The Dark Knight of GLU

Chapter 11
Truth and Consequence


“Yo, Sanji! What’s up? You know you left….” Ace was cut off by a very upset and irate voice.

“Damn it, Ace. It happened again!” Sanji shouted.

“Huh?” Was the intelligent reply.

“The Dark Knight! I saw him again! One of the fuckers that attacked me the first time brought a few of his buddies and tried to get information from me about him, and then all of the sudden he was there! He kicked the shit out of them! Or at least I think he did, bastards had me tied to a fucking chair and blindfolded me.”

“Bound and blindfolded? Whoa, sounds a little kinky to me.” Ace smirked, not realizing the gravity of the situation.

“Fuck you, asshole! Bullets were flying everywhere at one point, I nearly got my head shot off! That shit-head wasn’t as lucky though.” Sanji grew aggravated at his friend’s flippant attitude and was about to hang up.

“What!? Are you ok? Where in the world are you?” Ace fell to the floor trying to get his boots on while on the phone.

“Um, I’m… Damn, where the hell am I? I’m not far from the apartment, over by the warehouses behind that new café I think. Shit! I just went to get another pack of smokes. Fuck! My suit is ruined.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll bring you something to wear.” Ace knew how important image was to his classy neighbor.

“Just a sweatshirt or something. The blood doesn’t show on these black pants too bad, but I can’t hide it on the gold.” The blonde sounded like a petulant child whose favorite toy had broke.

“Oh, God. Were you hit? Do you need to call an ambulance?” Ace grabbed Luffy’s bright red hoodie off the kitchen table as he ran by and out the door.

Sanji sighed and looked down at his shirt again, pouting. “No… I really liked this shirt. Do you know how long it took me to find it in just this color? I don’t normally do yellows because they tend to make me look washed out, but gold brings out my eyes and compliments my complexion perfectly.”

Ace chuckled, thankful that Sanji was uninjured, before a different worry began to set in. If the blood wasn’t his, then whose was it? Who was the ‘shithead’ that wasn’t lucky? “Call 911. This needs to be reported. If anyone saw you go in there, and you don’t, you’ll be in a hell of a lot of trouble from Grandpa.”

“Too late, they’re already there. I’m just a few buildings away.”

“What are you doing away from there? How did you get away if you were tied up?” Ace exited the stairwell and slammed out the front door.

“Didn’t you hear me? That fucking Knight threw me over his damn shoulder and carried me out. Shitty-swordsman had no manners whatsoever.”

Ace couldn’t help his curiosity and the nagging worry, so he had to ask. “What? Your lover got himself shot saving your ass and yet still played the part of the white knight and carried you to safety?”

“And the fucking shithead didn’t even have the decency to say he was bleeding all over my clothes.” Sanji grumbled as he fished out his last cigarette. Somehow it survived the whole ordeal, but served as a reminder that he still needed to get to the store. “Just hurry up and get here. I need some more smokes.”

“Just stay out of sight. I’m on my way.” Ace answered.

Sighing, Sanji agreed to do just that and disconnected the call.

DK*DK*DK*DK

Smoker and Tashigi were working late, trying to find any connection to the increasing attacks that had been happening around the city. There was no pattern, no set weapon of choice, nothing that could even begin to help them figure things out. Two men were in custody, but both proved useless in giving information. All they did was go on and on about a demon samurai that was out to get them. Tashigi was intrigued as usual when the word ‘sword’ was mentioned. The girl had a strange obsession with legendary katana, or something. Smoker stopped listening to her soon after she started speaking.

--all units be advised of a 240 in progress at the 2400 block of London involving 4 males, suspects are believed to be armed and dangerous. Proceed with caution--

The call tugged at the back of Smoker’s mind, trying to tell him to look deeper into it, but it was someone else’s turn to pick up some of the slack around here. Besides, the smoking detective was secretly waiting for a different kind of call; maybe one that involved a sleeping idiot, freckles, and toned muscle. It wasn’t until half an hour later when Tashigi mentioned that the call was only a few blocks from Ace’s apartment building that he realized his mistake. Smoker turned on the lights and siren and hit the gas, causing his partner to grab the dash screaming as he cut off traffic and ran lights. Somehow, amid the headaches, long nights, and lewd flirting, the detective had grown fond of the brat; not that he’d admit it out loud.

