A few days passed and you had let yourself relax. Killer hadn't come back around so you assumed he was planning on sticking to the agreement of him staying away. You spent all your free time doing what you could to keep yourself in shape. Work was so much easier when you were able to run long distances easily and actually hold your own in a fight. With that in mind, you went on runs a lot and did any other kind of workout you could without owning any actual equipment.

When you had renewed your confidence and went through some self pep talks, it came time for you to head back to the Monarch and find something to do. You'd stick to some low risk work for now and work back up to what you were used to doing. It'd pay less but you'd be more comfortable with it. For the time being at least.

You got up that day, ready to get things done and took care of Delilah's animals in the morning in record time. After she thanked you in her usual way with breakfast and coffee, the non-alcoholic kind this time, you decided to head out and buy a few groceries. There was practically nothing in the apartment and you didn't want to have to go shopping right after work. Things like that were better off taken care of early in the day anyway.

The grocery store was a little farther off than the Monarch but you didn't mind the walk. It was refreshing and only made your mood even better. You went early enough you were able to snag what you needed without fighting crowds of people and even got some great deals to boot. It was really beginning to feel like your day. That's what you thought until you got home at least.

Something felt off the second you touched the doorknob to your apartment. You brushed it off and decided it was just you not being used to having such a nice morning but when you stepped in, you dropped your bags of groceries to the floor and felt like the last few days of peace had been nothing but a sham.

"You're ruining perfectly good food." Killer said as he stepped away from the far wall to start picking up the dropped bags.

You had enough of his antics. "What the fuck are you doing here?" You shoved a hand into his chest, not really all that surprised when he didn't even stumble.

"That's not a nice way to greet a guest." He placed the bags on your small counter space and leaned against it to face you.

"You're not a guest, I didn't invite you here! Now leave before I call the cops!"

"You can't and won't call the police. And I just came to talk, relax."

"No! Leave." You spat through grit teeth. You had to watch your temper. If you got any more angry, there'd be literal fire accompanying your words.

"I'll leave after we talk."

"What happened to you leaving me alone?"

"Oh I never said how long I'd do that. I figured a few days was time enough."

Killing was never your thing, but you were seriously considering making an exception for him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" You pushed him to the side and began putting things away. You weren't going to let your stuff go bad just because it sat out too long. Food was too expensive for that.

"Because you interest me."

"So that's reason enough to stalk me?"

"I never came across you intentionally until now."

"What about last time I saw you?"

Of course you meant last time he was near the apartment complex. You weren't going to voluntarily suggest you were the local dragon. That would be stupid.

He thought for a moment before his lips twitched up into a smile. "I was following a lead that the dragon was spotted nearby the night before and was checking out the area to see if I could find anything of note. Imagine my surprise when I saw the same little thief I ran into the same night the dragon made an appearance. That's quite the coincidence."

"Are you trying to suggest something?" You snapped back.

"No. Just saying it was strange is all." He went to take an apple from one of your bags and you immediately snatched it out of his hand. Groceries. Weren't. Cheap. "By the way, I've been wondering about something..."

"Keep wondering, I don't want to answer your questions."

"That's fine, I'll stay as long as I need to." He walked over to your bed and dropped down to sit on it's edge. "It's up to you."

"What is with you and doing...this?" You gestured to him, his legs drawn up and arms draped over his knees, one foot tapping on the sloped laminated floor.

"Doing what?" He cocked his head to the side.

"This! You come around and act like you know me and–and demand that I answer stupid questions like some asshole!"

"Oh that's because I am an asshole. I don't know if you've figured it out yet or not, but I'm part of a gang. It's my job to get answers from those that may have information we need. That was the case with the armband."

"And now?"

"And now I'm just curious."

"So why should I put up with you?"

"Because I have the feeling you couldn't move me even if you tried."

You were sizing each other up. He was gauging how much effort it would take on your part to even make him budge while you debated sprouting talons and carting his ass out the door. The look on his face would be priceless and he'd probably drop bringing up your size so much. But you had to behave yourself. You could answer his questions and get him out of your place. If he pissed you off enough you could toss a frying pan at his head on the way out.

"Fine." You slid to the floor with your back to the counter. "Ask away and then get out of my house."

"Relax, we've got all day." He smiled. "Quit acting like this is an interrogation, it's just a friendly talk."

Killer brushed his hair out of his eyes, giving you a full view of his face before continuing. You had to admit, he was damn good looking. He had perfectly chiseled features, thick eyelashes any woman would be jealous of and the most beautiful blue eyes. They were hard to miss when you first saw them but in the daylight they were even harder to look away from.

"I thought it was interesting that first night. I had you backed into a corner and I really thought I had the upper hand. I'm curious as to how that door literally flew of it's hinges."

