A/N: Apologies for the wait. I broke my leg and ended up in the hospital. Between the heavy meds making me nauseous and the pain keeping me up at night I had barely the energy to write this past week. Feeling a lot better now and happy to get this chapter out to you guys :)

Sanji awoke with a pounding headache, an empty stomach and no recollection of what had happened last night. After relieving himself in the bathroom, stumbling into a pair of sweats and locating his toothbrush he felt remarkably better. Breath fresh and a bit more awake he made his way into the main part of the house and into the kitchen, preparing to make himself some hangover food.

A cheese and ham sandwich half shoved him his mouth, a bottle of water and a few aspirin in his hands, he made his way into his living room preparing to relax and watch television for the rest of the day. Rounding the corner he nearly spat out the sandwich when he spotted the half-naked green-haired monstrosity snoring on his couch.

Sprawling haphazardly, one leg falling off the couch and an arm thrown over his head to dangle from the arm rest, Zoro lounged on Sanji's couch in nothing more than his boxers with a blanket tangled around his torso. Snoring away he looked completely unperturbed as Sanji coughed up a bit of inhaled ham.

Sanji set down the sandwich, water and aspirin before walking over to the man, watching his sleeping face for a moment before jabbing the heel of his foot against the man's ribcage. Zoro's face scrunched up before he cracked an annoyed eye open at the blond – noting who it was and grumbling angrily – pulling the blanket up to cover his boxer clad body and his head.

"Oi." Sanji scowled, giving the man another sharp kick, "This is my house. What the fuck are you doing here?"

The blanket was sharply pulled away and Sanji nearly took a step back at the glare he was gifted with. Near black eyes were narrowed to slits as he watched Sanji in annoyance, "I'm tired as fuck. Will you just let me sleep?"

"But why are you here?!"

"I'm here," Zoro drawled, "Because I had to drag your drunk ass home from the bar, carry you up fifteen flights of stairs and then have you throw up all over me. So excuse me if I helped myself to your couch."

Rant done, Zoro turned and collapsed back on the couch and closed his eyes, determined to rest some more. Sanji in turn flushed an amazing shade of red as the words triggered flashes of memories from the night before. Various images such as him laying on the sidewalk laughing, and a vague sensation of throwing up; but where remained lost in the recesses of his mind.

"Oh, God," Sanji murmured in quiet embarrassment as other various snap shots from the previous evening assaulted him and he was given the small sensation of being punched at some point, "Did that really happen?"

"With some rolling around on the ground and sobbing fits in between, but yes it happened."

Sanji stood for a moment in embarrassment as the memories became more solidified in his mind, blushing furiously at his own immature behaviour. Ambiguously remembering laughing to Zoro about their potential sexual conquest and then later bawling to him about it before throwing up on the man. He placed both his hands over his face and groaned in embarrassment.

"Man, I'm so sorry." Sanji mumbled into his hands, desperately hoping Zoro would not judge him for a simple moment of drunken stupidity, "I'm – it's just that midterms and work -"

"I get it." Zoro raised a hand to stop Sanji's babbling excuses, giving a large sigh as he rolled over to face the blond, seemingly giving up on continuing to sleep, "This is something hard to adjust to and you're a little distraught over it. But you really need to get it through your head that this isn't the end of the world. It can actually be a really cool thing."

"This would've been cool in high school." Sanji grumbled as he fell back in a spare chair, "I have a life now; I can't be running around the city at night playing hero."

At that Zoro chuckled and pushed himself up into a seated position. Leaning his head to the side his neck cricked with a satisfying crack and the blanket fell to pool around his nude waist, "Your life seriously isn't going to change that much."

"How do you know?" Sanji bit back in slight annoyance, eyeing his sandwich but feeling rude finishing it while leaving Zoro with absolutely nothing to eat.

Zoro gave him a look that clearly stated how stupid he thought Sanji was before leaning forward and snatching up Sanji's half eaten sandwich, shoving half of it into his mouth. He had chewed, swallowed and taken another bite in the time it took for Sanji to stare at his hangover food in dismay and disbelief at Zoro's blatant audacity at eating other people's food.

Still shocked at Zoro's rudeness, the host pointed a finger at him and explained around a bite of ham and cheese, "The only reason Prince was running around at night was because he was looking for Asura. Now that they've found each other; it's not like he has anywhere else he needs to go, get it?"

Shaking away his anger about the sandwich Sanji focused on Zoro's words. It did seemed to make a lot of sense; though aside from Asura and Prince's connection he was still confused as to why they were trapped in these items to begin with. What had forced them to seal themselves within these objects? What had happened to them?

"So that's it?" Sanji asked in slight confusion, holding onto his questions for the moment. They seemed better to ask to Prince anyway. "We just continue on with our lives, occasionally letting them take control when they want some air?"

"Yeah, kinda." Zoro muttered with a small roll of his eyes to show that he clearly wasn't telling everything that need to be told at the moment. At Sanji's unimpressed look Zoro continued, "Seriously, don't worry about it for now. Do your exams or whatever. Live life."

Sanji opened his mouth to respond to the weird orders but couldn't quite find the words to say exactly how weird this whole conversation was. Instead he opted for muttering, "I was going to do that anyway."

"Good." Zoro stated happily, seemingly satisfied with Sanji's reply.

Sanji watched silently as Zoro stood, arm hooking behind his head and grabbing the opposing bicep as he extended his body in a large stretch, groaning in relief as he rocked onto the balls of his feet. Unconsciously, Sanji watched as the muscles in the man's torso tensed and flexed with the simple movement and he couldn't help but be impressed at how well built the man was. Always wearing those ratty jeans and baggy shirts he had looked like a scrawny fucker.

Zoro let his arms drop as he came back to rest on his heels with a content sigh, leaning his head to the side to crack his stiff neck. Sanji purposefully looked away, trying not to pout at the fact that the man's build was vastly more impressive then his own. It wasn't his fault that he was naturally more lean than muscular.

"What's that look for?" Zoro asked with a slight chuckle as he balanced on a foot to stumble into his pants. Sanji reluctantly looked back to watch as the man pulled the other leg on as well.

"Just thinking about how I'll need to sterilize the couch." Sanji grumbled behind the hand he was resting his chin on, glad that his voice sounded so casually malicious.

Zoro just chuckled as he straightened and pulled his pants up, doing up the button quickly before grabbing his shirt, "Yeah, well, I'm not the one that's throwing up on people."

Sanji's bravado was quickly shaken by that comment, causing his cheeks to flare up once more at the embarrassing situation that now Zoro held above his head. Casting a glance to his pant legs, looking for the traces of where he had apparently thrown up he asked, "Do you want clean clothes?"

"Naw, all good." Zoro explained as he began pulling on his shirt, "I washed them last night."

Sanji was allowed a moment of confusion where he wondered where exactly Zoro had washed them, and if the vindictive bastard had potentially used the sink in the bathroom that Sanji had just used to wash his face in. Or maybe he'd secretively used Sanji's toothbrush to scrub out the stains in a small act of revenge.

"Anyway, I hate to sleep and run." Zoro explained as he sidestepped around the coffee table and made his way to the door, already slipping into his shoes before continuing, "But I need to get to work."

"It's okay." Sanji pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the small surge of nausea that pounded against his forehead as he followed Zoro to the door, "I need to study anyway."

Laces barely done up properly, Zoro opened the door and gifted Sanji with a jaunty wave and a small smirk as he stepped out of Sanji's apartment. Muttering just before he closed the door, "Good luck on the exams."

"Thanks."

The door closed and Sanji barely spared the weird man another thought before stumbling backward and tumbling over the arm of the couch onto the soft upholstery. Not even bothering to care that the blanket now smelt of Zoro's steely musk, he snatched it up and pulled it over his head as he prepared to sleep his hangover away.

