I don't own anything but my ideas.

The Victor

The eradication of the NSPH virus from the world took less than six months to complete. Due to the classified nature of the studies with the virus, its placement across the globe was sparse, and Robin had a list of the seven establishments that had ever worked with the NSPH virus in less than an hour from when they arrived home. Her plan had all of its finishing details several days later, but Robin was never one to take less than the utmost amount of time on important things.

There were five NSPH laboratories all within driving distance and two outside the country. Robin brought what information she had to Shanks, who gave her unlimited access to whatever funds needed to rent or buy whatever was required to enact her master plan. Robin assured him that she would only put together the barest of necessities; most of their strength would come from the anger shared between the nakama. Everything else would be an added bonus.

Robin took one month to put together everything that was needed—guns, incendiaries, smoke grenades, flash bombs, cars, and a plane. Everything else most of Shanks' friends and allies already had in their possession.

She took one month to deconstruct the layout and learn every detail of every facility: the exits, windows, emergency escapes, emergency systems, plumbing, electrical work… anything that could be used against the occupants of the building. In that month she created viruses for the buildings' control panels and computer systems and placed them in devices that could be easily plugged into the technical systems, regardless of their level of connection with other systems. The virus was built to act as a person: finding permission instead of bludgeoning through barriers. Robin foresaw no issues.

She took one month teaching her insatiably detailed maps and plans to selected groups of two or three who were each assigned to one of the facilities—Law and Kid; Robin and Franky; Brook, Chopper, and Usopp; Luffy and Nami; and Zoro and Sanji. The plan was relatively simple: Go in, kill everyone, destroy everything. It was a bit overkill, but it was efficient and effective, and no one had any qualms with her proposal. They would go out in waves, Zoro and Sanji to the closest facility, as they would be the fastest to destroy an establishment, so they could leave to fly to the farthest after they were finished; Law and Kid to the next closest and then to the next farthest, and so on. The idea was to have everything happen so quickly that no facility would be able to get any advanced warning before it was burned to the ground.

The next month was intensive training. Every day Zoro stood in the center of the arena with his bandana tied low over his eyes and his three swords gripped tight. He'd arrive an hour early to sit there in the pits and meditate, and then the rest of the participants of Robin's plan filed in in groups. Sanji had been with the rest of the groups in the arena for the first day of training, assuring everyone that he was fine and more than capable of controlling himself for a cause this important. But not one hour in his eyes suddenly bled black and he started lunging for people with a real intent to hurt. The arena was evacuated and Zoro of course offered himself as a partner until Sanji wore off some of his frantic energy. He was able to force an uneasy calm on Sanji long enough to remind him where he was, and then he brought Sanji home and made voracious love to him until Sanji was himself enough again to lay in Zoro's arms quietly and admit that he might not be ready to fight yet. Zoro had held him quietly and nodded, absentmindedly laying kisses on his forehead and running his fingers through Sanji's hair. The cook had been through some real shit recently, and Caesar was dead by Luffy's hands but Doflamingo and Blackbeard still roamed free. Zoro could tell by the intense beating in Sanji's chest that the cook, even months later, still held a clear deep-seeded fear of the possibility of being taken again. It was no secret now where he was. Zoro had gritted his teeth and squeezed Sanji tight and swore to himself that it would be him that went anywhere with the bastards before Sanji ever did. He told Sanji that he would work the rest of them hard, be absolutely sure that they were ready, and then they'd handle the issue. It was clear Sanji wasn't too pleased having to back out, but he had more important considerations than his pride.

Zoro trained everyone for that month, pushing them all to their limits as he fought all-out with his new NSPH senses and agility. There was a good chance, after all, that they'd run into NSPH starving or under the influence of something that made them forget who they were. They all had to be ready to defend themselves.

Zoro took the month to discover what his body could do and what his very few limitations were; mostly the month was needed to fully adjust to the onslaught of incoming information from the world around him—sound, vibration, color, touch, air current, breath, light wave… even at the end of the month his brain still reeled as it worked to process everything he was aware of. Sanji told him he'd never had that sort of issue, possibly because he didn't remember when he was turned. Zoro's heart ached for baby Sanji, screaming in a hospital laboratory, alone and battered by tests and sensory information.

Zoro's inexorable power stunned him every day, and for a time he was strangely jealous of Sanji for having so much practice with his NSPH status. He felt like a baby giraffe: wobbly and sloppy and as if he had no true direction for anything he did. His brain worked too fast in one direction and his body too fast in the other—leaving him sore and strained and angry at the end of every day. He'd put several cracks in the building that threatened the foundation, and had tweaked nearly every muscle and joint in his body rotating like a goddamn rubber band as his body and mind registered every single attack coming at him almost before his attacker had begun their approach, his body screaming at him with inarguable force to counter every single iota of danger.

It was the end of the month and looking like neither Sanji nor Zoro would be on their game enough to be the quintessential part of the plan. With their NSPH status, they were one of the groups that would be destroying two facilities—Law and Kid would be the other. No other groups were strong enough or fast enough to accomplish the same task in the same time frame. Rearrangement would have to be done, throwing a monkey wrench and stress and fear into everything.

Zoro could feel his animal nature roiling more and more every day. He was weak, and useless, and not anything like a warrior—let alone a swordsman. His fangs cut into his gums and lips as they extended and shrank rapidly in his frustration, everyone bore more marks from his claws than his swords, and it took an hour of weights at the end of every day to calm his seething self before he went home to Sanji.

Robin had pulled him aside and told him that they weren't ready. They would take another month to train, with more emphasis now on his skills. They would train as usual every other day, and on the opposite day Zoro would train with Law, Kid, Luffy, and Shanks, who had offered to step in after observing Zoro blast a hole through the ceiling, his eyes black and deadly as he eyed his nakama like prey. The training helped, but every day Zoro failed again just a little bit more. His body wanted to go faster and faster and faster and no one could keep up with him to wear out his animalistic side. He wanted to hurt them. His muscles screamed in frustration for an actual fight, for an actual challenge beyond his own mind being unable to process everything it needed to, and at one point he stormed out of the arena before he broke it entirely, leaving everyone grimacing behind him.

Sanji had found him as he was leaving, a grocery bag in his arm filled with ingredients he was bringing to prepare training dinner. He'd looked Zoro up and down once—Zoro's wide, frantic eyes shifting like everything around him was a threat, his hands curled back into talons, his chest heaving, his body shaking with a need for his energy to go somewhere. Sanji sighed, set down the groceries, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and lunged for Zoro's throat.

They'd destroyed the stairwell in their fight, and lay panting and bleeding, sprawled out on the rubble when it was safe enough for everyone else to come see the extent of the damage. Nami was the only one to say anything, glaring heartily at them both before informing them that this would be coming out of their winnings until it was paid off. It didn't matter. The magic combination had been found. Every day before training Sanji and Zoro fought like apex predators on endless cocaine, finishing just as everyone else arrived, just tired enough not to be a threat to themselves, their friends, or the building.

Robin okayed them for action. The date was set. Sanji made everyone one last feast before they left, and everyone promised to return safely under threat of tears a la Chopper.

At dusk, they all stood out front of the arena, Shanks and Killer standing on the steps like kings ready to send their soldiers off into battle. Everyone had nodded their good lucks to their nakama and climbed into their respective cars.

Sanji and Zoro waited a moment and watched the other cars drive away into the not-so-obscuring black, able to watch them almost until they were miles away. The distance between them and the disappearing cars nudged Sanji, who was in the driver's seat, into starting the engine but he leaned back against the seat again once it had started and closed his eyes. Zoro looked over forlornly, understanding that there was nothing he could say until all was done, and reached out to take Sanji's hand. The sun was gone over the horizon, but Zoro didn't struggle to see every stunningly beautiful shred of Sanji. His incredible Sanji. Zoro squeezed and his hand and Sanji returned the gesture in kind before his eyes popped open, dark now, serious and laced with purpose. He took the wheel in his free hand and pulled away from the arena slowly. Zoro looked out again at Killer and waved, an odd motion that he regretted the moment he'd begun, but Killer flung his arms into the air and flapped like a downed bird, hopping up and down the front steps in exuberance for their mission. Zoro's face broke into an unauthorized grin and he leaned back against his headrest, looking over again at Sanji idly. Sanji gripped his hand tighter, silent still, but absolutely sure in his body language that he'd be with Zoro every step of the way.

