The Dark Knight of GLU

Chapter 3
In the News


Zoro made his way into the classroom and took a seat as far from the doors as he could get. It was still a little early, but he’d rather have the time to watch everyone else come in than have to pass the other students to get to a seat. First days were always awkward and unnecessarily boring. Zoro rather enjoyed learning, but the business field was a new aspect for him. He would have to pay attention in order to grasp the concepts, with any luck learning them quickly so to not have to ask for help. He had bought the books at a second hand store and never even bothered to open them. Hopefully, that had not been a mistake.

As the other students entered, Zoro sank further into his seat and tried to ignore the bubbly talk of fashion crazed girls as they whispered about his appearance. Personally he was content with the way he looked. Oversized khaki cargo pants and a large black t-shirt hid his muscular frame nicely and his combat boots were worn in to the perfect degree, feeling like second skin almost. Zoro hated being without his hooded jacket, but the warm weather made it difficult to justify wearing it. It might be comfortable now, but Zoro loathed being cold and dreaded the coming winter.

He pulled his laptop out of the brown messenger bag and logged in to the college’s WiFi, intent on looking up the class’ syllabus and professor’s bio. Seeing that this was getting the desired reaction of being left alone, Zoro let his eyes wander over everyone. The usual assortment of men, women and young adults were present. When the instructor entered, introductions were given and the first day of College in the US officially began.

By the time Zoro got to his last class he was ready to kill someone. The girls here were way more forward and nosey than he remembered and it took all he had to not blow up at them. They seemed to think he was supposed to be the sweet geeky nerd that would fall over himself to help out a pretty girl, so they immediately tried to make friends with him. His tight lipped replies only made him seem shy and embarrassed. He fell into the first available seat and immediately put his earphones up loud to drown out all outside noise. The music of Saliva lulled him into a calm state as he waited for the class to begin.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore all the people entering after him and became annoyed when a clumsy woman fell in his lap. His eyes shot open and he glared at her through his thick rimmed glasses. The girl’s eyes widened at the feel of his solid chest under his oversized clothes. He calmly assisted her up while remaining in his seat and turned his attention back to the front. There, speaking to a group of students was the object of his dreams, dressed in an impeccable black suit and tie. He had a smile on his face and it looked like the bruising from his encounter in the alley had disappeared for the most part.

“Sanji,” he whispered, entranced with the way the pink lips moved as the blonde spoke.

The professor chose that moment to enter and everyone took their seats. Sanji sat several rows in front of Zoro and it caused the sex deprived male to lose his train of thought on several occasions. He did his best to write down the necessary information, but Zoro knew he had missed a lot of points that might cost him in the future if he continued zoning out. Then again, this would be the perfect chance for him to speak with the blonde, using the excuse of missing some of the notes. Thoughts of the two of them curled up on a blanket, the books left open and abandoned around them, put a goofy smile on the green-haired man’s face. Microeconomics was becoming Zoro’s favorite class.

Class was dismissed and Zoro hesitated in leaving, his mind still fixed on the daydream. When he noticed Sanji flirting with the cute redhead who had fallen in his lap, he was brutally reminded that the gorgeous man was into the opposite sex and he was out of luck. Dejected, Zoro gathered his things and slipped away unnoticed, like always. Shaking it off, he headed for the car intent on training to take his mind off things.

Zoro started his second day in a bit more solemn mood, though it was a short day and he would be seeing his favorite students that night. During the two hour break between classes he found his way to the Student Union. He needed a place to plug in his laptop and save the battery. There must have been something interesting in the college gossip paper because there was a heavy rush on the newsstand today. Much to Zoro’s surprise, a message shot up on the screen the second he was logged in to the internet.


tw33dl3_d33 says: ANIKI!!! COME BACK!!!
tw33dl3_d0M says: ANIKI!!! WE MISS YOU!!