~X~

Small skate pack slung over a shoulder Zoro stepped out of the dojo, pulling out his key chain and fumbling through his various keys before finding the proper bronze one as he locked up the doors to the small martial arts academy. Placing his hand on the door handle he gave it a small wiggle to make sure that it was properly locked before putting his keyring in his pocket and turning out to face the street.

Spring was fully in Grand Line and the hints of summer were already on the way as humid night breezes tumbled through the city leaving a comfortable twilight feel. Doing up the buckle on the pack so it was strapped over his chest, he pulled his bandanna from his arm as he decided that it be much easier to travel by rooftop to Luffy's instead of navigating his car through late night traffic.

Placing the bandanna on his forehead he did it up sharply – a few hairs at the back of his neck getting caught in the knot – letting his hands fall to his sides as he let out a sigh as he felt the demon's aura fill him up. Coating himself in a light film so that he wouldn't be spotted by any late night pedestrians he braced his knees, shifted his foot slightly for a better grip and pushed off the ground as he launched himself up toward the opposing building. Nearly jumping seven stories up, his hands latched onto the balcony railing of someone's apartment flat, using his upper arm strength and the momentum of his jump he launched himself the rest of the way up.

Landing with a skid on the top of the apartment complex Zoro glanced around breathlessly at the fairly decent view the apartment provided. Granted there was many more buildings in the city that towered over him, but he still was able to glimpse the sea through gaps between distance buildings, as well as the giant forest laying to the north that led to Blue City.

Letting out a happy sigh he surveyed the city as lights were beginning to pop up in distant homes and businesses. Street lamps and traffic causing a throbbing glow. Luffy was near the coast – loving the sea view even though the kid couldn't even swim – his house in a relatively prime real-estate spot, but was a gift from his late uncle.

Zoro really liked visiting Luffy's because it was one of the few places he could get to on the first – or second – try. All he had to do was head for the sea, then from there stay along the beach until he reached the small cottage near the Little Garden Cliffs. It was an easy journey; unlike Usopp's house that seemed to move each time Zoro tried to find it.

With the setting sun glittering against the water Zoro pinpointed his destination and ran along the roof of the building, foot perfectly finding hold on the ledge as he pushed himself forward and he threw himself from the building toward the city.

Keeping the sea in view he decided to take a longer route to Luffy's. Enjoying the silence and comfort of being alone with his own thoughts after a day of teaching several kids martial arts classes and nearly becoming deaf by the end of a particularly rambunctious Judo session. Understandable, however, since after spring break they would be going to a Provincial Tournament and the kids were nearly having aneurisms in their excitement.

With the sun nearly non-existent on the horizon Zoro finally made it to Luffy's, not even bothering to knock as he let himself into the small house, and a shout from the living room announced that his arrival had been acknowledged. Making his way into the area he found Luffy laying on his stomach on the floor with his PS3 controller in hand as food and snacks literally littered the floor around him. Usopp was hardly any better as he lay on the couch with his head hanging off the edge, feet propped up on the back as he played the game upside down.

"Hey!" Usopp chirped with a grin, "You made it. We were starting to think you got lost."

"Shut it, longnose." Zoro grumbled with a grin as he shrugged off his pack and tossed it aside on the floor, eyes already intently glued to the large television set up against the wall. The screen split horizontal across the centre as both perspectives of their characters were shown. The game was paused but beyond that the arena and zombies were visible.

"We're playing survival mode." Luffy explained, tilting the brim of his straw hat out of his eyes to grin up at Zoro, "Level 15. You can try after we die."

"Sounds good to me." Zoro replied as he collapsed on an adjacent couch, not wanting to mess up Usopp's concentration as the boy hit play and the music once more blasted from the surround sound speakers. The setting that they had chosen appeared to be the inside of some creepy castle.

Usopp seemed to be cornered in a bathroom as he used a single shot pistol that effectively had a perfect one shot kill. Luffy however was running around in some sort of laboratory as he opted for a semi-automatic and just shot randomly. The kid was really good at the game, but he got way too much of a kick out of the sound affects.

"So, what happened with Prince's host?" Luffy asked absently, eyes remaining glued to the screen.

Before Zoro could even reply Usopp interjected, jerking his arms to the right as though moving the controller would somehow assist in the movement of his pirate, "You found that other spirit thing?"

Usopp was easily Luffy's closest friend and the poor host couldn't keep a secret to save a life – or rather he would keep a secret to save a life; but he couldn't lie for shit. It hadn't taken Usopp long to pry the truth from the boy and aside from freaking out a little when Luffy had stretched his face as an example the boy had taken it pretty well.

"Yea," Zoro explained with a smirk, "Blondie phoned almost within twenty-four hours. Didn't take him long to stop being such an idiot. Well," Zoro amended with a smirk, "Less of an idiot."

"Luffy says you like him." Usopp absently commented as he continued to remain glued to the screen, his voice going all mockingly girly as he asked, "That true, Zoro?"

At Zoro's indignant sputter Luffy erupted in laughter and consequently ended up with Zoro's foot imbedded into his rubber back, which did little to harm the boy and only caused him to burp obscenely and completely drop his controller as his laughter doubled.

Usopp paused the game with a mutter of, "C'mon Luffy, you're fucking up our score."

"Fuck off, Luffy." Zoro grumbled as he grabbed a handful of Cheetos from the table and popped a couple into his mouth, before turning to Usopp, "He thinks that because of our spirits, that that damned Curly and I will probably have a thing."

"Well, we all know you swing both ways." Usopp grunted as he picked up his half finished beer and took a swig, "Aside from the spirits; do you like him?"

"Jezzus." Zoro scowled in annoyance, "Why do you guys care so much about my social life? Why aren't you out with your girlfriends?!"

"We are your social life, dude." Usopp commented dryly as he gifted Zoro with a pointed stare, "Besides, we have an active sex life; you're the one practically married to your job."

"Okay, I really don't need to be told to get laid by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum." Zoro bit back, "I'm perfectly capable of being in a relationship if I want to be."

"So why don't you like him?"

"He's not my type." Zoro shrugged as he eyed Usopp's beer and began to think it was time to grab one for himself. Partially to quell his thirst and also to get away from this damned interrogation, "Simple."

"Mhm." Usopp hummed in a tone that could either be him admitting that he didn't believe Zoro, or that he was giving up on the subject. And knowing Usopp, Zoro had a feeling that it was most likely the former. Usopp didn't press, however, and pressed continue on the game.

Zoro knew that his friends only really had the best intentions when trying to set him up with people, but usually he knew when he was ready to go for someone or not. And it wasn't that Sanji was unattractive – once that pesky issue involving him thinking that Zoro was a rapist was resolved and he was no longer getting lamps thrown at his head – Zoro had actually been able to appreciate that the man was easily categorized as fucking gorgeous.

But, Sanji had very clearly stated that he was straight and – though it was a shame – that was the end of it. Zoro wasn't foolish enough to chase a man that was clearly not interested, and was far too busy to put effort into it otherwise. Regardless of what Asura and Prince might plan on doing, in the end Sanji was the road block.

Pulling himself from the odd course of thoughts he firmly pushed all thoughts of spirits and hot blonds to the back his head as he watched the zombie killing. They were now almost to Level 19 and Luffy didn't even pause the game as he stretched his rubber neck out to grabbed a mouthful of chips, before returning it to its normal length and chewing on the chips without breaking eye contact with the screen.

"I still can't get used to you doing that." Usopp muttered around a mouthful of Doritos, orange chip chunks falling from his lips as he spoke, "Never will."

Luffy just cackled happily as he continued to remain enraptured by the game, every once in a while extending his rubber neck so he could snatch a bit of his sandwich or take a sip of his beer. The drink caught his attention and Zoro suddenly noticed how dry the snacks had made his throat.

