They returned to the inn, only to find something unexpected waiting for them. The asshole Luffy had knocked out initially was tied to a chair, Lenard holding a shotgun and Daryl staying close to Carol. Chopper was busy treating the woman while Nami counted her treasure, neither of them paying too much attention to their new hostage.

"Uh, why is he here?" Sanji asked, although it was probably a good thing they had a hostage now. For being a part of such disgusting acts, the kid seemed genuinely frightened by the shotgun pointed at him. Then again, who wouldn't be?

"He followed me after I rescued Carol from the barn. How did everything go with you guys?" Chopper replied, adjusting the bag of fluids he'd set up and turning to face his friends. None of them looked victorious, in fact everyone seemed kind of...off.

"We have to go back one more time," Luffy said, his seriousness frightening the doctor. It was rare to see their captain with such a stony expression, so something bad must have happened.

"Eh? You guys didn't finish them off?" Nami asked, pausing from her treasure ogling and noticing how pale everyone looked. "What happened after I left?"

"It's...a really long story. We're going to need another plan before we go back since their leader is stronger than we anticipated," Sanji replied, sighing as exhaustion overwhelmed him. The day was barely half over and yet so much had happened, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to defeat him, Boss is too strong," their hostage said, speaking for the first time. He was quick to shut up when the Lenard moved the shotgun barrel closer to his face.

"If he's so strong, why isn't he here? Don't you think he would've followed us if he was able to?" Luffy asked, moving closer to the kid and leveling him with a glare. "We didn't leave without doing some damage of our own."

"You're lying! Countless pirates have faced him, and none of them made it out alive! What makes you any different?" he asked them, and Sanji realized this kid was younger than he looked. His voice was still high-pitched, he couldn't be older than thirteen. So what was he doing with people like them?

"Someday I'm going to be King of the Pirates, so someone like your boss doesn't stand a chance against me or my crew. Although Tra-guy was the one who injured him," Luffy pouted a little a that, some of his seriousness dispersing.

The kid looked up at Law, his eyes widening in recognition. "I've heard of you before! You're that creepy surgeon of death guy! What are you doing with these weirdos?" they all bristled at that, Law smirking ever so slightly.

"I'm afraid you're in no position to say that about me, brat. The real question is, why is a child living with such a deranged group of people? You're our hostage, so I suggest you start talking," Law said, unsheathing his sword just an inch as an attempt to intimidate the kid. The look on his face showed that it worked, but he still wouldn't crack.

"I don't have to tell you anything! Boss saved me, I owe him everything! Even if some of the things he does are bad, I can't go against him. You won't be getting any information from me!"

"Alright that's enough, Noah. You've caused enough trouble for all of us, it's time to let it go," surprisingly it was Carol who spoke, her voice harsh enough to make the kid jump.

"EH?!" they all turned to Carol, wondering if they'd heard right, "You know this brat?!"

"Well of course we do. We weren't sure if the rumors were true at first, but when he showed up here it cleared our doubts. Y'all remember the story I told ya, right? About how old man Dorian used to live there and his grandson was supposed to inherit the farm? Well, this is him. Little shit up and disappeared after Dorian died, he was only twelve at the time," Daryl said, narrowing his eyes at Noah who was pouting rather childishly. Sanji did the math in his head, something wasn't adding up. If Dorian had died a few years ago, then that meant…

"Wait, this kids fifteen? He looks like he's still fucking twelve!" Zoro beat him to it, surprisingly. Sanji didn't know the marimo could think that fast.

"At least I don't have seaweed hair!" that earned Noah a punch on the head. Sanji was busy laughing at Zoro's irritated face.

"Shut up, shit-cook! This is serious!" Zoro yelled at him, growing more irritated when Sanji continued laughing.

"No, you're right for once, it is serious," Sanji said after finally collecting himself, "Alright, so you ran away after your old man passed. That doesn't explain how you ended up with a bunch of sickos and why you've been staying with them. This is your home, isn't it? Why would you let them terrorize your friends?"