Zoro chuckled as he saw the pleas from his best friends. He sighed and decided that he couldn’t avoid it so he answered back.

santôryû says: busy. have school now. call l8tr

He felt bad, but what else could he do at the moment. If they kept messaging there was no telling what they might say, and as nosy as people were here they’d be sure to be someone reading over his shoulder. He could just type in Japanese, but that would cause more questions and problems than he cared to explain.

tw33dl3_d33 says: yosaku is an ass. he says i’m not as good at fucking as you

Zoro about fell out of his chair trying to close the conversation before anyone could see. ‘Fuckers’ he thought, but couldn’t help chuckling. He missed them, as troublesome as it was to admit. Quickly, he typed, praying that no one was looking.

santôryû says: Of course! *smug grin* now let me get back to studying. ttyl
tw33dl3_d0M says: Hai, aniki. Ja ne!
tw33dl3_d33 says: Call again soon!
santôryû says: ja

In a much better mood, Zoro finished his study time and headed to his last class. This was a pace he could handle, only a few classes each day. He looked forward to the semester, and seeing such a gorgeous man three times a week. A few times, Zoro had caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the crowd as he wandered the campus, but never was able to confirm who it was. Stretching after class he came face to face with the young redhead who had fallen in his lap the day before.

“Hi there, cutie. You must be new here. Do you need a guide?” She did her best to stay focused on the confused face, but her eyes kept wandering to his chest, as if trying to see through his shirt at what was underneath. “I’d be happy to show you.”

“No, I’m fine.” Zoro mumbled and gathered his things.

“Are you sure? I could show you things you never knew existed here on campus… or even off.” Her seductive tone had a certain appeal but it was in the wrong body.

“I’m sure. I have a class to get to.” Zoro stepped around her and held back a groan as she latched onto his arm.

“Oh, I’ll walk you there. You mustn’t get lost on the way.” She giggled as the poor guy tried to pry her off of his arm.

“My class is elsewhere than on campus. Is there something you need from me?” Zoro forcefully pulled her hands off of his arm and scowled at her.

“There you are, Love, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” A familiar voice called out and Zoro had the strongest impulse to kiss the man right there. “Hey, that crazy old man said he needs you to pick up some stuff from the market before coming to class tonight. I promised we would get it done and be on time, so let’s go.”

Zoro grinned at the shocked girl as his friend grabbed his hand and led him out the door. The poor girl had her mouth hanging open at the sight of Ace’s naked upper body. She snapped it shut when she realized the two were leaving hand in hand and the freckled man in the strange hat had called her classmate ‘love’ when he entered the room. Caught between disappointment and jealousy, she followed them out and watched as Ace put his arm around Zoro’s shoulders, laughing as they walked towards the parking lot.

“You have no idea how much I appreciate that, Ace. Thanks.” Zoro told his friend as soon as they had gotten far enough away from earshot. “I thought she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Ya, I could see. What’d you do? Let your shirt ride up and show her those glorious abs of yours?” Ace laughed and tried to slide his hand under Zoro’s shirt. “Just take it off man, and let the sun caress your godlike oaff…”

Zoro cuffed Ace in the back of the head and stomped off, muttering about moronic narcoleptic bastards, or something like that. Ace picked up his hat from the ground and placed it on his head, chuckling at the blush that had started on Zoro’s cheeks. He waited a moment for the green-haired man to realize he was going the wrong way, curious when Zoro still didn’t turn around at the corner of the parking lot.

“Hey! Zoro!” Ace pointed behind him when Zoro looked back, hoping he could get him to understand without shouting it all over campus.

Geographically challenged was the term Yuu had used. Basically, his grandson couldn’t find his way out of a room with one door unless the door was right in front of him. Ace ribbed him all night about it, calling him everything from Mr Magoo to Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Unfortunately, the students thought it was funny and asked if Ace was McBarker or Gilbert Ponton. Both classes suffered horribly for their insolence.