DK*DK*DK*DK

Sanji could hear Ace long before he could see him, the idiot not realizing just how loud those ridiculous boots were in an empty alley. A smile crept onto the blonde’s face, seeing his friend running to do something other than eat or flirt.

“Sanji? Sanji! There you are man! Are you ok?” Ace ran to check him out. The worried raven turned him around several times, examining the dark stain on his clothes intently before accepting that he was indeed uninjured. “So what the hell happened?”

Sanji grudgingly pulled on Luffy’s sweatshirt and began walking. “I left your place and headed over to Paulie’s. These guys pulled a gun on me, tied me to a chair, tried to beat the crap out of me for information on the Dark Knight, shitty bastard shows up, beats the shit out of everyone, carries me off like some fucking bitch and then…”

“Then?” Ace looked over and was shocked at the frown that twisted his friend’s features for a moment. “Wait… You two didn’t…?”

Sanji was about to speak when more sirens and flashing lights came down the street. Ace pulled Sanji to his other side and tried to shield him from immediate view. The familiar sedan slammed on its breaks as it passed, stopping a few yards away and a large figure exited from the driver’s side. Ace’s face lit up at the sight of his favorite officer.

“Detective, what are you doing here?” Ace left his post in front of Sanji to run over to his hopefully soon to be lover.

Smoker grabbed him and checked the man over, much the same way Ace had done to Sanji only minutes ago. The older man couldn’t help the satisfied feeling he got at seeing the freckled raven still wearing his shirt. Finding him uninjured he started in on the questions.

“Gunshots were reported, and then we had a call about an assault in progress. Since you’re not injured, I assume you weren’t in on it.”

Ace, happy smile still in place, shook his head and looked over to the waiting blonde.

“Sanji called me when it was all over. Oof.” Ace grabbed the back of his head where a hard heel had just connected.

Smoker looked back and forth between the two of them and huffed. It was going to be a long night, and he still had one more idiot to find. “Get in the car. Let’s see just what went down over there.”

Sanji swallowed hard, extremely nervous about being in the car covered in blood, and Ace’s happy smile and nonchalant attitude did nothing to help. Slowly he climbed in and waited for the hammer to fall. When they got to the scene, Smoker walked over to the attending officers and began barking out demands. Soon, two of the attackers were brought out in cuffs, and a third was lead at gunpoint, nursing a mangled arm. The last to be brought out was the unlucky first victim of the Dark Knight’s attack. He was laying on a gurney, still passed out, and at first glance there appeared to be nothing wrong with him aside from the fact that he was very, very pale. Then if you looked close, you could see the slightly odd angles his legs were bent at… below the knees.

Three guns were retrieved and tagged for evidence, but there was no sign of any knife that the leader claimed to have had. Ranting that it was given to him by his mother, Smoker smacked him in the back of the head and told him that he’d personally tell his mother what he’d been doing with it if he didn’t shut up. The guy quieted immediately. The others kept jumping at shadows and seemed almost happy to be put into the safety of the back of the squad car and ambulance. Occasionally one of them would make a comment about a demon.

Smoker looked over to his own car and softened his gaze for a brief second as he looked at the sleeping figure of his strange suitor. However, his demeanor darkened as he realizes this enigma was currently cuddling in his sleep with that damn blonde as if it were a normal occurrence. Who the fuck did that brat think he was, flirting with him one minute and then sleeping in the arms of another the next. And he had the audacity to do it in front of him. Watching Ace snuggle deeper into the reporter’s chest while he dreamed was starting to really irritate the older man. He bit hard into his cigar and tried to focus on what was going on around him instead, unaware of the amused blue eyes that had been watching his every move.

There were a few people left still lingering around, but Tashigi had done a great job of organizing things so the interviews had gone smoothly without him having to do much talking. He hated talking. A waste of time, he thought. Maybe that was why a part of him was drawn to that snoring moron in his car. He might talk, but what he said was straight forward and to the point. He didn’t beat around the bush talking about nonsense like that woman his mother was trying to set him up with. It also helped that he had a firm, defined, mouthwatering, seductive…. Fuck! Smoker turned away from the others and began thinking about Uncle Yuu in his Speedo last year at the beach.

