"Kaku wait!" Jya yelled as he spotted the younger man running down the nearby street at full speed.

"Shit." He mumbled before he sped off after him. He soon caught up with the redhead and reached out, grabbing a hold of his shirt.

"Get the hell away from me!" Kaku yelled back at the man, attracting themselves some attention from passers by. Jyabura released the shirt and let Kaku pull ahead of him. That was the last reaction he had expected to get from the boy.

Ahead of the wolf Zoan, Kaku ducked into a back alley in an attempt to loose the older man. Jyabura saw it as a chance to talk to him away from prying eyes and put another burst of speed into his steps. He followed Kaku into the alley and quickly closed the distance between them.

Kaku felt himself being pulled backwards by the wrist, he hadn't realised he was still being followed.

"Let me go!" he yelled at the older man, tears streaming down his face.

"You're not going anywhere, kid." Jya mumbled as he pulled the younger man closer and held him still against his chest. Kaku struggled against the grip but soon gave up.

"Why didn't you tell me what you knew?" He snapped at the older man, his temper still running high.

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"You should have told me!"

"I know! … I'm sorry."

Kaku pushed away from the older man and to his surprise he was released.

"It's too late for apologies now." Kaku started walking away from the Zoan user.

Jyabura took a couple of steps towards him before the redhead spoke again.

"Don't follow me."

"You're not going anywhere alo-"

"I've had enough of your fucking games, leave me alone!" Kaku didn't wait for any sort of reply before he went on his way.

The last accusation stabbed deeply into the wolf Zoan, he really did love Kaku. He wasn't playing games with the boy's heart like Lucci had said and was doing so himself. Jyabura would never do anything to deliberately hurt Kaku.

Kaku didn't look back as he left the alley, he didn't care if he had hurt the other man with that statement. For all he knew it was all true.

The redhead wiped his tears from his face as he walked, every step bringing him closer to the man he wanted to speak with.

Jyabura followed a few meters behind the younger Zoan user, never taking his eyes off him. The older man had no idea where Kaku was heading nor did he really care, he wouldn't leave the boy until he knew the kid was alright.

After not to long Kaku found himself standing before a familiar apartment complex. He knew he had arrived at his destination.

"Go home." He mumbled as Jyabura came up behind him.

"You won't get rid of me that easily. Who lives here?" he asked out of curiosity.

Kaku ignored the question and walked through the door. He made his way up the stairs until he found the door he was looking for. Jyabura hung back a bit as Kaku knocked on the door.

"Fuck off! I told you not to come back here!" The pair were more than a little shocked by the answer. Kaku hesitated before knocking again. The sounds of someone coming to answer the door could be heard from inside the apartment. The door opened a crack, security chain still attached.

"Go find some one else to bug." The blond on the other side of the door blurted out before he realised who he was talking to.

"K- Kaku?" he said, rather embarrassed by his screw up.

"Paulie." The redhead answered dully as the foreman closed the door, removed the chain and opened it fully.

"I thought you were someone el-"

"You thought I was Lucci." Kaku said flatly.

"Yeah … I did." He answered after a short silence. Paulie moved aside, inviting Kaku into his home and he entered without a further word.

The blonde looked up at Jyabura.

"You coming?" he asked, holding the door open.

The older man didn't need to be asked twice, he took a couple of steps forward, closing the distance between himself and the door.

"I take it things didn't go too well." Paulie whispered to Jyabura as he passed.

"Lucci is being a vindictive bastard; he's trying to make me out to be the bad guy." He whispered back, still pissed at the allegations Lucci had made against him.

"That well, hah? How did Kaku take it?"

"He hates me." Jyabura whispered, more than a little upset with how the evening had turned out.

"And me?"

"I don't know but he came to you, didn't he? Go talk go him."

Paulie left the man in the entryway and wondered into the lounge where he found Kaku sitting on the couch sobbing. He sat down next to him and draped his arm over Kaku's shaking shoulders.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you." Paulie whispered to Kaku. The Zoan user wiped his eyes before he said anything.

"How long have you known that Lucci and I were together?" he asked in a small voice. Paulie thought for a moment before he answered.

"Only since yesterday, Jya and I were chatting and put two and two together and realised we were talking about the same guy."

Paulie glanced over his shoulder to see Jyabura watching them from the hallway. He was leaning against the door-jamb chewing his thumbnail. It was a nervous habit the blonde had never seen before in the older man.

'This must be really eating at him.' Paulie thought, turning back to Kaku.

"What did you do when you found out?" Kaku moved closer to the blonde, he needed the comfort of human contact.

"I got real depressed 'bout it, drank for a while then went home. When I got back Lucci was already here." both Kaku and Jyabura tensed up at the direction the story was going.

"There was more than a bit of yelling then I sent him packing, haven't seen him since." Paulie could physically see the other man relax at the answer, like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"There was no way I would keep seeing him after I found out that he was your partner." Paulie wrapped his arms around Kaku's slim shoulders.