As the week progressed, Zoro noticed the increased buzz going on about some local hero. Not wanting to be pulled into the rumor mill, he ignored them and went on his way. Zoro had discovered where Sanji gathered between classes and made it a point to be in the area as much as possible. He was drawn to the blonde like a moth to a candle, unable to resist the heat of the flame. Zoro was disappointed when he found out that Sanji worked at such a high class establishment, but was intrigued when he learned just how skilled the cook was at his job. It just meant that Zoro would have to get the man to cook for him at home sometime. It wasn’t until Zoro found himself outside Sanji’s apartment building one night that he realized how creepy his actions had grown to be. He avoided the blonde for several days, refusing to even look at him in class.

It had been almost two weeks since college began and Zoro had developed a good routine between studies and training. His Horsemen came to him with study questions and still helped out as much as possible with chores around the dojo and even the house. Yuu told his grandson that the boys had earned scholarships for the summer, but now they would have to be paying to stay in class. Zoro convinced the old man to let them stay in return for menial labor on the weekends. Excited as always to spend time with their sensei, the four boys readily agreed.

It was Friday night and Zoro had stayed at the college late to do some research in the library, and escape Yuu’s ever present good mood. The old man was too happy for his own good in Zoro’s opinion. As he gathered up his things, Zoro noticed a couple guys harassing a woman by the exit. She gave one of them a sharp knee to the groin and stomped away, threatening to call the cops the next time one of them touched her. Zoro smiled, thankful that he didn’t need to get involved. His vigilante days were over with saving the blonde.

As he sat in the driver’s seat he heard the scream. Torn between getting in over his head and the need to protect innocent people, Zoro gripped the steering wheel in frustration. The second scream pulled him into action. Cussing and violently slamming doors open and shut, Zoro grabbed his hoodie and sword, yanking the sweatshirt over his head and knocking off his glasses. He picked up the ugly frames, tossed them through the open window and took off running, trying to pull the black material down over his face as much as possible.

There behind the science building, hidden from direct view by tall bushes, was the woman from the library and the two jerks who had been giving her a hard time. They had her pinned on the ground and were working on getting her jeans off her hips. A closer look at them showed the larger man to be one of the thugs that had attacked Sanji in the alley. With renewed anger, Zoro gave a battle cry and charged.

This time there was no rain to impair the vision of the men being attacked. The larger one looked up and his eyes widened in fear as he recognized the sword and shrouded figure. Zoro remembered this guy was the one that had been hit across the chest so he immediately aimed for the same spot again. This time there was a sickening crack when the blunt side of the blade hit. Satisfied, Zoro turned to the remaining man gave him a feral grin as he closed the distance slowly. The trembling assailant released his hold on the woman and backed away. When his back hit the brick wall, he began to panic.

“W-w-who are you?” he stammered.

“Your worst nightmare.” Zoro growled out, and then brought his fist into the man’s face, knocking him out. Turning back to the familiar man kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath, Zoro brought the tip of his sword to the man’s throat. Shaking his head, he etched the same kanji into the shoulder of the guy’s shirt as he had the jacket of the other thug weeks ago. The man on the ground looked between the sword point and Zoro’s shadowed face and passed out. Zoro turned his head slightly to look at the shaken woman and could see the tears streaming down her face. He kept his voice as rough and as unlike his own as possible when he spoke. “Call 911 and have an officer sent out immediately. Tell them nothing of me.”

Zoro took off running in the opposite direction of the car and disappeared around the corner. The woman got up and ran after him, trying to see which way he went. Reaching the edge of the building she looked around the corner and was met with nothing. Her savior was gone, vanished into thin air.

Zoro watched her from his hiding place and waited until she pulled out her phone and made the call before he left. Keeping an eye out for any straggling students, he made his way back to the car and hauled ass out of there. He pulled up to the dojo and sat for almost an hour before getting out. Angry with himself for almost getting caught again, he headed to the basement for the weights, intent on punishing himself the only way he knew how.

“Kuso baka yaro! Aho!” [Shity, stupid bastard! Idiot!] Zoro screamed at himself as he continued to pump the ungodly amount of weight on the bar. “Moshi, Jiji ga midasuze, ore o korosuzo…” [If, Grandad finds out, he’ll kill me...]