Zoro asked absently as he pushed himself up out of his seat. "You got beer, yeah?"

Usopp's eyes were glued to the screen but he was still conscious enough to respond somewhat dully, "Yeah..." Zoning out for a few moments before continuing, "In the fridge. Don't get lost."

"I'll unplug the console." Zoro responded venomously as he strode from the living room and into the kitchen, barely getting into the room before Asura's raspy voice rung inside of his head, and Zoro quietly wondered why everyone felt the need to bother him with questions tonight.

"When can I see Prince?"

The voice was unexpected. Bodiless in the empty kitchen but Zoro had long since gotten used to Asura's sudden needs to whisper questions or snide comments into his ear. Spirit just out of sight, his bodiless voice echoed in Zoro's ears while the man continued pulling three new beers from the fridge.

"I don't know." Zoro thought back in response, as he absently popped the caps from the bottles without any assistance from the demon's aura, "Sanji still needs some time to figure everything out."

"I am immortal." Asura hissed petulantly, "Patience is something I have an unlimited supply of; but you should hardly expect a starving dog to sit still after you've dangled a piece of meat in front of it."

"I'm glad you finally agree that you have the same mentality of a mutt." Zoro thought back snidely as he took a swig of his beer. Grinning cheekily as he felt Asura's indignation roil up in a flare of embarrassment and anger.

"Shut it." Asura growled, "You know what I meant."

"I did." Zoro chuckled as he began to make his way back out to the living room, "But it's not me that has issues with a spirit in his body. Give him a week."

"I realize your sexual preferences are not a problem," Asura began tactfully, but it was hardly necessary as Zoro already knew exactly what the demon wanted from him, "So how much leeway are you willing to give me involving Prince?"

Zoro paused for a moment to contemplate the request; realizing that it would result in his body being used against Sanji's. His hands would be touching the blond, his mouth would be assaulting those pouting smoker's lips, his body would be connected to Sanji's. It was a heavy train of thought that left Zoro momentarily uncomfortable at the idea of his body being involved sexually without him being in control of it.

The host quickly shock off the odd thoughts that were leading him into weird types of psychoanalysis and casually raised a shoulder to show how little it bothered him. "I honestly don't care. But it'll be Sanji you'll have to convince; he's as straight as Grand Line Boulevard."

Asura seemed content with the reply for now as he made no reply and didn't make any motion to press the matter further. Instead the demon whispered, "After tonight you'll have to start mentally training the boy." Asura murmured thoughtfully, "We need to make sure he can properly channel Prince's magic if we want to find Blackbeard."

"Yeah," Zoro agreed absently, knowing that inevitably Zoro would have to enlighten Sanji to the more heavier reasons behind the spirit's existence, "I'll go bother him after work tomorrow."

Zoro appeared back in the living room in time for Usopp to swear violently at both him and Luffy having been done in by several zombies in a room vaguely reminiscent of a giant freezer. A monster zombie sat frozen within the middle of the chamber towering above the two dead pirates. A controller was tossed to him in annoyance and Luffy and him began a new round.

~X~

Sanji returned to his apartment after just finishing a near eight hours total of exam hell and collapsed on his couch to lazily examine all of his studying supplies that was laid out across mostly every surface and space on the floor. The past two days had consisted of him cramming for his Law 201 exam and his following Business 200 and with those out of the way he only had one more remaining. He had two days left to cram for the Macroeconomics 200 midterm that he would be writing on Friday. He resolutely did not want to be bothered until he firmly believed he could get a score that would keep his father off his back for at least a couple weeks.

Sighing heavily he went to brew a pot of coffee as he prepared himself for another couple of hours studying before going to bed and doing the same thing the next day. A good couple hours passed in silence, only the flipping of pages and the occasional scribble a sign that there was a presence in the apartment. When Sanji managed to get halfway through he finally threw the text from his lap and leaned back in his chair with a groan. Placing his hands over his eyes that were sore from so much reading, he massaged them gently as his brain continued to whir with everything he had just reviewed.

Letting his hands fall away he arched in the chair to get a few kinks from his neck and glanced over at the coffee table. Eyes passing all his notes and books and levelling on the orange specs that sat innocently on the wooden surface, looking completely inanimate. Leaning forward in his chair he extended a hand toward the glasses before catching himself, forcing himself back into his chair as he shook his head in reprimand.

"Don't you even think about it." Sanji muttered to himself as he glared down the glasses. There was no way he was going to give in and get distracted; who knew how much time was consumed in the real world when he conversed with the spirit in his mind.

And yet... It was such an extraordinary situation that it only tempted Sanji further.

The simple idea that he was now bonded with a magical spirit was enough to make him reel. Confusion aside, the improbability of it all only made it that much more interesting to explore. Not to mention he was also a little guilty at leaving Prince alone in those glasses for the past couple days while he had been studying, but he had felt that conversing with spirit would only distract him.

Sanji gave in and snatched up the glasses, looking at them wearily for only a moment, before putting them on resolutely. It was almost disorientating to be sitting in his living room, and then to blink and suddenly be situated on a beach. Stumbling a bit as his mind transported him from lounging his his chair to suddenly standing on uneven sand.

Prince was already standing in front of him awaiting his entrance, looking as regal and wise as the last time Sanji had met him. Young appearance a false shield for how old he really was. A charming smile lit up his face as he nodded in greeting to Sanji.

"Hey." Sanji muttered, not exactly sure how you were supposed to greet a thousand year old spirit that was now inhabiting your body.

The spirit inclined his head formally before murmuring, "Sanji."

Sanji was left speechless. Just standing once more in this false reality while faced with this spirit was so amazingly unbelievable that he wasn't sure what to do. Childhood imagination and young fantasies of things like this had always plague him but never had he believed it to be possible. And now that it was it just left him in awe.

"So how are you feeling now?" Prince asked softly, "Compared to a few days ago?"

Sanji stood quietly in front of the man as he searched himself for any kind of anger, confusion or fear that could explain how he currently felt regarding the spirit, but he came up with absolutely nothing. His mind and body felt like they were adrift in a sea of calamity. Studying had left him feeling a bit exhausted but aside from that there was nothing else currently running through his mind.

"I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to feel." Sanji admitted finally as he gave a small shrug, "The whole mess with Zoro and you; I thought I was losing my mind. Now that I know I'm not everything else just seems surreal..."

"So you still don't believe that this is real?" Prince asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"No..." Sanji paused for a moment as he tried to figure out how to put his current emotions into words, "It's just that I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react now that I know this is all real."

"You seem a lot calmer than yesterday." The spirit intoned lightly, "You don't even feel the least bit agitated. Just calm."

The spirit was right.

Since the night before he felt astronomically better and could hardly explain how easily it had been to let his frustrations and confusion go and just go along with everything. He felt bad for initially over reacting but he felt it was only fair. Zoro wasn't exactly the best messenger of supernatural events. Molestation in alleyways and climbing through windows didn't exactly instil confidence in others when you wanted them to listen to your potentially lunatic ramblings.

Regardless, now that Sanji was completely assured that this was all real he felt that it was almost simple to accept it. An odd transition from being nearly ridiculing in his disbelief to calmly accepting the matter. Though, now that the facts were all laid out in front of him and he could see for himself that he wasn't delusional, it seemed like the only rational thing to do was go along with the course of events.

What use would it do him, or Prince, to throw a hissy fit and try to deny that all of this was happening?

It would just waste the spirit's valuable time and make him appear like an immature idiot to not only the spirit, but Zoro as well. And now that Sanji was aware that the green-haired man was not, in fact, a raving lunatic, Sanji felt a small bit of his old high school competitiveness return with his need to prove himself to the nonchalant host. If Zoro could so calmly accept his spirit then so could Sanji.

