5


That evening, as they were getting ready for their practice activities, Ichiji pulled on a sweater over his rashguard, adjusted his sweatpants. Then wandered into Yonji's room, where his brothers' voices were coming from.

"I'm going to be late," he said crossly, folding his arms over his chest.

"I'm almost done," Sanji muttered, Yonji grunting underneath him. Seated with his legs out in front of him, he used the moment to stretch with his smaller brother crouched next to him, Niji seated at the edge of Yonji's bed as Geometry Dash played loudly from his phone.

Ichiji watched them for a few moments, a disgusted expression growing on his face. Niji noticed his silence, looking up from his phone, then looking at his younger brothers. He looked back at Ichiji, asking, "What?"

"Is this necessary?"

"Yonji's covered in zits," Niji said. "At least Sanji is good for something."

"Yeah, because it was my fucking dream to be born into a family to pop my brothers' gross back zits!" Sanji snapped, but he did not stop popping. There was something satisfying about seeing blackheads snaking their way out of Yonji's skin that made the effort worthwhile.

"I feel so clean already," Yonji grunted, expression filled with pain, gritting his teeth as he clenched his fists over the floor, flexing. "Spot free."

"You have the nastiest blackheads, I swear," Sanji muttered, squeezing his thumbs together, removing the particles with a swipe of a tissue.

"This never leaves the house!" Niji shouted at Ichiji, pointed at him. Having finished his turn, he was sitting only in an undershirt, his shoulders red from Sanji picking at him.

"If you would all use a loofah, this wouldn't be happening!" Ichiji snapped at them. "Let's go!"

"What man uses a fucking loofah?" Yonji asked, grunting again as Sanji squeezed a particularly nasty blackhead, exclaiming at the curl of trapped dirt and sweat.

"I do!" Ichiji and Sanji answered, the younger of them straightening up with a satisfied exhale. He then punched Yonji in the back of the head and ran out before Yonji could shoot out after him.

"DAD! They're going to make me late!" Ichiji shouted with exasperation, Niji hurriedly throwing on his top shirt, Yonji grabbing his practice bag, slinging that over his shoulder. Three of them dashed down the stairs, running to fight over the keys, Ichiji following at a slower pace, mumbling under his breath.

"Be back by eight thirty," Judge muttered from the den. "Don't fuck around in the car, don't you dare smoke in the car, obey all traffic laws."

Once they were out, all of them complaining and mocking each other as they climbed into the car, the evening falling over the city was a slow one. The sun was still making its way down into the mountains in the east, casting the city with a dusty aura. Sidewalks were crawling with dogs being walked, and runners taking advantage of the nice weather for their evening workout. Kids were jumping on trampolines or skateboarding, hoverboarding in driveways. Barbeque grills smoked with men standing around them, and sirens sounded in the distance.

By the time Sanji was done dropping off his brothers at their practices, he held onto the steering wheel tightly, headed towards Law's. This time, there was an old Cadillac parked in the driveway, and the Akita was standing at rigid attention, watching Sanji pull up to the curb. He heard men's voices, slinging his bag around his shoulder, but he walked up to the yard and marched in, the dog barking at him ferociously. All he did was slip her some bacon he'd baked earlier for his brothers' snacks, and she accepted him readily, wagging her tail cheerfully as she accompanied him to the porch.

He rang the doorbell and knocked firmly, clearing his throat. When the locks were moved and a tall, blond man – from the restaurant – peered out, Sanji stood firm.

"I'm Law's classmate. We have projects to work on. He keeps avoiding me at school, so I thought coming to his house would help us complete them," Sanji said, watching the man scowl at him.

"He's a little busy, at the moment – "

"Aren't grades important? These percentages matter for our grade point average, and with how much Law has missed already, I would think that this would be more important," Sanji said, pulling his phone out from his bag, swiping a couple of times. "Or is that sort of thing not given high priority around here?"

The door opened wider, and the man kicked the dog as she tried to rush in. After giving a yelp, she darted off to the porch, glowering in their direction. But Sanji realized he'd offended the man – he didn't know how – and he stood over Sanji with a glare. Sanji stood his ground, but his fingers tightened over his bag strap and phone.