With his problem now gone, he decided to head back to his car and get rid of the cause. Opening the back door, he found it empty. He looked around to see the reporter speaking with one of the other officers, but his freckled vixen was nowhere to be seen. A hard hot body leaned up against Smoker’s back and wandering hands slid up his thighs to cup his crotch with the perfect amount of pleasure. The erection that he had just killed came back with double the force. Growling to cover his moan of pleasure, he spun around and grabbed Ace by the front of his own shirt and lifted him off the ground so they were eye to eye.

“Must I remind you, Portgas? I belong to no one, especially not to you.” Smoker kept his head tilted to the side just enough to keep his lit cigar from burning the freckles off of Ace’s face.

“That’s ok,” Ace stuck his tongue out and licked the tip of the detective’s nose. “I don’t mind being the bitch.”

“More like a bitch in heat. Why don’t you get the hell out of my sight? Take your plaything home with you.” Smoker dropped him abruptly and walked away, signaling to his partner that they were done.

“Hey, Wolverine.” Ace called out. “Go check up on your cousin. He wasn’t feeling well when I talked to him earlier.”

The detective froze in his tracks, wondering just what the hidden meaning was to that statement. Also, he kept in mind that he still owed his little cousin a swift kick in the ass for revealing his first name.

DK*DK*DK*DK

Sanji allowed Ace to come back to his apartment with him for a little while before finally kicking the meddling man out to the hall. He was tired of being asked questions about the rescue, what the guy looked like and if they had screwed or not. It was eating him up to no end not talking about it, but he wasn’t ready to share, especially when he had no real details to give. He could tell you what his skin tasted like, how big his cock was, whether he was right or left handed and yet he still had no clue as to even what color hair he had. Was it black, like Ace’s, or maybe he was blonde. The reporter was dying to know. Did he have tan skin, or was he even American? Somehow he would find out.

After kicking Ace out, he went to his bathroom to finally finish removing his clothes. The ruined suit and silk shirt lay there in a pile as he looked on with regret. Sanji turned on the shower and quickly stepped in, letting the heat work out some of the tension in his shoulders and neck. What he wouldn’t give to have the Knight’s strong hands work the muscles loose. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he rinsed off and grabbed his fluffy white bath robe. Normally he would dry his hair completely before going to bed, but tonight he couldn’t begin to pretend he had the energy.

He would have to call Zeff in the morning and let him know what had happened. The man would probably ride him about it for a while, but it was the only way the old geezer knew to show he cared for his little string bean. It had taken years of training and hard work for Sanji to rise to the title of Sous-Chef in the restaurant. His age had never been a true factor, though his attending school did cut back on his time to practice and polish his cooking skills. Climbing in between the cool silk sheets, he wondered what kinds of food his Knight liked.

DK*DK*DK*DK
"and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks chop chop and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks chop chop"

The annoying sound wouldn’t stop. He pulled his pillow over his head and buried into the covers as much as would allow and it still droned on. After about five minutes of prayers to a god he didn’t believe in, Zoro decided to take matters into his own hands. Now, it wasn’t as if Zoro was a grumpy person every morning, but he had a routine that he liked to follow and when it was interrupted, he tended to get a little out of sorts. Kinda like now. He grabbed a pair of pants off the edge of his dresser and slid them on as he stumbled out the door, starting in on his rant as he made his way down the hall.

“Damare!” [Silence!] Zoro stood at the edge of the living room in a pair of low slung cotton pajama pants, and nothing else, staring at a room full of 8-12 year old boys and girls gathered around the upright piano. In the back of the room were several gawking mothers and a snickering little man. Refusing to back down, Zoro glared at his grandfather and growled. “Jiji ni mo, kore wa saiaku da ze.” [This is low even for you, old man.]

Zoro turned to walk back to his room, listening to his grandfather’s amused apology for his grumpy grandson. He tried to pick up the pace when he heard the patter of small feet behind him, but before he even reached the door, he was bombarded with questions from his Horsemen.