"Read it again," Sanji mouthed. His words would have been inaudible to anyone else's ears. As it was, Zoro hear read just the wind coming from his lips and nodded, reaching into the backpack beneath his feet to pull out the binder Robin had made for them. They were one of only two groups that had two binders—one for each facility. Zoro passed by the map and flipped over to their "itinerary," a simple list of jobs for them to execute:

At dawn, hide the car and find position. Wait until midday when all staff have returned from lunch (see attached staff lunch schedule)

Execute virus from cell phone – all electricity will stop, all emergency functions will cease, all windows and doors will lock. Use virus-tailored code 321111 to access locked areas

Clear all staff by any means necessary

Find all living NSPH and ensure their safety (all exits and escapes are marked on Map #2)

Once all NSPH have been evacuated, use code 111123 at the front entrance code box to destroy all NSPH-related material

Zoro let the binder fall into his lap and looked back over at Sanji, who had taken the time to light up a cigarette.

"Ready?" The calm in his voice felt unnatural, but he wasn't going to complain.

Sanji pulled the cigarette from his lips, the same unnatural calm in his voice.

"Fuck yeah."

-oOo-

Zoro sheathed his swords silently, looking down over the bodies strewn across the floor, their white coats eerily red even in the black of the electricity-stripped building. Zoro wasn't even sure they'd realized what was happening. He and Sanji were too fast.

He'd never considered himself a killer before. Before, it was work. People attacked him, and he defended himself.

He looked up to where Sanji was shoving a body off of its chair to tap on the keyboard in front of it. The computer lit up, the only light in the whole compound, illuminating Sanji's perfection as the cook leaned into the screen, flicking his smoldering cigarette up and down between his lips. Sanji had never wanted to be a killer.

Zoro pursed his lips, looking down again at the bodies. It had to be done. No more of this. They were going to end it today. He sniffed heavily, running the back of his hand across his nose and trying to clear his head of the indescribably rich and exquisite smell flooding the air.

"Anything?" he asked silently, pulling the roll of selected papers from the binder and sifting through them to find the map. Not that it would help him at all. He rolled them up again, twisting them tightly in his hands and telling himself that it wasn't because of the nerves.

Sanji typed "321111" into the keyboard and the computer screen blinked to life, allowing Sanji access to the home page. Sanji took the mouse and swiveled it gently, clicking through various things.

"I see three… uh… I guess possible spots. Give me the map, let me see if they line up with anything Robin marked down."

Zoro crossed the room, stepping over bodies like he was stepping over streams. He ignored the churning in his stomach—part disgust, part hunger—and handed Sanji the roll of papers. Sanji leaned back from the computer, beautiful and lithe, and took the roll with his alabaster fingers. Zoro almost grabbed his hand to pull him close, but they had things to do.

Sanji leaned over the provided maps, his eyes flicking back and forth between the computer and the material in his hands. Zoro turned away as he did, his eyes drawn back to the bodies on the floor.

Four of them. Three women, one man. They'd killed countless others on their journey to the main office. Security guards. Custodial personnel. Laboratory workers. Surveyors. All of them had families, homes—

Zoro closed his eyes, forcing himself to stop. His eyes found Sanji again, the only reason he'd ever need to convince himself that this had to be done. No more of this. They were going to end it today.

And somewhere in this building was even more incentive. They just needed to find—

"I think this might be it," Sanji said quietly, droll and vapid, unwilling to allow any sort of gratitude or hope or closure into his voice. He looked up from the map to nod back at the computer screen, where he'd activated emergency security cameras across the building. "It's the only place left with any people. And they're the only ones with guns in the whole building."

Zoro walked over to Sanji's shoulder, looking at the hazy little men in the screen, clutching nervously at their guns and trying their radios desperately. One of them tried his access code at the door, yanking on the handle when nothing responded. It probably wasn't the first time he'd tried. Zoro nodded his readiness and stepped towards the door Sanji was pointing to, punching the code into the box by the door. The bolts in the blast-proof metal clacked open sharply with a rush of air and Zoro pulled the door open, allowing Sanji past him to lead the way, an agitated trail of smoke following the cook like bread crumbs.

Sanji had the roll of papers hanging at his side, and every once and a while he'd check the map again before inputing the virus code at a door and leading Zoro through. He held the door every time, like a perfect gentleman, but he didn't seem to be able to look Zoro in the eye. Zoro didn't blame him. He just followed behind stoically, letting Sanji direct, available were the cook to decide he wanted to blow off some steam. Sanji just puffed away.

All at once Sanji held up his hand, stopping the both of them just behind a doorframe. Sanji nodded his head around the corner as he rolled the papers tight and crammed them into one of his pockets. Zoro nodded and unsheathed his swords, placing Wado between his teeth calmly. He blinked when Sanji laid a hand on his arm, shaking his head, stream of smoke now quicker.

"Kids," Sanji mouthed, sliding around the doorframe and inching his way up against the wall to the code box. Beyond the doorframe, Zoro could see the security guard craning to see through the window into the dark. He looked like he was shouting, trying to get someone's attention, but the facility had been built too securely. No person, gun, sound, or poltergeist was getting through the door without a functional code. After a moment of pause Zoro put his swords away, a scowl on his face. Sanji had a point. No need to add to the trauma of whoever was being held there. That did put him at a disadvantage though.

Well, disadvantage was relative.

Sanji had his back against the wall, the code box right above his shoulder. He nodded towards the door and Zoro nodded his agreement of readiness, not keen to go in without his weapons, and less keen when the guard was standing at the window with all the clear shots he wanted, but understanding its necessity. Sanji laid his head back against the cold steel, waiting for Zoro's indication.

The guard was clearly frantic, looking through the window and waving frenetically. Zoro didn't think the man had seen either of them; he was just hoping to catch someone's eye as they walked by.

Zoro sighed to himself, exasperated, wishing the man away from the door. They had a schedule to keep.

The guard spun suddenly, his hands still waving as he and his partner conversed desperately. Zoro gestured at Sanji and strode towards the door, fists raised. Sanji punched the code in with invisible speed and flung the door open with his foot just as Zoro past by him like smoke.

The guard turned at the sound of the door clacking open, his eyes wide—a perfect target. Zoro drove his fist into the first guard's face, following the punch through as the guard crumpled backwards, keeping his knuckles in the man's forehead until the back of his skull hit the cement floor with a definite crack and Zoro's fingers split through skin. Sanji flashed by Zoro's side, diving past the first bullet as the second guard fired, his eyes terrified and confused. Sanji grabbed his vest, wrenching him to the side and smashing him up against the wall. The guard's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the impact, the gun flying from his hand. Sanji braced, spinning himself around as he lifted his foot, and slammed his heel into the guard's head directly between his eyes. The hit made a solid divot in the man's face, fluids bursting from the man's eyes as his feet wobbled under him, the last of his consciousness probably aware that his best chance was not the low ground. Not that it mattered anymore. The man dropped, joining the first guard on the ground where his feet were twitching and he was staring back up at Zoro with dead eyes.

Zoro sat back slowly, taking his hand away even slower, strangely afraid of seeing the damage he'd caused. In the back of his mind, he was aware of how little effort that had taken, even without his swords. In the forefront of his mind, even stranger, was the undeniable want rushing through his body as his senses were flooded with the guard's freed blood, dripping down his face and pooling on the floor under his head. Zoro's tongue lolled out of his mouth without his ok, his fangs pulling against his gums as he stared back into the far-gone gaze.

Behind him, he almost heard the sound of the door snapping open with a rush of air.

"Zoro?" Sanji's voice floated over gently. Zoro didn't care.

He needed more blood than Sanji. Not gradually, not over time as the virus set into his body. From the moment he'd been turned, Zoro's NSPH Major venom had demanded far more blood than anyone had been expecting. Law surmised that it might have had something to do with his metabolism. He'd needed a lot of food when he was human anyways and still ate a lot now, but what he lost in food necessity he seemed to make up in double the blood. Sanji had struggled to concoct him recipes that weren't basically entirely blood. Zoro had taken to having some in a bottle with him at all times, but he'd downed one before they'd set the facility virus in motion and hadn't carried it in.