Not a good start to the conversation. But you could think fast, you had this.

"You went through that door too, it'd seen better days. Besides, there's no way I could break something like that if it wasn't already in bad shape." You rolled your eyes.

"You got a point there." He shrugged. "So is Blue your real name?"

"Is Killer yours?" Ivankov told you it was, but you still wanted to get it straight from the horse's mouth.

"It is believe it or not. Can't say my parents were all that creative." He was grinning like you'd said something almost funny. "Now what about yours?"

"No, Blue's not my real name."

"What is your real name?"

"Pass."

He frowned. "Who said you could pass?"

"If we're doing personal questions, it's only fair to get to pass at least one." You said with a smile. It was nice getting to catch him off guard.

He brushed a thumb against his lip before nodding and continuing on. "Alright, that's your only one then. Tell me about what you do for work then."

"You know the club Monarch?"

He nodded again.

"It's easy to find things to do there. Someone's always hiring for one thing or another. I've done petty theft to arson and everything in between."

"A diverse portfolio, I like it."

You were surprised to see him laughing without actually making a sound. His body went through the motions, he broke into a wide smile, his shoulders shook, but not even an airy chuckle came out. Strange.

"What about you?" You asked. "You mentioned having a boss. Who do you work for?"

"He's my boss in some ways, my friend in others. We've got a different relationship going on when it comes to our crew." He said thoughtfully and a lot more honestly than you expected. He was full of surprises. "Eustass Kid, I'm sure you've heard of him."

Killer leaned back until he was laying across your bed and placed his hands behind his head. You didn't like him getting comfortable there, it felt too personal. It'd be a good idea to invest in a small table and chairs like Delilah did.

"The name rings a bell." The fucker pulled out some feathers. You'd be happy to chew up that metal arm of his and spit it back in his face. Nah, you weren't bitter about anything.

"So you've heard of Kid, and the worst generation I assume, how about the dragon?"

"Yeah, everyone has."

"How much do you know?"

"Why do you care?"

"I thought I made it obvious? We're looking for whoever it is."

You eyed him, debating on what to say that would be considered safe without giving yourself away. He was literally in the dragon's den. Sure it wasn't all that impressive, but still.

"I know what everyone else knows. Whoever it is ate a devil fruit to get the power and they show up around the city from time to time, catching shit on fire and spooking people. Don't know if it's a guy or a gal or anything else."

"I know a little more than that." Killer grunted.

Oh, you had to ask. "Really?"

"Yeah. Actually had a run in with it the other day. Saw it making a bee line for a certain weapons factory. Kid and I went to go meet it there, see if we could have a chat with it."

You could hardly consider being jumped a chat but okay.

"It was actually really cool looking up close. Real sleek, had shiney feathers. No horns funny enough, I figured all dragon's would have horns."

"That doesn't tell you much."

"No, but I did get close to it's face and it had the most interesting eyes. One blue and one (e/c)."

Shit. You didn't think about someone seeing your eyes in the middle of that fight and you moved in close to him during all that. He had a good look at them and they were anything but common. You paled as you understood why he was really here. It took every ounce of self control to keep playing it cool. Maybe he was stupid enough to not have made the super obvious connection, right?

"Sounds pretty nifty." Your voice didn't shake and you even kept up with a bored tone. Points for you.

"The crazy thing is," Killer sat back up and bent over himself as he stared you down uncomfortably. "I coulda swore you had some interesting eyes yourself."

"Heterochromia isn't exactly all that uncommon."

"That is true, it doesn't narrow my search down all that much, does it?"

"Maybe you should invest in a billboard, ask them to come say hi. Next time they fly by they may see it and come pay you a visit."

"That's a nice idea." He grinned again. "I'm sure Kid would like it."

"So are we done here?" You wanted him out if he wasn't going to pull anything.

"And here I thought we were getting along Blue."

"Keep dreaming."

He stood up and stretched. You got up as well, not liking him towering over you more than he already did.

"One last question actually, how long have your eyes been like that?"

"Since I can remember. It's a birth defect." You lied.

"Looks nice on you."

The compliment left you temporarily at a loss for words as he headed out the door. But you quickly followed him out, stopping yourself right at the doorstep.

"Did you ever think that the dragon might just want to be left alone?"

"Left alone?" He paused, slightly tilting his head back to glance at you. "I assume that for it to keep its secret, it must be pretty closed off. Not a lot of friends or family, if any that is. I figure it might be hoping for the opposite, for a friend."

"Not everyone wants a friend." You shook your head.

"Everyone has to have someone else to rely on. I'll see you around Blue, that offer still stands if you want it."

What was this man trying to pull? As he walked away, you couldn't help but feel confused. You almost wanted him to come back, if only to explain what the hell he was talking about.