“Zoro-sensei, are you ok.” Mark put his hand on the large forearm, causing the sensei to pause.

“You don’t look so good this morning. What happened to your neck?” Brian squinted as he looked up at Zoro.

“Did your girlfriend dump you? My sister got dumped and she cried for days.” Chad rolled his eyes.

“How did you get hurt? Did her new boyfriend do this? We’ll kick his ass for you if you want.” Sam pounded his fist in his hand for emphasis.

Zoro turned sharply and gave them a ‘what the fuck’ look before shaking his head and continuing on to his room. He didn’t even bother shutting his door because they would just bang on it and pester him anyway. He checked to make sure that there wasn’t any evidence of the bloody clothing in his room before lying down on his bed. He began to wonder how Sanji was doing after being left in that state.

“Sensei, are you sure you’re ok?” Mark gave him a worried look that was mirrored by the others.

“Aa, I’m fine. I just had an accident last night with a piece of metal. The doc stitched me up and said I’ll live.” Zoro managed a grin to try and set their minds at ease. When it didn’t work, he decided a different approach was necessary. Distraction. “What are all those people doing out there in my living room?”

“Oh Master Yuu had everyone meet here since the class rooms are full on Friday afternoons. They are the new students that just enrolled.” Brian began playing around with the stereo, looking for something decent to listen to.

“You should have seen the look on some of their faces, Sensei. I thought one girl was going to cry! It was so funny.” Sam sat on the floor with a manga, trying to understand why it was printed backwards.

“Do we really have to train with girls?” Chad whined.

Zoro thought back to the days when he felt the same way, and the one girl that showed him just how wrong he was to think like that. “They have the same right to learn as you do. Be careful, or one day those girls might kick your ass.”

They all laughed and chatted amongst themselves as Zoro drifted in and out of sleep. The ache in his side was more of an annoyance than a hindrance, but either way he knew it was there. A few minutes later Yuu poked his head through the doorway.

“Kaji!” Yuu laughed when Zoro jumped out of the bed in a panic and looked ready to bolt. “Well, now that you’re awake, get dressed. Some of the parents would like to meet the man that will be teaching their children.”

Zoro threw a magazine at him as he practically skipped back down the hallway. Grabbing clean clothes, he took refuge in the bathroom so he could clean up before getting dressed. A quick 5 minute shower later, he was affixing a dry bandage to his wound and trying to dry his hair at the same time. Giving up on his hair, he finished with his side and slipped into his keikogi. He quickly washed all the smudges off his glasses and placed them back on his face. Mustering up the courage to face the women fully dressed now, he opened the door to fate.

“Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?” Ace screamed at him. The raven-haird man stood there in his own practice clothes and looking like he was about to explode at any moment. “I had to bite my lip all night as I stayed with Sanji, worrying about the amount of blood on his shirt and suit! By the way, that was Italian silk and he’s really pissed about it.”

“Oh fuck…”Zoro felt horrible about making his friend worry, but even worse at ruining the blonde’s clothes. He really liked the way they looked on him too, the color being the perfect complement to his skin tone and hair. He wondered just how much his blonde had told the raven about what happened. “He’s OK though, right?”

Ace calmed down a little at Zoro’s amused voice and settled for frowning. He was about to speak when Yuu interrupted them.

“Come on you two, we don’t want to keep the ladies waiting.” The old man chuckled as he darted back around the corner.

“So are you ok?” Ace brought his hand up to cup Zoro’s stubbly jaw and caressed his cheek affectionately with his thumb. “There was so much blood.”

“Ya, I’m fine. Just stay away from my right side for a while.” Zoro gave him a little smile and leaned in for a quick hug.

Ace squeezed him gently, concern was still clearly evident on his freckled face, but left it at that for the moment. Ace knew that his green-haired friend would come clean with what happened sooner or later and the sooner the better, as Sanji had been little help in telling the whole story. Ace sighed in frustration. It had been a very long night of statements, consoling, listening, and doing his best to get another feel of the perfect assets on the most luscious detective he had ever seen. Not to mention, he had a hell of a time keeping a straight face when the blonde kept ranting about not seeing his hero’s face again.