It was after midnight when Zoro finally left the training facility and went home. Yuu greeted him Saturday morning with a huge stack of blueberry pancakes and sausage links. Not sure of why his grandfather had chose to be so kind, Zoro was a bit leery of eating. Yuu joined him and piled his plate from the same stack of food, so whatever it was that had caused so much glee in the old man, he wasn’t out to poison his grandson at the very least. Zoro spent the rest of the weekend working with the boys on building the traditional Japanese garden Yuu had asked for. It was a project that would take them several months at this rate, but one that they genuinely enjoyed doing.

DK*DK*DK*DK

Sanji was disappointed when the article failed to generate any leads on the mysterious identity of his new hero. He had been hoping to get front page, but for something like this, page 2 was just fine. The whole school was hyped about the idea, but no one had come forward or anything. The journalist even went back to the alley to look for clues yet found nothing. No one at the club around the corner had seen anything either, saying that Sanji was the only one to leave at that time. So far classes were going well, and there was this odd looking guy in his Microeconomics class that had caught his eye. It must have been his outcast look that first drew Sanji’s attention. Then it was the alienated look in the guy’s eyes that did him in. Sanji knew that look all too well, seeing it in the mirror each morning before it was hidden behind a mask of suave chivalry.

Now the question was, what should the blonde do about it? Should he befriend the man and try to show him that life has more to offer than just books and computers, or should he let matters be and walk away? Well, Sanji Black never backs down from any challenge, so the answer was obvious. Next week Sanji would search out this green-haired recluse and make a true man out of him. Right now, it was 0800 on Saturday morning and he wanted to stay in bed just a little longer. Unfortunately that would not be happening as Fur Elise rang on Sanji’s phone showing an unknown number on the caller ID. Curious he opened the phone and answered.

“Hello, Sanji here.” He did his best to keep the sleep out of his voice.

“Um, yes, is this Sanji Black, the reporter for the Grand Line Grit?” A soft feminine voice asked.

Further intrigued, Sanji sat up and forced himself completely awake. “Yes, what can I do for you?”

“I, um, well… You’re the one who was saved by that guy with a sword, weren’t you?”

“I am, is this about the article? I’d be happy to discuss it with you. I’m afraid it will have to wait until later though. I have to work today.” A happy smile appeared on the blonde’s face as he tried to imagine the petite body that would accompany the soft voice on the other end.

“Oh, I just wanted to know what the mark was that he left before he vanished.” The woman sighed, wondering if she had made the right decision in calling the reporter.

“Wait… What did you say?” Sanji felt his heart skip a beat as he remembered the odd lines at the end of the note left on his table. “I never mentioned anything about a mark in my article, how did you know?”

“Um, I… Oh no, he told me not to tell anyone about him. Well actually he told me not to tell the police, but I guess it would be ok to tell you since you’ve already seen him.” He words came out rushed and almost falling on top of each other.

“You saw him! Oh please tell me you saw his face! I have to know!” Sanji was almost jumping with joy at the new information. After three weeks of dreaming about a silhouette he might finally be able to put a face to his dream guy. “Look, come to the restaurant today and we’ll talk there. I’ll buy you lunch, make whatever you want, take you dancing, please just come tell me everything.”

A little shocked at Sanji’s eagerness to meeting with her she agreed and planned to see him at 1200 at the Baratie. Truthfully she was relieved that he had wanted to meet with her. Since the police had rushed out to the scene, she had been dying to talk to someone about what had happened. When they asked her who had beaten the men up, she said she had been covering her face in fear and didn’t see or hear a thing. The large detective seemed to see right through her lie, but didn’t question her further on the point. He only handed her his card and told her if she remembered anything important to give him a call. Now she would be able to tell everything that happened to someone who had been through the same thing and share their experiences.

Sanji stayed on cloud nine all morning after speaking with the young lady, whose name was Vivi. She told him of the strange lines he cut into the guy’s shirt, and Sanji told her of the ferocity of the encounter in the alley, leaving out the details about being brought home and stripped. It took a lot of pleading, convincing and a promised date for Sanji to gain her permission to write another edition. He assured her that her name would not be seen anywhere on the article and that if he found out anything else to the man’s identity, he’d let her know. He had no real intension of keeping the last part of his promise, but she didn’t need to know that.

