The final chapter is here, and it's a long one :O It's actually finished :3 (aside from an epilogue)

I'd like to thank all of you for reading this far, for reviewing, following and favouriting (especially everyone that has stuck with me from the beginning, you guys are die hards ^^) and of course my beta's Vergina-spva and Thérèse, who fatefully corrected my many mistakes. For this chapter, i'd like an applause for Myladyday, who put up with all my whining XD

You guys are awesome :D

Enjoy the final chapter ^^

Hot as Fire

Chapter 22

"Wait, what do you mean, 'we'?" Sanji asked confused. After all, the boy just said that he had to patrol, for some reason. "You've gotten the cops involved?"

Luffy looked a little confused, but then started to laugh. "So, silly, I don't know a cop. There's me, and Nami of course, Robin, Franky, Chopper and we've called Brook, too! Usopp couldn't make it, but he send his super cool friend, Sogeking. He's so awesome! He's a sniper!"

Sanji frowned. Not only because of the alias Usopp had used more often, but the involvement of the ladies in something that was hardly legal. "You kidnapped someone?"

Luffy picked his nose and shrugged. "We just pulled him off the street and tied him up in our basement."

The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose. "That qualifies as kidnapping. Why didn't you call the cops? And don't tell me you don't know any!" he added before Luffy could respond.

"We just figured you might want to have a go at him first," the black haired boy answered.

"If he doesn't, I do," Zoro snorted. "That bastard will pay for messing up my eye."

Luffy's grin widened. "Let's go then." He all but skipped to the door. "Franky is waiting in the van."

Sanji exchanged a look with Ace, who shrugged. He couldn't deny that he wanted to give the culprit a piece of his mind – or rather, his foot to the face – for what he had done to the blonde. The minor issue was the illegal part. Usopp was smart using a different name.

They all climbed in the van, greeted by Franky. "Yo, bros. Ready for pay back?" the blue haired man asked a little too cheerful.

"I appreciate the concern, but you don't all have to get involved, you know," Sanji said. "After all, we could just hand him over to the cops."

Zoro snorted. "Yeah, 'cause they are so competent." With his head, he gestured to Ace, who was smiling dopily. "You don't remember what they did to him?"

"Of course I do. But now the rush of the case seems to be over. There haven't been any more fires that could be tied to the arsonist, were there?"

The freckled man shrugged. "I'll have to ask Marco. Franky," he yelled to the front of the van, "could you drop me off at the fire station? My shift isn't over yet."

"Sure thing, Ace-bro. Sanji, do you and Zoro want to go to Luffy's place right away or do you want to change first?"

Sanji could see Franky's smirk in the rear view mirror. After all, they both were still only wearing pants. He flushed a little. "Drop us off at my place. Wait a minute, you left that culprit alone with the ladies?" How had that slipped his attention?!

Franky shrugged. "That Sogeking is with them, along with Chopper and Brook is on his way. Besides, I wouldn't underestimate Robin, she can be ruthless."

Sanji still wasn't happy about it, so when they had dropped off Ace, who had promised to come over as soon as he could, and the contractor parked in front of the chef's house, the blonde told Franky to go on ahead and that they would be there as soon as possible.

Inside, Sanji led Zoro upstairs – as the green haired man was already heading towards the kitchen – and got out some clean clothes. He didn't have much which fitted the more muscular man aside from black sweat pants. The green haired man had forgotten a green overcoat at Sanji's place a while ago, so he pulled that on as well, tying it with a red sash and the haramaki he always wore, that Sanji hardly even noticed anymore. Apparently, he had put it on before leaving his house. There was no shirt that fitted him, but at second glance Sanji decided that that wasn't such a bad thing. He himself put on a comfortable suit. As he was slipping into his jacket, he noticed Zoro buckle on his swords. "You taking those with you?"

"You never know when you need them," the swordsman grunted back. "You won't go without your legs, right?"

"That would be difficult, idiot," the blonde snapped back. "Just don't kill him or something."

Zoro didn't answer, instead asking: "Why did you have my swords here, anyway?"

Sanji purposely turned around, pretending he looked in the mirror to fix his tie, to hide his blush. He didn't want to tell Zoro that he had gotten them because they were the swordsman's most precious possession and that holding them made him feel like Zoro was close to him as well. "Koshiro asked me to pick them up when he stayed here. To see if you took good care of them," he lied.

"Koshiro stayed here?"

"Yes, because you insisted on being in a coma, you selfish bastard," the blonde snapped. "He didn't want to drive all the way back, only to return the next day. So I invited him to stay over. What?" he exclaimed when Zoro kept staring at him.

"Nothing."

But the chef didn't miss the small smile on his face. He flushed a little and snapped: "Just hurry your ass up before some harm comes to the ladies. That will be on your account."