After a few tense moments, the man gestured inside with a thumb, and Sanji wandered in, making a face at the mess around him. He took pictures as he walked along, a casual press of his thumb. He headed towards the sound of Law's voice in the kitchen, along with another man. But along the way, he looked with disdain at the furniture, at the sight of a diaper lying on the floor. He made sure to take a picture of that. It looked like something from a tv show; homes like this actually existed. He wondered how many times the cops had come around here, and wondered if this could be considered a 'meth house'. He barged into the kitchen and nearly slipped over something on the floor, slamming into the kitchen table with a loud bang!

He caught himself and looked at the frozen faces of Law and Rosinante, the latter of which had a half full glass of milk, in the mid-motion of throwing it. Clearing his throat again, Sanji unloaded his bag onto the clutter in front of him, saying grandly, "I'm here. Let's get started on these essays."

"What are you doing here?" Law asked, reddening with mortification as Sanji surveyed the kitchen with a disgusted expression, taking in the sight of a full sink, of cluttered counters with storebrand items, at a frying pan with an odd mixture of porridge and toast mixed together.

Sanji made to answer until Rosinante threw the cup at him with a shout, pushing at the table to make him leave, Law grabbing him to keep from throwing any thing else. Sanji wiped milk from his face, looking down at his soaked shirt, stepping back as Rosinante shouted with rage at the intruder. Doflamingo entered, saw what was happening, and bellowed, "Out of here!"

Reluctantly, Law left Rosinante's side, glaring at Sanji murderously. But Sanji grabbed his bag, shooting the two men a disgruntled look as he followed the taller boy out of the kitchen.

"Since you didn't want to cooperate, I figured it best to visit you here," Sanji said with a sniff, following Law down the hall and outside, onto the back porch. He pulled at his wet shirt, flicking it in an effort to dry it, and gave it up. "Ugh, what was that about? I guess I'd be upset, too, if I lived in a dump like this. Hey, do you have a baby? Are you one of those dudes that got a girl pregnant in middle school, or something? How come I don't hear it crying? Are you a bad dad? Or is the baby with the mom? Are you a deadbeat? Because you live like one..."

Fuming, Law led the way to the walkway gate, and unlatched it, opening it widely. His face and ears were still bright red, and as Sanji looked at the yard with a judgmental expression, complimenting the illegal gardeners they had the money to hire, he gestured for Sanji to follow him. Then as they emerged out in the front yard, he returned to the back, shutting the gate and locking it. Once Sanji realized what happened, he turned back to the fence with a curse.

Law was nearly to the back porch, flustered, when Sanji ran after him. "You can't get rid of me that easily! I can climb exceptionally well! I have three brothers, you know, that try the same shit!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Law bellowed at him, and since it really was a show of force, Sanji hesitated for a moment.

Then mimicked him meanly, holding tightly onto his bag. He was up on the porch in moments, disregarding the way Law curled his fists and tensed, teeth bared with rising frustration.

"I'm here whether you like it or not. We are going to work together, so get your shit together! Besides, that man let me in because he knows I'm right about you," he said with a sneer. He pulled out his phone, swiping a couple of times before he showed Law the pictures he took. Law just looked at him with dismay, then grit his teeth, veins pulsing fiercely at all visible points. "I'm going to show everyone this and make life even worse for you! I'm going to tell everyone that you have a kid - !"

He ducked the swipe of the fist Law threw at him, then took safe distance away from him. "I'm going to tell your foster dad about this. Then I'll report this entire house to the authorities about your living conditions, and they're going to take you away! Do you want to be away from your baby?"

"I don't have a baby!"

"Yeah, right," Sanji said skeptically, putting his phone away just in case Law tried to wrestle it from him. "I saw that diaper. You shouldn't be ashamed of having a kid - "

"Get out of here!"

"I'm here, and I have," Sanji looked at his Apple watch, "now, thirty-five minutes. What a waste of time. I have to leave here to go pick up my brothers, and I swear to you - !"