Sanji called up Brooke and told him of the news and the Editor immediately set to work on getting the paper to print a day early, making the weekly edition come out Monday morning instead of Tuesday this week. Sanji worked during his breaks to finish his rough draft of the article and stayed up most of the night to finish it on his computer, excited that he had been promised the front headline. Knowing that Brooke was waiting, he e-mailed it this time and crashed in bed, completely exhausted but pleased.

Monday morning couldn’t come soon enough for the excited blonde. He rushed into Brooke’s office demanding to see the print. Beaming with pride Sanji strutted out of the room and kissed the first person he saw, an unsuspecting freshman guy with an armful of books. The flustered teen had no idea what he was supposed to do and just stood there waiting for the reporter to realize he wasn’t a girl. Sanji of course only kissed him again and took off down the hall, calling out ‘Good Morning’ to everyone he passed. Several of the upperclassmen patted the poor guy on the back and congratulated him on gaining the attention of one of the most sought after bachelors on campus.

DK*DK*DK*DK

Zoro drug his feet to his first class, his iPod blaring in his ears and drowning out the cheerful greetings of a certain blonde. He practically fell into his seat and placed his head down on the flat cool surface of his desk. The garden that had started off as a small scale project had turned into over half of the back yard. His back ached from swinging the sledge hammer trying to break the sheet of rock hidden just under the surface. All he wanted was a cup of coffee this morning but for some reason he couldn’t get the damn thing to work. The smell of a delicious brew hit his nose and he groaned out loud, lifting his head just enough to see who he needed to kill for taunting him. Right before his nose sat a Styrofoam cup, steam escaping from the small holes in the lid. Confused, he sat up completely and looked around, the earphone falling out as he pulled on the cord.

“Your boyfriend brought it for you. I guess he knew you needed to wake up.” The redhead giggled and pointed to Ace’s retreating back. At least this time he was fully clothed.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Zoro said as he brought the cup to his lips and tasted the sweet nectar of his morning pick-me-up.

“Oh? I just thought… You know…. I mean he called you Love and all, so I just assumed,” she started.

“Yah, well that’s the problem with assuming. You make and ass of you AND me. Next time stick your nose in someone else’s business and leave me the hell alone.” Zoro took another sip and closed his eyes, wishing that she would just disappear.

Unfortunately when he opened his eyes a moment later she was still there, and her look had completely changed. Gone was the sweet innocent flirty girl and before him stood a pissed off witch. Her face was completely red, her eyes narrowed and her hands placed firmly on each hip. Zoro had never feared a woman before, but there was something highly unstable about this one. A few hushed whispers from behind told him that this was a familiar occurrence and he was done for. Just then, the doors flung open and a scrawny little kid that didn’t look old enough to be in college came barging in with a newspaper in his hands.

“Guess what! He showed up again! This time on campus!” The boy shouted. “The Dark Knight is real!”

The redhead lost her interest in Zoro and pushed her way over to the boy to snatch the paper up for herself.

“Hey, Nami, get your own!” He shouted.

“Give it up, Chopper. I’ll give it back, I just want to read what it says.” Nami frowned as she read the front page news. “It says he hides his face to keep his identity secret. This can’t be real. Who in the world uses a sword anyway?”

Zoro choked on his coffee and ended up spilling half of it down his shirt. For once the baggy clothes came in handy and kept the boiling hot liquid off his skin. No one paid him any attention as they had all gathered around Nami to read over her shoulder.

“I wonder if he’ll keep showing up? This is the second time he’s been reported, but I wonder if there’s been other times he’s helped out.”

“This is so cool! He’s like a superhero or something!”

“Yah, they call him the Dark Knight.”

“Hey wasn’t Batman called the Dark Knight?”

“Grand Line has its own Batman, that’s awesome.”

“Holy Heroes, Batman!” Chopper shouted.