"They aren't my friends! I never liked anyone here, and they didn't like us either! They hated my granddad, and my parents too! Funny how all of them conveniently died, isn't it?"

"Look kid, your dad was a shitty person. He never cared about ya anyways, I don't know why you're still mad about that," Lenard said, and at that point everyone was thoroughly confused. It seemed like there was still a lot they didn't know, and right now they needed all of the details.

"Okay, someone better explain what's going on right now. What happened to his dad and why didn't you mention it sooner?" Nami asked, looking between the two older men to see who was going to offer an explanation.

"They killed him! Then they killed my mom, and finally my granddad!" Noah yelled, trying in vain to break free from the ropes keeping him tied to the chair.

"I've told ya before that ain't true! Yer mom was sick, and Dorian was old. But he's right, we did kill his dad, but for a good reason! That guy was almost as bad as those bastards in the woods! We didn't bring it up to y'all since we weren't completely sure Noah was living with them in the first place. Plus, we don't usually tell strangers everything about ourselves. That'd be pretty stupid, don't y'all agree?"

Nami slapped a hand over her face, clearly fed up with the never ending twists this island kept throwing at them. "Is everyone on this island completely insane?!"

"We need to start from the beginning," Carol sighed, knowing she would have to take control of the situation since neither Lenard or Daryl could do it properly. They were idiots, but they meant well. Still, they had some explaining to do, and it would take quite a while.

It was dark by the time they had everything sorted out. Carol explained everything, and it was quite the story. Noah seemed to be in shock, having never knew how terrible his father truly was.

"So that's why he was never around?" he asked, sounding lost and confused, but mostly hurt. Evidently, his father had been affiliated with the same people as Noah currently was.

"That's right. They would meet every so often, I saw your father walking into the woods late at night and decided to follow him. I had no idea who they were at the time, but I could hear some of the things they talked about. Your father never was quite... all there, he was always causing trouble for us. Your mother protected you from it, even when he..." Carol trailed off, a look of sadness washing over her.

"Beat her," Noah finished for her, voice wavering. He had heard the noise, but never wanted to believe it was true. His mother would always tell him it was nothing more than a small argument and that everything was okay, but then her health started going south and he knew nothing would ever be okay. All his father did was drink and yell and then disappear, coming back only to yell some more. To hear that he'd been involved with the same group of people before being killed was unnerving.

"I'm just like him, aren't I? After my granddad died I didn't know where to go, but then he came one night and told me to come with him. He said I could be useful, so I went with him. I never knew..."

"It's not too late," Carol told him, "You can still change. We always wanted to tell you the truth, Noah, but you disappeared before we had the chance. Now you know everything. So, will you help us?"

Everyone waited for Noah to answer, knowing he must have information that could be useful to them. If he joined them, it might make a difference.

"Okay. I'll help, but I still don't think there's any way to beat him. His powers are too strong." Noah replied, sighing in relief as the ropes were untied and the shotgun put away.

"We injured him already, so we have to be able to finish him. We just need a plan. The fact that nobody has come for us yet means he's planning too." Sanji said, wondering how much time they had left.

"I'm gonna kick his ass, that's the plan!" Luffy shouted.

"You tried that already, remember? We need a better plan than that." Zoro said, although he didn't see the harm in letting Luffy go all out. Hell, he'd even join him at this point. Fighting the bastard sounded fun.

"Torao, we're going to need your powers for this. He's too fast and his powers are too unpredictable." Nami said, knowing Law was their best option. This man could incapacitate all of them in a mere second, but inside Law's room, they had a better chance.

"But I wanna fight him!" Luffy yelled, pouting at Law who looked completely unfazed.

"You can have him, Strawhat. Just stay within my room." Law replied, looking disinterested in the technicalities. They had spent far too much time on this island with an enemy that didn't even compare to Doflamingo, and yet they couldn't beat him.

