation about Smoker-sensei made sense to him, Sanji decided that he would keep an eye on Ace. He didn't seem to be the kind of guy to let something bother him for long, and if he didn't seem to improve, then he'd at least know that Smoker-sensei wasn't the only problem Ace was facing.

Whilst it was probably true that Smoker-sensei hated Ace, Sanji couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else bothering him. Time would tell. If Ace started to act more like he was at the current moment staging a chopsticks war with Luffy, then Sanji knew there'd be nothing to worry about.

If he continued to behave like he was, then he'd know something was wrong.

Considering Ace seemed like the kind of person who would normally be laid back, Sanji couldn't help but wonder what would make him behave so.

-------------------

"That was really delicious!" Luffy exclaimed as he managed to get the last mouthful of rice before Ace could.

"I'll agree with that," Ace added. "That was probably one of the best meals I've ever had."

"I can't wait for tonight. You're still going to come round and cook dinner for us all, right?"

"Yeah, I'm still coming. What kind of cooking equipment do you guys have? I'll need to know what you've got so I can decide what to make."

"We're got the usual sort of stuff. Pots, pans, cooker, portable stove, hot plate."

"Since you've got a portable stove I think I'll make sukiyaki. I don't get to make it often since it's not on the menu and it's kinda fun to cook it. Would that be ok for you, Nami-swan?"

"It has been starting to get cold recently, so I think I'd quite enjoy some sukiyaki."

"If sukiyaki is what Nami-swan desires, then sukiyaki is what Nami-swan shall have."

"Do you think you can find your way to our flat again tonight Zoro?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem."

"I'm not serving dinner at midnight to accommodate for you being directionally challenged," Sanji scoffed.

"I said I can find it again," Zoro growled.

"I'd be surprised if you could find your own flat without having to wander the streets for an hour every night."

"Why don't we just meet you after you're finished training?" Ace suggested quickly, hoping to prevent a fight from breaking out between Zoro and Sanji. If he had learned one thing quickly about Luffy's new friends, it was to stop Zoro and Sanji fighting as soon as possible so Nami wouldn't lose her temper.

"That's a great idea," Luffy enthused. "We should meet Zoro and then he definitely won't get lost and we can make sure he knows how to find the flat in the future. And maybe if we're quick with the shopping we could see Zoro train or at least we'd get to see where he trains. I bet it's a really cool place."

"We might as well since we'll probably be out shopping for ingredients for awhile because we're running low on supplies," Ace continued. Sanji looked at him in amazement for a moment. It seemed that he couldn't comprehend why they didn't already have ingredients. "We've got food, just not much in the line of fresh ingredients. I figure you're going to want some fresh stuff."

"I suppose so," Zoro agreed with a shrug.

"Will you come shopping with us Nami-swan?" Sanji asked.

"The only shopping that interests me is clothes shopping. Food shopping isn't really my style. I'll meet you back at the flat at, say, seven-ish?"

"That would be fine, Nami-swan," Sanji decided without checking with Ace.

"What about you, Usopp?" Luffy asked.

"I think I'll go back with Nami. We can check up on how Vivi's feeling and let you all know later," Usopp suggested.

"Don't forget to find out what's wrong with her so I can make her something that'll help her feel better," Sanji said.

"I guess that's everything settled then," Ace concluded.

-------------------

Zoro had walked to training with Luffy, Ace, and Sanji since Sanji had insisted some of the best shops for food were past his dojo. Luffy had seemed thrilled at the prospect of not only walking Zoro to the flat after training but also getting to walk to training with him. For some reason Zoro couldn't quite understand, the boy had become very attached to him very quickly.

What was even more confusing to him was that he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to go out of his way to please Luffy. After all, he had agreed to be escorted from the dojo to the flat, even though he was sure he could make his own way there. Luffy had seemed so excited about every aspect of the idea that he had agreed.

Since then Zoro had listened to Luffy's enthusiasm for it all afternoon. Luffy was most eager to see him train. It had been almost all he had talked about all afternoon. In a way, it had pleased him. Plenty of people had watched him fight before, usually in official matches. There was something about the idea of Luffy seeing what he was capable of that pleased him more than other people watching him fight.

It seemed that for some reason he was acting in a way that would please Luffy. He had been confused enough that morning when he had not only allowed Luffy to hug him but had also hugged back.

The boy was an enigma to him. What was worse was that Luffy was making him an enigma to himself.

His behaviour had always been straightforward and easy to understand. Now he was becoming confused by the actions he was making in Luffy's presence. Zoro wasn't sure if it would turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing the changes Luffy seemed to be making in him.

Once he was changed, Zoro threw himself into his katas with more vigour than usual. Normally he hated them, preferring sparring above anything else when it came to training.

