When Kid managed to wake up after his already rather rude first awakening via throwing up, Kid found that this time, waking up was a slower, almost disorienting process. Despite the fact that he still felt like absolute and utter shit, Kid was quite relieved that he didn't feel like he was going to have to puke his guts out again. And from the sight of the unfamiliar room he was in, the doctor hadn't decided to chuck his sorry ass to the curb. Kid was soon undecided whether it was a good thing to wake up in what was presumably some stranger's home as opposed to a hospital. Kid considered the fact that someone could have gotten to him in a hospital and no one would have known it, so for now, Kid decided that he had lucked out.

"What a fucking mess." Kid muttered to himself as he lie still and tried to get his exhausted mind to figure out what the hell had happened, and pieces of his evening began to click into place. The first piece, apart from where he probably was, was the reminder that the man...Law, was it? Yeah, Law. That dark haired man had up and locked lips with Kid in order to make him take some kind of medicine. Kid frowned up at the ceiling. What the hell kind of person did that to someone else, anyway?

"You're awake."

Kid turned his head and caught sight of the subject of his scrutiny, and narrowed his eyes at the man. The guy looked pretty calm from where he was standing, even if Law did look like he had spent the whole night awake, just from the way his was a little hunched over. Kid met the other man's eyes, and decided that while Law may not have gotten any sleep, those golden eyes were sure as hell alert, studying Kid in return with what amounted to faint interest. Whether from a clinical standpoint or not, Kid didn't particularly care for it, and half propped himself on the bed to glower. "What're you lookin' at?"

No response apart from Law raising a brow and looking at Kid like he was an idiot.

"You normally force medicine onto people like that?" Kid decided to ask, because fuck this guy and his smug expression.

"No, it isn't usual." Law said after staring at Kid for a moment longer. "I normally would have injected it, but I don't have syringes or needles in my house. I just made do, since you weren't about to drink it on your own."

"Why am I in your house? Why not take me to the hospital?" Kid was curious. After all, if he had seen someone sprawled on his sidewalk, he would have just kept walking, so long as it wasn't one of his friends. In that case, Kid would have gotten the friend to a hospital, and then began the long process of tracking down the son of a bitch that had hurt them because Kid didn't like when anyone fucked with his friends. Last night was a bit complicated, because there was no one to blame but himself for his own injuries. Kid could have just chosen not to find,and avoided the injuries. Kid focused on Law again, and returned a similar look as if asking Law who was the dumb one now for the continued silence. Kid couldn't help but crack a crooked grin at the middle finger the doctor offered in return. "What? Just waitin' to see why you lugged my ass in your house?"

"I couldn't 'lug your ass', as you say, without some help. As for why I had you brought in my house...I may have initially had an ulterior motives." Seeing the leer aimed his way, Law added, with a put upon sigh, "Not that kind of motive. But right now, I don't see any point in telling you what I had had in mind, because I already have two uninvited guests in my home, so I suppose my initial plan for you is now invalid with their presence."

Kid was a bit intrigued but since it appeared as though Law wouldn't elaborate any further, he didn't bother asking any further questions. Not to mention Law just had to be a cryptic asshole, and because of that, Kid decided that he would rather not get involved in a stranger's trouble anyway.

"As soon as you're feeling well enough, you can leave." Law frowned briefly, as if calculating something in his head. "I'd say wait until at least late morning, to be sure that that antidote I gave you worked." Law left the room without another word, and it was at that exact moment that a phone started to ring in the room.

Kid was promptly distracted from thinking about the other man's odd behavior, but decided, as he fumbled for his cell, that Law's problems didn't concern him. Kid held the phone up to squint at who was calling, and inwardly groaned.

It was Killer.

Since he knew that he couldn't avoid talking to his friend forever, Kid answered the phone, and Killer wasted no time in getting straight to the point.

'Where are you, Kid? I thought you were going to open the shop today.'

"I had a bad time last night and got myself beat up then almost poisoned to death. How was your night?" Kid vented at the phone, feeling peevish and grumpy.

'You went to that arena again?'

"Yeah." Kid tensed defensively even though the long haired blond couldn't even see him.