Sanji rang the doorbell at Luffy's house. Zoro was standing behind him, looking grim. He looked even scarier without the bandages on his eye. Despite the blonde's objections, the green haired man had insisted that they were removed, so that the bastard could see what he had done. And, well, he did look more intimidating with the vertical scar over his eye. The swords helped as well.

The door was opened by Brook, who laughed his usual laugh when greeting them. "Come on in!"

"You know, Brook, you don't have to get involved," Sanji said carefully.

The skinny man placed a bony hand on his shoulder. "Anything to help a friend. Come on, the man is in the basement."

Sanji exchanged a look with Zoro and followed the tall man with the afro down the stairs. Hell, he didn't even know the D-brothers had a basement.

All the people Luffy had mentioned were present, including 'Sogeking', which was actually Usopp in a mask and wearing a cape, his nose giving him away. The newcomers were greeted, but Sanji didn't pay attention, not even when Nami and Robin talked to him. All he could do was stare at the gagged man tied to a chair.

Zoro must have noticed his sudden paleness and his shaking hands that lit a cigarette, because Sanji felt a large hand placed on his shoulder. The green haired man didn't ask anything, even though he didn't know the suspect, but by his gesture he showed his silent support.

The blonde turned to his friends. "Why did you chose this guy?" he asked disbelieving. "It's not him. It can't be."

Luffy picked his nose. "He carried a jerry can and a lighter and stuff. Ace said that qualified as suspicious."

"Sanji," Nami asked carefully, "do you know him?"

Despite his usual manners, the blonde ignored her and moved over to the gagged man in the chair, ripping the duct tape of his face with more force than necessary. "Tell me it isn't true!" he yelled. "Say it, Gin!"

The tanned man groaned in pain and his tanned skin turned a little red where the tape had been. Still, he managed to grin up at Sanji, who was shaking in fury. "It was nothing personal, Sanji," the tied up man answered.

The blonde had to hold himself back not to kick Gin in the face. That would be hardly fair to do to a tied up man. "Not personal?! Which time? When you burned down the Baratie, tried to kill Zoro, or when you set fire to his house, where I happened to be as well?!"

Gin shrugged. "So, you know it was all me. In my defence though, it wasn't my idea. My boss doesn't like to hear no for an answer…"

Sanji clenched his fists. "Untie him and give him a weapon," he said through gritted teeth.

"Oi, but Sanji," Sogeking started, but one look from the chef shut him up.

Nami took over. "What are you planning to do?"

Sanji took a final deep breath from his cigarette, before stomping the butt out. "I'm gonna beat the shit out of him. But I won't fight an unarmed man."

The red haired woman looked a little doubtful, but Zoro stepped forward and started to undo the rope around Gin's wrists, while Brook handed Sanji weapons he recognized as Gin's, tonfas with an iron ball at the end. They had sparred often when the blonde still lived with Usopp and they were evenly matched.

The blonde threw the tonfas at Gin, who caught them easily. "You sure you want to do this?" the latter asked, gripping the weapons firm and taking his stance.

Sanji gave a scornful laugh. "Let's see… You caused an innocent man to go to prison," he launched his first kick, barely avoided by the other man, "you burned down my father's life work," another kick, "you almost killed my boyfriend," this time he managed to kick Gin in the face and he fell down, but recovered quickly, "and lastly, you burned down his house, where you knew he would be home. Where I was as well!" His knee connected with Gin's stomach.

Gasping, the man scrambled to his feet. "Like I said, it wasn't personal! Not for me, anyway. It's my boss who made me do it!" One of his tonfas hit Sanji's leg and the blonde almost lost balance. "You see, it's because of your dad's restaurant, my boss went bankrupt and had to close his own place. And his investor was not happy. So, he wanted revenge."

Sanji gritted his teeth, taking the beating of the heavy tonfas. Zeff had worked all his life to get the restaurant. When the blonde was young, they started out with a small bistro, slowly expanding until they had the large and beautiful Baratie – the former one. And they lost all that because of some petty vengeance?! "You were supposed to be my friend!"

"I am! I didn't like what I did, but I couldn't disobey orders." Gin ducked under Sanji's approaching leg and hit him in the chest.

The blonde stumbled back, feeling the wall hit his back. The dark haired man pinned him there, his tonfas on either side of his body. "And honestly, you do have good taste in men, if I may say so myself." He flashed Zoro a cocky grin.

Sanji took the opportunity to kick the man in the shin. As he stepped back, grabbing at his leg, the blonde kicked him in the chest, before placing his hands behind him on the floor and throwing his legs up, hitting his opponent in the chin. Gin fell backwards, with his head on the concrete floor. The tonfas fell out of his hands and he didn't move anymore. The chef placed a foot on the man's chest. "That kiss was a drunken accident!" he spat.