Prince smiled warmly, as he obviously could feel the whizzing thoughts swirling through his mind before murmuring comfortingly, "Well, I'm glad that you are taking this so well."

They began to walk along the shore of the beach, shoes disappearing from their feet with a single thought and they strode barefoot along the wet sand. Waves crashed along the imaginary shore and slid up to swirl salty water and sand debris around the two men's feet.

Though the spirit looked easily around Sanji's age, standing so close to him Sanji could feel the insurmountable power and wisdom that could only come with age. It was akin to walking next to some omnipotent ethereal being that was clearly not of the human world; a being of a different time and age that held more knowledge than would ever be revealed to Sanji in his short time on earth.

The heavy aura made Sanji uncomfortable and at the same time shameful. Guilty to be standing side-by-side with this man – this idol – that was so far above Sanji that he should only find a spot underneath this man's feet. Prince however, seemed unfazed by Sanji's dilemma and instead walked beside Sanji as though he were an old friend, a content smile on his young cheeks.

"Nothing much is going to change in your life." Prince murmured gently, "Aside from me and my friends hopefully being put to rest at some point; all I ask of is your support."

Fair enough, Sanji thought absently. Showing his understanding by giving a small nod. Though he had to admit he was a complete amateur at putting a spirit to rest, he had no clue what he was even supposed to do.

"Though, there is the small matter of Asura." The spirit continued calmly and the simple words had Sanji stiffening at the man's side. Sanji's discomfort hardly went unnoticed and Prince continued, "I realized from last night that you seem to be extremely distraught over the fact that Asura and I have a connection."

Sanji tried and failed to hide a blush that prominently arose on his cheeks as his mind helpfully supplied more images of his and Zoro's bodies in compromising positions due to the spirits. Quickly shaking those disturbing thoughts from his head he looked up at Prince and mumbled morosely, "I don't want to keep you two from each other."

"And that is very considerate of you."

Prince's tone was so comforting it only made Sanji feel guilty for his previous behaviour regarding the spirits. Letting out a heavy sigh of regret he calmly tried to reason with himself that it wasn't that big of a deal. Looking at it logically, he'd already kissed Zoro once under the influence of the spirits; it shouldn't bother him that much.

"Well," Prince began calmly, "Can I at least speak to Asura?"

Sanji whirled to look up at the spirit, eyes wide as he realized with some shades of horror and embarrassment that the spirit had actually thought Sanji was so adverse to the idea of the spirits communicating with each other. Stumbling over his words he managed with some degree of disbelief, "Of course you can! I wouldn't – I'm not."

Prince chuckled lightly, blue eyes sparkling with something that Sanji couldn't quite read, "I'm aware you never maliciously wanted to keep us apart. But this is your body; so, your rules."

"I would've – you two – you guys deserve to be together." Sanji fumbled as he placed a hand at the back of his neck, rubbing guiltily, "I'm not so selfish as to keep you apart."

Prince smiled gently, "That means a lot."

"J-just..." Sanji felt his cheeks once more heat up and scrunched up his nose angrily at being unable to control his own embarrassment, "Just nothing else. For now!"

Prince arched an elegant brow as he watched Sanji stutter out his conditions. The look however only causing Sanji's nervousness to double, "Y-you know, until I have a chance to think everything else over a-and-"

"I understand what you're trying to say." Prince chuckled as Sanji completely gave up on his jumbled speech, "And you can be assured that I will keep my word."

"Alright." Sanji let out a heavy breath he hadn't known he had been holding in. A small part of him had been concerned that the spirit would be upset by his request, "Thanks."

"No, thank you." Prince urged sincerely, "Not many humans willingly give up their bodies for another."

"Yeah, well-" Sanji mumbled awkwardly before his words were interrupted by resounding noise. A knock echoed throughout the the world – loud and resounding – it rung from the heavens and caused Sanji to glance up at the sky in confusion, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"It's probably from the outside world." Prince muttered as he too casually glanced around the beach, "Probably someone at the door or something."

Sanji nodded and quickly bid the spirit farewell before closing his eyes and reopening them in his real body. The knocking had become much louder upon reentering the actual world, and leaving the comfortable shades on his nose he made his way to the door.

The door swung open to reveal Zoro leaning casually against the door jam in a tight fitting blue shirt and his trademark ripped jeans. His brown eyes flickered to the glasses and seemed to inspect them for moment before making a small sound of understanding, "So that's what took you so long."

Sanji raised a hand to gently touch the rim of the glasses – almost to assert that they were actually on his face – before letting his hand drop, "Yeah. Still getting used to the whole thing."

"Uh huh." Zoro grunted in acceptance before pushing himself off the doorway and sauntering past Sanji, ambling into the blond's kitchen without invitation, leaving Sanji at the doorway somewhat dumbfounded by the man's behaviour. "So what's there to eat around here?"

"You think you're suddenly welcome here now?" Sanji asked in disbelief as the man pulled a bagel from his fridge and promptly took a large bite. Sanji desperately stomped down the urge to swat the piece of blueberry bread from the bronzed man's grip.

"Well, yeah." Zoro mumbled around the bread, spraying a few crumbs as he tried to speak, "Just because you now know of the connection doesn't mean you get to just ignore it now. We have work to do."

"Yeah, I do have work to do." Sanji responded in annoyance, "I'm supposed to be studying for my midterm. Get out."

Sanji swiftly pointed toward the door, levelling Zoro with a stubborn look to prove that he wasn't up for arguing on the matter. Zoro stayed leaning against the counter, casually chewing on the bagel as his eyes flickered from the door then back to Sanji. A grin broke out across his face and he watched Sanji enigmatically, eyes dancing with mirth as he was clearly silently challenging Sanji to get him out of the room.

"I mean it." Sanji tried again, once more jerking his arm toward the door, "Get out or I'll call the cops."

Zoro remained watching him in humour and Sanji was beginning to get annoyed by that smirking condescending face. The host took another large bit, and chewed the bread in a purposefully slow manner that was meant to be taunting, before he finally swallowed and grinned, "You didn't call them last time. You won't this time."

"Different reasons." Sanji sniffed haughtily as he lowered his arm and instead placed it with his other as he crossed them both over his chest in annoyance, "Last time I thought you were a crackhead trying to rape me; now you're just an annoying trespasser."

"And yet you let the rapist in, and kick out the friend?" Zoro placed the last bit of bagel into his mouth, raising an eyebrow and he managed around the bread in his mouth, "You got some weird kinks you want to tell me about?"

Sanji flustered slightly at the man's logic before recovering and growling, "Let me rephrase that. You are keeping me from studying and if I fail I'll be murdered by my father. Now, get out!"

Zoro finished off the last of bagel and chuckled at Sanji's response, clearly not the least bit concerned about Sanji's father and the very real threat he posed to Sanji's life. Instead he just grinned, punching Sanji in the arm as he passed the blond and made his way into the living room, "C'mon, I need to teach you something."

Sanji stood in the kitchen for a moment fumbling over his indignant reply at being completely ignored by the green-haired man. A heavy sigh escaped Sanji as he gave up, rolled his eyes in exasperation and followed the man. He was slowly starting to learn that Zoro was clearly one of those stubborn people that never took no for an answer.

Zoro had already made himself comfortable on the couch and Sanji tried to ignore how fast the man made himself at home within Sanji's apartment. Sanji collapsed in the chair across from the man, cleaning up the scattered notes that he had laid out everywhere from his earlier studying.

"So I guess I should start by explaining the connections that you have with your spirit."

"Start wherever you want," Sanji huffed irritably, "I don't care."

"You should." Zoro muttered cryptically before smirking, "There's some pretty cool stuff that I want to show you about the spirits, but I can't do that unless I know you can fully communicate with Prince."

Despite his annoyance Zoro's words sparked his curiosity and he asked suspiciously, "What 'cool stuff'?"