'You need to be careful, Kid.' There was a sigh on the other end of the line, before Killer's tone turned serious. 'I've hears some bad rumors lately about those fighting rings. You should stop going to them for awhile if you can. There was talk of shutting some of them down, and you could get caught up in that.'

"I am being careful." Kid said defensively. When he didn't hear anything in return, Kid grumbled under his breath before he added, "I'm usually more careful than last night."

'Are you going to be able to come in and work?'

"Yeah, just later in the day. Need to sleep it off a bit more." Kid inwardly hated the thought of working while he still felt so beat up but he'd suck it up and do it anyway.

'Let me know when you are. I can come pick you up.'

"Right." Kid hung up and dropped the phone on the nightstand near the bed before he buried his face in a pillow with a groan. Getting some more sleep sounded like a fantastic idea.

-x-x-x-

Law had gotten little sleep after Doflamingo's none too subtle threat over the phone, though the doctor was going to wait until he had everyone gathered again before he brought Doflamingo up. The sooner the better, in case the older man decided that it would be fun to toy with Law's emotions and harm his friends. With an inward groan, Law realized that this meant he would have to warn Penguin and the others to be cautious, in the event Doflamingo hadn't just meant Zoro and the others. Law tapped a finger against the counter impatiently as the coffee brewed, and got a few mugs out of a nearby cupboard. After the night he had, Law knew that he was going to need a lot of caffeine intake to function now. Before Law could even get his cup of coffee, he noticed Kid prowl into the kitchen, still looking exhausted but a hell of a lot better than when the doctor had come across him on the sidewalk.

Or in the bedroom, when he had been throwing up because of the poison. Law looked away, not liking what could have happened had he not had the antidote on hand. Kid very well could have been taken down by that poison, despite his size. Law poured a cup of water, even as he heard Kid draw near, and froze in place when he became aware of Kid's close proximity. Holy shit did the man give off a lot of heat. But did he really have to stand so close? Did Kid not understand the concept of personal space, or did he just not give a shit?

"Mornin' doc." Kid's voice was sleepy but it was the underlying teasing tone that really irked Law.

"Don't call me that." Law said automatically, before he let out a faint growl of protest when Kid plucked the mug of coffee from his hand and started drinking out of it. "And who said that was for you?"

"S'mine now." Kid said with a faint grin of triumph as he took another sip, brow raising a bit when Law took the mug back and refilled it.

Meeting the amused amber gaze, Law drank some of the coffee, before raising his brow in return, as if daring the red head to try and take the mug back.

"Friendly in the morning, arent' you?" Kid snorted at the sight and went for one of the empty mugs on the counter.

"It's almost noon."

"Damn, I slept like a fucking log." Kid drawled, as he poured some coffee for himself.

"And who told you could have that?" Law asked sourly.

"You were gonna drink the whole pot, doc?"

Law was about to speak when Kid noticed movement in the living room, and went to go take a look.

"What are they doing here?" Kid asked, pointedly ignoring Law's previous question as he caught sight of Ace and Luffy snoring on the couches in the living room.

"My self-proclaimed bodyguards." Law said with a wave in the brothers' direction.

Kid frowned at that but merely retreated back into the kitchen and settled against the refrigerator with his coffee mug.

"How are you feeling now?" Law decided that it wasn't going to be any good to try and get the red head to have any manners about asking for something instead of taking it. "I don't think I have to ask if you have any nausea if you're drinking coffee."

"Eh...fine, I guess. I don't usually feel good after I get the crap beat out of me." Kid grumbled into the coffee, displeased at having to admit that he couldn't always handle himself in a fight. "Guess the poison or whatever made it worse."

"If you feel any lingering effects, you should go get it checked on." Law said firmly.

"I ain't going to the hospital. I said I'm fine." Kid grumbled. "I'd go into one of those emergency clinics if I had to."

Law was about to insist that Kid be more careful about his health when someone knocked on the front door. Law automatically went to go answer it, and glared when Ace was suddenly awake and had a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"I can answer my own door." Law said testily. "No one is going to hurt me."

"Come on, Law, at least let me and Luffy do what Zoro asked us here for." Ace replied, not at all put off by Law being crabby. "Luffy, get the door?"