He shouldn't have been hungry. Maybe it was just the sheer amount of blood finally starting to get to him. Idly, he was aware that he was drooling on the man's chest, but it was so far from important that he almost couldn't really even process that it was happening. He should have been embarrassed, but the NSPH side of him gave two shits and a flying fuck about his embarrassment when so much blood was gracing the body in front of him.

A hand found its way to his shoulder, but Zoro didn't register this until Sanji was shaking him gently, calling for him in a soft croon, like he was an animal. Zoro's eyes snapped up to Sanji's cool, iridescent blue eyes. He was sure his own eyes were black, but Sanji, to his credit, didn't falter once.

"Go ahead," he said instead, kindly. Zoro blinked, finally realizing how much his breath was heaving now that his NSPH side thought it wasn't going to get any resistance.

Go ahead?

He looked back down at the guard's mangled face, finding the holes where his knuckles had caved through flesh and bone like weapons. His eyes glazed over, and he was unable to see the man's face anymore.

Go ahead, something inside him agreed gleefully, and Zoro dipped forward without a moment's hesitation.

The fuzziness in his brain started to dissipate, blood rushing down his throat and breathing fresh life into him. Zoro sighed despite himself, clutching the man's shoulders tightly and pressing his lips deeper into the gash he'd made in the man's neck. He could tell he'd been sloppy. Blood spurted out of the space between his lips and the man's skin and down all three of their chests as he drank, but he was getting most of it in his mouth and that was all he truly cared about at the moment.

The flow of blood started to slow and Zoro could feel a real calm setting into his body, which had been gone since before they'd crossed the building's threshold. He pulled his mouth back and let the man drop back to the floor like a burlap sack folding up on itself. He sat there for a moment on his knees and toes, breathing deeply and staring down at the horribly bloodied guard. At his side, Sanji was still rubbing his shoulder, waiting for Zoro to come back to him.

Zoro blinked down at the man, unable to see his face anymore now that'd he'd been bent over backwards awkwardly with his arms draped out beside him. A wave of sickness hit him like a hammer, across his head, stomach, and heart. He lurched suddenly, forwards and backwards at the same time, unable to put into clear thoughts the deep-seeded horror in his body that transcended tangible words. He'd passed by the man's face—his humanness—without a moment's hesitation. This man hadn't been a man to Zoro. He'd been food.

Zoro pressed a bloodied hand to his bloodied face, covering his bloodied mouth where he could feel his bloodied fangs sitting innocently against his bloodied palms. Zoro choked, a pained, feral sound exploding from his mouth that rocked him to his core. Sanji was around him in an instant, holding him tightly into his chest, rubbing his hair and kissing his head as Zoro shook. The desperate sobs wracking Zoro's chest were far too strong to try to ignore or fight, so they just sat, wrapped up together while Zoro's mind roiled.

I'm a monster I ate that man I didn't see him I'm a monster I drank his blood I'm a monster—

And Sanji held him tenderly, understanding everything going through his head—the crippling shame, the distinct repulsion, the clear horror, the cruel resignation.

This was who he was. This was who they were.

Neither knew how long they sat there, but slowly Zoro's body-shaking bawling slowed to the occasional sharp intake of breath and the tears either stopped or ran themselves dry. Darkly, Zoro wondered if he was crying blood too, even though logically he knew that would never be the case.

Sanji didn't move until he did, and then he sat back on his heels and licked his jacket sleeve until it was wet, scrubbing at Zoro's face gently to remove the evidence. Zoro closed his eyes, letting Sanji clean him tenderly.

Sanji may have finished or he may have not. Zoro could have been far too soaked in blood—both the guard and Sanji certainly were—but eventually he stopped and stood, tying the jacket around his waist and offering a hand to Zoro. Zoro swiped across his eyes once more before taking Sanji's hand and letting the cook pull him to his feet.

"Ready?" Sanji asked, his voice a strange blend of apologetic and loving. But there was no fear in his voice and Zoro was endlessly grateful for that. He wondered if he'd ever showed fear of Sanji, and he was so thankful that Sanji had never held it against him. Zoro reached out carefully, laying the tips of his fingers against Sanji's cheeks, and leaned in to press their lips together. The salted iron in Zoro's mouth melded with Sanji's tonge and they swayed together for a moment, holding each other as if the world around them didn't exist—Zoro allowed himself to pretend that it didn't for just the moment.

Zoro pulled away slowly, letting Sanji dip in quickly and peck him one last time on the lips before the cook turned back to the opened door behind them.

"Come on," he took Zoro's hand, a grim smile adorning his expression. "It's going to get worse."

Zoro nodded, his eyes cast down at the dark cement, and let Sanji lead him into the black hall.

There were four rooms in the short hallway, each thick, steel door set about four feet apart. Zoro's eyebrows furrowed. Unless the rooms were really deep, which he doubted, each room was no more than six feet by six feet. He looked over to Sanji, who had dropped the butt of his spent cigarette on the floor and was lighting up another. His hand wasn't shaking, but Zoro could tell that it was taking him longer to light the end than it normally did. He almost offered to do it for Sanji, but the end suddenly came alight. Sanji sucked in so deep he leaned backwards to accommodate the extra air in his lungs before letting an industrial pillar of smoke waft towards the ceiling.

"Whoo," he coughed low, curling in on himself, and then straightened back up. "All right, let's do this and get the fuck out of here."

He marched over to the first door and started putting the code in. Zoro nodded, to Sanji and to himself, and approached the second door, following suit.

Both doors clacked open with the same jarring, abrupt metal clanking and woosh of air. Zoro apologized in his head for the noise, although he was sure the room's inhabitant was likely used to the sound by now.

He pulled the door open slowly, his body taking the time that his eyes used to need to adjust to the dark to stand in the door while his more-than-capable eyes drank in the horrible blandness of the room. Nothing but a bed graced the grey walls, with a tiny curled up form hunched into the mattress by the wall's corner.

The metal bed frame sat pinned up against one of the cement walls, its mattress so shriveled and ruined that it hung down between the slats and springs, almost touching the floor in three places. Zoro swallowed as silently as he could, knowing almost beyond a doubt that the little boy on the bed—no more than four years old—could hear him do it, but he needed to be strong for this boy and did his best to silence the sound. Behind him, he could hear that Sanji had started gently talking to the child in the other room, his voice floating in like a soft breeze, calming Zoro. On the bed, the little boy hadn't moved, but his bright eyes bore into Zoro with curiosity that only a child would be able to maintain in such an awful situation. Zoro eyed the chains on the boy's ankle linking him to the bed and allowing him no more than two feet of movement around the room, and then moved towards the bed, watching the little boy for the slightest movement. There was none.

He reached the side of the bed and crouched, laying his elbows on the mattress, which had been left without a sheet. Out of the corner of his eye he could see bloodstains dotting the fabric. If they'd been from this boy, he'd long since healed. If not… Zoro closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, collecting himself, and then opened them again to find that the little boy was still staring back into him, waiting.

Zoro had no idea what to say. "Are you ok?" he started carefully. The boy didn't say anything.

"...I'm here to take you somewhere safe," he tried again, probably more for himself than the boy. "Away from here."

The boy's bright eyes found the door and then Zoro again with speed only capable of an NSPH. He laid his head against his knees, unblinking brown eyes digging through Zoro's brain. Zoro wouldn't have been surprised to discover the boy could read his mind. Behind him, he could hear Sanji's shoes knocking softly against the floor as he moved to the next room. His steps were heavier by about 37 pounds. He must have been carrying the child.

Zoro rested his chin on his arms, meeting the boy's eyes firmly. "...My name's Zoro."

The boy looked at the door again, watching Sanji pass by and holding the look until the third door clacked open. His eyes flashed back to Zoro. "...Where are we going?"

Zoro smiled despite himself, the little boy's strong voice washing over his shoulders like amber crystals that made his ears sing in delight. There was no fear in the boy's voice. Zoro thought about Sanji like this, no doubt just as fearless, just as faith-filled, just as steadfast. Sanji had never been anything less.

"Home."

The boy's brow knit. Confusion. Zoro found his face mimicking the look before it hit him. The boy had no concept of home.

"To people who will love you," he started again, "who will care for you and take care of you, who will never hurt you like the people here do."

Behind them, tiny scared cries started up suddenly, echoing through the room. Zoro held his smile firm, unwilling to let the little boy feel fear he didn't need to. The cries sounded young, less than a year old. The boy watched the door for a moment and then looked back to Zoro.