"We're all aware of his powers, so everyone needs to just stay on their toes and fight with everything they've got. As long as we stay in Law's room, we'll have a better chance of winning. Just take down whoever gets in the way." Nami said. It was the best plan they would get, and at this point it was all they needed.

"Rest tonight, we'll rotate through watch in case they come. We need to be in top shape to fight this guy."

Rest, as it would be, was not easy to come by. Sanji knew he was exhausted, but whenever he closed his eyes all he could see was the basement and all of the horrors that came with it. He'd stepped outside several times already to chain smoke but it was doing nothing to calm him down.

Law had disappeared, Sanji had no idea where he could be but it was well past midnight. His tired mind didn't want to think about Law and yet that's exactly what it did, giving him more of a headache. Law had seemed incredibly nonplussed after everything that they'd seen today, his complicated, stoic composure never diminishing.

It had almost slipped, though. Sanji remembered seeing how pale Law had been, his entire body shaking ever so slightly. It had effected him, that was true, but he did a damn good job of hiding it.

And now he was gone, doing who knows what. Sanji supposed he could be on watch duty, but he wasn't sure. Law was still a mystery to him, and he still wanted to figure him out, but they needed to get through this first.

Just as Sanji was about to have another cigarette, the door opened and Law entered the room, regarding Sanji with a blank look. He almost asked where Law had been, but decided against it. Law's whereabouts were none of his business.

Surprisingly, Law spoke first. "I hate to ask this of you, Mr. Blackleg, but can I have one of those?" Law was staring at his box of cigarettes, and Sanji knew he must be stressed if he wanted to smoke so bad.

"Aren't you a doctor?" Sanji asked with a smirk, hoping it would help lighten the mood. Thankfully Law grinned, taking the offered cancer stick and lighting it. Sanji knew he didn't smoke often, he didn't seem like the type, and yet he made it look as if he did it every day. It gave Sanji the strangest feeling in his stomach but he ignored it, knowing when it came to Law weird things just tended to happen.

"One won't hurt, although you may want to consider smoking less. If I looked at your lungs right now I'm sure they would be black." Sanji shuddered at the thought of Law cutting him open, because the surgeon really would do it if he wanted to.

"Well considering the damn things aren't helping me relax I suppose you're right. Today's just been one hell of a day." Law nodded in agreement, frowning sharply around the cigarette. Both of their minds wandered back to the basement, and then to the hallucinations they'd experienced. Sanji suddenly remembered snapping out of it in the closet, Law shaking him awake.

"Thanks for earlier, by the way," Sanji said, Law raising an eyebrow in confusion. "You helped me get my shit together after that freak used his powers on me."

"Ah, it was nothing. You did the same for me." Law replied. Sanji could tell he wasn't used to gratitude by his sudden awkward demeanor, which for some reason he found amusing. He remembered their conversation from the other night and grinned wider.

"I do trust you, you know. Regardless of how badly you think I shouldn't, I still do. As creepy as you are, I don't believe you would do anything to betray us." Sanji said, earning a little chuckle from Law.

"And after the alliance is over?"

"I still say you're stuck with us, because there's no way Luffy would accept us becoming enemies. But honestly, if you ever did attack us, I wouldn't be all that surprised." Sanji answered, though even if that happened he would probably still trust Law. The man had his motives, and even if Sanji wasn't entirely sure what they were, it didn't matter. Law had proven that he was trustworthy, despite what his reputation might say.

In fact, his reputation didn't really match up to who he actually was.

But maybe he was assuming too much.

"I don't see myself attacking your crew, really. Not unless I had a valid reason, but even then...Your Captain is doing me an incredible favor, one that I will always be grateful for. It wouldn't feel right."

Yeah, Law's reputation really didn't match up to who he actually was, and Sanji was just now realizing it.

"You know, maybe you're not as creepy as I originally thought."

He saw Law stiffen out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly the man was grinning, though it wasn't pleasant looking.