Gin didn't respond and panicking, Chopper knelt down to check his heart rate. Relieved, he took a deep breath. "He's just unconscious."

Sanji huffed and turned around to study the faces of the onlookers. Nami looked quite shocked, Robin amused and Brook seemed unaffected as he sipped his tea. Franky struck a pose and yelled that Sanji was 'SUPER' while Luffy grinned broadly. The mask prevented Sanji from seeing Usopp's – or rather, Sogeking's – face, but the architect was quiet. He knew Gin as well and must have been as shocked as Sanji was upon recognizing him. The blonde made a mental note to ask about that later. Finally, his glance rested on Zoro. The green haired man was trying to hide his proud smirk, failing miserably, so instead he asked: "What was that all about?"

The chef shrugged. "The fight? Well, Gin and I were friends…"

"Not that, the 'drunken mistake' part." Zoro scowled at him.

Sanji scratched the back of his head. "Oh, that. We, kinda, kissed? Once," he quickly added.

Just as he said that, Ace walked into the basement, followed by Marco. The freckled man cast a glance on the unconscious man on the floor. "What happened here?"

"Sanji beat the crap out of that guy," Luffy exclaimed happily and clapped his foots together. "You should have seen it Ace, he's so cool!"

The fireman turned to Sanji. "I understand your frustration, but didn't you go a little too far?"

"I gave him all the means to defend himself," the blonde huffed. "Besides, I only went all out because I knew he could take it."

"Wait a second, do you know him?" Ace looked disbelieving between Sanji and Gin.

"He was supposed to be my friend," the blonde answered.

"Who you made out with," Zoro said sulking.

Sanji spun around. "Once! I was drunk and it was a long time ago!" He looked at Ace for help, immediately realising he made a mistake.

The freckled face lit up. "I knew you weren't a stranger to male lovin'!" He hopped on the table next to his brother. "So, what's the plan?"

"I don't know. We have kidnapped a guy who is now unconscious in a basement." Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're in a lot of trouble."

Zoro huffed. "It's not like he is innocent. Because of his actions, Ace almost went to jail, he burned down Zeff's life work and tried to kill me twice and Sanji once."

"So, we got the right guy? That's good news." Ace smirked.

Marco shot the unconscious man a nasty look. "I would have gladly done it myself."

The freckled man snickered and hopped of the table, walking over to his boyfriend and kissing him intensely. When he let go, he turned around again. "So, we just drop him off at the police station? Sanji's beaten the crap out of him, so I guess it's over now."

"Not exactly." The blonde sighed. "Gin said he was following orders. Apparently, the guy he worked for was put out of business, thanks to the success of the Baratie."

"So, we need to go after that guy. Great," the fireman said grinning and cracked his knuckles. "I was already a little disappointed that I couldn't do anything. So, who are we looking for?"

He looked at Sanji, but the chef shrugged. "He didn't mention a name."

"Then I guess we have to wait until he wakes up," Nami sighed.

"Not necessarily." Sogeking stepped forward, his arms folded over his chest. Sanji was quite impressed, the man had even masked his voice, speaking in a lower tone than Usopp did. "Gin said that his boss was a restaurant owner, right? We only have to figure out which restaurant went out of business."

"Good thinking," Ace said with a smirk. "You must be Sogeking, right? I'm Ace."

Sanji wondered if the freckled man was just as dense as his younger brother, but then shrugged it off. Marco would just have to explain things.

"I read in the newspaper a while ago that a restaurant called The Grand Line went bankrupt," Robin said. "I think the owner was called Krieg. Don Krieg."

Along with Franky, Zoro placed the still unconscious Gin back in the chair and tied him up again. "What are we going to do with him?"

"For now, keeping him here. We don't have any evidence against his boss and we just kind of kidnapped Gin," Nami stated. "We should first find something to prove they have something to do with the fires and the attempts to murder."

"What about the jerry can? Doesn't that contain his fingerprints?" Brook asked.

Nami sighed. "I wish. But Gin was wearing gloves and Luffy was stupid enough to grab it with his bare hands. So we can't use that."

At that moment, Gin groaned and slowly opened his eyes. When he looked up, his dark eyes rested on Sanji. The blonde stared back. "Could you leave us?"

Without saying anything, his friends left the basement. Before going through the door, Sogeking placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder for a second. Then, he followed the others. Zoro hesitated for a moment, but after an encouraging look from the chef he left as well. Sanji took a dusty chair and sat down facing Gin, while lighting a cigarette. They sat in silence for a moment, when the blonde asked: "Remember when we met?" Gin remained silent, so he continued: "You tried to steal food out of the dumpster behind the Baratie, when it was just a small bistro. The old man kicked you in the face."

"But you gave me food, despite the fact I had no money," Gin continued.

"And like every criminal, Zeff offered you a job."