Well… here goes nothing.

"May I carry you?" he asked gently. The boy was still, and then nodded, straightening up and lifting his head from where it was resting on his knees. Zoro stood, pausing for a moment as the boy held out his chained ankle, looking up expectantly at Zoro. Zoro faltered, looking back over his shoulder to where he could feel Sanji standing.

"Break it," Sanji said firmly. On one hip was a sniffling little boy with tear tracks mussing his dirt-clad face, leaning against Sanji's shoulder with his thumb in his mouth and his chest shaking slightly as lingering hiccups jumped him up and down in Sanji's arm. On Sanji's other hip was a girl with short brown hair, just as thin and dirty as the other two, watching Zoro with brilliant black eyes. The color was strange, as Zoro couldn't feel any predatory intent from her, but he ignored them to turn back to the boy.

He crouched and wrapped his fingers around the joint of the cuff, squeezing. He followed the sounds of the metal bending in his fingers, creaking quietly, and made sure he was keeping as far from the boy's skin as possible. He gritted his teeth and pulled sharply, popping the cuff open with a clank as nasty as the sound the doors made. The cuff fell away from the boy's ankle and slid off the bed, clattering to the floor and echoing down the hall behind them.

Zoro reached down and lifted the boy, who pushed off the bed almost eagerly, and held him to his hip with his arm under the boy's thin, neglected frame. The boy stared at Sanji, his head down slightly, the endless curiosity in his eyes still glowing through the black of the room. Sanji smiled, resolute calmness in his iridescent blue eyes as he met the boy's gaze.

"Let's go get your friend," he nodded towards the last door as Zoro stepped out of the cell. The boy looked at the girl and then the baby, at Sanji and then at Zoro, and nodded his agreement. Zoro smiled and turned for the last door.

-oOo-

They hadn't thought about car seats.

"Stupid," Zoro muttered to himself, surveying the backseat. Thank god there was only the four of them. Otherwise they'd be walking.

"I'm going to go set it off," Sanji said, looking just as displeased with their riding situation as Zoro felt. "And then we go straight to the nearest Whatever's and get a couple of booster seats. ...You'll have to hold him, I guess," he added, shrugging and gesturing towards the baby, who was currently sitting in the little girl's lap. She'd volunteered to hold him when their lack of seats had become apparent, her intent black eyes strangely calm and kind. Zoro and Sanji had shared a look and passed the one-year-old over to her. He was big against her tiny frame and she'd had to scooch down in her seat in order to lean back far enough to accommodate him, but to her credit, she'd helped him settle in relatively quickly, and he was laying against her chest now with his thumb in his mouth, looking around to everyone in turn.

Zoro nodded, looking back at the facility, eerily dark and quiet for the middle of the day. He watched Sanji trot over to the front entrance, and then climbed into the passenger side seat, starting the engine.

In the back seat, all four looked relatively comfortable for all of the strangeness the world had thrown them that day. Zoro tried not to scowl too much, knowing that their calm probably had a lot to do with the fact that neither he nor Sanji were freaking out.

The driver's side door swung open suddenly and Sanji climbed in, throwing his seatbelt on. Zoro reached back between the front seats and held his hand out to the little girl. She nodded and tried to hand the baby to him, struggling slightly under his weight. Zoro leaned further to save her the energy, not knowing how long it had been since any of them had eaten. They had blood in the car, but they had to go get carseats in case they were pulled over and then drive the car to a meeting point where Law and Kid would be waiting with a plane. There, they'd trade the car in and take the plane to the next facility. He set the baby on his lap, very unsure of what to do with him, but the boy seemed to be more self-entertained than not, and was still looking in turn between everyone in the car. When he looked at Sanji, Sanji gave him as much of a smile as he could and bopped the baby on the nose with this forefinger. The baby didn't blink.

"Let's go," Sanji said suddenly, pulling the car around and back onto the main road from where they'd hidden it in the brush. They'd have to get back off into the woods surrounding the facility to drive through the hole in the fence they'd made, but for now the lack of bumping was better for everyone involved.

Zoro said nothing, watching out his window with the baby as the car swung in a circle. Down the hill he could see smoke starting to billow up from the vents at the center of the facility, and flames starting to claw their way up against the windows, trying to find a way out.

-oOo-

"What do we do with the rest of them?"

"…Orphanages are out?"

"No fucking shit."

"And—"

"Don't even say foster care, you dumbfuck."

"…"

"That's what I thought."

Zoro leaned forward against the table, ignoring the square-off between Luffy and Kid. Dumb asses.

"So what do we do with the rest of them?" Shanks asked again, absolutely unbothered by the testosterone flying like sparks in front of him. This was a small gathering, just Law, Kid, Shanks, Zeff, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji sat around the table. Zeff had flown in immediately after hearing that they were bringing people back from the facilities, knowing that they'd need places to go. Killer had expressed his displeasure at not being included, but Shanks had pulled him aside and said something to him to coax him into spending time with the new young ones at the arena, and Killer had happily bounded off. Most of their nakama had eagerly offered to join Killer, knowing that they would not be privy to the discussion about what to do with them, but all eager to meet the new additions.

There were twenty-one children newly boarded at the arena. One was fifteen, eleven were between the ages of eight and ten, seven four- or five-year olds, and two infants. Law, doctor in all his ways, had insisted on seeing each of them individually in the rooms they'd been put in and not in the hospital. He'd fed them all, given them all a clean bill of health, and clocked their virus count for reference. Only two were Major, but it did introduce some extra roadblocks when trying to find them permanent placement.

This wasn't part of Robin's plan. She was the tactician, not the Mother Teresa 2.0. She'd gotten them out, now everyone else had to figure out where they would go.

"I spoke with Benn, he'd like to stay with me," Shanks spoke up. "I promised him that I'd teach him how to fight and work towards getting him involved in the arena. He's anxious to get started on making something of himself outside the facility. I guess he was about 11 when he was turned by an escaped NSPH. He was kidnapped not long after that. He hasn't said anything about trying to reunite with his family yet, but I'm going to give him some time here before I bring that up. That means that I'd take the other three that were in the facility with him. They've all grown attached to each other from what I've picked up. None of them were born in the facility."

"Good. With his major status, he'll need people around him who have a solid understanding of NSPH functionings," Law said.

"I'll also be taking some," Zeff agreed gruffly. "They're a little young but NSPH learn damn fast. They won't be held back by their age for long. Until then they'll be fine in the kitchen. I can handle about five of them. We have some people in the area who have expressed interest in helping; I'm not sure that they meant they would take in an infected child, but there's no harm in asking. That would probably be three families if all goes well, and the other two would stay with me."

"The younger ones will be tough," Law added as he tugged on the ends of his bangs, the heels of his boots resting on the table. "We may have to look into more families within the city… host a vetting process and a training period perhaps."

Kid snorted. "When do we break it to them that their new kids are humanity hazards for the rest of their family?"

"We'd have to have a prior, uh," Law paused, "assumption that they'd be comfortable with at least the knowledge that NSPH exist and in multiples and in very close proximity to them."

"Conis would probably take one," Sanji said suddenly. "We, eh, I think she'd feel like she could handle a child just fine. We could ask Laki or their parents too."

Zoro said nothing, surmising that at some point Sanji and Conis had talked about children. Maybe even about adopting; neither of them had probably liked the risk of their child also being NSPH.

"Our landlady knows about NSPH," Zoro suggested, shrugging slightly.

Sanji blew a stream of smoke into his face. "She's probably as old as Neculai Pescariu, marimo."

Zoro scowled back at him heartily. "She has a son in the area, shit-cook. Maybe already with kids."

Sanji puffed away with endless cool. "Whatever. …Shitty swordsman."

"CURLY-BROW—"

"Keep your rutting to the bedroom," Law interrupted suddenly. "I know you haven't had time alone since getting back but please, lord, bottle it until you're out of here. And I don't think we should give the infants to unprepared families. The risk that they'll be infected or overwhelmed is too high."

Shanks sucked in a slow sigh, leaning his head back so it draped over his shoulders and he had a perfect view of the wall behind them. "So what's our tally now?"

"We have three eight- to ten-year-olds, seven four- and five-year-olds, and two infants left to find homes for," Law supplied from the notes he'd been taking. "Twelve total."