But tonight was different.

Anything that would prove to be a distraction from thoughts of Luffy, Luffy's behaviour, and how Luffy's behaviour was affecting his own, was more than welcome.

-------------------

Luffy had been nothing but a bundle of excitement ever since lunch. Two things had put him in an incredibly good mood as opposed to his usual good mood. Firstly, Sanji had decided to make sukiyaki, which was one of his favourite meals. It perhaps seemed unusual that Luffy had a favourite meal; it seemed much more likely that every meal should be his favourite. But there was a reason for his particular fondness of sukiyaki. After all, it was far easier to steal bits of food when it was being cooked in front of him than when it was being made in a kitchen, which, as a rule, he was usually banned from during meal preparations.

The second thing was that he was going to get to eat with Zoro tonight. He had been thoroughly disappointed the previous night when Zoro hadn't made it on time. There was no way that was going to happen tonight since they were on their way to meet him.

Sanji had taken so long inspecting the various different ingredients that there would be no time to see Zoro finish his training. If anything they would perhaps be keeping him waiting. He was a little disappointed by that fact, but it was hard to be truly disappointed when he knew he would soon be eating a delicious meal.

Once they finally arrived back at the dojo where they had left Zoro earlier, Luffy bounded inside, eager to find him. The main training room was empty, so without hesitation Luffy headed for the changing room. It was there he found Zoro and a multitude of confused faces looking at the intruder in wonder.

Zoro had just packed away the last of his belongings in his bag and had turned to see an excited Luffy in the doorway of the changing room. The boy looked like a happy puppy; had he a tail, Zoro was sure it would be wagging back and forth at such a speed that no one would be able to see it.

Without warning, Luffy bounded to Zoro and grabbed his wrist. Luckily Zoro's hands were still firmly wrapped round his bag as both he and it were pulled to a hasty exit by Luffy.

Luffy didn't notice the stares they were getting from the other people. It hadn't registered to him that outside of his friends Zoro was not particularly popular. He was well respected because of his swordsman skills, but there were few people that truly liked him, and never had any of the people in the changing room seen anyone grab Zoro like Luffy had. They knew no one that would dare do such a thing for fear of getting a sound beating.

Luffy continued to lead Zoro away, oblivious to the facts that they were being watched and that right now Zoro wanted to disappear. Without realising it, Luffy made that wish come true by leading him outside to where Ace and Sanji were waiting.

"Ready?" Ace questioned as the two of them came to a stop before him.

"Yup, let's go!" Luffy declared. "I'm gonna give Zoro directions so he can find the flat again easily."

"This should be interesting," Sanji remarked. He knew Zoro's directional sense was worthless and something told him Luffy's would be almost as bad. It would be like the blind leading the blind.

"Right from here you go this way," Luffy said in an important sounding voice. If you were giving directions, you had to sound important so people knew that you knew exactly where you were going. He couldn't remember where he had heard this or if it was just something he had decided for himself but it was something Luffy believed. "Then, when you get to this really tall building, you should turn left."

"Left is the hand you don't hold your dick with."

"It is the one I'll smack you in the face with if you don't shut the hell up," Zoro snapped, "rapidly followed by the right."

"You have to pay attention," Luffy insisted, getting Zoro's attention back. "At all these really tall buildings you don't turn, you just go straight."

"Luffy, you know there are a lot of really tall buildings in Tokyo, right?"

"Yup, they stand out cos they're so tall. That's why I'm telling you to look out for them to know when to turn and when not to."

"My point is, because there're so many tall buildings, you should pick something different to tell me where to turn; otherwise all your directions won't be distinguishable."

"But the tall buildings are distinguishable because they're tall."

"Luffy, just forget the directions," Ace said. "They are confusing."

Luffy was confused as to why no one seemed to understand his directions. He had thought they were good. After all, nothing caught your attention like a tall building did. So what was wrong with using them to give directions? He was about to question the point further when Ace spoke again.

"Let's just get a move on so we can eat already."

Luffy decided that was a better point than tall buildings. The faster they got back to the flat the faster they would eat. All thoughts of tall buildings and giving directions vanished to be replaced by the one thought that overrode all others to Luffy. Food.

-------------------

They made it back to the flats quite quickly with Luffy setting the pace. It was a quarter to seven, which meant Luffy would have about fifteen minutes to show Zoro around the flat. Luffy had figured that if Nami was going to arrive at seven, Sanji would start cooking at seven. The one time when Luffy was guaranteed to use his brain to figure anything out was when food was involved.

As Sanji began to cut up all the different vegetables he'd bought, Luffy started the grand tour. He began with the kitchen and living room, keen to move on since there wasn't really anything particularly important in either of these rooms (except food in the kitchen, of course), but Zoro seemed to be taken aback by the big screen television and game console in the living room.