"Sure." Luffy answered the door, and greeted the person standing outside with a cheerful smile. "Hey, Zoro."

"I know what you're going to say." Law said flatly when Zoro entered the house wearing his uniform. Despite being side tracked by the sight, Law managed to finish his thought. "I can get to work on my own perfectly fine. If you start driving me to work, isn't that going to cause problems with Sanji?"

"It shouldn't." Zoro said in reply. The green haired officer looked at Law carefully, before sighing. "You were up all night, weren't you?"

Well, no point in hiding the phone call until later. It frustrated Law to have someone know him well enough that they could tell when he had last slept, or at least take a wild guess.

"Doflamingo called me last night." Law held up a hand to forstall the words that were sure to come. "I already warned you all before, but I can't risk having him go after any of you. If you decide to drive me to and from the hospital, Doflamingo might think it amusing to have an accident occur when I'm not in the car."

"Why didn't you call me?" Zoro demanded.

"You could have woken us up." Ace added.

"It was the middle of the night." It was a lame excuse and Law knew it.

"Get ready to go. We're going to make a stop by the station first." Zoro headed over to speak to Luffy and Ace before Law could even begin to argue. With an exasperated sigh, Law went back into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot. It was going to be a long day. He just knew it. And when he returned home, he had an uneasy feeling that both Ace and Luffy were going to try to distract him in one way or another. Probably by trying to come up with a plan on how to best respond to Doflamingo's threats. Law could feel a headache coming on.

"What was that all about?" Kid asked, still leaning up against the refrigerator with the mug of coffee in hand.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with. You aren't involved, as far as I can tell." Law said, before he quieted and lost himself in drinking his coffee.

"Hey…" Kid glanced over his shoulder at Zoro and then turned back to Law. "You guys goin' out or something?" The cop was there before, when Kid was heaving his guts up. Someone else was too, but Kid couldn't recall who.

"We used to." Law's voice was quiet and devoid of emotion, not looking in the direction of where he knew Zoro was. "Not anymore."

"How come?" Kid was genuinely curious, as it seemed like the cop at least cared enough to not let Law get into trouble. Why else would the man have come back to the house?

"None of your business." Law said darkly as he walked past Kid, and headed for his bedroom.

"Huh." The red haired man didn't pursue the topic, and the moment that Law emerged from his bedroom, dressed for the day, the dark haired man noticed Kid join him by the door. Kid produced a cell phone when Law gave the man a look for following him out of the house.

"What? You gonna offer me a ride home or can you tell me an address so I can get my own ride?"

Law absently told Kid his address, wanting to just get to work and do something familiar. Law missed the surprised look on the other man's, like Kid hadn't expected to get that kind of information. Law dismissed the red head from his mind as he entered the police car and was quiet as Zoro drove to the station. Law figured that he wouldn't be seeing Kid again, as he had his own problems to deal with, and it appeared as if Kid had some of his own, based on how Law had found him.

-x-x-x-

Kid continued to feel bruised up and exhausted throughout his shift at the mechanic shop but he got shit done and that was enough for him. Even though Kid knew that Killer seemed to have picked up on the reason why he was having a hard time, the long haired blond hadn't yet decided to confront Kid about it. He hadn't over the phone either, but Kid knew that it would be brought up at some point.

"Can you manage on your own for the rest of the day?"

Killer's words bit into Kid's meandering thoughts, but it was kind of a good think, because Kid didn't want to dwell on the conversation that was sure to come in the near future.

"Kid?"

"I heard you. Was just thinkn'." Kid scowled at the faint laugh that emitted from his friend, and the red head narrowed his eyes at the other man. "I can think whenever the hell I want, Killer. And yeah, I can watch after the shop on my own just fine."

"Are you sure? It seems like you might have gotten on the wrong end of a moving wall last night."

"Fuck you. The son of a bitch cheated. I wouldn't have lost if he hadn't been a jackass and kicked me when I was down after he slugged me." Kid snapped his jaw shut and turned away, cursing up a storm under his breath as he rearranged some tools. Dammit. He hated when Killer said some kind of stupid shit to get him to spill the beans. Not that the red haired man was surprised; only a couple of months ago, Killer had been participating in the fights too, but with the acquisition of another job apart from working at the shop, Killer didn't need to continue to gamble on lost or won fights.