"Ok!" Shanks said happily. "We'll do a search, call some people, make some moves, and reconvene in two days? In the mean time… uhhhhhhhh… We'll hire all of you to watch the kids," he grinned, cycling around the table.

"NOPE."

"They have to go somewhere, Sanji."

"Fuck. No."

"You have somewhere to be?"

"I have a goddamn date tonight. I believe that was already broadcasted to the table." Sanji's arms were tightly folded. Zoro fought the smirk rising on his face.

"Everyone is going to take some. No one gets out of this," Shanks stood up abruptly from his seat, ridiculous cape billowing out behind him dramatically. Zoro wondered if he practiced that. "Except you," Shanks added suddenly, pointing at Luffy. Luffy's mouth dropped open in shock but Shanks continued before he could protest. "The children are not to be left alone under any circumstances for their own safety and for our best chances of ensuring their safety, which means that there's going to be a reasonable ratio of kids to adults, which means that everyone takes some children."

"…Fuck."

"Anyone who has agreed to take kids already—myself, Zeff, —will take their kids starting tonight. Everyone at this table has the job of calling two trustworthy people and seeing about their fit for being a possible guardian. I've already had someone go out and pick up cribs for infants for whoever takes them."

"Eustass," Law took Kid's hand suddenly, "maybe we should just agree to adopting another." The edges of his lips quirked upwards slightly.

"Nope." Kid's glower could have burnt a hole through cement, but he didn't take his hand away from Law's.

"We're only in our thirties. Now is the perfect time to restart our family. Let's not call anyone and just take them all in."

"Abso-fuckin-lutely not. …You fucking psycho."

-oOo-

Zoro stared blankly with his hand on his forehead, rubbing gently, surveying the two rooms of brats from his standpoint between the doors as all six of them slept peacefully, their bellies full from all of the Sanji's cooking they could eat. Brats.

Sanji came up behind him silently and wrapped his arms around Zoro's waist, leaning his chin into Zoro's shoulder and breathing in deeply. "It's crowded," he mused.

Zoro nodded his agreement, head still swiveling back and forth between the two rooms.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6—

"They're all there, Zoro."

Zoro nodded his agreement but didn't stop counting. How was this a reasonable goddamn ratio? He hadn't seemed to be able to move from his position in front of the doors since everyone had settled down. It was probably just the shock of their first night being outside the facility, but every kid had been asleep within a minute of lying down. There were two sharing the beds in Sanji's old room and the guest room, and each room had a crib for the infants. Two babies. They had been trusted with two babies.

One of the babies had to be with them. His Major status made him very dangerous for anyone not already infected. The other had been sent their way because of similar reasons, but mostly because no one else wanted to care for an infant.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6—

"Come on, marimo," Sanji spun him and began pushing him up the stairs. "The light is on; they all know where the bathroom is; the little ones have diapers; they've all been fed and watered; and they know where to find us if they wake up. They'll be fine."

Zoro looked at the front door as they passed, suddenly unbelieving of its lock functionality for some strange reason.

The one with the dark eyes—Rika—I didn't see if she got her glass of water—

"Zoro."

They were in the bedroom.

"Come on," Sanji was in front of him, smiling playfully, nose to nose with him.

"Did Rika get that—"

"I brought her a glass of water," Sanji nodded.

Zoro nodded again. There had to have been something they'd forgotten. There were six of them.

"They're fine," Sanji repeated, kissing him lightly on his lips and around his jaw. "Come to bed. It's late."

Zoro nodded in agreement and didn't move. "Both of the babies' diapers—"

"Done. They're ready for bed."

Zoro nodded, his gaze drifting up to Sanji's stunning blue eyes. He held them for a moment, everything churning inside him like a tornado filled with sunshine.

"…That sucked."

It was out of his mouth so suddenly. He hadn't really even felt it coming.

Sanji's expression darkened and he nodded, losing Zoro's gaze and finding a spot on Zoro's chin.

"…I hope that I've never been outwardly afraid of you."

That was also out of his mouth so suddenly. He hadn't really even wanted to say it.

Sanji pursed his lips, shaking his head. "No I don't think so. And of course I wouldn't care if you had. Come on," he took Zoro's hands pulled him back towards the bed. Zoro moved, grateful for the reason.

"Did the brown-haired kid get his—"

"They're all asleep," Sanji sat, kissing along the hem of Zoro's pants and tugging the edge of his shirt upwards. "You can't bring them anything anymore."

"...Promise?"

"Promise," Sanji agreed, sliding Zoro's pants down and nuzzling Zoro gently with his nose.

Zoro closed his eyes and sighed now that there was good incentive to be distracted.

-oOo-

Zoro peaked through his fingers, watching the three oldest ones careen around the apartment with dizzying speed as they chased each other, screaming "Tag!" "Tag!" "Tag!" without any real semblance of who was It and who wasn't. Goddamn NSPH speed. Teaching them how to play had been a stupid idea. This was the first moment Zoro had been allowed to sit down since starting the game as an attempt to corral some of their amaranthine energy. Zoro wasn't sure if it was a kid thing or an NSPH thing.

The oldest one, Yoko, kept vaulting herself off of walls and furniture and railings and windowsills and over the heads of the younger two, Momonosuke and Tamanegi, as she avoided being caught. Her braid—tied with some hair ties and pins, a gift from Nami—flew out behind her so straight it was almost as though it just stood on end and gravity didn't affect it. Momonosuke and Tamanegi, trying to copy her with their lessened motor control, inevitably ended up crumpled on the floor and flailing as they tried to right themselves and chase after her again.

The five-year-old not chasing the others was Rika, who preferred to be in the kitchen with Sanji. Sanji had set up her up with one of the bar stools to get her high enough to reach the counter. Presently she was stirring something with break-neck speed as Sanji chuckled over her, avoiding the splops that flew like projectiles from the bowl.

"Slower," he smiled, reaching up and snagging a glop out of the air before it hit his shirt. She looked up at him with wide eyes and a wide mouth for a second before grinning heartily and returning to her task with less fervor.

On the other side of the counter were two high chairs with two infants each gnawing on or banging their respective silverware on the countertops. Neither had names to the best of their knowledge, so the girl had been named Tama and the boy Doran. The older kids had weaseled their way into choosing the names with shouting and jumping and endless pleas to be able to name them. Zoro was sitting beside them in the last available bar stool so he had the best view of the rest of the kids and the majority of the apartment. Not that anything he did was going to help to—

"YA!" Yoko screamed suddenly, landing in the middle of the dojo from where she'd leapt from the balcony. She was flying back into the dining room without a moment's hesitation from the landing.

Zoro's eyes widened—"Oh shit."—and he dove forward from the stool.

Too late.

All at once both Momonosuke and Tamanegi hit the floor face first, landing in terrifyingly bent little piles of downed child.

"CHRIST!" Zoro screamed, at their side the same moment they hit the floor and lifting them to their feet where they stood for a moment, dazed from the impact.

"Are you ok—?" Zoro barked, but both boys had already ducked under his arms and were racing after Yoko again, screaming "Tag!" "Tag!" "Tag!"

Zoro took a very large deep breath and put his face back into his hands, counting down slowly from ten.

"Was that the door?" Sanji called from the kitchen.

Fuck if he knew. You couldn't hear a damn fire alarm over this noise.

"I'll get it!" Yoko was at the door instantly and working on the locks. Zoro flashed to her side and put his hand over the lock, more than aware that there were a lot of people that shouldn't know she was here, and even more that would have been very, very happy to happen upon her. He couldn't really explain the serious protective need he had for the kids. It was strange. Strange and strong.

Zoro cracked the door slightly as Yoko tried to shove herself into the open space to force it further open. Zoro looked down at her blandly, not even phased by her attempts. Thank god he was still much stronger than them. Behind him, Momonosuke and Tamanegi appeared, leaping up and down in time with their chants of "Visitors! Visitors! Visitors!"

"...Hello?" Conis called tentatively from the other side of the door, smiling in at Zoro. Zoro yanked the door open, sending Yoko sprawling back against the floor.

"Oh!" Conis gasped as Yoko's feet flew up over her head, but she was up again the next moment, cackling with glee and sprinting towards the dojo. The boys shrieked their answer and followed suit, Momonosuke tripping up the dojo stairs as he went.