Gin gazed at the wall. "Yeah."

"What happened to that guy? The guy that peeled the potatoes wrongly, though to this very day I still don't understand how you can mess that up." He looked Gin in the eyes. "What happened to my friend?"

The dark haired man avoided his gaze, staring at the floor. "I guess I got mixed up in the wrong crowd. I didn't want to do it, but like I said, the guy I work for doesn't take no for an answer."

"Don Krieg," Sanji said.

Gin looked up. "You know that?"

Sanji nodded. "I've friends who can get lots of information. So, to save time, where can I find your boss?"

Gin looked up, lost in thoughts for a moment. Then, he seemed to make a decision. "The boss was not happy that the Baratie was reopened."

"He's gonna set fire to it again?" the blonde asked.

But his friend shook his head. "He is planning on taking a more direct approach. He's targeting Zeff."

Sanji froze, his eyes wide in horror. "What?"

"He will send someone to the restaurant, probably. I may have mentioned once that he tends to stay long after everyone has gone," Gin added, looking guilty. "Listen, I don't want that to happen to him. The last time I waited until he was gone and the restaurant was empty. Zeff has shown me much kindness. Please, save him."

Sanji rose from his seat, shaking with rage. "When is this attack planned?"

Gin's voice was hardly audible when he spoke again. "Tomorrow night."

When Sanji came back upstairs, he found most of his friends at the table, looking at him expectantly, except for Zoro and Chopper, who both had fallen asleep on the couch. Sanji sent them a warm glance, before letting himself fall on a chair with a sigh.

"So, what happened?" Ace dared to ask.

"He told me where that Krieg guy is hiding out." Sanji was pale and rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. "And that his boss is planning to assassinate my father."

Several gasps sounded as they all gawked at the blonde. "Why?" Franky asked finally.
"I would assume that he was not pleased that the Baratie was reopened," Robin said pensive and turned to Sanji. "Am I right?"

"Of course you are, my lovely angel," the chef answered with a watery smile. He felt tired.

"Do you know when?" Ace asked.

"Tomorrow night."

The fireman slammed his fist on the table. "Then we have to think of a plan!"

"Yosh!" Luffy exclaimed. "We need brain food. Sanji, make us some meat!"

"You guys are gonna help me take this guy on?"

Luffy snickered. "Of course!"

Sanji's mood veered around suddenly and he actually felt like he stood a chance. He would beat the crap out of that Krieg, who made his friend turn against him and threatened his father and his boyfriend. With a genuine smile on his face, he made his way to the kitchen.

When he returned, with a large plate with several dishes – including a lot of meat – he found his friends huddled around the table, looking at a piece of paper. Zoro and a sleepy looking Chopper had joined them.

"We have a plan!" Luffy exclaimed louder than necessary, but he seemed enthusiastic.

"Oh? Well, then I suppose that you don't need brain food?" Sanji teased. When the boy pouted and looked at him with large eyes, he chuckled and threw him a sausage, which Luffy caught in his mouth and it was gone before the chef could blink.

Sanji took a seat while the plate with food was handed around and it was considerately more empty when it reached the blonde again. He took a piece of carrot himself and leaned over the sheet in the middle of the table. "So, what's the plan then?" He recognised the lines on the paper as a map of the Baratie.

Ace cleared his throat. "Well, we assume that Zeff will be targeted when he leaves the restaurant by himself late at night. He does stay late, doesn't he?"

Sanji nodded. "He always leaves last. That would be the best moment to take him out." He bit his lip. While he was cooking, he had thought of calling his father, but it was rather late and he didn't want to wake the old man. He would call him first thing in the morning to see if he was okay.

"Okay," Ace continued. "Marco and I will take a position in the back alley. Zeff will be the most vulnerable there, so it's the best place to make out." He got some weird looks and laughing embarrassed he scratched the back of his head. "Did I say make out? I meant look out. Anyway, we will keep an eye on things from there."

"While Ace and Marco are at the back, Sogeking and myself will be stationed at the front." Robin pointed on the map. "In case we are wrong, Nami and Brook will keep an eye on his house."

"But, Nami-swan, Robin-chwan, you don't have to endanger yourself for my sake!" Sanji exclaimed.

The lawyer chuckled darkly. "You would do well not to underestimate us, Mr. Cook."

"Anyway," Ace quickly continued, "Franky will man the van, and Chopper will accompany him, in case of medical emergencies."

The brown haired boy beamed of pride for having such an important task, though he made everyone promise to be careful. Franky cleared his throat. "I will provide you all with ear mikes, so we can stay in touch."

"So, what do you think?" Ace asked proudly, like he had come up with the plan, which Sanji doubted a little.

"It sounds like you have thought of everything," the blonde said slowly. "But what will the marimo, Luffy and I do?"