"I wouldn't say that, Mr. Blackleg." Sanji frowned at the sudden change in his behavior, wondering what Law was implying.

"Oh? You look like you want to prove it to me. Try it, shitty doctor." Sanji challenged, Law smirking in response. He held out his hand as if to create a room and Sanji reacted immediately, leg shooting up to kick the offending hand away. But his foot only kicked the air, Law appearing back inside of the bedroom. Sanji growled in annoyance, hating Law's damn abilities.

"Save it for the enemy, Mr. Blackleg. Your so called trust is appreciated." Law was back to being his serious, asshole self, but Sanji wasn't having it. He was too on edge from the hectic day and the prospect of tomorrow, and too exhausted to handle Law's cryptic attitude.

"Why can't you accept the fact that someone trusts you? We're in an alliance, trust is good. Besides, you haven't shown me any reason not to trust you. Or is that what this is?" Sanji tossed his cigarette and stalked closer to Law, his patience wearing thin.

"There is a multitude of reasons why you shouldn't trust me, Mr. Blackleg." Law replied, regarding Sanji with a cold, calculating look. He was gripping his sword tight, ready to make a move just like Sanji was. There was simply too much tension in the air, and they were fully prepared to take it out on each other. Besides, the tension with Law had been there from the start. It had been building up all along, and now it was spilling over. Sanji always had kind of wanted to kick Law's face in.

"Show me. What are you afraid of, Trafalgar?"

Sanji dodged the first swipe of Law's sword, but he found himself surrounded by a blue film in the blink of an eye. He kicked Law in the ribs once, and then blinked as he was suddenly being held up against the wall by his shirt collar.

"Irrational brat." Law grunted, holding his ribs protectively. Sanji knew nothing was broken, he didn't put that much power into it, but there would definitely be a nasty looking bruise.

"I'm irrational? You're the one getting defensive just because an ally trusts you. Which by the way, I didn't trust you immediately. Maybe I still don't trust you completely, but it's there and you just have to get over it. I'm not the only one, either. Luffy sure as fuck trusts you, and he's our Captain, so we all kind of feel the same after a while." Sanji said, grunting as Law pushed him harder against the wall. He kicked Law hard in the back, earning a grunt from the man, but his grip only tightened.

"The fact of the matter is that none of you know a thing about me. You seem to think you do, though, and I don't know why. You've been watching me since the beginning, trying to read me, it bothers you doesn't it? And yet I can read you so easily." Law growled, stepping closer to Sanji and lowering the cook to the floor. With how close they were, there wasn't much room for Sanji to kick him, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Sanji felt himself growing angrier by the second, because everything Law was saying was true.

"You're full of shit. You've got your reputation to hide behind, don't you? That's why you're such a bastard about everything. Can't have anyone knowing you're not some bloodthirsty maniac, right? You're just pissy that I see past it." Sanji jolted as Law suddenly shoved his hand into his chest, his heart constricting painfully as Law gripped it.

"You don't know anything." Law said, pulling out Sanji's heart and holding it before him. Sanji tried not to focus on how disturbing it was to see his own heart, but he knew Law was doing this for show. He'd hit a nerve within Sanji, but Sanji returned the favor.

"What are you gonna do?" Sanji challenged, gasping despite himself as Law squeezed his heart harder. His legs shot out as an attempt to make it stop, wrapping around Law's waist and squeezing tight. The surgeon grunted, having to hold Sanji's entire weight as the cook tried to knock him off balance and gain control.

Sanji wasn't entirely sure when things...changed. Law was close, too close for comfort. They were pressed so tightly together neither could really move, both ready to win the fight, but suddenly Sanji was hyper aware of how close they were and the atmosphere in the room changed completely.

Sanji's heart was rapidly beating in Law's hand, the two of them too engrossed in a staring contest to notice. Sanji couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening. He'd never been this close to Law, the warlord's golden eyes staring at him with such intensity it made Sanji freeze. He felt like a proverbial deer caught in the headlights.