"They don't feel pain," Zoro grumbled, moving out of her way and allowing her in before he closed the door and locked it, turning it harder than he normally would have to make sure it was indeed locked. Conis stepped in almost nervously, her arms around her waist but her smile wide as she watched the kids race around the apartment.

"I see that," she giggled. "How's it going? They certainly have a lot of energy."

Zoro rubbed his forehead. "They've been like this since day two. Maybe…" he shrugged, "excitement from being, you know, out."

Conis nodded, watching as Yoko leapt from the top of the stairs and the boys imitated her, Tamanegi tripping at the top and tumbling down the flight. The interruption stopped none of the three.

"CONIS!" Sanji warbled from the kitchen.

Rika threw her hands up in the air beside him, taking the mixing spoon with her and lacing the ceiling and the window behind her with sauce. "Conis!" she screamed.

Conis laughed, sitting down in Zoro's seat. Zoro sighed and moved to stand between the babies. Doran dropped his fork, watching it clatter against the floor before he stared up at Zoro and pointed. Zoro grumbled and bent, dropping the fork back onto the counter in front of him. Doran stared at it for a second, picked it up, and dropped it off the side of the high chair before looking back up at Zoro. Zoro blinked and bent, setting the fork in front of him again with a sterner look. Doran looked at it for a moment and then picked it up and flung it into the air where it clanked off the high chair and back onto the floor. Zoro's eyebrow twitched.

"You got a problem?" he glowered. Doran laughed up at him and pointed down at the fork, waving his hand insistently when Zoro didn't move right away.

"I'm Rika," Rika supplied happily. "I'm helping make lunch. Are you hungry? Sanji says we always feed hungry people."

"That's right," Sanji agreed, flicking his cigarette up and down between his lips as he stirred the pot on the stove with one hand and tore a hole in a bag of blood with the other, emptying the bag into the pot.

"I want some!" Rika shouted, crossing her arms tightly. Sanji smirked at the grand scowl on her face and pulled open the fridge next to him, fishing out another bag. He tore the top open and poured a quarter into her bowl. Rika grinned and went back to stirring as Sanji eyed the mostly full bag in his hands. He seemed to consider trying to but it back in the fridge for a moment, looking back and forth between the stove and the fridge, before rolling his eyes and dumping the rest into his pot.

"Leftovers are good," he muttered to himself. Conis giggled again, her head snapping to the side at the loud crash from up the stairs.

"You break anything and I'll kick your little speedy-Gonzales butts!" Sanji roared up the stairs, grumbling at the cackling that followed from the kids.

"Thanks for calling me," Conis said happily, leaning her chin against the counter so she could look over and watch the babies. Beside her, Tama stared unabashedly at her, sucking on the handle-end of a fork. "Hi! What's your name?"

"That's Tama!" Rika chimed in, pointing. She pointed to Doran next. "And that's Doran. And that's Yoko," her words sped up as the racing trio sped by, more than able to accommodate their speed and still name them in time before they disappeared. "And that's Tamanegi and that's Momonosuke!"

"Hi Tama," Conis turned on the stool to face Tama, who kept staring. Tama's bright eyes looked quickly to Zoro behind her and then back to Conis, unsure of the newcomer.

Sanji handed Conis a bowl of stew from the pot. "Here, she should be hungry. HEY KNEE-SKINNERS! FOOD!"

The three were at the table instantly, hopping up and down on their chairs and laughing and trying to touch the ceiling.

"SIT DOWN!"

Rika pushed her bowl towards Sanji and jumped down from her stool, skipping over to the quiet side of the table where she sat patiently and bounced her legs up and down. Sanji added her bowl to the stew (having given her part of his mixture to occupy her while he cooked), then grabbed the pot and followed her. Zoro picked up Doran's fork from where he'd dropped it again and then Doran's high chair, carting it over to the table as Doran tried to wrestle the fork from Zoro's fist with gleeful cries.

Conis stood and wrapped her arm around Tama's high chair, standing and lifting it from the floor. She picked up the bowl next and carried both to the table.

"You're so strong," Yoko said, her mouth hanging open slightly as she stared. "I'm gonna be like you when I grow up."

"Not if you don't eat," Sanji slapped a bowl down in front of her and then Momonosuke and Tamanegi in turn. They dropped to their seats and leaned in, gulping the stew down. "Slow down!" Sanji barked.

"How long have you had everyone?" Conis asked around the spoonful she was blowing on. Tama watched her intently, the handle of her fork still in her mouth.

"Five days," Zoro answered slowly while Sanji leaned over Tamanegi intimidatingly as he tried to get out of his chair. Tamanegi yiped and clambered back up, snorting and giggling with Momonosuke once he was sitting and Sanji had flopped back into his own chair. Zoro couldn't tell if the drawl in his voice was from the exhaustion or from the surprise that they had made it five days. He took the bowl Sanji handed him automatically and set it down in front of him, taking a smaller one next for Doran.

"Wow," Conis mused, offering the spoonful to Tama, who just stared at her. "Have any of them been… claimed?"

Sanji shook his head, blowing on his own spoon. "We're not on the rush list."

"Rush list?"

"Because we're both NSPH everyone thinks we're perfectly fine to handle six kids all at once," Sanji muttered, ladling out another bowlful for Yoko when she finished. She tipped her head back and belched hugely, starting a round of laughing from the kids. Momonosuke and Tamanegi started burping their own tiny mimic-attempts in return.

"Stop it, that's rude. They're trying to get the kids out of everyone else's place first. Biting hazard or some bullshit."

"Are you hungry?" Conis asked Tama gently, who just continued to watch her. "It's good," she ate the spoonful herself in show and then filled it again, blowing on it and offering it to Tama again. Tama looked to Sanji and Zoro again and then back to Conis.

Zoro rolled his eyes and leaned forward, popping the fork out of her mouth and taking it back with him. She shrieked a little in protest and flapped her arms up and down, lips quivering as she stared at Zoro.

Zoro shook his head, knowing by now that she was being dramatic. "No. It's time to eat." He turned back to Doran and offered him a spoonful, which he happily (and messily) crammed into his mouth, simultaneously trying to battle the spoon from Zoro.

Tama shrieked again and then, when she didn't get a response, turned back to Conis, watching her with more seriousness now, a little scowl on her face.

"…You don't want it?" Conis leaned back, looking down at the bowl. "Well… all right then, I guess I'll have to eat it myself."

She brought the spoon up to her mouth and Tama shrieked again, leaning forward with her mouth open.

Conis smiled, feeding her the mouthful. "Good choice."

"Are you here to take Tama to her new home?" Rika spoke up around a mouthful of stew.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sanji said. Zoro didn't know how he had the energy. They had to get some of these kids to other places.

Conis nodded, feeding Tama another spoon. "If she and I get along, yes."

"Yay!" the kids screamed, all leaping up onto their chairs and jumping up and down. "Tama gets a new home! Tama gets a new home!"

"Sit down!"

Yoko stopped abruptly, realizing both the pros and cons of Tama's new home. She crossed her arms. "No! I don't want her to go! I'm going to miss her!"

Conis grinned over at her. "What if we visited all the time? Tama can't not have friends just because she comes home with me. And she has to have friends like her. Like you! And me!"

"Sit down."

Yoko considered that for a moment before nodding. "I guess. …But you have to promise to take care of her! You have to take the best care of her!" She jerked her finger accusingly at Conis. "She's just a baby! So she needs people to protect her—!"

"Sit. Down." Sanji snarled, leaning across the table and reaching for her. Yoko dropped into her chair and dug into her bowl innocently. When Sanji returned to his chair after a moment of glaring she stuck her tongue out at him, inciting another round of cackling from the rest of the kids. Sanji and Zoro sighed.

"You're an… enespaitch?" Rika asked Conis, wide-eyed, her dark eyes glowing brilliantly.

"NSPH," Sanji corrected her, filling her bowl again.

Conis nodded. "I am. I think that would make me a good person to take care of Tama. She and I could understand each other in ways other people wouldn't understand. What do you think?"

Rika shrugged after a moment's consideration. "Zoro says he doesn't understand us, but we're both enespaitch."

"I said I didn't understand how you were all so damn loud," Zoro told her flatly. Rika stared at him blankly for a moment before grinning widely and turning back to her bowl. Zoro smirked despite himself.

Conis gave Tama another spoonful and then leaned over to Zoro, lowering her voice so the kids couldn't hear. "Are… are you two considering…?"