"I'm not working with you on anything!"

"It's like you don't use your tongue to punctuate your wording correctly," Sanji said with a sniff. "Do you use your tongue at all? Try it like this – worrrrrr – "

"Fuck out of here!" Law shouted with absolute impatience.

The door opened, and both of them silenced as Doflamingo looked out at them, an angry look to his face. "What is going on out here?" he demanded.

"He doesn't care about our grades," Sanji huffed. "He's refusing to work with me, and I think - !"

"After the last conference I had, I would think this would be important," Doflamingo said low to Law, deeper meaning written on his expression.

"It's not! This isn't important!"

"Get it done and shut it up!" Doflamingo snarled at him. "Keep your goddamn voices down, you're upsetting Rosinante!"

"The baby?" Sanji asked, a touch too eagerly.

Doflamingo glared at him, then at Law, slamming the door shut. The lock sounded moments later, Law rolling his eyes and looking pissed.

Sanji reeled himself in, wearing his stubborn expression again. He pulled his notebook out, flipping to the right page. "This is for Ms Nico's class. I want you to look it over, insert your thoughts, anywhere. Legible, with this red pen."

"NO!"

"I have the real document saved on my laptop, but I thought this would be easier for you. Just do that, I'll work on my Trig. I don't want you writing it, I just want your input on whether or not I'm going in the right direction, with the correct amount of depth that'll really impress Ms Nico to give me the grade I deserve."

Law snatched the notebook from him, and looked it over. Then he snatched the pen Sanji held out, Sugar venturing onto the porch with a cautious look. Sanji looked pleased that Law was doing as he'd demanded, and leaned down to pet the dog. But once Law held the notebook out to him, he snatched it from him with an eager expression and scowled.

"I don't appreciate this stubbornness of yours," Sanji said, indicating the large 'Fuck you' written across the page. "It's going to backfire on you. All you had to do was give me your thoughts, and – "

"I did. Now, go!"

"Look, two can plan at this game. I'm going to drop a line to social services on your behalf, because you shouldn't be worked like a slave," Sanji indicated the house with a thumb.

Gritting his teeth, Law fisted his hands at his sides. Before he could say anything, Sanji heard a small ding come from his watch, and he looked at it to see that Niji was texting him. he turned his back to Law to answer it, Law looking at him incredulously before turning to the door and knocking at it impatiently.

"I've got to go," Sanji said reluctantly. "I'll be back tomorrow in the library so we can talk about things, and you can go over this correctly. But remember, I have pictures, and I know you've got a baby, so that'll go over well with everyone in class – "

"I don't have a baby!"

"But it'd make sense! Unless it's that retard that wears those things – " Sanji started to say with a thoughtful frown before Law punched him again, knocking him completely off his feet. He hit the porch with a flounce, Sugar barking excitedly as she attacked him with forceful licks and prancing feet.

Flailing, Sanji pushed the dog away and rose to his feet with a shocked expression. But he spit blood onto the porch with a growl, wiping his face. "I've been hit harder than that," he said, making his way to the stairs, Sugar following after him. "And I'm not giving up. So if you don't want certain rumors floating around you, or a call to your social worker regarding the shack you live in, you better be at the library tomorrow. Bring your A game, English."

Law glared after him, shaking slightly. The door opened, and before Doflamingo could ask, Law barged in and went immediately for Rosinante, finding that the man was upset with the interruption to his dinner.

"What was that about?" Doflamingo asked, locking the door behind him.

"Just a nuisance from school," Law muttered, cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. He looked back warily to see if Doflamingo were upset in any way, but the man was more concerned about the state of his brother than he was with Law.

Rosinante was upset by the intruder's interruption, sitting sullenly at the kitchen table, head hanging forward. He was a mixture of emotions, and Law could tell he was ashamed with his appearance, with his actions. Unable to help himself, Rosinante could only act as he did to express himself, and he looked at Law with a slack frown, accusing him for not preparing him for the visit. Shrugging, Law just cleaned his face and picked up the mess caused by Sanji's visit, Doflamingo heading to the living room to turn on their evening shows.