"I'm so sorry I did this to you." Paulie whispered into his hair. Kaku started sobbing once more at the apology from the foreman.

Jyabura watched the pair silently from the doorway. He was jealous of how close they were even after all of this.

Ducking back around the corner, out of sight, Jyabura let down his barriers for the first time in a long while. He raised his hand to cover his eyes as he felt hot tears burning at the edges of his eyes.

So many muddled feelings were building up inside of him, they were quickly becoming too much for him to handle. Not only was Kaku's entire world falling apart but now Jyabura felt like he had lost the boy completely. The one person he loved hated him.

The man's back slid down the wall before he settled on the floor, he couldn't keep up his strong act anymore. Once the tears started to flow Jyabura could no longer hold back the flood gates.

He sat there on the floor, face in his hands, weeping over the loss of a dear friend. He didn't care what cost was involved; he just wanted Kaku to stop hating him.

"You gonna be ok?" Paulie whispered to the older man.

Jyabura wiped his eyes and looked towards the blonde, he hadn't noticed the foreman enter and crouch next to him.

"Why did it all turn out like this?" He turned away again.

"I don't know, Jya."

Paulie was actually rather surprised at the reaction that Jyabura was having. The last thing he expected was for him to get this upset.

"I love him, Paulie" he whispered, turning away from the younger man.

Paulie had no idea what to say. He had never been good at helping friends with relationship issues and this one was getting more complicated by the second.

"I'll try to talk to him." Paulie said, placing his hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Go get yourself something to drink, there's beer in the fridge too, help yourself to what ever you want." Jyabura nodded and silently got to his feet. He had to be strong for Kaku, he had to!

"Thanks Paulie. For all your help." He whispered as he wiped his eyes.

"What are friends for?" the older man allowed himself to smile.

"What indeed." He mumbled before ruffling Paulie's hair, it was something the younger man hated but Jyabura insisted on doing it every chance he got just to stir him up.

"Oi! Stop that!" Paulie cried out, laughing at the same time. Jyabura couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's good to have ya back." Paulie said before he went back into the lounge to check up on Kaku.

'I think I may just take him up on that offer' Jyabura thought as he wondered into the kitchen to raid the younger man's fridge.

"Jya's real worried about you." Paulie said as he sat next to the other man. Kaku had run out of tears and just sat there staring blankly across the room, lost in his own thoughts.

"He's worried because his little plan has failed." Kaku said coldly, not meeting Paulie's eyes.

"You don't really believe that crap, do you?" A lingering silence followed the pair.

"Shit Kaku! You know him better then that!"

"Do I really?" he was still not convinced of what Paulie was saying.

"It was just Lucci spouting bullshit to try and get Jya into your bad books!"

"He didn't deny it, Paulie."

"Are you really that blind? He's not trying to split up you and Lucci but for him to say that he didn't want a relationship with you would be a lie. Don't you get it? He didn't deny it because he loves you Kaku."

Kaku was shocked by what Paulie had said, he hadn't even considered it.

"You're lying." He said, not wanting to believe it.

"No I'm not, Kaku, he loves you." Paulie said before getting to his feet.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, don't you two destroy my apartment while I'm gone." He joked loudly enough for Jyabura to hear.

"Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen." Paulie said before he wondered off towards the bathroom. He was hoping they would sort things out between themselves while he was gone.

Kaku stayed were he was, just thinking, trying to sort through the muddled thoughts invading his mind.

After a long while he got to his feet and wandered into the kitchen, he needed to apologise to his friend.

He found Jyabura sitting on a kitchen bench, staring out the window next to him. He seemed so distant, like his thoughts were halfway across the Grand Line. The older man brought the can of beer up to his mouth and took another sip of the cool liquid.

"Jya?" Kaku said quietly. The older man choked on his drink when he realised he was being watched.

"Are you alright!" Kaku asked as he rushed over to the coughing man and started thumping his back.

"Not… helping…" Jyabura choked out between coughs.

"I'm sorry." Kaku said before he rushed off the get the older man a glass of water. Jyabura gulped down the water greedily; thankfully it helped subside his coughing.

"Are you better?" Kaku was genuinely concerned for him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He mumbled, still trying to suppress the vestiges of his coughing fit.

Jyabura turned his attention to the sunset once again, completely ignoring the boy. He hadn't figured out how he was going to try to repair their shattered friendship yet.

"Umm, Jya?" Kaku mumbled, barely audible.

The man stayed silent out of fear that his voice would crack. He was still more than a little depressed by the evening's events. He just wanted to go to sleep and end that awful day.

Jyabura assumed that Kaku had come to him in order to make more accusations. He couldn't have been more mistaken.

Kaku sighed heavily before he spoke again.

"Look … I'm sorry." Jyabura tensed up at the apology. It was most certainly not what he was expecting to hear.

"I'm sorry I said all that stuff. I was angry and I didn't know what to believe. I really do need you here."