Zoro shook his head. "That's not important. Finding them damn homes is the most important thing. We're not going to… okay one for here if someone else wants to take them."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Momonosuke appeared between the two, making them both leap back.

"Go sit in your chair and finish your food!" Zoro's patience was wearing really thin today.

"I'm all done! I want to go play!"

"Fine, go play. You get one hour and then it's quiet time."

"AAWWWWWWWW!"

"Not an option!" Zoro growled. "One hour of play and then everyone needs to find a book or some markers or something else quiet and find a spot and NOT MAKE ANY NOISE. It's my time in the dojo." Getting up early enough to beat the kids to the dojo was impossible. He felt like he hadn't trained in days. Time did not fly with six screaming maniacs in his apartment.

"BUT WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE QUIET TIME!" Tamanegi stood up in his chair. "Quiet time is boring!"

"One hour of play and then quiet time."

"BUT WE—"

"It sounds like no one wants any play time before quiet time!"

The three oldest kids gasped, shared and look, and then dashed away from the table to hide upstairs.

"I don't want to play," Rika moped. "They're too loud."

Sanji leaned over and hoisted her from her chair, dragging her into his lap and tickling her. She screamed in protest, trying to wiggle away.

"Life's hard, isn't it? Isn't it?" He tickled her relentlessly for a heartbeat and then let go, she dropped from his lap and land on her feet. "You can go start the dishes then," he waved a hand towards the kitchen, "I'll be over in a minute."

Rika stared wide-eyed up at him before shaking her head slowly. "No thanks. I'm going to go play. Will you read me a book for quiet time?"

"Quiet time is time for me and Zoro to have a minute to ourselves," Sanji told her, leaning back into his chair and puffing on his cigarette. Rika's expression sank and she curled in on herself. Sanji was still for a moment before conceding. "…Maybe if you can get the others to play a quiet game I'll read you something."

Rika grinned, flopping back to ease and happiness with no issue, and then skipped off towards the stairs. Sanji watched her go and then leaned forward onto the table on his elbows. "She wanted me to read her the damn dictionary last night."

"Smart!" Conis laughed, setting Tama's mostly-empty bowl aside.

Sanji shook his head. "I'm going to try and see if she'll let me read some recipe books to her instead. At least I'll be able to stay awake then."

Conis stood, undoing Tama's securements and lifting her from the chair. "Come here, sweetheart." She sat back with Tama on her lap, who watched her attentively from nuder her tuft of purple hair for a moment before reaching for her necklace. Conis held it up and let Tama shove the beads into her mouth.

"…What do you think?" Sanji asked, smiling at the pair.

Conis beamed back at him, turning to Tama after. "I think you're perfect," she nuzzled her nose into Tama's neck, making her squeal.

"Thank god," Zoro sighed, slumping forward on the table and joining Sanji. "Take her today. Have the crib."

"She has been having some nightmares," Sanji leaned forward even further into the table. "But that's to be expected. I'll write down some things we've had luck with before you go. We'll collect her things but don't feel like we're pushing you out. Stay until you're both really comfortable. I'm making a casserole for dinner, you're of course welcome to join."

"Thanks," Conis smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want two?" Zoro spoke up from the wood, wincing as something crashed upstairs. "Any one of them."

Conis giggled and shook her head, turning back to Tama, who had reached for her earrings next. "I think I'll be all set with you, little Miss." Tama grinned and resumed her gnashing on Conis's jewelry. "But I'm sure the other ones will find homes soon!"

Another crash from upstairs. Zoro closed his eyes tightly. "Uh-huh."

-oOo-

Zoro sat at the counter glowering playful at Doran, who placed his hands over his mouth in giddy excitement and squealed behind his palms. Zoro cracked a smirk and leaned his head to the right slightly. Doran's eyes grew with anticipation and he pressed his little fists tighter into his face.

Zoro held still for a second, and then spat the cherry seed in his mouth into the sink.

PANG.

Doran burst out laughing, tossing his head back so he could do so more fully. Zoro smirked again and popped another cherry in his mouth, chewing slowly and waiting for Doran to come back. Over on the other side of the kitchen Sanji chuckled to himself and continued stirring the bowl in his arms. Outside, snow drifted by the window and frosted the glass over. Yoko and Rika were drawing shapes into the fog. They were the only kids remaining in the house.

Thank god, because Zoro needed his damn sleep.

A sharp wrap called everyone's attention to the door.

"I got it!" Yoko screamed, racing for the door, Rika hot on her tail. It was nice to see the two of them getting along, they tended to do a lot of bickering. Yoko was so high energy and Rika wanted nothing more than to cook with Sanji and read.

"I want to get the door!" Rika wailed, jumping up and down. Yoko paused with her hands on the door knob and turned to eye Rika devilishly. She started to turn the lock slowly.

"YOKO!"

"Will someone please open the door?" Sanji called. Zoro rolled his eyes and spat the pit into the sink.

PANG.

Doran erupted in gleeful laughter, rolling over in his high chair.

"I want toooooooooo!" Rika whined, crouching down to stare up at Yoko. Yoko watched her intently, feigned turning the lock so Rika shrieked again, and then backed away from the door. Rika grinned and jumped for the lock, hanging from the door handle to reach it.

Zoro blinked. Well, that was new. Yoko didn't usually concede.

"Tell her thank you!" Sanji called.

"Thanksssss," Rika flipped the lock and turned the knob as Yoko wrapped her arms around Rika's waist and pulled her back to open the door. The girls cackled.

"Hello!" Chopper called, poking his head through the door. Yoko's face turned devious again and she ran forward suddenly with Rika still in her arms, pretending to slam the door in his face. Chopper screamed and darted through the door, slipping and flopping onto his face. The girls cackled again.

"Excuse me," Law shoved his way through the door. Rika let go of the knob and the two joined Chopper on the floor, leaping on him and tickling him.

"AAH! HAHA STOP IT! HAHA I DON'T LIKE THAT! HAHA NO!"

Law passed by the pile as if it didn't exist and joined Zoro at the counter.

"Welcome," Zoro said drawly. "Come on in."

"Mmhmm," Law nodded, unperturbed.

"Are you hungry?" Sanji asked, indicating to the stove. "Should be ten minutes."

"Sure, but we didn't come for lunch. I need to talk with you both for a moment."

Zoro and Sanji paused, shared a look, and then turned back to Law. Chopper continued to scream against the tickle barrage. "…In private?"

Law shrugged.

Sanji made a face. "I mean is it going to fuck up the kids. Should we send the kids from the room so as not to fuck them up. Does this conversation need to be in private to not fuck up the kids."

"The only thing "fucking them up" is your language, Sanji," Law said politely. He poked Doran who squealed happily and tried to bat the offending hand away. "Nothing I have to say is bad for them to hear. Chopper, would you join us please?"

"Let the doctor go!" Sanji called into the kitchen. "Or no dessert tonight!"

The girls gasped and scrambled away from Chopper, who laid on the floor catching his breath for a moment before clambering up, exhausted, and joining the group at the counter.

Law and Chopper were quiet for a moment before Law spoke up. "…We have some big news…"

"...Yeah?" Sanji demanded. Zoro could see that he was fully considering ignoring them to turn back to his cooking. As it was, he wasn't looking at Law anymore and was stirring the bowl more vigorously.

"...We developed a virucide."

"...A what?" Zoro blinked.

"...An antidote."

"For what?"

Chopper leapt out of his chair, throwing his arms into the air. "The Negligible Senescent Porphyric Humanoid virus!"

Sanji's arms dropped to his side. The bowl hit the ground, shattering and drenching the floor in pasta sauce and porcelain. Sanji stood stalk still, staring blankly at the two doctors. Doran, who'd jumped violently at the bowl breaking, tucked himself behind his hands and started crying. Zoro just stared, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"What happened?!" Yoko burst into the kitchen, sliding to a stop on the floor with her fists up, ready to defend whoever needed defending. Rika trotted over behind her, looking between Sanji and Zoro with fierce worry. Law sighed and stood. He lifted Doran from his chair and set him on his hip, bouncing him slowly and rubbing his back.

"...Excuse me?" Zoro choked out.

"I treated myself," Law held out his arm where a bandage was covering a nasty wound, if the amount of blood leaking through the cotton said anything. Law wasn't healing at an NSPH rate. "It takes a couple of hours for the virucide to process the whole viral load."