The next day, he waited at the library for Sanji, scowling at the table. Once the Vinsmoke arrived, the word "Jerk!" following after him, Law glared at him. Sanji unloaded his bag onto the table, pulling out his notebook, revealing a freshly written page. With a satisfied expression, Sanji sat across from him, handing over the red pen. He flipped through his photos as Law read the essay with a scowl, marking wherever he could.

"Do you have a photo of your baby?" Sanji asked curiously, propping his white shoes up on the table.

Law ignored him.

"Just tell me one thing – is it a boy, or girl? I can see you with a girl," Sanji decided, flipping through his photos. "How did it feel having a kid at your age? Is that why you transferred?"

Law tuned him out. As he was reading Sanji's essay, he couldn't help but notice that it was in fine form; there was nothing wrong with it. The topic was an easy one for Sanji to follow, and he made good points. Law didn't understand why he had to be involved. He looked at the teen, seeing that he'd left a mark on Sanji's cheek. The teen looked used to having injury, because he didn't draw attention to it, or look self-conscious. Law supposed it that sort of thing came with having the brothers Sanji had.

He tossed the notebook back to him. "I don't know what I'm looking for."

Sanji read the few notes that he'd left, and scowled, jaw tensing. "This doesn't give me much," he muttered. "Is this something that you'd feel comfortable writing?"

"No."

"Is there something wrong with it? Does it feel engaging?"

"No. It's fine."

"Just 'fine'?" Sanji repeated, looking at him with a frown. His curled eyebrow twitched. His perfectly side parted hair seemed to move on its own, fluffing out as veins started pulsing at his temple. The quick change of snobby haughtiness was starting to melt away, and Law couldn't help but stare at him warily. "So, when someone reads this, they'll just think 'fine'? This is the 'fine' work of someone that just does 'fine'?"

Law gestured with his hands spread, unsure of what exactly Sanji was looking for.

"I'm looking for something that immediately captures interest, that makes them want to read more! I'm looking for more than just 'fine' – if this is just 'fine', then it's fucking unacceptable!" Sanji snapped, rising from his chair and ripping that page from his notebook, shredding it with fury. Law just stared at him, watching him go from 0 to 100. In the back of his mind, he heard Sanji's brother, Niji, comment on an incoming meltdown.

Shoving the shredded paper into his bag, Sanji snatched it up and stomped out from the library, and Law just sat there with an amazed expression, utterly puzzled how a kid could go from one level to the next in the span of a few seconds.

That evening, as he was washing dishes, Doflamingo and Rosinante in the kitchen, there was a pounding at the door. Dread gripped his midsection as he abandoned the sink, wiping his hands on his clothes, Doflamingo looking over with a frown as Rosinante started to get agitated.

"Take it outside!" Doflamingo snapped, slugging back the rest of his beer.

Opening the door, Law pushed Sanji out from the doorway as he made to walk in, and shut the door behind him. he took Sanji's notebook from him as he held it out, Sugar dancing around their feet as Sanji gestured at him to read it. Regarding the teen with a frown, Law just held the notebook in both hands, Sanji gesturing at it once more, crossing his arms tightly over his chest and tapping his foot.

"Read it!" Sanji snapped at him. "I don't have all day! I have to pick up Ichiji in thirty minutes!"

Law glanced at the Buick parked at the curb, recognizing it from the school parking lot. Then he opened it up – he couldn't help but notice page after page filled with work that Sanji had edited himself with his red pen, marking over his words with notes and mark outs, along with list after list of To-Do items that were dated and crossed off upon completion.

He then took a seat on a chair, Sanji lighting up a cigarette as Sugar jumped at him, waiting for affection. As Sanji crouched to do so, Law wishing for the Akita to bite or maul him in some way, he looked over the essay. It had changed slightly, taking on a different course from yesterday, and seemed more long-winded, with more unimportant parts that seemed only to distract a reader, not engage in them. He looked up again, wondering why he should have to do this. What did it benefit him? He didn't care if Sanji spread rumors about him – it wasn't as if he'd be there very long, anyway. He was quite certain Doflamingo would get rid of him to take in another kid, to take over his spot.