The black haired boy smirked. "We're going to take down Krieg, of course!"

The next evening they made themselves ready. Earlier that day, Marco had determined the cause of the fire – the same way as the Baratie was burned down. That it was arson no one had doubted anyway.

After some insisting, Sanji had convinced the others to let Gin go. After all, Krieg would probably grow suspicious if the tanned man didn't show up. Zoro had been weary, but the blonde seemed to trust the guy – despite everything. Of course, they hadn't shared their plan, but Gin had told Sanji Krieg's hideout, so it was kind of evident that they would go there as well. The green haired man had threatened the arsonist to keep his mouth shut and he had promised to do so, but Zoro wasn't convinced. Neither seemed Ace, Marco and Robin, but none of them had protested.

Franky cruised his van around, dropping everyone off at the place they should be. Nami and Brook were the first two, stepping out of the vehicle when Franky stopped before the – still dark – house of the elder chef. After the two had gotten out and the man with the afro had earned himself a kick in the head by Sanji after asking to see Nami's panties, the blue haired man grabbed a walky-talky and said: "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," came the answer from the redhead, which they could all hear via they ear microphones.

Franky smirked. "That's SUPER! Good luck, you guys!"

The ride towards the restaurant was silent, until Sanji asked Ace and Marco: "Are you guys okay with this, by the way? After all, it's because of Krieg that you went to jail." He nodded at the fireman.

The freckled man shrugged. "It was because of a false testimony I almost went to prison. Of course I would love to stomp Krieg's face in, but protecting your father is priority."

Marco hummed, but Zoro was sure the arson inspector would twist Krieg's neck with pleasure. The green haired man had understood from Sanji that the elder blonde had been quite beaten up about Ace being in prison. He hadn't really expected anything else, seeing how crazy Marco was about the fire fighter.

Robin, Sogeking, Ace and Marco stepped out of the van in front of the restaurant, the former giving her husband a kiss on the cheek. "Be careful, dear."

"You too, honey. The restaurant closes in two hours, but keep your eyes open anyway!"

The drive to Krieg's hideout – or supposed hideout, Zoro thought, he still didn't completely trusted Gin or his information – took them out of the city, to an abandoned industrial zone. Franky explained one more time how the communication devices worked; you had to press the small button on the thing in their ear to be heard by everyone. Luffy was being annoying, giving updates every two minutes and of course they never consisted of anything as they were still in the van. He enjoyed himself by naming the streets they were passing, until Sogeking told him via the ear microphone to shut up, in case someone had hacked their frequency. Then Luffy opted for naming all the kinds of meat Sanji should make him when this was over.

"Luffy! You should stay quiet now! You're approaching enemy territory," Ace meddled in, effectively shutting his brother up. "Good. I have to go now, Marco needs attention." With a chuckle, the fireman's line went silent. Zoro sighed and wondered if it was a mistake stationing those two together. He could only hope that Marco was responsible enough to keep an eye on their surroundings, because Ace sure as hell wasn't.

The van was quiet now, save for the soft singing of Luffy's made up meat song. Suddenly, the vehicle came to a stop and Franky turned towards them. "This is the address. Now, don't overdo it or do anything stupid, alright? I'll keep an eye on you via this screen," he showed a small device with three bleeping points, "and give you instructions if necessary. Zoro, follow my directions carefully."

Zoro growled at him. As if he would get lost!

"Alright, I know you want to beat this guy up, but remember we also need evidence linking him to the arson cases and the attempt on Zoro's life. That's the most important, got it?" Franky looked up from the small monitor in his hand. "Wait, where is Luffy?"

They all looked at the spot the black haired boy had occupied only a minute ago, and then to the open door of the van. Zoro cursed. "Dammit, Luffy!"

"You better go after him, Franky said worriedly. "The words 'don't do anything stupid' don't have a meaning to him."

Sanji and Zoro scrambled out of the car and ran towards the abandoned factory, Chopper calling good luck after them.

"Zoro, now turn left," the green haired man heard Franky say in his ear. He took a turn when he heard the man sigh. "Other left, Zoro."

"There's only one left!" the swordsman grouched.

"Yes, and that way ain't it."

He heard Nami chuckle. "The side of your earrings is left."

He grumbled and went the other way. Franky led him to the backside of the building, to a heavy iron door. The blonde was nowhere to be seen. "Sanji is following after Luffy. You gather the evidence for now," Franky said. "This is the back entrance. Can you open the door?"

Zoro looked around until he found an iron bar and started to lever the door open. It opened with a creaking sound and Zoro hoped nobody had heard that. He pressed his finger to his ear. "I'm in."

"Okay, be careful."