Law's arm wasn't healing.

"...You…" Zoro was dumbfounded. He slumped into the counter.

"It's your choice, for you two and the kids—if you're intending to keep them, otherwise I will make the decision for them—but it will eradicate the virus from the planet. Technically the people infected are the last remnants of the virus now that all of the related material has been destroyed. I'm going to offer it to all of the other NSPH and to the parents of the kids. I don't expect many people will turn me down."

Law turned to Zoro, nodding to the patch covering his eye. "That won't ever heal if you take the virucide."

Zoro nodded automatically, an unprompted laugh starting to tumble out of his mouth.

Law passed Doran to Zoro, who was quieter now and sucking on his thumb. "We'll come back in a couple of hours. Take your time, I don't expect this to be an easy decision."

Law nodded to Chopper and both started for the door, letting themselves out.

Zoro looked back to Sanji, who had started shaking. Yoko and Rika watched the doctors go and turned to stare at Sanji and Zoro in turn.

"What happened?" Yoko demanded. "Did they hurt you? I'll hurt them back!"

Sanji was still, and then all at once he slid to the floor and placed his head in his hands, trembling with sobs. Zoro couldn't stop laughing. He staggered to Sanji's side and sat down with Doran still on his hip, wrapping his arms around Sanji and laughing fully for the first time in what felt like years. Yoko and Rika shared a look and nodded to each other, deciding that the two men were weird.

-oOo-

"You'll have to stop smoking. Smoking without the healing properties of the NSPH virus will damage your arteries, lungs, eyes, taste buds, make it harder for you to fight… essentially you'd be starting as a new smoker the second you aren't infected anymore."

Sanji eyed Chopper with demonic anger as he said this, but Chopper pretended not to see. Zoro swallowed inwardly, aware that he'd likely take the brunt of Sanji's withdrawal, no matter how small it was.

He leaned forward and placed his hand on Sanji's thigh. "We'll get through it."

Sanji didn't acknowledge him. He was too busy spewing smoke like a train and chewing on the tip of the cigarette in his mouth like it was a hefty cigar and could handle the abuse.

"I suggest you quit before taking the virucide," Chopper continued, "otherwise you'll go through withdrawal in your "new" body and we don't want the experience to be any stranger than it already will be. The less shock your body has to deal with as it adjusts to being without… uh… superhuman powers the better."

Sanji closed his eyes tightly, breathing slowly to himself through flared nostrils, and then fished into his pocket and dug out the pack of cigarettes. He shoved them across the counter towards Chopper, who beamed and tucked them out of sight in his own pocket.

-oOo-

Sanji was lying back on the table in the operating room, lifting his head to look over at Law with wide eyes, dropping his head back onto the table and breathing heavily for a moment before lifting his head again to watch Law. Beside him, Zoro pursed his lips and took Sanji's hand. Sanji's head snapped to where Zoro was, almost as if he'd forgotten Zoro was there. The fear was obvious in his eyes.

In another room, Chopper was monitoring Doran, Rika, and Yoko as they slept and the virucide seeped into their bodies.

"I know Law's not very good at what he does, but I'm sure you'll be fine," Zoro smiled, trying to alleviate the stress in the room. Sanji glared at him and dropped his head back onto the table to breathe.

"You can be calm, Sanji," Law strode idly to the side of the bed, tapping on the syringe in his hand to remove the bubbles. "You're one of the last NSPH to take the virucide. No one has had any ill effects." Law reached for Sanji's arm and Sanji suddenly sat up like a bullet, pulling his arm away. Zoro stood and wrapped his arms around Sanji's shoulders.

Law watched the two of them idly before stating, "...I'll give you a moment," and starting for the door. "Give me a call when you're ready."

Zoro waited until the door had closed and then laid his lips on Sanji's forehead, feeling him hyperventilate into his chest.

"…I've… I've never been anything but NSPH," Sanji said finally. "How do I… how can I… know this person I've never been? That's never existed?"

"...That person has always existed. That's the side of you that you keep insisting isn't there—the cook, the caretaker, the one who refused to hurt people who were important to him even through everything the NSPH instincts were forcing on him. ...Maybe it's time that side of you gets to enjoy some freedom."

Sanji was still.

"And I'll be here," Zoro continued, running his hands through Sanji's hair. "And I'm sure as hell taking the thing. I mean, you don't have to—absolutely, but… change is ok, and change is good. I don't think you have to be worried about this change."

Sanji sat for a moment, thinking back on Luffy's wisdom on change when they talked on the roof of the arena. That day seemed so long ago.

Sanji nodded and leaned into Zoro. "Go get Law."

Zoro nodded and reached back to knock on the door without letting go of Sanji. Law came in a moment after, surveying the room before taking his place beside the bed again.

Zoro leaned down and kissed Sanji gently.

"This is a sedative," Law repeated the bubble-removing procedure and then swabbed the inside of Sanji's arm, ignoring Sanji's automatic tensing. Sanji might never feel comfortable around doctors, but maybe that would change too. "I don't know if the virucide is painful, and I have no intention of finding out. You'll wake up a couple of hours after everything has worked through your system. We'll run some tests to make sure your blood is clean afterwards, but this should take care of everything."

Sanji and Zoro watched the clear liquid slip down the needle and into Sanji's arm.

Sanji's vision grew heavy and his body turned to cotton. He slumped into Zoro heavily and happily.

"Hey," Zoro said gently through the water flooding Sanji's ears. Sanji could feel himself being laid down onto the table. "See you soon."

"….Marimo," Sanji agreed.

-oOo-

The thing Sanji loved most about being entirely human was getting too hot and needing to take off his tie and undo the top two buttons on his shirt in the middle of a fight. It was a strange discovery, but he loved it nonetheless.

It had taken him some time getting used to being non-NSPH. He tripped constantly, banged every extremity he had on everything that protruded into walkways even slightly, struggled endlessly trying to relearn his taste pallet, wore out his hands and arms cooking too much, got winded and tired, couldn't carry all of his grocery bags in one go, might need to consider real glasses, and even had limits on how long sex could go because of his human stamina. It was not all perfect. It was not all great. There were days that he really, truly regretted taking the virucide.

Sanji looked up onto the arena balcony where Zoro stood. He had Doran in his arms and was pointing at Sanji and teaching Doran to wave. Beside them, Rika and Yoko jumped up and down and shrieked their encouragement to Sanji. He couldn't hear them over the crowd anymore, but he didn't care.

He missed some things, but even with his dulled senses, Zoro had never once stopped stunning him, and when all was said and done, Sanji was more grateful than he could ever hope to explain to be human with that dope and their dopey kids.

Sanji took off his jacket and tossed it out of the arena. He'd wait on the tie until he got too hot; he did really enjoy it after all. His opponent joined him in the arena and the crowd erupted in excitement. Sanji grinned, feeling his weight in the packed sand under their feet. He blew Doran, Rika, and Yoko three kisses and then flipped Zoro off, eliciting a round of laughter from the crowd. Sanji turned back to his opponent and leaned forward, settling himself into a fighting stance.

He should take Zoro out. …Maybe to an oceanside cottage. …With a grill and a nice sunset.

"Um… you're… the greatest." Sanji barked out a laugh, stunned by Zoro's little mini-speech. "And… I love you. So much. And I would like you to spend the rest of your life with me. …Please."

The bell rang and Sanji's opponent raced forward. Sanji steeled himself and waited.

Maybe they'd buy an oceanside cottage for trips. It'd be nice to have a place to bring the kids away from the city. Or they could get a babysitter for the weekend.

"Marimo," Sanji agreed quietly, feeling the cool metal of the band around his finger as he leaned in to kiss Zoro.

Sanji's opponent leapt into the air, raising his weapon high.

They'd definitely need a babysitter.

Sanji leaned back, ducking under the blade with endless grace and whipping his foot into the air. His heel cracked into the man's chin with deft accuracy. The crowd swelled in approval.

Sanji grinned to himself, making a note to ask Killer if he'd babysit.

While he was at it, he made a note to kiss Zoro first thing when he was done. It had been almost ten minutes since they'd last kissed. Unacceptable. And while he was at that, he made a note to find an oceanside cottage for sale.

He'd start a list of places he needed to kiss Zoro later.

They had time.

The End