After tugging on Zoro's wrist, Luffy was able to continue showing him round. He almost forgot to show him the bathroom. It wasn't an exciting room, but one Zoro might need to use, so Luffy made sure to point it out to him. He gave Zoro a quick look in Ace's room, but it wasn't what he really wanted to show Zoro. He was soon pulling Zoro away and across the hall to his own room.

Luffy bounded into his room while Zoro stood in the doorway, still slightly in shock that Luffy and Ace lived in such a lavish flat. In both Luffy and Ace's rooms there had been two more televisions and different game consoles; it seemed pretty obvious that the uncle that footed the bill for everything must be fairly well off.

"Come in and look around," Luffy enthused as he leapt over his double bed to his wardrobe.

As Luffy rummaged through his wardrobe, Zoro walked over to a shelf and began to look at its contents. There were some games, DVDs and, most surprisingly, books. At school, Luffy hadn't struck him as the reading type, yet his shelf had a large supply of textbooks and a few fictional works.

He idly picked up a game as Luffy rushed back to him, now dressed in long denim shorts and a red vest.

"That one's my favourite," Luffy said as he regarded he game Zoro held, a jolly roger was on the front and the words 'One Piece' were written across the case. "You have to form your own pirate crew and steal treasure from other pirates and stop them from stealing your treasure. When you find the grand treasure One Piece you've beaten the game."

"You beat it yet?"

"Not yet, but I think I'm close. I'm not sure. But I do have enough treasure to trade in for another crewmember. I'm gonna get a swordsman—I don't have a swordsman yet and he's gonna be called Zoro."

Zoro wasn't sure what to make of that. Either it was a complete lack of imagination on Luffy's part, or it went back to the strange things he'd been thinking about earlier. He couldn't figure it out and he didn't know what to say as Luffy beamed up at him.

Thankfully he didn't have to say anything as he was saved by the sound of the flat's buzzer announcing what he assumed was the arrival of Nami and Usopp. After Luffy bounded out the room he put the game back where he'd found it and followed after him at a more leisurely pace.

-------------------

With everyone assembled and the preparation of the food complete, Sanji and Ace moved all the ingredients and the portable stove into the living room. They were arranged on the low table in the centre of the room and Sanji began to cook.

This was the moment Luffy had been waiting for all night: the opportunity to steal food. He was good at stealing while sukiyaki was being prepared. His chopsticks darted into the pot so fast that, by the time the cook had noticed, he had already made off with his prize.

He was shocked when his chopsticks were caught in the ones Sanji was using to cook with. As he looked up, he met Sanji's stern face.

"Nobody eats till it's ready," Sanji warned.

Ace couldn't help laughing as Luffy pouted at being caught. It was the first time he'd ever seen anyone catch Luffy, and the look of shock and disappointment on his brother's face was priceless.

That didn't stop Luffy from trying again though. While the meal cooked, he must have tried at least ten times to sneak some food away from the pot. But every time, Sanji caught Luffy's chopsticks with his own and thwarted his attempts.

As Sanji added the last ingredient, udon, he sent Ace to the kitchen to fetch the bowls of eggs he'd prepared early and left in the fridge. He would have gone himself but didn't trust anyone else to be able to stop Luffy from stealing.

With the eggs now set out before everyone, Sanji declared that the meal was ready. With no restrictions upon him, Luffy grabbed several chopsticks' worth and put them in his bowl. He devoured what was in his bowl, stopping just long enough to tell Sanji it was delicious, before going in for more.

It was now that Sanji realised the error of making sukiyaki with Luffy present. Everyone else save Ace was still eating their first helping. Unlike Ace, who was waiting for the others to finish, Luffy was already diving in for his next helping.

It wouldn't do for Nami to go hungry, so once again Sanji caught Luffy's chopsticks as he went in for his second helping.

"Why'd you do that?" Luffy objected. "You've finished cooking so I'm allowed to eat now."

"If you're allowed to eat as you please, no one else will get any. Until everyone else has dished up their next helping, you can't have yours," Sanji explained.

Luffy pouted and tried to free his chopsticks but try as he might he couldn't break Sanji's hold on them.

The meal proceeded in this manner till it was all finished. Sanji was grateful for Ace offering to dish up more for Sanji else he would have gone hungry seeing as he was unable to eat while he was stopping Luffy from eating.

"That was delicious Sanji-kun," Nami said.

"Really Nami-swan? I'm glad you were able to enjoy the meal, despite it being somewhat of a fiasco."

"It's not everyday you get dinner and a show."

"Would you care for anything else? I could make you some coffee or see if there's anything I can use to make you a dessert."