Inside, it was dark and Zoro wished the stupid cook was here with his lighter. His depth perception had improved considerably over the days, but that was of no help if he couldn't see anything anyway. Feeling for the wall, he made his way into the dark hallway, until he found another door. Opening it, he was surprised it wasn't locked, but when he was met by light and some very confused faces, he understood why. In a matter of seconds, he had drawn his swords that hung fatefully on his side. The four men in the room jumped him, but he took them out without any effort. After the men lay motionless on the floor, Zoro put his swords away again and looked around the room. Nothing interesting could be found and he opened the next door.

A sudden cough made him look up. Before him, in the empty hallway Gin was standing, his tonfas in his hands. Instinctively, Zoro drew his swords, but the man gestured to put them down. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"That's a new one," the green haired man spat.

Gin looked at the floor. "Okay, I deserved that. But I'm here to make amends. For Sanji's sake. Follow me."

"Why should I trust you?" Zoro asked suspiciously.

Gin smirked at him. "You probably shouldn't. But I know the way around here and you are actually on your way outside again. Now, you need evidence, right? Come on."

The green haired man still didn't trust him, but decided to follow the guy anyway.

"Zoro?" Franky's voice sounded in his ear, followed by some creaking noises. "Zoro, are you still there? I can't see you anymore on the screen."

"I'm on my way to get evidence," the swordsman muttered with his finger pressed to his ear.

"What? Did you say something? Zoro–" Then, the line went dead.

Zoro shrugged – he wasn't a fan of having a voice in his ear, anyway – and followed after Gin. Before a seemingly random door the man stopped and opened it.

Inside the room behind it, Zoro saw a table standing, with several papers on it and a laptop he recognised as his own.

"You were getting close," Gin commented. "You had the footage of me at the Baratie on the night it burned down. Sanji said you lost your memory. Is it coming back?"

Zoro scratched the back of his head. He remembered looking into feuds between Zeff and other persons. The head chef was much envied because of his talents in the kitchen and his accomplishments. The private detective had talked to some former employees who had quit. The worst they had said was that the man was a hard ass, but they all seemed to admire his talent. He had also tried to identify the man in the tape of the security camera, but to no avail – though now he realised it had to be Gin, they had the same build, but that was a bit late. Looking through his notes, spread out on the table with his laptop, more memories came back. He had figured out about a restaurant going bankrupt, but before he had found out the name of the owner, the car accident had happened.

"Why did you try to kill me?" he asked, piling up his notes.

"Don Krieg told me to. He found out you were on the case and asking too many questions. Honestly, I didn't know who you were. Sanji never mentioned your name. I found out your address and cut your brake cables. Only when you drove off I recognised you from the picture Sanji showed me."

"You still set my house on fire," Zoro said sharply, still looking through other papers. He found a floor plan of the Baratie and several letters addressed to Krieg, stating that the "job" was done, usually implicating an arson case. So Krieg was behind the other ones as well.

"Yes. I didn't know Sanji would be there, but I also didn't want to get caught. I should have left, but when I tried to ran off, your friend jumped me. He is surprisingly strong for such a scrawny kid."

Zoro hummed in agreement, still collecting more evidence.

"Krieg wouldn't have been forgiving if I let you alive," Gin continued. "He is not a very pleasant man when he's angry."

"Why do you work for him?"

"There is no other place for a guy like me," the dark haired man shrugged. "He is my boss, and I respect him very much. After I left the Baratie, I started to work for him. He is strict, but fair. Losing everything he had made him snap, along with the pressure placed on him by one of the investors."

"Who?" Zoro asked. He shuffled through the papers, but didn't see a name of an investor anywhere.

But Gin shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not even sure the boss knows, but he is afraid of him, that's for sure. Now, you might want to hurry up and go help Sanji."

He had hardly spoken the words, or a loud bang was heard. Zoro looked up with a jerk, as did Gin. The green haired man cursed and with the evidence under his arm, he ran towards where the noise had sounded. After running around for some time, he opened a door and came out on a balustrade – when had he gone upstairs? – looking over the main hall of the factory. Downstairs, he saw Luffy standing, his hat casting a shadow over his eyes and his fist still extended. Sanji was next to him, leg in the air, and several unconscious henchmen around them. Zoro soon found the source of the noise, as a large man released himself from the wall, having left an equally large dent. He had purple hair and was wearing some kind of armour, which had caused the dent. Despite knowing Luffy for a long time now, Zoro was still impressed by his strength.

Luffy lowered his fist. "That was for hurting my friends."

The large man – of whom Zoro assumed it was Don Krieg – barked out a laugh. "That's some punch you got there. But it was a lucky shot. I don't know how you found me, but the joke is on you anyway. While you think you can fight me, one of my men has killed Zeff and there is nothing you can do!"

Zoro saw Sanji tense. They had no range here, so just like him the blonde had no idea what was going on with the others. Could the rest handle the murderer? The swordsman shook his head. Of course they could.