Walking out, they were flanked by the Horsemen who were now in their own uniforms as well. It looked quite professional as they came to the low table placed on the side of the room and knelt behind it, bowing in greeting to the parents that had gathered. Zoro kept his face blank as he noticed some of the women fanning themselves and blushing like mad. Ace couldn’t help but wonder what the guy had done, the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth showing his amusement at the situation.

“Good parents, may I introduce our two youth instructors. Ace Portgas, who teaches Judo for all levels and tae kwon do for younger beginner students. And my own grandson, Roronoa Zoro, who at the moment is only teaching introductory kendo since he is a full time student at the college right now. I am hoping that he will be able to take over more classes as he gets use to things around here.” Pride was evident in the old man’s speech and stance. Zoro bowed to his grandfather, honored to have been spoken of so highly. “Ace has only been with us for a few months but he shows great promise. Zoro has been studying for most of his life and has far exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately he was injured last night while doing some work out in the garden. His doctor has informed him that he cannot train until the stitches are removed. For this reason, I have asked his longest students to come in and do a demonstration for you in his place. This will show you what the children will learn as well as how effective my grandson is at teaching.”

Zoro and Ace sat there frozen as they heard Yuu’s excuse for the wounded instructor. Zoro paled a shade or two as he realized that that was the exact excuse he had told Chopper he had planned on using. How his grandfather found out, he didn’t know, and frankly, he was pretty damn scared to learn. A slight nudge from Ace brought him back to the present and he rose to take his place in front of his students.

With short, crisp commands in a combination of English and Japanese, Zoro lead them through a few of the basic steps. He then paired them off and allowed them to show the moves in action against each other. The murmurs of approval made the green-haired man’s chest fill with pride for his favored ones. When they were done, a loud round of applause broke out from the new students and parents alike. The Horsemen were greeted by the children and bombarded with questions ranging from: Is your sensei as mean as he looks? To: Why is his hair green? A few asked about Ace as well and the grinning man was pleased to hear they had at least a few positive things to say about him.

When everyone had left, Yuu turned on the two young adults with a very deep frown. “I think it’s high time we had a talk.”

At that moment, Lieutenant Smoker stepped out from the kitchen with a cup of coffee and walked up behind his uncle with a scowl that would make the devil himself cringe. The boys looked at each other and gave a collective response. “Oh, shit!”

Zoro began sweating profusely, his dreams for the future shattering in an instant as the one man he never wanted to disappoint looked up at him in shame. Zoro dropped to his knees and touched his head to the floor, refusing to speak for fear that his voice might not be as strong as he wished. His grandfather was a kind and honorable man, and he had gone out of his way to take care of Zoro when they lived together, both as a child and now. He had already pushed his limits with destroying the dojo, and now he had broken the only rule that the old man had set for him. Ashamed that he had dishonored his grandfather’s teachings, Zoro was prepared to be dismissed from the dojo and any further learning.

“I can’t believe you young man. First the carnage and now this. I promised your father that I would look after you and keep you from doing any more fights outside the tournament ring. I know that college is hard, but seriously, do you have to go out and find mischief just to keep from getting bored?” Yuu crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “This will not go unpunished. I will not have you think I condone your actions.”

“Aa, Ojisan.” All Zoro could do now was hope that he was not being turned over to his uncle for his crimes.

“Since you are injured, I cannot discipline you the way I had intended. After careful consideration, I’ve decided that you need something that will keep you occupied outside of school and hopefully entertain you as well. If you are busy, then just maybe you will stay out of trouble. Therefore you will go on a series of dates with women of my choosing. Ace will also accompany you in this punishment, since he has seen fit to conspire with you on this as well.”

Ace began spitting and sputtering as he looked back and forth between the two older men in the room. Yuu’s gaze was full of disappointment that made Ace want to hand his head in shame and begin begging for forgiveness. Smoker on the other hand, was just downright pissed.

“But I just learned about it last week! Before the thing with Sanji. I’m serious! Baby, you gotta believe me, I didn’t know.” Ace flew to Smoker and threw himself at the glaring man, wrapping his arms around the thick neck. “Please, don’t make me do this! I hate women!”