He made the mistake of glancing down at Law's lips. He couldn't fathom why he would do that, but their faces were so close it was impossible not to. Law's eyes narrowed, flicking down to Sanji's lips and back into his one visible eye. Sanji gulped, everything about their situation grating on his nerves. The high tension, the fact that his heart was still outside of his body, the fact that he still had his legs wrapped tightly around Law's waist and their faces were mere inches apart. And Law was still holding onto him with one hand, pressing him into the wall and staring at him with a look of pure heat, though Sanji couldn't tell what kind of heat anymore.

Neither of them moved, they stayed just like that for what felt like hours. The room had become hot, the air was thin, but all Sanji could focus on was the odd color of Law's eyes and what lie beneath them, the look of anger mixed with lust.

Sanji had never seen that look directed at him, at least not from another man. Anger sure, but lust? He couldn't comprehend it, not with his already frazzled mind. He should be doing everything in his power to get away, but he wasn't.

And that worried him more than anything, because he wasn't reacting the way he should be.

He was flat out staring at Law's lips now, hundreds of questions buzzing through his head but none of them really registering. His brain felt like fuzz, all he could focus on was Law. He dared to look into the surgeon's eyes again, fearing Law might be looking at him in disgust for wanting this. But what he saw instead sent a jolt of liquid fire down to his groin.

Law rarely showed any semblance of emotion, so seeing such raw lust in his usually dull eyes surprised Sanji. The fact that it was lust is what drove him crazy. It was the last thing he'd ever thought of seeing from Law, not that he'd actually thought about it until now.

He moved closer, their lips nearly touching but neither of them wanting to cross that last line. He was hard, he knew it but couldn't bring himself to care. Besides, he wasn't the only one and by the looks of it, Law didn't give a damn either.

Sanji shifted, purposefully rubbing against the hardness between Law's legs. The warlord's fist clenched harder in the fabric of his shirt, and Sanji watched, entranced, as Law sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and bit down on it. It took all of his willpower not to kiss Law then and there. They were stuck like that, neither crossing the line but enjoying the tease, deciding to sort through the confusion later.

"What's wrong, Trafalgar? Weren't you going to prove something to me?" Sanji said, grinding against Law's dick and gripping the man's shoulders.

And apparently that was enough to snap Law out of it, rational thought processes taking back over as he nearly dropped Sanji and moved away quickly, any hint of the intense attraction from mere seconds ago replaced with disdain and indifference. Sanji straightened his shirt, his conscious hitting him like a punch to the face. What the hell had just happened? Was any of that even real, or was Sanji hallucinating from exhaustion? He felt his face grow red. They had been so close to kissing, and Sanji had been fully prepared to let that happen despite the fact that it was a man instead of a beautiful woman. Not just any man, either, but a rather dangerous one who was currently looking at Sanji with one of the coldest glares he'd ever seen.

"Get some rest, Mr. Blackleg. You'll need it tomorrow."

Sanji almost said something, almost asked why Law would pretend like none of that happened. But he already knew the answer, and quite frankly, he didn't want to acknowledge it either. Whatever had just happened was from too much pent up stress and exhaustion, nothing more. By tomorrow it would be like it never happened, and everything would be back to normal. Sanji just wanted to move on to Dressrosa, because the more time Law spent on their ship, the more Sanji wanted to kick him into the ocean. Law was an asshole, nothing more nothing less. Hell, the guy couldn't even handle one person trusting him even a little, despite being in an alliance. In fact, he seemed intent on keeping people away, hiding behind his reputation that Sanji just knew was full of shit.

Not that he cared. Law may be a mystery, but Sanji wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

Or at least, that's what he told himself.

Sorry for the long wait on this one, I've been super busy lately and I wasn't entirely happy with the way this came out so it took a while to edit, but at least it's done. And there was lawsan! I'll try to post the next chapter soon, hopefully it doesn't take forever.