"Secret." Zoro placed a teasing finger to his lips as he smirked, "If you want to know then we have to do this training first."

A silent glaring battle ensued between the two hosts as proverbial electricity crackled and flames arose in the torrents. Neither seemed ready to give an inch but Zoro had the ally of curiosity on his side and it wasn't long before Sanji was itching to know what exactly him and Prince were hiding.

"Alright!" Sanji finally conceded as he threw his hands up in exasperation, "Explain and let's get this over with."

Zoro seemed extremely satisfied by Sanji's complacency and immediately dove into his speech, holding up a hand he extended three fingers, "There's three basic connections you have with your spirit."

When Sanji didn't interrupt with a witty quip or any sound of boredom Zoro continued, "The first one is the basic soul switch that you've been experiencing where Prince takes your place in your body and you are transported into your mind. The second is when you are both conscious within your mind and your body goes in a comatose state. The last one is like the second but instead of both being present in your mind, you are both present in the outer world and it's a kind of merging of the souls where one soul is present in the body and the other can can hover nearby." Zoro grinned, "Simple, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Sanji admittedly skeptically, "Already done two of those."

"Once you figure them out they're simple enough to switch between." Zoro explained, "But they aren't really essential. You need to learn the third one if you fully want to learn what I have to teach."

"Why is it important?"

"Can't tell you until you learn." Zoro responded cheekily, "Alright, now simply keep your eyes open this time, but allow your mental wall to lower to let Prince through. Like you want to talk to him."

Sanji wasn't going to argue, but he hardly knew how he was supposed to 'drop his mental wall' nor call forth the spirit. All of this was relatively new to him and he was still more shocked that he was capable of doing it than he was of actually doing it. But knowing Zoro, any and all complaining that he wasn't sure how he was supposed to do it would be met with only snide comments at his ability.

Instead, Sanji focused intently on the orange sunglasses seated calmly on the bridge of his nose, keeping his eyes open as he quietly called out for the spirit. A few failed calls with no replies left him feeling frustrated and he creased his brow in further concentration. It only lasted a second before there was the usual sinking sensation of falling into his mind and he was once more standing firmly in front of Prince.

Prince was watching him calmly, a small comforting smile on his lips as he muttered, "Good try."

Sanji glanced around the beach before quietly cursing to himself.

"Go again." Prince urged gently and Sanji quickly exited his mind once more. When Sanji opened his eyes and looked up at Zoro, the look on his face said that he definitely hadn't done it right.

"Again. Remember; it's exactly like conversing with him in here," Zoro tapped his temple lightly, "Just outside, okay?"

"But what am I supposed to be concentrating on; the other time it was like falling asleep." Sanji whined petulantly, "What am I supposed to do here?"

Zoro groaned slightly, "It's hard to explain. But the best way to put it would be... like a phone call. You want to call him out; talk to him."

Sanji once more stared at the glasses and concentrated hard – it was like trying to lift a weight that was just a tad too heavy – but after a small struggle Sanji felt something loosen in the recesses of his mind. He stared around the room as he tried to access what had possibly changed and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Prince's voice emanating in his head, "Bravo."

"Jesus H. Christ! What the fuck?!" Sanji shrieked before turning to Zoro who watched him stoically, blinking once in a condescending way, "I hear him!"

"Pretty simple, huh?"

Sanji glanced around his living room cautiously, but no floating opaque spirit came into sight, nor any sign that the spirit was there in the least. Zoro watched silently as Sanji explored this new found ability, finally internally focusing on the spirit while mentally thinking, "So you can hear me?"

"Clear as day." Prince murmured back, his tone reverberating pride, "You can't see me but I'm right here."

"Cool." Sanji murmured aloud, eyes slightly out of focus as he truly grasped the concept of this ability, slowly looking up at Zoro's grinning face.

The host's smile only broadened as he saw Sanji's look of elation at having managed to succeed, "Now you just need to practise."

It was almost weird at how simple it was to now converse with the spirit. Now that Sanji had managed to do it for a first time it was as though a wall had been knocked down and the flow of thoughts between the two was as smooth as water. Keeping the glasses on his nose Sanji calmly switch between the different mind states; almost amazed at himself how easily it was coming to him.

With prompting from Zoro Sanji attempted to switch mental positions with the spirit, and though it took a small amount of concentration, Prince was soon within Sanji's body and Sanji was floating bodiless beside him. It was the strangest thing he had experienced to date. Literally an out-of-body experience, he started in shock at his own body as it moved and breathed on its own. Prince in full control was smirking lightly, and Sanji just hovered there and watched in confused amazement as his own face smiled at him.

Nothing like seeing himself on camera or in the mirror, it was surreal in a way that left him breathless. Watching as a completely separate force was in control of his body and moved it without his permission. With a simple thought he once more switch back into his body, taking in a sharp breath at suddenly being in control of his own body again. Slightly breathlessly, Sanji looked up at Zoro, "That – that's so cool."

"Still want to kick me out?" Zoro bit back slyly, clearly basking in the glow of Sanji having been completely won over by this little bit of training. And thought it irked Sanji to see Zoro so smug, he had to give it to the bastard that this was astronomically more interesting than studying.

Instead of admitting to Zoro's small victory he turned back to the more interesting topic, "So what's this secret?"

"I'm saving it for later." Zoro taunted with a smirk, not even seeming the least bit surprised that Sanji was once more trying to pry the information out of him, "Besides I need to make sure you have good control over your connections."

Sanji was expecting a similar answer but it didn't stop him from biting out in disappointment, "You're no fun."

"Oh, I'm plenty of fun." Zoro sniped back mockingly before jerking his head toward the glasses, "Keep practising and I'll probably be able to teach you by the weekend."

Regretfully, Sanji didn't argue with the man since it was a fairly reasonable request. Though a part of him was absolutely positive that Zoro was only withholding the information just to be a controlling asshole. It was fine with Sanji, however, he was excellent when it came to being stubborn.

"So, that's all?" Sanji enquired, judging by the light entering his windows it was getting later on into the day and he was about ready to call it a day and head to bed.

"Yeah, but," Zoro began before his resolution seemed to trail off entirely to be replaced by a small blush, "Asura wants to know if he can see Prince."

The question had slightly caught the blond off guard but with relief he found that it didn't scare him nearly as much as he had previously thought it would. Of course, the spirits would simply want to be with each other and converse after such a long time apart.

"Yeah." Sanji conceded, "We already talked about it. I'm okay with it."

Sanji glanced around the papers and books still littering his living room and silently concluded that he could finish his studying tomorrow. Besides he assumed that Prince and Asura would want to see each other. After being so rudely interrupted by Sanji and Zoro in that alley they probably had a lot more to catch up on than just making out.

"Do you want to go for a coffee?" Sanji asked abruptly, looking up at the host whom seemed a bit shocked at the sudden request, "Before the spirits do their thing?"

Zoro crooked his lip up to expose a flash of teeth as he murmured charmingly, "Are you asking me out?"

Sanji was caught off guard with such a blatantly suggestive answer, but managed to fight down a blush while retorting with an indignant snarl, "As if!"

Zoro's grin only broadened more at Sanji's melodramatic response and reached out to ruffle the blond hair roughly, "Relax, blondie. I was just teasing. Loosen up."

Sanji only growled low in his throat as his hair was roughly tousled by the larger man's calloused hand, and quickly slapped the arm away with snarl. Gifting the host with an unimpressed glare he snatched up his jacket from a coat hook and proceeded to lead the annoying man from his apartment.

~X~

Zoro followed Sanji down the worn sidewalk as they made their way to a small cafe that Sanji claimed made one hell of a coffee and was only a block away. The host kept in stride beside the blond as the street remained empty in the early afternoon as most folks had already returned home for dinner.