"Gin!"

Much to Zoro's surprise, the dark haired man appeared next to the former restaurant owner. Why was he downstairs? Surely, he must know a shortcut.

"Take out the blonde," Krieg ordered. "I'll handle Strawhat."

Shocked, the green haired man noted that Gin stepped forward, holding up his tonfas. "I'm sorry it has to end this way."

Lazily, Sanji lit a cigarette. "Me too."

With that, they stormed towards each other. Zoro knew he shouldn't look, as he hadn't stayed unaffected the last time he saw Sanji fight and having a boner here would be most inconvenient. Still, he felt his eye drawn to the lean blonde, who was already standing on his hands, kicking his friend in the chest. Gin stumbled back on the impact, but recovered soon. Tearing his eyes from his boyfriend, Zoro focused on the other fight, between Luffy and Krieg. The latter might be strong, and he had managed to hit the boy a few times, but the black haired one was considerably faster. Even Zoro had trouble following him – though he blamed his damaged eye for that.

Luffy dashed from left to right, hitting Krieg in the chin, his shoulder and a swift kick in the back of the knee had the large man stumble. In the meantime, Luffy yelled out attack names he made up like they were in a videogame or something and Zoro couldn't help but smile.

With Sanji and Luffy occupied, the henchmen had free reign, but the green haired man wasn't about to allow that. He ran down the nearby stairs, placing the evidence he had gathered on the nearest flat surface and drew his swords. One after another, the henchmen fell.

Suddenly though, a movement on the balustrade caught his attention and he turned around, but before he could see anything, the lights went out.

"Krieg!" a voice sounded.

Zoro froze. He recognised that voice anywhere.

As sudden as they had gone out, the lights turned back on again. This time, however, the balustrade was not empty. A tall man was standing there. He had black hair and wore a large hat with a feather. But the most striking feature about him, were his eyes. The eyes of a hawk.

"You should have checked who owned the businesses before you burned them down, Krieg," Mihawk continued. Zoro could see the oversized sword hanging on his back.

Don Krieg froze and looked in the direction the voice came from, just as Luffy and Sanji did. Zoro knew the black haired boy would recognise the swordsman that almost killed the private detective, but the green haired man would not let the opportunity pass.

"Mihawk!" His voice echoed through the large hall.

High above him, the best swordsman in the world looked in his direction. "Roronoa," he said slowly. "I hadn't expected to see you here. What has it been? A year and a half? Two?"

Zoro gritted his teeth. "Fight me!"

"I'm not here for you, Roronoa. Leave now, and you might survive." With that, Mihawk didn't pay any more attention to him.

"Hawk-eyes!" Zoro ran towards the stairs he had descended earlier. He heard Sanji call out his name, but decided to ignore it, when he heard a bang and a cry in pain.

Turning around, he saw his lover lying on the floor and Gin slowly lowering his tonfas. At first, Zoro was afraid the blonde was unconscious, but then the man lifted up his head, pain written all over his face. It surprised the green haired man that the chef didn't get up, when he noticed the strange angle one of his legs was in.

"You better help him, Roronoa," Mihawk's voice sounded.

Cursing, Zoro grabbed the evidence made his way over to his boyfriend, who had managed to take out Gin with his good leg. "Luffy!" the green haired man yelled at the black haired boy who was standing over the unconscious body of Krieg. He hadn't stopped fighting him when Zoro challenged Mihawk and had used the distraction to his advantage.

The black haired boy looked at Sanji, who nodded, and Zoro pressed the evidence in Luffy's arms before he helped the blonde to climb on his back. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mihawk squatting in the railing of the balustrade, his sword drawn and eyes looking dangerous.

With Sanji on his back, Zoro ran towards the exit, sometimes corrected by a slap on the head, courtesy of the blonde, Luffy following him at his heels. Outside, Zoro pressed a finger against his ear, hoping that the frequency was working again. "Franky! Get the van here. Sanji's hurt."

"You guys are still alive? Hold on, I'm on–!"

The rest of his words were lost in the noise, when suddenly the building behind them collapsed. Zoro turned around, wide eyed. Even though he knew Mihawk was the best swordsman in the world, he hadn't expected that the man would be able to destroy a factory single-handedly. Maybe he wasn't ready to face him yet.

The van stopped inches from them with shrieking tires and Chopper opened the side door. "Sanji! Are you okay?"

"It's not that bad," the blonde said soothing, but once he was placed in the van, the doctor-to-be shrieked.

"Your leg's broken!"

"It's the marimo's fault!"

"My fault? You were the one not paying attention to your opponent!" Zoro shot back.

"Only because you foolishly ran to your death! That was the guy, wasn't it? That drug lord that almost sliced you in half?" Sanji spat.

"What the hell happened, you guys?" Franky asked, as he pulled the van up the road in the direction of the hospital.