"Stop day dreaming and read it, English!" Sanji snapped at him, holding his cigarette to the side as Sugar licked at him.

With a sullen expression, Law marked out everything that looked unimportant to the essay. By the time he was finished, there was more red than black, and when he gave it back, Sanji snatched it from him and started reading. Then turned bright red. At that moment, Sugar tugged the notebook away and ran off, wanting to be chased, so Sanji gave chase, yelling expletives and furious curses while Sugar darted about. Law tossed the pen onto the sidewalk and went back inside, sure that he was through.

That night, Sanji rewrote the essay, gritting his teeth noisily in front of his laptop. He glared at the notebook next to him, furious at the sight of red pen over his words. While Law did make it a point to add that this essay wasn't due for a couple of months, that Ms Nico might even change the topic, it infuriated him that he just wasn't getting it right. he started to feel frustration and rage rise up in him; he just wasn't doing it right, and he didn't understand why he wasn't good enough. How could he ever measure up to his brothers if he couldn't even get a good essay going?

After a few moments, he slammed the laptop shut and rested over it, struggling to breathe slow. His heart was still slamming against his ribcage, and his breathing was labored – he searched for his paper bag, hidden underneath some thick books at the corner of his desk, and breathed into it. The panic attack went away after some minutes, but he felt so inadequate that these feelings swirled around in side of him long after that.

He went to bed, looking through his phone, swiping through the pictures he'd taken at Law's house. After much thought, the diaper didn't look like a baby's, after all. It was much too big. He thought of the adult that attacked him, wondering what was wrong with him. But it started to make sense that this was why Law looked so exhausted all the time. Sanji couldn't imagine taking care of another adult – he tried picturing his father in that man's place, and while the image didn't fit, there was a slight swirl of satisfaction in it. Seeing his father weak and helpless, frustrated with being unable to care for himself made something inside of him feel better.

He switched off his phone and set it aside, wondering if it were okay to think that.

The next day, he moved hastily to clean up the kitchen, setting aside three large breakfast sandwiches for his brothers. Judge had gone to work early for a breakfast date with his colleagues, so it was safe to do so. Hearing the usual spiel of teenage boys fighting over space in the bathroom made him feel smug – he usually got up before they did and was ready long before them, giving him time to cook and clean without any hassle. He wondered how his mother and sister were doing, imagining that their mornings were so much easier between them, but that only hurt.

He wondered, once again, why Law wasn't with his parents.

That morning, he jabbed him with his pen, noticing that he was making a mark impossible to remove from his uniform. Law ignored him, but Sanji could see him tensing up. The class was loud with activity – everyone was pitching in ideas on a topic involving the military, and Yonji's voice was the loudest.

"Give me your thoughts on the foster system," Sanji hissed. "Is it good, or bad? It can't be all that bad if the state's willing to pay for it. Would this make a good topic for my Social Studies, class? There's a report coming up, and I want to write about this, considering I have you as an example."

Law didn't answer, but he did pull his back away from his chair. Sanji scowled at him, leaning over his desk before resting his cheek against his notebook to glare at the rest of his class. Then he straightened up and glared at the back of Law's head. He gave a disgusted snort, jabbing him in the middle of the back, this time. He kept jabbing him, waiting for a response. He was ready for Law to snap, this time, sure it wouldn't end like the last.

"Don't you set your alarm early enough to at least take a shower?" he asked low. "Can't you take a brush to school to fix your hair? If you cleaned yourself up, maybe people would like you."

He chewed on his gum, giving sharp snaps as he did so. Then he ran his own hands through his hair to make sure it was still as perfect as he'd combed it, before kicking Law's chair. "it only takes ten minutes to run a fucking comb through, to make yourself presentable. Why are you so fucking lazy?"