"…Be more careful. I've heard some things from people still going to those fights, and I learned this morning after I talked to you that you want to be careful where you choose to fight. There're rumors that Kaido's been buying up some of those fighting rings; I really hope you read those contracts through before signing for the fights you've gone to recently."

"Kaido? What the hell would he be doing around in this area in the first place?" Kid snorted derisively as he tossed a wrench in a box. "No one's gonna come to this shithole of a city to buy into illegal fighting rings. Not even that jackass Doflamingo has bothered with them. He likes picking up the legal shit before trying to turn it illegal."

"Kid." Killer's tone become one of disapproval.

"Fuck. Fine, I'll make sure I keep an eye on those contracts when I sign in to fight." Kid said grudgingly.

"I'll see you later then." Killer stretched before heading for the front door of the shop. "By the way, Heat and Wire are going to drop off some tools at the apartment later tonight to see if they would be useful for the shop."

"I'll probably close up a little early then if there aren't any stragglers coming in to get their bikes fixed or whatever." Kid watched Killer leave, before he went back to sorting, inwardly wondering why the hell everything kept ending up misplaced all the fucking time. Two hours later, and Kid was seriously considering the whole close early thing because only one person had come into the shop. Two hours later, it was time to close up shop anyway, and Kid was again cursing over how stupid it was to have kept the place open, and should have seriously considered calling it a night hours ago.

Just as Kid finally got everything sorted and was prepared to leave, the red haired man heard the sound of the front door of the shop open. Great, it was probably some entitled idiot that thought they didn't have to abide by store hours like everyone else. Dammit, Kid just wanted to go home and not have to deal with anyone else tonight, apart from Heat and Wire, who were apparently going to show up.

"The shop's closed. Come back tomorrow." Kid growled irritably; at the very least he managed to not swear, which was something the red haired man considered to be an accomplishment.

No response.

Ordinarily that would have meant nothing, but with the way his evening had gone the previous day, Kid was immediately on guard. Not that being prepared for trouble was of any use, because even though he saw the guy appear around the corner and charge at him, Kid was only able to block the expected swing. He hadn't seen the other two guys come in at him from the side to seize his arms. Kid snarled something at the men, but couldn't do shit to prevent them from pinning him against the nearest wall of the shop. Kid instantly tried to push away from the wall to try to free his arms, but the two muscle-headed assholes had leverage over him and were able to keep him in place. Kid was not at all used to being out-muscled except in rare cases, this being one of them. Kid's eyes narrowed at the other people who had entered the back of the shop, recognizing nearly all of them as people that fought in the underground arena that Kid frequented.

One of the slimmer fighters apparently elected themselves as spokesman, because he approached Kid, and stopped a few feet away with a nasty smile.

Kid glowered, not bothering to speak. He knew what was going to happen, or at least figured he knew, and Kid was pissed as hell that he had allowed his debt to get so bad that people were being sent after him to collect money.

"You got lucky last night." Spokesman idiot leered at Kid. "We all thought you were gonna end up dead in a ditch somewhere. Thought with the way you'd been drugged up that you wouldn't have gotten far."

Kid remained silent, even though he tensed up with the longing to lash out at these idiots. But even Kid knew it was pointless to get into a fight right now, being at a disadvantage as he was. Kid did, however, growl soundlessly at the two men holding him against the wall as they tightened their grasp.

"You lost a lot of money last night, and you didn't pay anything before leaving. Since you'll have to pay that all back eventually anyway, for the time being, we're gonna take what you have in this shop, and what you have on ya. Orders, after all."

"Like fuck you are." Kid snarled angrily. He'd just scored a lot on the one person who had come in earlier, and he was now regretting leaving his wallet in his pocket, because there was money in it for once.

"It's not a request."