Ace believed the tick that had begun in Smoker’s eye was thought to be one of sheer anger, while in fact it was caused from the force of Smoker holding back the uncharacteristic howls of laughter that were fighting to come forth. With every appearance of calm, he removed the long tan arms from his neck and shoved Ace away with more force than was necessary causing the raven to fall down next to his friend. Ace sat there with tearful puppy eyes, his bottom lip quivering for added effect. Smoker looked down at the still bowing figure of his cousin and wondered if he was alive or not.

“Zoro? What do you have to say for yourself?” Yuu was also beginning to worry. Knowing that his grandson hated to be told what to do, he really expected him to argue his case.

“There is no other way?” His voice was a bit strained as he sat back on his heels, still refusing to look up at the old man.

“No. Your father said that you were always out at clubs with your friends and had dozens of women hanging all over you. Maybe it’s time you find a nice girl here, that way you will engage in activities better suited to a man of your age.” Yuu put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and patted it affectionately. “Go out there… have sex… lots of it, and enjoy life. Don’t make the same mistakes your father did.” .

“If I don’t?” Zoro grumbled.

“You’ll be going with me on my dates. This way I can keep an eye on you.” Yuu didn’t even try to hold back his laughter at the look of horror on Zoro’s face.

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope! And you’ll keep dating until you either find a girl you like and stick with her or get some of that tension out of your system.” Yuu’s eyes gleamed with pure unbridled joy.

“That’s fine and good for him, but what about me! Why do I have to date?” Ace was starting to get angry now. All the work he had done to try and get to know the detective and now he was being forced to entertain women. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had sex with a woman, it was just that he rather liked sucking cock, and that was something that could only be done with another man. “Do I get an alternative?”

“If you can make it through the dates just as Zoro is doing, I’ll let you drive the car with the siren on. Will that suffice?” Inside, Smoker was kicking himself for even speaking. He had begun to feel guilty when Ace stumbled to the floor and gave him such a pitiful look. The boy really didn’t deserve this, but maybe he would stop bothering him at work now. The only thing left was to get him to stop finding his way into the officer’s dreams. Last night was torture. Kinda like now…

Ace launched himself from the floor onto the unsuspecting man, wrapping his arms, and legs, tight around the tall man. Smoker stumbled a moment before regaining balance and growled at the touchy feely man. He tried to pull the freckled menace off of him but the arms and legs just locked tight as Ace sighed in content at feeling the hard muscles moving beneath him. His growing erection presses into the detective’s stomach and Smoker found himself responding in kind. Unable to take any more, Smoker yelled.

“But if you don’t remove yourself from me this instant the deal is off. You are no longer allowed to touch me until this is over!” Not realizing the innuendo his words carried to his admirer, Smoker sighed in relief when he was released.

Ace walked towards the front door with confident strides. “I’m gonna go make a few phone calls. I have a date to plan for tonight. See you tomorrow, Zoro!”

“Well, that settles it. I know the perfect young lady you can take out tonight as well, Zoro-kun. She lives right next to the beautiful Kureha. You remember how to get there? If not just plug it into the GP-thingy that you use. Yes, I know about that… I’ll call and see if she’s available tonight. She lives with her father… I think her name is Connie or something like that.” Yuu’s voice trailed off as he walked down the hall to the office to look for his address book.

Zoro looked to his cousin to take his anger out on, but was met only with the closing of the front door as the grumpy man exited the house. Wondering just what might be in store for him; Zoro decided to resign to his fate of dating women and prayed that Johnny and Yosaku would never find out. He’d never live it down again. This was going to be pure hell, but he would suffer it with dignity or at least try.

Cussing the blonde under his breath, Zoro decided to play along with this little farce until he could figure a way to make Jiji think he was ‘cured’. Didn’t the old man see the hickey on his neck from last night? He was sure that most of the women had seen it, but without a way to tell Jiji who it was, he was stuck in this nightmare. He needed to find a loophole and quick. Who knows? Maybe he would take the news of him being gay better than he thought. It was all in the approach but until he figured it out, he had a date to get ready for.