"I'm fine. In fact, we should probably think about heading home, right Usopp?"

"That's right. Even the great Usopp gets in trouble if he stays out too late."

"Before you go did you find out what's wrong with Vivi-chan? And are you sure you couldn't stay a little bit longer? I could escort you back if you're worried about walking home alone since Usopp has to go now.

"Vivi's dad said she had some sort of stomach bug and it'll probably pass in another day. Bellemere will kill me if I'm late so I really should go, too." She and Usopp stood and made their way to the front door. They grabbed the coats they had left hanging up. "Thanks for inviting us again and thanks for the meal, Sanji-kun." They both gave a wave to them and left.

"Any time Nami-swan. Whenever you want me to make you a meal, all you have to do is let me know. I'm always willing to cook for you, Nami-swan."

"She has left, you know, moron," Zoro stated.

"You think I can't see that? I'm not as blind as you are."

"Do you realise how stupid you look talking to a door?"

"I wasn't talking to a door—I was talking to Nami-swan."

"If she's not here, you're talking to a door."

"Forget it. Obviously the idea of her still being able to hear me through the door is beyond you. I should get going too."

"No, you can't go," Luffy objected. "Neither of you can go. You both have to stay the night."

"Luffy, we can't stay the night, we don't have any clothes," Zoro protested.

"But we can wash and dry your clothes over night and in the mean time you can borrow some of Ace's clothes and Sanji some of mine," Luffy said. Before either of them could make another protestation, Luffy continued. "You can use our telephone to call your parents and let them know where you are. Zoro can sleep in my room and Sanji in Ace's and then in the morning Sanji can make breakfast."

They were both stunned. Not only had Luffy thought through his plan, he had been able to answer their objections before they even raised them. Luffy's smile grew as their silence continued. Before they knew it Luffy was bounding away to his room.

"What's happening?" Ace asked as he emerged from the kitchen where he had been washing up.

"Luffy asked us to stay the night and now he's disappeared to his room," Sanji explained.

Luffy bounded back, clutching a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a clean pair of boxers. He thrust the items of clothing at Sanji. "Zoro and Sanji are going to stay the night. You need to find some clothes for Zoro to wear while we clean his, cos mine won't fit."

"We haven't said we're going to stay," Zoro said.

"But you didn't say no so that means yes. You can use my room to get changed, Sanji. Hurry up and find Zoro some clothes Ace."

"Are you ok with this?" Sanji asked Ace, since it seemed Luffy had decided for them.

"He's made his mind up, it's far too late to change it now," Ace said as he went to find some clothes for Zoro.

-------------------

After Zoro and Sanji had changed clothes and they'd put their uniforms in the washing machine, the four of them had sat and watched DVDs. Now Ace was lying in bed with Sanji. The blond was curled up on the other side of the bed. Lying in the dark with him, Ace couldn't help realising how similar Sanji was to his old boyfriend.

They looked almost identical. They had a similar build and facially they could perhaps pass for twins. Their hair was what really set them apart. Hajime's was black and short, absolutely nothing like Sanji's. Where Sanji's hair hid his face, Hajime's openly showed his off. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something that made Sanji want to hide; after all, he had no physical reason to want to hide his face.

Ace became aware that he was thinking far too much about Sanji and Hajime. For that one moment, he felt unable to stay in the same bed as Sanji. He got out of bed and went to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. That brief respite was all he needed. When he returned to his room he felt slightly better, at least able to sit on the edge of his bed.

He sipped at the water and looked back at Sanji again. He couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't had that dream in Nico-sensei's class whether he would have realised the similarity. He had loved Hajime, but when he was awake, he made a conscious effort to not think about anything that could be connected to Battle Royale, including Hajime.

Was it because he'd met Sanji that he'd had the dream?

He may not have allowed his conscience to think about anything Battle Royale related but he couldn't control his subconscious. After all, he was sure it was more than just a physical resemblance they shared.

They were both quick-tempered, though usually for a reason. Sanji had seemed angry at Luffy whenever he tried to steal food, and rightly so. Unfortunately, anger never stopped Luffy, so Sanji was never going to get anywhere with him. It was only with Zoro that Sanji seemed to be irrationally angry. Despite that and despite Ace not having known him long, he was still sure Sanji was a good person. Just as Hajime had been.

His contemplations went no further as he fell off the bed fast asleep. The glass of water he had been holding smashed as his hand hit the floor. Blood pooled in the puddle of water that formed on the carpet. Ace was oblivious to this as he slept.

In other news my beta FXRG has retired so I'm on the look out for a new beta for this and Playing with Fire. If you're interested let me know in a review or send an email. The 'letting me know in a review' part was an unsubtle hint (even more so now I've pointed it out) that I would appreciate a couple of reviews.