"Fuck you." Kid's head jerked to the side from the crack one of the other men in the room delivered to the left side of his face. Kid shook his head in an attempt to reorient himself, but was struck in the abdomen soon after. Kid sagged immediately, and ended up of the ground with a grunt. It figured he'd be let go of, because it was easier to gang up on him when he was down. Clenching his teeth, Kid lunged out at the nearest man, and grappled his legs. The red head jabbed his fingers into the back of the guy's knee, which made the asshole fall over with a yelp.

"Shit." Kid snarled as he let go of the fallen man and rolled to the side to avoid an incoming kick. Kid half rose only to be delivered another solid kick to his abdomen, which laid him out on his back. Kid surged back up, knowing it would be bad to linger on the ground for too long, but his attempt was halted by an incoming knife. Kid jerked his head back in a desperate attempt to avoid letting the knife make contact, but moved too slowly to prevent it altogether. A sting followed by a burning pain lanced through Kid's face as the knife caught him over his left eye and then down along the cheek. Biting back a hiss of pain from the new wounds, Kid ended up on his back again after smacking the back of his head. Kid half turned onto his side, thinking to force himself back up, only to feel a foot jam into his shoulder and force him over onto his back again.

"Son of a bitch."

Kid couldn't even respond to the insult, too busy heaving for breath at this point.

"You better stop or we'll just use your dead body to pay back your debt." The sound of a gun being cocked sounded in the shop.

Kid held perfectly still apart from the gasping for air thing, and cursed inwardly. He didn't try to get back up again, because he would rather not end up dead by way of a gunshot. Kid leveled his pained amber gaze on a man who crouched over him, and bit back a snarled oath when the guy reached over and grabbed him by the hair, yanking his upper body off the ground so the two of them could be face to face.

Fucking hell did Kid hate assholes that were as strong as him. It fucking sucked, and Kid dearly wanted to punch this smug asshole in the face. In compromise, Kid used his elbows to brace himself on the ground so there wasn't as much pressure on his neck from the man holding him up by his hair. At least no one shot him for it, though from the sound of the register being broken in to, Kid figured these fucking bastards knew he couldn't fight back under these circumstances. Especially not with only one good eye, as he now had to squint with his left because of the knife wound, and figured it would only be a matter of time before the blood would congeal, and he would be able to see jack shit from that eye until he had it seen to. In any case, the wounds screwed Kid's chances of a fair fight, though from the looks of it, there wouldn't be that chance.

"There's going to be another big fight two weeks from now. And you're gonna go to it, cause until you pay off the debt you've accumulated, you're gonna be one of Kaido's arena bitches."

"You're talking shit." Kid risked a shaky, breathless laugh. "It's just a local fight arena; not one of Kaido's places. I ain't that stupid."

"Well guess what, ginger, you are that stupid." The man let go of Kid's hair, letting Kid fall back down on the ground and hit the back of his head again with a curse. The man's voice turned mocking. "You should learn to read the fine print of the papers you signed the past few months when you went to participate."

Kid felt something land on his chest. Paper, from the sound of it. The red head's attention was diverted when the spokesman from before kneeled next to him and went for his pocket. Kid's hand jerked as if to stop the guy, but the man still crouched over Kid stamped down on the red head's left wrist. Kid sucked in a harsh breath, being painfully reminded that the wrist had already been sore to begin with. Kid started to curse again when his wallet was pulled free of his pocket, and the guy opened it and produced some cash.

"Damn, you're holding out on us." The spokesman commented, waving the bills at the other fighters, who all whistled mockingly at the sight.

Kid bristled at the sight; that was his damn rent money that he needed a few days from now. Kid didn't realize that he had opened his mouth to say something until the man holding the cash kicked him in the side harshly, another person kicking him lightly but firmly in the head near his wounds to further deter him. Kid swore and spat at the asshole that had kicked him, which earned him another painful kick to the side.

"He ain't too bright, is he?"

"Well, it'd work in the arena, wouldn't t?"

"Well, his face'll give him a bit of a handicap next time, huh?"

Kid bit back a pained yelp when one of the jackasses decided to stamp down on his right knee.

"You better not let that Bellamy asshole win when he shows is ugly face. We got high hopes for you, ginger."