The class roared in laughter and completely confused the professor who just entered. Zoro had started sweating and it had nothing to do with the coffee that was slowly cooling on his front. He had to get his hands on the two articles and find out who was printing this shit. He needed to silence them immediately, and find out why that girl had talked after he told her not to. Zoro got absolutely nothing from the class lecture and ran out of the room as soon as they had been dismissed. He had 45 minutes until his next class started, so he went in search of the nearest newsstand. A line was coming out the door with students trying to get a copy of the new story. Knowing no other way, Zoro begrudgingly got in line. When it was his turn he asked the man if he had a copy of the first paper as well. Tucking both papers under his arm he hurried out of the Union to his next class. He only had five minutes before it started. No matter what he had to keep up his studies. The ultimate goal was his degree… after he figured out how to get out of this mess first. Opening the older paper, he searched for the article and began to read.

College Reporter Saved by Dark Knight
By Sanji Black

“Kuso…” His heart raced as he tried to figure out what he was going to do. His blonde turned out to be a reporter. Holy fuck he was in deep shit. Wait, maybe there wasn’t anything too incriminating in the story. He’d better read it first. He paled further with each word he read.

“…stood almost 6ft tall…”
“…shrouded in all black, a hood covering…”
“…glistening steel of his sword…”
“…honest and chivalrous…”
“…modern day hero…”

Ok that one line really caught him off guard. How could the guy think he was chivalrous when he stripped him naked without permission? Bringing out today’s paper only made his feeling of dread increase. The headline stood out in three inch bold print on the front page.

Dark Knight foils Attempted Rape
By Sanji Black

“…superhuman speed…”
“…the power of ten men…”
“…surrounded by shadows…”
“…merciful, yet commanding…”
“…deep comforting voice…”

Oh fuck she talked about his voice. He was so dead. Zoro glanced at the sketch of the ‘Dark Knight’ and almost whined. The sword was distinctly a katana, and unfortunately very close to what Yubashiri actually looked like. Shit, he was so screwed it wasn’t funny. His grandfather would hear about this… oh no, maybe he already had and that’s why he made him such a good breakfast Saturday morning. He was giving Zoro a false sense of security and then he would crush him. They might even call his father, or notify the lawyers handling his mother’s estate. He could lose everything. He had to stop this immediately or else his life would be over. Oh, shit, if Logan found out he might as well give up on living a normal life and go back to Japan to work for the Yakuza. Looking up he noticed that class had already started and he had missed a good 20 minutes of the lecture so far. His mind in a haze, he took notes and somehow made it through.

After class he found himself in a secluded part of the commons area sitting on a bench crumpling the papers in his hands and trying to decide just how bad the repercussions would be. He went through several scenarios in his mind of ways to explain this to Yuu, though none of them ended well. For the first time in his life, Zoro was truly panicked. He had to find a way to fix this and quick. A shadow fell over him and he hesitated looking up to see just who it was. Tobacco smoke floated into his face and he swallowed hard before he looked up into the frowning face of his cousin.

“Just what the hell did you think you were doing, Kid?” Smoker said, shaking his head. “Here you said you were just concentrating on school and I find that you’ve taken up a night job. You didn’t think you’d get away with this did you?”

“I’d hoped.” Zoro groaned and buried his face in his hands, trying to rub away the lines of frustration. “I guess Jiji knows now, huh?”

“You mean Uncle Yuu? Actually, no. I came here to confirm it first. I wasn’t really convinced that it was you until I saw your face after you read today’s paper.” Smoker sat down next to him and stretched out his legs. “So, why’d you do it?”

“I have no idea. I guess the first time was because he sounded so desperate. I’d seen him in the bar and I felt like I was just in the wrong place at the right time. Then that woman… She’d been harassed in the Library just a little while earlier. One of the guys was in the group that attacked Sanji, too. He tried to use this pitiful looking pocket knife against Yubashiri. It was pretty funny.” Zoro chuckled as he remembered the moron swinging the worthless piece of metal.