The older man reached out and placed his hand on top of Kaku's head, he ruffled his hair and gave him a sad smile.

"Its ok, kid. I told you; you won't get rid of me that easily." Kaku shot forward and wrapped his arms around Jyabura's chest.

"I'm so sorry! I was an idiot!" his voice was muffled by the older man's chest.

"Hey, I said it was fine, ok? Stop beating yourself u-" his words were cut off as Kaku pressed his lips to the older man's.

The older Zoan user was in shock, he didn't know how to react in a situation like this. He didn't know whether he should take the opportunity and hope for the best or to pull away because he knew that Kaku wasn't in his right mind.

Jyabura suddenly pulled away from the youth, surprising both of them.

"I- I'm sorry, I feel like I'm taking advantage of you." He mumbled, turning back to the window to study what he could see of the sky between the tall buildings.

"I want this Jya." Kaku mumbled, moving in for another kiss. The older man stopped him just short of making contact.

"No, it isn't. You're just upset about Lucci. You aren't thinking straight." As much as it hurt him to back down once he had gotten so close to what he wanted, it just didn't feel right.

"I don't care about that." His voice was flat and he refused to meet the other man's eyes. Kaku just proved his theory.

"Well I do!" Jyabura snapped, his voice raising.

Kaku moved away and left without another word or backwards glance. Jyabura lay back along the counter, feet dangling over the end. He just stared at the ceiling while he let the minutes go by as if they were hours.

He didn't regret his decision and he never would. Even though it hurt to do so he knew it was the right thing to do. If he had let Kaku have his way he knew the boy would have regretted it afterwards. Kaku may have been angry at Lucci but they were still together.

"Why are you laying on my counter?" Paulie said blankly from the doorway. He was wearing only a pair of pants and a towel draped over his head. He was still dripping wet from his shower and already had a strong smelling cigar hanging from his mouth.

"It was more comfortable than the floor." Silence followed the idiotic response.

"Riiiiiiight … at least the floor is softer, it has a carpet." Jyabura couldn't help but chuckle.

"Damn that was lame, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was" Paulie joined in; they both needed a good laugh after the day they had both had.

"So…" Paulie started, still chuckling.

"Are you staying the night or heading home?" Jyabura sat up at the question.

"I have to work tomorrow morning so I'm probably gonna head back." he mumbled as he scratched the stubble forming on his neck.

"And I really haft'a shave"

"Ya sure? You can stay if you want to."

"Nah… Say, Paulie? Does Lucci have a key to this place?" Paulie froze, he hadn't even considered the fact that Lucci could turn up looking for Kaku.

"I don't think so… He never needed one, he broke in all the time. If he does have a key he swiped it. I never gave him one"

Jyabura didn't want to risk Lucci showing up and causing trouble. He had already done enough that evening.

"I think I will stay after all. You have enough room, don't you?"

"Yeah, I have a double bed and the couch." He informed as he towel dried his hair.

"I'll take the couch and I'll probably be gone by the time you two get up." Jyabura hopped off the counter and finished off his beer.

Paulie glanced over his shoulder before coming further into the room.

"Did he end up talking to you?"

"Yeah, he did."

"And?"

"Well he doesn't hate me"

"Good. Well the bathroom is free if ya wanna take a shower."

"I think I'll go out for a while actually, I need to go get my work clothes anyway. I'll be back in about an hour, I'll grab something to eat while I'm out too. Want me to baring anything back?"

"We'll cope. I'll wait up for you then 'cause I ain't shutting that door without the chain."

"I don't blame you. Any message for Lucci?"

Paulie thought about it while he puffed away on his cigar.

"He's not worth the effort, just ignore him."

"Later." The Zoan user said as he wandered out of the kitchen.

Jyabura glanced into the lounge on his way past. Kaku was looking much as he had when Paulie had walked in. He was lying on the couch staring at the ceiling with a troubled expression on his face. The older man knew that there was nothing he could do to lift the boy's spirits.

"Jya, come here for a second." Kaku mumbled.

The older man complied with his request and crouched next to him.

"Are you going home?" He asked, voice shaking slightly.

"Yeah, I'm coming back later though."

"I'm- I'm going to leave Lucci." Jyabura's heart skipped a beat.

'Finally.' He thought. He knew it would hurt Kaku immensely at first but the wolf Zoan knew Kaku would be happier in the long run.

"Will you tell him? I want him to know it's coming." Jyabura smiled slightly, as much as Lucci had hurt the boy, Kaku still didn't have a vindictive bone in his body.

His child like innocence was what made him so special.

"I will."

"Just … don't be a dick about it, ok?" Kaku scolded already knowing what was going on inside the older man's head even before he did.

"I'll try, I promise." Kaku squeezed his hand tightly.

"Thanks. And don't tell the others… Please"

"I won't. See ya later kid."

The older man got to his feet and left the apartment without further word.

It seemed as though it would be a long night for the wolf Zoan.

He was not done with Lucci yet.