Kid bit the inside of his cheek angrily when the foot pressed down harder on his knee. These fucking losers were going to be battered pieces of shit the next time he faced any of them. Kid barely held back a pained sound when the foot moved away from his wrist, and then finally the guy moved his foot away from his knee and fuck did that hurt. Kid vaguely noted that the men were starting to head for the front of the shop, until only one man remained. The spokesman of the group. Kid glared at the man through one eye, because the blood had since congealed over his left eye.

"Your fee is going to be doubled when you enter the next fight for this." The man flashed the cash he had pulled out of Kid's wallet, before he dropped said wallet next to Kid. "You'll get a text the day of the fight for the time and place, in case it has to be moved again." Without another word, the man turned around and left.

Kid remained on his back until he heard the front door close and remain closed. Kid crumpled up the papers on his chest as he turned onto his side. Letting go of those papers, Kid used his right hand to retrieve his phone, and attempted to ignore the pain he was in, along with the dizziness that had started to come and go. His leg didn't help Kid much either, as shifting the limb caused Kid to wince when the limb twanged in protest. After a few frustrating seconds of trying to dial Killer's number while at the same time holding the rest of his body still, the red head succeeded, and didn't have to wait long for his friend to answer the phone.

'Kid? Where are you? Didn't you close up shop yet?'

"I think I need to go to the hospital." Kid knew he had to have sounded like shit, because Killer picked up the fact that something was wrong immediately.

'Kid? What happened?'

Kid leaned against the nearest wall, felt that he may have mumbled something to Killer, but other than that, couldn't recall. Because Kid's mind was fuzzy, his face hurt, he could feel blood sliding down his face from the knife wounds to his cheek. Kid's non injured eye closed, thinking he'd take a moment to take a few breaths, but he must have briefly blacked out, because the next thing Kid knew, Killer was suddenly there with him, and urging him to his feet. How Kid was able to keep himself upright on his likely fucked up right leg was beyond Kid. But even that seemed to pale in comparison to the thought of Kaido running the illegal fighting rings he had been going to. Because if it was true, Kid was fucked.

-x-x-x-

Kid didn't remember much of the trip to the hospital, but he did find it interesting that when he woke up, Law happened to be there, and the doctor wore a peculiar expression on his face. Since Kid didn't really know what to say, he tried for a grin and grimaced when that pulled at the stitches on his face. The red haired man settled for something simple.

"Hey." Kid figured he had to be drugged up on pain killers, because he looked Law over a little more slowly than before and added, "What's the outfit for?" Scrubs. Law was wearing scrubs and Kid found that hilarious for some reason. Damn, did his head hurt too.

"I work here." Law's face was set in a frown now. "I didn't expect for you to wake so quickly. You have a cut over your eye and along your cheek, as well as a bruised kneecap and a sprained wrist. None of which you had before you left my house this afternoon."

"Don't wanna talk about it. Can't." Kid did recall now that Law had mentioned that he was a doctor. "You stitched me up?"

"I'm a surgeon; I just happened to be on hand when your friend brought you in."

"Still going to call you doc." Kid assured Law, which drew a funny look from the other man.

"Get some sleep," Law said with a shake of his head, even as a faint look of guilt crossed his face.

"S'not you." Kid picked up on the guilty look despite feeling really fucking out of it, and somehow actually remembered that Law had troubles of his own, and slurred, "It's my own problems…that bit me in the ass. Not yours."

"Sleep." Law insisted.

"Not tired." Kid was pleased to note that Law looked relieved over the idea that he hadn't caused the red head's injuries. Kid attempted to stretch, and as he did, he saw Law murmur something to a nurse before the nurse came over and fiddled with something near Kid. The red haired man threw an accusatory, albeit sleepy, glare at Law when Kid noticed that he was getting drowsy.

"You're no fun." Kid grumbled. "Just talkin' to you. No need...to put me out..."

"You're not making very much sense right now." Law responded, though he seemed to be at least a little amused by the way Kid was acting.

Kid drifted off before getting to protest. But more importantly, Kid wasn't able to ask why Law had even been checking up on him. Kid had been in a hospital room; not on an operating table.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: *Continues to shake fist at writer's block*

This chapter was a bit harder to get through, but for what I want, I think it turned out all right. After all, my main goal for this story is to just keep it going.