The place was much like the bar in a sense that it had a very homely feel to it as the decor and wooden tones reflected a very relaxing atmosphere and many of the customers seemed to know one another. It completely contradicted what Zoro had immediately thought about Sanji. The blond was always dressed and acted in a way that he seemed like he'd be one of the masses that would frequent a Starbucks or any other mass-corporation.

Instead the blond walked up to the till and greeted the pink haired youth behind the counter with a casual friendliness and proceeded to have his order predicted by the glasses wearing teenager. Sanji nodded happily before jerking his thumb in Zoro's direction, "And something for my friend."

"Ah, black. Nothing else." Zoro stated to the expectant teen and with a snort from Sanji he was ushered to the side to await their drinks from the receiving counter. At Sanji's tone Zoro scowled, "What?"

"Nothing." Sanji shrugged innocently but it was obvious he was dying to make some sort of rude remark.

Their drinks arrived swiftly, both paying as Zoro's coffee was placed first followed by an extremely tall drink that smelled of mint and strawberries and had copious amounts of whip cream piled on top. It was Zoro's turn to choke down a laugh as he lead the way out of the small coffee shop.

Once they were out of ear shot of the people within the shop Sanji spun around and muttered a lowly, "Fuck off." In response to Zoro's snicker at his drink.

Out on the street the afternoon sun was barely able to break through the gaps between the buildings to lit up the streets of Grand Line and street lamps were already igniting to compensate. Making their way down the side walk neither said anything in the direction they were heading as they sipped at their drinks.

Even though it was hardly a fancy drink Zoro had to admit that the blond was right that they made one damned fine coffee. The bitterness was just right and had been blended to perfection with a mixture of some sort of spices to accentuate the beans. Sanji seemed to catch Zoro's reaction and grinned, "Told ya."

Zoro snorted quietly, unwilling to admit anything to the gloating blond as the man proffered his own drink in a crane like grip, dangling it between thumb and middle finger as he waved it in front of Zoro's nose tauntingly. Zoro watched the drink for a moment before Sanji muttered, "Try it."

Giving in Zoro snatched the drink up and took a regretfully large swig of the creamy liquid. It was sickly sweet on his tongue but was incredibly smooth as it glided over his tongue before swallowing it; a swirling combination of tart strawberry delight with a bite of mint that left his tongue tingling. Smacking his lips a couple times to try and remove the odd sensation he handed the drink back to the blond with mixed feelings.

"Good, huh?" Sanji boasted happily

It was actually fucking amazing, but there was no way in hell Zoro was going to admit that anything that girly that Sanji had an interest in was any good. Opting for a small grunt he took a swig of his own coffee, grateful from the black bitterness to wash away the tempting sweetness still left on his tongue as he muttered, "It's okay."

Sanji subtly rolled his eyes at Zoro's behaviour but nonetheless dropped the subject. They managed a few more blocks in silence and Zoro could tell Sanji was thrumming with confusion and unanswered questions as he tried analyze everything that had happened to him in the past short week. Sanji seemed to think he was good at hiding it but it was clear as day to Zoro how many questions he wanted to ask and how interested he truly was in this whole situation.

That was partially the reason Zoro pressed the blond so hard when it came to this. The man was damned stubborn and would hardly admit it to himself how much he was secretly loving all the supernatural events that were currently affecting his average life. Zoro could see it in every line of his body that even though he was fighting to stay normal another part of him was relishing in the attention. Despite his denial Sanji wanted to know more and that was why Zoro was so persistent.

Rounding a corner onto a side avenue they passed underneath a glowing street light as Sanji finally spoke.

"Before you came over Prince was mentioning that he wants to be put to rest." Sanji began thoughtfully, finger thrumming against the edge of his coffee as he seemed to be in deep thought, "And from the way he made it sounded there are more spirits than just Prince and Asura. Am I right?"

Sanji remained staring intently ahead of him as they walked and Zoro shoved his free hand into his pocket as he secretly smiled to himself. It was small moments like this where Sanji actually gave in to his curiosity that Zoro knew absolutely that Sanji was much more interested in the spirits than he let on.

"There are four of them." Zoro began simply, "The third is my friend Luffy. The fourth is the man responsible for this whole mess."

Glancing at Zoro with a frown Sanji asked, "You mean he's the reason they're trapped in these objects."

"He's also the reason that they are unable to move on to the next life." Zoro murmured quietly, "If they want to pass on then all four of them need to accept it; unfortunately we have no clue where he is."

"Awesome." Sanji muttered in disdain as he turned to look ahead of himself as they continued down the street. Zoro knew what had to be running through the blond's head. After how long it took for the three spirits to come together what were the odds of finding the last spirit, especially since Blackbeard would not want to be found.

An evil bastard that had not only be the cause for Asura's near death, but also was the cause for the Prince, Asura and Mugiwara to become trapped within these objects for the past millennium. Zoro wasn't exactly sure how everything would end up, but he was certain that it would probably end nearly as bloody as it had the first time. With the man being given a second chance at life it was likely that Blackbeard wouldn't easily give up his immortality.

None of this he would voice to Sanji however. Simple words just couldn't quite describe the situation they were in, couldn't possibly make Sanji understand what an amazing situation he was in.

"Seriously though," Zoro muttered, breaking the quiet that had begun to grow heavy between them, "Don't worry about it too much; it's not really a concern right now."

Whatever seemed to be running through the blond's head, he was certainly keeping it to himself and wasn't voicing a word of it to Zoro. Sanji's next question made it clear that he clearly didn't want to discuss anything else to do with the spirits for the rest of the day, "So, you okay to let the spirits hang for a bit right now?"

"Yeah, sure." Zoro responded absently, feeling an excited rush of emotion arise from the bandanna currently tied around his upper arm. It was always such an odd sensation to have Asura's emotions mixed with his own as well, and at times it left him feeling extremely overwhelmed.

Usually he was able to deal with it fairly well, but ever since meeting Sanji and therefore, Prince, Asura's emotions had been extremely erratic. Feelings that Asura had usually kept under such secrecy he now let run rampant throughout his mind in joy at having found Prince. Consequently it caused Zoro to feel the strangest feelings for Sanji at the most odd of times.

Glancing over at the blond he fought to keep a small smile from working its way onto his lips. The blond was extremely attractive, and after Usopp's and Luffy's prodding he had to admit that if Sanji was in anyway interested he probably would find himself starting to like the blond. Aside from his fiery temper, it was hard to not like the blond.

Vaguely, he remembered what it was like to kiss him. Not that it was much of a kiss before he was shoved away rudely and he was left trying to figure out where the hell he was and what had just happened. But he could faintly remember thin yet soft lips against his own, the faint taste of smoke on his tongue, and a hint of sweet aftertaste left in his own mouth. Eyeing up the paper coffee cup currently pressed up against those lips he wondered if the sweetness was because the man was an avid coffee drinker or something.

Sanji lowered the cup and let a small sigh at the rewarding flavour of the sweet concoction he had gotten from the cafe. Instead of focusing on those lips Zoro's gaze shifted to the elegant hand currently holding his beverage; long fingers covered in burns, scars and cuts from some kind of work that clearly made his hands a necessity. The memory of those fingers gripping the back of his neck desperately flashed through his mind before he finally looked away from the man.

The blond was definitely attractive, but it was obvious that it was only because of their spirits that Zoro felt anything at all. His emotions were intertwined with Asura's. Any and all interest that he possibly felt toward the man was merely the channelled lust of the demon currently melded with his body.

Despite his firm knowledge that it wasn't his own feelings being forced upon Sanji he couldn't stop himself from glancing back over to the blond. This time intently gazing at the blond's face which was slightly hidden behind wind whipped blond hair that hung to his cheeks attractively.