“Damn, you’re making my job hard. You know that woman refused to say a word about you to us, but then turned right around and spilled everything to that reporter. You really fucked up saving him, kid. I hope you realize that if you get caught, I can’t protect you.” The detective narrowed his eyes at his young cousin and tried to decide just what he was going to do about it. “Be more careful next time. You’re lucky the attackers couldn’t give us a description or it’d be all over.”

Zoro looked up in shock at the unspoken permission he’d been given to continue. He was so sure that he was going to jail that he’d even planned his escape from the US and thought up several mercenary jobs he could begin in foreign countries. He stood and faced the large man and bowed deeply in respect. When he rose, Smoker brought a heavy fist to his head.

“Now get your ass to class, Kid, and lay off the moonlighting.” Smoker laughed as Zoro let loose a long string of foreign words at him, knowing that they were probably quite foul and degrading. The furious red face of his favorite cousin was well worth it.

Zoro stood there rubbing his head, mumbling in Japanese for several minutes before he realized it was time for his next class. Remembering the blonde would be in it he decided to take a different route and enter the room at the last possible moment, avoiding any chance of bumping into him. He knew that Sanji would be sure to make the connection between the hero and Zoro himself if they spent any time together. The guy was a reporter after all, so he should have good observation skills. As much as Zoro hated the idea, he’d have to give up completely on conquering the gorgeous blonde. Sanji Black would be put on his list of things he couldn’t have.

Zoro didn’t have to worry about avoiding the popular reporter when he got to class. Sanji was surrounded by the rest of the students and getting barraged with questions about the latest sighting. Everyone wanted to know the name of the lucky girl that had been saved and if he had any more clues to the mysterious hero’s identity.

Sanji had been waylaid all day long with questions about his story. Most of them just wanted to know if it was real, or if he had made it up for publicity. The reporter assured them that the attack was real and they could find proof of it in the city’s paper, the only difference was that the woman refused to tell the police about her savior. Sanji rode out the accusations and mocking, choosing to keep his smile and flirt with the people excited to see him. It surprised him that the first article hadn’t drawn much attention, but then again, it had been hidden on page 2. This one was right there on the front page for the entire world to see. Maybe he would be able to draw in a little extra business to the Baratie while he was at it.

He completely forgot about his personal challenge to befriend the new kid in class and instead remained basking in the limelight. It was after class had ended and he saw the flash of green slip out the doors that he remembered what he wanted to do. He asked around, but no one seemed to even know the guy’s name. He’d go sweet talk the lady in admissions tomorrow and see if he could find out something. For now he had to move it to work or Zeff would kick his ass for being late again.

It was about a quarter till midnight when his phone rang, another unknown number showed on his caller ID. Thinking it was a wrong number, he ignored it and let voicemail pick it up. Sanji finished with the last of the closing paperwork and locked the doors of the Baratie. Now that he was done, he checked the message and began laughing.

“Um, Sanji? Hey it’s Ace. Look, can you come get me? Oh and bring bail money? I’m at the downtown station. There’s really no need to hurry though. The officer that arrested me is soooo hot. I think he might be warming up to me now, too. But, anyway I need you to come down here. Luffy’s not answering and I can’t call my boss or I’ll probably get fired. You’re all I got, man.”

Ace’s voice changed between whiny and excited as he switched topics, obviously happy about being taken in by a handsome cop. Sanji knew it was one of Ace’s fantasies and began to feel sorry for the poor guy. He’d better be married or Ace would never let this be. Sanji chuckled all the way to his car and arrived at the police station with a very amused grin on his face. The grin changed to a slight frown as he eyed the man leaning against one of the desks in the room. He had familiar green hair, but something was off about him. Sanji watched him turn his head and saw the ugly glasses perched on the man’s face. It was the guy from his class alright, but what was he doing at the station? Sensing that someone was looking at him, the green-haired man turned towards the entrance and widened his eyes at the sight of the blonde standing there completely confused. Sanji moved towards him, picking up his pace when he saw that the mysterious classmate was getting ready to leave.