"Sanji, why are you such a jerk?" a kid to his right asked impatiently, looking fed up with him. "Leave him alone."

"Shut up, this doesn't concern you. Or would you like to take your concerns outside?" Sanji snapped at him. "I'm only on his ass because he's got a kid he needs to be a good example, for."

"I don't have a fucking kid," Law finally answered on a low snarl, kids looking over with interest at the rising tension.

"He does! He does, see?" Sanji found the photo he was looking for, showing them the diaper. "See this? He has a kid at his house, that's why he's at this school! But it's not with him – he's a goddamn deadbeat."

"God, leave him alone," the first kid muttered.

"I just want his kid to be proud of him," Sanji continued, flipping through his photos once more. "If he doesn't give his kid any reason to be proud of him, then it's no wonder he's not with it."

"Useless things, Sanji," Niji warned from nearby. "Shut the fuck up and pay attention to class, fag."

"I'm not a fucking fag!" Sanji snapped at him, slapping his phone down on the desk. "I'm just saying – I sit behind English, and he always looks and smells like shit! Just once, I'd like to come to class not smelling his BO, or looking at his lopsided head!"

"He's just pissed today because dad was bawling him out for having stiff sheets this morning," Niji said with a heavy sigh, Sanji reddening. "My poor brother, can't keep it to his socks like a normal person."

Sanji rattled his desk, scattering most of his things to the floor before snarling at him, "That's not true, you shit head! Shut up! I didn't!"

"Hah, you did, that's why you're spazzing out!" Niji laughed.

The other kids around him snickered and made remarks about Sanji, to which he growled and kicked Law's chair again before he bent and picked up his things. When the bell rang, he stomped out the door, Niji laughing after him. Once he had a place to smoke, Sanji glared out at the parking lot, fuming. He recognized that he let his brother get the best of him, and reached for his phone to text him. But the more he looked, the more he realized that he couldn't find it. So he backtracked back to the class, looked around his desk, and asked Mr Hansen about it. Once the teacher told him no one had turned in a phone, he went to his locker and looked in there. Frantic, he raced back to the parking lot, trying not to make it obvious that he'd lost his phone.

His heart rate began to rise as he found nothing, trying to think of the last place he had it. Hands in his hair, he thought about how angry Judge was going to be, finding out that he'd lost a rather expensive smartphone. He raced back to the school as the bell rang, and went to the front office, to ask Ichiji for his laptop. Once he explained why, he managed to locate the app needed to find out the location of his cell. With some horror, he saw that the location settings had been turned off on his phone. Someone had known his password, and entered his phone to do so. He said nothing to Ichiji, snarling about Niji taking his phone, and raced off, late for his next class.

Later on in the library, Law looked through all the photos from Sanji's phone, seeing that he had pictures of what looked to be his mother and sister; there were pictures of cookbooks and recipes, pictures of animals taken at a distance. There were pictures of notes taken from classroom boards and study guides, but nothing of his brothers or father. His apps were kik, Instagram and Facebook, but none of those had been updated in weeks. His Instagram Post Likes were local girls, but most of them were smiling faces and girls cuddling pets; nothing like a teenage boy should be wild over, considering how many pictures were available regarding girls in scanty clothing and suggestive posses. Snapchat had been installed, but hadn't been activated. Pinterest had been hidden in a storage app with other useless icons, and revealed multiple boards of recipes, home decorations, outfit ideas, and, most interestingly enough, men in states of undress.

For a guy that threw around the 'fag' word a lot, he sure did have a lot of pictures of guys walking dogs, and boards full of well-dressed or underdressed men. He glanced over all of Sanji's messages, noting that the only people he truly texted were his brothers. Because Sanji had been such a mean shit to him since day one, Law took screenshots of all of Sanji's man boards, and, along with a note containing the password to Sanji's phone, sent these pictures in a group message to his brothers, father.

To be extra vindictive, he restored the phone to factory settings. Then he took the time to return the phone to the librarian, saying he'd found it in one of the shelves, and left – feeling a lot happier than he had in a very long time.


Pokipo: heh heh he has his moments!