"Nothing much." Zoro looked through the rear window of the van. "The factory was just demolished by an old acquaintance."

"Sucks about your leg, dude," Ace said.

Sanji shrugged and moved a bit so he lay more comfortably. "It's gonna heal eventually."

Franky had driven them to the hospital, where a doctor, who was apparently Chopper's guardian, had put a plated cast around the blonde's left leg, almost reaching to his hip. It hurt like hell, but it could have been worse. It was a clean break, the doctor had told him, so it would heal nicely. Then she had asked if he wanted to know how her body looked so young.

"Yeah, but still, it's gonna complicate things." Ace wiggled suggestively with his eyebrows.

The blonde scowled at him.

"He's saying it's gonna be tough having sex," Zeff said bluntly. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded before his chest.

Sanji looked at his father disbelievingly. "Shut up, old fart!" He couldn't help blushing.

The fireman snickered, but after a deadly look from the younger chef, he shut up. The freckled man, Marco and Zeff had come to the hospital after having been picked up at the police station by Franky.

Ace had told their part of the story.

After having been dropped off, Marco and he had waited in the back alley, until they were caught by Zeff after all the other staff had gone home. The elder chef had ushered them inside and made them food, while Ace told him why they were there. Zeff had snorted and told them he didn't need protection, but allowed them to stay nonetheless. After the man had cleaned up everything, Ace and Marco had accompanied him outside, where they were jumped by a man called Pearl, who was sent by Krieg and bragged he had never lost a drop of blood in battle. His defences were great, claiming he was nicknamed "Iron Wall", which seemed appropriate. Ace and Marco had tried to take him out in the narrow alley and even Zeff had meddled in, but eventually, it was a projectile fired by Sogeking, who had approached after hearing some commotion, that took the giant out. During the story, Usopp, who had suddenly appeared after Sogeking had left, looked somewhat smug.

After Pearl had been knocked unconscious, Ace had called captain Smoker to pick him up. They all had had to come to the police station, except Sogeking, who had disappeared into the night.

Apparently, Krieg had been confident that Pearl could finish the job, because the other teams hadn't experienced anything eventful. The late night news however, had discussed the arrest of Don Krieg and Gin, who had miraculously survived the collapse, after some tainting evidence had been sent over to the police anonymously. Robin had used her connections to arrange that. So finally the culprits had gotten what they deserved, though Sanji had resolved putting in a good word for Gin when the police would talk to him.

"Usopp! You missed all the action!" Luffy exclaimed as he entered Sanji's hospital room, back from getting snacks from the canteen. "Ace told me what he did! He was so cool! I wish I had seen him in action! Do you know where he is?"

"Sogeking is always there where he is needed," Usopp said, a little smug and Sanji chuckled at the sparkling in Luffy's eyes.

"Well, thank him on my behalf," the blonde said. "So, how are you? Since you knew Gin too."

"I was a little surprised when I saw… I mean, when Sogeking told me. But I never really liked him anyway," Usopp shrugged. "I'm more worried about you, though."

Sanji smiled gently. "I'll be okay. I have great friends."

His friends laughed or smiled at him.

"Those painkillers are making you soft, cook," Zoro said with a smirk.

"Shut up , bastard! You ruined the moment! I'll kick your ass!"

"How would you do that with one leg in a cast, one leg?"

"I still have the other one, Cyclops!"

Robin chuckled and rose. "Come on, everyone. I think those two need some time alone." One by one, the friends left the room.

Zeff was the last to leave, as he snorted and said: "I told you not to do anything stupid, Eggplant. But I guess I owe you a thanks."

Sanji shrugged. "You should thank the guys for that."

"Yeah, I guess I should. I don't know why I thanked you in the first place, good-for-nothing." With that, Zeff left.

The blonde sighed and watched Zoro sitting next to him. "Thanks for not being stupid enough to get killed."

The green haired man snorted. "I'll beat him one day."

"I know you will." The blonde caressed the green strands. "Your hair is getting longer. I like it. It's more a lawn now than it is moss."

"At least your eyebrow looks stupid as always!" Zoro spat back.

After exchanging insults for a while, Sanji suddenly went silent and muttered: "You know, you don't have to go look for a new place if you don't want to, Moss-head."

The swordsman looked at him surprised. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"As if! You better pay rent!"

"So, you'll be my landlord?" Zoro asked smirking.

"Why do you make everything sound dirty, perverted plant?"

The green haired man grinned. "I know for a fact that several furniture have to be christened because some prude cook doesn't want to have sex outside the bedroom. I'll be looking forward to assist you."

"You'll have to wait, horny bastard! Ace was right, my leg is gonna complicate things," Sanji said pensive.

Zoro smirked. "We'll think of something." And he leaned in, pressing his lips against the blonde's.