The similarities between Sanji and the images of Prince from Asura's memories were uncanny. Aside from all the physical attributes that made them seem like the reincarnated form of the other; it was the eyes. An eery blue that held far too much depth and yet concealed just as much; an ocean blue with the starkness of lightning that were so reminiscent of Prince's it was unnerving. It was no wonder Zoro could feel the longing emanating from the bandanna on his arm; Asura probably hated having to remain trapped in the garment while Prince was only inches away from himself.

Zoro let out a long sigh and looked ahead of himself as they made their way across the crosswalk. Sometimes the presence of Asura in his life was such a burden. Before becoming bonded to the spirit he had never had to deal with such overwhelming emotions and thoughts; and he certainly never had to channel the love of thousand year old demon onto another person. Zoro vaguely wondered how much Prince's influences bared down on Sanji.

Once on the other side of the street Zoro tossed his empty cup into a nearby trash can and pulled the bandanna from his arm as he turned back to the blond whom was just finishing his own drink. With the bandanna in his hand and the connection less strong the farther the garment was from his mind, the less he felt of Asura's overbearing presence.

It was almost an easy relief to look at the blond and not feel a shred of attraction. The evidence only strengthened his belief that he in no way had any feelings for Sanji. All and anything he felt was merely the influence of Asura's hardly concealed passions for Prince.

Sanji also tossed away his finished drink and pulled his glasses from his pocket, flicking the arms open smoothly before sliding the rims onto his face with an ease that suggested he had done it a million times before. A moment passed and then Sanji blinked, and when the eyes reopened – while they didn't look different in any way – it was obvious that Prince was now in control of Sanji's body.

Zoro took it as his cue to also retreat and swiftly put on the bandana as he shut his eyes and he handed his body over to the demon.

~X~

Prince's eyes snapped open and he stared ahead at Asura as he too became in control of his body. It was an interesting thing to watch as the spirit possessed Zoro's body. The man's body language changed in volumes as Asura took control of the man. A happy smirk worked its way to the corner of Asura's lips as he grabbed Prince and swiftly pulled him into a hug.

Crushing him against the muscular body of the young man he was inhabiting as his own arms came up to hold Asura tightly. Even though it had been barely a week since they had seen each other it had felt like years as their reunion had been cut so short. Asura eventually let him go enough so that they could stare at each other fondly and Prince couldn't stop himself from grinning stupidly.

There was an entirely different feeling of happiness that surged through Prince as he stood in front of the demon and realized that in this moment he had all the time in the world and all the permission needed to stand with this man and be uninterrupted. Instead of feeling guilty about falsely standing somewhere without Sanji's permission, he was now allowed to stand in his lover's presence and just be allowed to soak it in.

Reaching out he clasped both of Asura's hands and leaned in to rest his head against Asura's shoulder, breathing deep the musk of steel and allowing it to fill him to the brim. Completely at peace as he stood with the man in silence and just allowed their bodies to touch like they hadn't done in centuries.

"Ash?"

Asura responded with a grunt, though it was affectionate as he let Prince know that he was indeed listening to the warlock. Hands tightening slightly to indeed let him know he was listening as he continued to nuzzle his face into the warlock's shoulder.

"What was it like for you after the spell was cast?" Prince asked quietly, silently remembering his own journey through centuries of darkness before finally finding his way out of the glasses. It had been terrifying standing alone in complete darkness and all he could think about was whether or not Asura was okay.

"It was mostly just darkness." Asura murmured after a moment of thought, before he continued, "Just standing in the dark for an eternity. Time just sort of blended together."

Prince made a small noise as the description sounded incredibly accurate to what Prince had also experienced. He wasn't sure why he believed it might be any different, but part of him had been worried what the magic might have done to the demon. How many years had he worried that perhaps he had killed the creature?

Asura was far too perceptive at reading Prince's body language and his hands were released as they opted for holding the blond comfortingly. Large hands roamed his back as they rubbed soothingly to reassure the man that everything was indeed okay.

Instead of continuing down a road of painful memories and lost years Asura grinned cheekily against the shell of Prince's ear before murmuring, "I bet you're itching to test out your magic."

The sudden thought of going all out against the demon thrilled him. Releasing all of his restrained energy and allowing himself to completely fight Asura like they hadn't done in years; it made his blood rush in his ears at the very thought. The warlock's head shot up to stare at the demon in barely restrained elation.

Asura's hand came up to gently smooth out along Prince's jawline before muttering, "Knew that would cheer you up."

Prince loved how easily the demon could read him – though at times it could be a little annoying – and he swiftly pulled away from the demon and grinned broadly, "What're we waiting for?"

~X~

They found their way out into the outskirts of the city; far into the forest where their presence would neither be detected nor interrupted. The small clearing they happened upon was fairly large – easily wide enough for a quick spar – and would serve perfectly for Prince to test the abilities of his newly acquired magic.

Asura made his way over to a tree on the edge of the clearing, plopping down casually, arms crossed behind his head as he watched Prince with a warm expression. It reminded Prince of when they used to go out into the forest and the demon would lay contentedly in a patch of sun, warming himself as Prince quietly practised his magic. The memory tugged at his chest painfully and he quickly turned away from the warm black eyes watching him, no doubt reliving some similar memory.

With Sanji and his connection now fully formed Prince had been itching for a chance to test out the full extent of his magic that had been locked away for the past thousand years. Taking a stance in the middle of the small clearing, he steadied his breathing while concentrating on withdrawing his magic.

While being stifled by Sanji his magic had been contained as though by a funnel, the massive amounts were retained behind a wall while only sparing amounts were slowly trickled out and allowed to be used. But now that the wall had completely broken it was though a dam had burst and the magic was flowing through every fibre and vein in his body; surging and swelling as it nearly overflowed.

Shifting his foot out to ground his stance better he began to let the magic flow from his body. The dirt around his feet began to kick up in small clouds of dust, and few small pebbles bouncing along the surface as the current became stronger. Prince kept his eyes shut as he continued to release the magic, the feeling akin to letting out a breath he had been holding for far too long.

Asura sat up slightly in interest by this point, black eyes reflecting the glowing blue aura that was now completely enveloping Prince's body as it weaved and crackled with life. Prince's eyes flickered to the demon fondly before focusing ahead once more. Clasping his hands together sharply like he used to do while preforming old rituals and incantations, he focused the magic and let it release in a wave.

The energy surged outward in a sudden wave, kicking up torrents of dirt and causing debris to go flying with the force of the small explosion. The trees were forced outward, their trunks creaking in the wind and few even breaking and toppling over. A spiral of blue energy entwined around Prince as the flow became stronger as he honed it down until he had enough control over it perfect a shield around himself.

Asura just remained sitting where he was, unfazed by the surge of magic and instead pushed himself to his feet with a grin. Holding his palm out in front of him he circled around until he stood facing the warlock and conjured small amounts of black aura within his hand. A flick of the wrist had the magic soaring through the air directly at Prince, faster than a simple metal bullet made by man and a million times more deadly.

They hit the blue veil and disintegrated on contact.

Prince smirked in challenge and narrowed his eyes, keeping his hands clasped as he made the shell even harder. Asura took the challenge silently, flicking more black spears at the shield; the force clearly doubled. The blackness reached deep into the wall, but was still stalled before it could reach the warlock.

In a small swirl of dirt Asura launched himself into an assault, dodging to the side and continuing firing the black aura. Testing all around for weaknesses. Prince focused on strengthening the areas that Asura were attacking, eyes darting around to try and keep track of the leaping demon.

Kicking off a tree – uprooting it in the process – Asura attacked from the top before landing behind Prince, throwing both hands behind his back and charging the black aura before whipping them forward and releasing the wave of demonic power at the back of the shield and the weakest point in the warlock's defence. Prince finally broke his rooted stance to turn and throw his arm up in an arc to create a wave of blue magic for the blackness to deflect off and go flying into a nearby tree.