DK*DK*DK*DK

Rough hands pulled him closer as their tongues played amidst open kisses. He ran his hands up to feel the strong muscles twitch beneath his fingers. Slowly his eyes opened to look upon a shadowed face, bright light from behind making the silhouette vaguely familiar. The man pushed him down to the bed and their naked bodies fit together perfectly as they lay there kissing softly, searching out every inch of skin they could run their hands over. Sanji reaches between them to grab the rigid cock but was stopped by a strong hand and a low chuckle. The man atop him leaned back and the blonde opened his eyes. The light shifted and his lover’s features began to reveal themselves as the deep voice taunted him.

“Stupid, shitty-cook.”

Sanji sat there sweating, highly aroused, and confused as all get out. He got up on shaky legs and headed for the shower, blasting himself with frigid cold water to try and bring him back to his senses because he did NOT just dream about that damn moss-headed prick instead of his Dark Knight. Shivering and disgruntled, he stepped out and dried off, wrapping in his plush bath robe to try and regain a little warmth. The blonde walked in to his kitchen to start some lunch, it was much too late to call it anything else, and maybe a pot of coffee. There on his dining room table sat his open laptop, reminding him that there was another pressing matter for him to attend to.

The article from the incident on Monday with the Bon Kurei was finished, only needing to be turned in now. He had talked to Brooke about it earlier in the week and the excited editor was waiting to receive it today so it could be sent to press. Maybe the normal printing of the paper would be switched to Monday instead of Tuesday from now on. It would surely be worth it if the Dark Knight continued with his heroics, although if they ended like the one last night, he would have to edit out quite a bit of detail.

Oh shit! The incident last night!

Sanji pressed the start button on coffee pot and hurried to the table. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the computer to start up and fumbled over keys with excited fingers trying to log on. He opened up the program and began typing everything he could remember, even giving the address of the incident and the name of the detective in charge. As he was typing it occurred to him that the detective himself hadn’t asked him any questions, but his little partner sure did. It was almost as if he already knew the answers he needed.

Finally (after several cups of coffee, a few snacks and a quick break to finally get dressed) Sanji was finished. He looked over both articles and wondered if he made the right choice in leaving his name out of the content on them this time. As much as it excited him to have been rescued twice now, he thought that his readers might just think that he was trying to attract the attention and start accusing him of setting things up to accelerate the ratings of the paper and his popularity. No, he made the right decision in making himself seem anonymous like the others.

He closed his eyes and tried to picture the Knight, yet all that came was the blinding white light of passion. Sanji knew that the man was roughly his same height, judging from the brief periods they had stood against each other, and also very muscular. The Knight had rough, chapped lips that softened with the moisture of their heated kisses. The only other detail he could remember was the warmth of the blood covering his side. He would have an injury on his right, so that was something to keep in mind when observing possible candidates.

He was curious to know if that mark had been left anywhere this time. Both Igaram and Vivi had said it was carved into the assailants clothes. He remembered it on the final guy’s shoulder that night they first kissed. Did the Knight do that with the men that attacked him, too? So many questions, and yet no one to answer them. He briefly thought about calling up all the victims to see if they could get together again and discuss things in a full group. He had hoped that he could get some help from his last article, but not a single lead had panned out from the thousands of e-mails the paper had received.

The only ones that were even close to being informative were the three that told him to stop looking, the last one coming in just this morning. It was strange and a little moronic, yet held bits of information that had never been released to the public. Just how many people did the Dark Knight have working for him? Hopefully he had a good physician on staff. Sanji had gone back into the warehouse to look for any trails of blood, worried about the amount on his clothing. Finding none, it confused and yet relieved him. If there was no trace of blood, then there would be nothing for the cops to use to find out about him for sure. Sanji truly liked being saved by a mysterious man and if the cops could pull up a DNA profile on him, they just might be able to identify who he was. If that happened, Sanji would never get the chance to sleep with him again.

Lost in thought, he caught sight of a shimmer of gold. Focusing, he sat there staring at the bundle of silk that had once been a beautiful shirt. Sighing, he got up and decided to see if he could do anything with it. The blood had dried, so the probability of getting it out was close to nil. Even if he had done it the moment it happened, there was still little chance, and he had an idea that the Armani suit would be suffering the same fate. Saddened at the loss, the blonde walked over to the sink. In route, his phone rang from the bedroom.