Both demon and warlock stood panting lightly as they watched the other with entertained grins. The tree that had gotten hit had already begun to wilt from the aura, the leaves falling to the ground and the white trunk turning a sickly black. Asura was the first to drop his aggressive guard and began laughing, "Well, at least we know you haven't begun to suck any more since the last time we fought."

Prince lowered his arm as well as he returned the grin, eyes flickering to the blackened tree that was now dead, "Always nice to know you really try to kill me whenever we fight."

Asura's only response was a cheeky laugh before he crouched low, one hand placed against the ground as he felt for the subtle vibrations that he could sense from Prince's body; a small change in his breathing, the irregularity of his heart beat and even the tiniest movement of his foot was all under his finger tips. Other arm raised above himself, he easily coated it in a large layer of aura that pulsed and weaved around his forearm before coming to a sharp point just off the end of his hand.

Prince returned the small laugh and slowly raised his right leg, coating it in massive amounts of blue magic as he steadily squared off against the grinning demon. Seemed like the demon was itching of a serious fight; not that he was any different. He may love the man, but just as much he craved the old fights they used to have while training where they tested their limits to the breaking point. Breaking bones, spilling blood, and fighting till every once of magic was drained from his body and his muscles quivered from the after shock of every blow.

Asura launched himself forward arm-scythe swinging at full force as Prince blocked it with a just as powerful kick from his leg. The blue and black aura clashed together as Asura leaned in to grin excitedly and Prince inhaled sharply at the memorable sting that rung through his leg from the blow from the demon.

The clash was broken as both warlock and demon jumped away from the other and stood on opposite ends of the clearing. Blue flames still rising from Prince's leg as Asura flicked his wrist and enlarged the aura blade from a simple dagger to a full length broadsword. With a grin Prince launched first, seemed that Asura was really itching for this fight; getting serious right off the bat.

Appearing at Asura's side he used his momentum to swipe a kick right for the man's jaw, a move that was easily dodged as Asura ducked and turned to deliver his own blow. Falling into a handstand Prince blocked the sword with his calf, twisting on his hand to kick the blade aside and follow through with his other leg to clip the demon's jaw.

Prince's foot barely made contact before the demon spun out of it and dropped low to swipe his leg at Prince's hands causing the warlock to push himself away from the advancing demon. Once more back on his feet he was immediately assaulted by a grinning Asura as a large gash was noticeable on his left jaw bone.

Blow after blow was exchanged between the two as the fight continued on. Each getting their own grazing attack in but neither fully winning or managing to pin the other for long before they were knocked aside and the fight continued. Trees were demolished, craters were left in the dirt, and blood was spilt as the fight went on.

Asura was sporting a black eye and his shirt was completely burned on the left side exposing a few broken ribs as the skin was stained red from internal bleeding. Prince wasn't much better with a large gash on his upper left arm making it useless to hold his weight on and steady stream of blood came from his hairline to drip into his eyes and block his vision. Their panting breathes were heavy as each was beginning to reach their limits.

Jerking his head to the side Prince dodged a skillful jab and darted inside of Asura's guard, foot hooking behind the demon's ankle which had Asura tumbling backwards to the ground. Blazing foot already raised Prince intended to slam the damned demon's face right into the ground.

At the last moment Asura flashed Prince a smirk and the warlock realized a moment too late that he had gotten caught in the creature's trap. Asura spun out of the path of the kick and used his momentum to bring his arm down to catch Prince directly in his exposed back. Barely managing to get his leg around in time he caught the blade with his calf before it could hit anything vital.

Remaining balanced on his bad leg with his weaker one blocking the blow, he struggled to hold off the aura blade as Asura's face hovered inches from his created sword. Eyes sparkling mischievously before they flicked down to something that Prince clearly had not noticed.

Glancing down, he swore vulgarly as he noted the hand that had managed to swiftly sneak into his guard, fingers bared against his gut in a clear signal that the demon could have ripped out his guts if he had really wanted to. Instead, a small concentration of demonic aura was swirling in the palm and Prince's head snapped up just in time for Asura to whisper silkily, "I win."

The aura expanded explosively and sent Prince flying backwards, his back slammed up against the tree roughly and his head was thrown back as he let out a small grunt of pain from the impact. Not even a second later the demon was pressed up against him, hands holding him desperately as a rough mouth was placed over his.

Prince only broke the kiss for a moment to spit the blood from his mouth before latching back onto Asura, biting aggressively at the demon's lips while his arms wrapped around the man's neck tightly. Hands grasping jerkily at the demon's shirt and neck as he tried to pull the man closer in for the kiss. Asura returned the kiss with just as much heat as he sucked on Prince's tongue wetly, hands coming down to grip Prince's thighs.

The grip was tender – almost close to worshipping – before the hands tightened and pulled Prince off the ground, forcing the blond to wrap his legs around the demon as he pressed the warlock harder up against the tree trunk. One of Asura's hands reached past to grab a branch on the tree and used it to pull himself in to rock against Prince's growing erection. The demon's own hardness rocked against his as his inhuman strength grinded him into the tree.

Along with the perfectly timed thrusts, black tendrils began to slip under Prince's shirt to assist with removing the clothing and for a moment Prince forgot about his promise. Faintly remembering long ago encounters with the demon where this identical aura would wrap around him and made him twist in pleasure while the demon would watch with hungry yet adoring eyes. One began to slip down the waist of his pants and a flash of how that hot black aura felt while wrapped around his length invaded his mind before it snapped him back into clarity.

A wave of blue magic instantly had the blackness evaporating and Prince was left leaning against the tree – panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath – while an angry demon leaned against him with confusion. Asura pulled back to glare at Prince, but when all he got in return was Prince's guilty moue, the anger dissipated.

Gently, the demon reached out and tucked a blond lock behind an ear before whispering low, his voice containing hints of confusion and fear, "Pry?"

Pry's eyes snapped up to Asura's at that, hearing the slight fear of rejection that was in the demon's tone. He wrapped his arms swiftly around Asura's neck and pulled him in close, running a hand through the neon green hair in comfort as he murmured, "I can't. I'm sorry. I promised Sanji."

Asura stiffened at that explanation and he removed his head from Prince's chest to glare up at the warlock in annoyance, "What did you promise that human?"

"It's his body, Ash." Prince murmured soothingly as he gently stroked the demon's neck, remembering how easily that rendered the demon incapacitated, "I can't go beyond what he's comfortable with."

Asura pouted heavily at that before muttering, "Zoro doesn't care."

"Yeah, well. For the time being, Sanji does."

A low growl started from deep within the man's chest as he continued to hold Prince tightly against the tree. The disappointment was evidently clear in the lines of his body as he slowly slunk to his knees and left the warlock sitting in his lap, back still resting up against the trunk of the oak.

"Hey." Prince commanded in a slightly irritated tone as he grabbed the sulking demon's chin and forced him to look up at the warlock. Black eyes met his reluctantly, but upon meeting his blue seemed to melt; if only just a little, "Just be happy that we're here now. That I can hold you."

Asura continued to growl in annoyance, the angry grumble coming from deep within his throat, but his body had completely relaxed. Asura kept his head down to try and hide his disappointment from the warlock but was unable to keep his body from melting into Pry's touch to completely contradict the demon's pouting rumbles. Nuzzling his head into the warlock's chest the two remind sitting quietly underneath star lit sky and left them in a tranquil state.

TBC...

A/N: I'm excited for the next chapter. *Places tips of fingers together while cackling evilly.* That aside I hope you liked this chapter :) Also, just to let everyone know that I am working on Chapter 9 of Of the Sky! Apologies for the delay but Sorcery and Cinders completely captivated me for the moment. I'm trying to multi-task! lol