A/N: I am freezing. Idk if it's from writing this or that this place is too fixing cold.

NaghiTan: ;_; not out of the woods, yet! (Literally)

Siberianrs: Zoro's affection is really obvious- haha but just how much? XD as for Sabo, his thoughts of the matter will be revealed soon. Next chapter. And they did eat the horse, but their reign of terror will not stop there. It's too soon - they're just getting started. Kidd needs his own talk show lol Can you imagine? Yikes

Part Four

The sounds of the assault rifle bursting overhead, with Fukuro's delighted laughter were combined with gunshots coming from behind them had Jyabura ducking low, arms over his head. He shouted aloud with fear, as bullets pinged off the wood, and one blast in particular left a face sized hole in the back of the wagon, emerging out to the front, between Kumadori's legs. Kaku had given Jyabura his bag with extra clothes, and then the others had contributed their own to Lucci, the man sitting casually in mismatched clothing, barefoot.

"I hate this!" Jyabura shouted. He glared up at the man sitting across from him, looking calm and collected as he lightly patted the head of the unconscious man laying across the seat. At the moment, Lucci was handcuffing their wrists together, because both he and Jyabura was in dire needs for a nap. "How are you not affected by this? We're going to die in here!"

"They won't shoot here again, knowing he's in here," Lucci assured him, palm on chin as he gazed out the window. The treeline fluttered by, allowing him glimpses of the wintery conditions outside. Thick snow clouds were moving in slowly, and they had touched down on the mountain tops, already consuming the peaks. The chill in the air seemed to grow colder, and the wind that blasted them with their fast paced travel was already affecting the air they breathed. It was a day's worth of travel back to Aeneus. "Look at this place. In spring, I'm sure it's beautiful. It's a perfect setting for those settling down up in this area."

He then yawned noisily, Jyabura catching sight of this, and yawning as well.

"Of course, this area was probably much prettier before the settlers came in."

"Look, what are we going to do? They're going to catch up to us! And when they do, I don't know if I can change, again. We were in the other form all fucking night! I hope you're happy with what you've done!"

"I am. And I wouldn't worry about it – Kaku and the others are more than enough to stop them," yawn, "and I feel you should place more confidence in them."

"Don't," yawn, "tell me that I don't have enough confidence in my own," yawn, "teammates! I mean, I do, and I don't!"

"I heard that!" Kumadori yelled, snapping the reins. "Look at this, Jyabura! Feast your eyes on this scene! I am managing to push us into a continuous run, when we've lost both back wheels! Can you say that you could do the same?"

"Reload me!" Fukuro shouted, reloading himself. Then firing again. "This is amazing! I've taken out two of their horses, and they're still coming after us! Their swordsman is probably better than Kaku is! I can't hit them individually!"

"Wow, thanks for that confidence! They're not close enough to hit us," Kaku reported, appearing at the window, sheathing his own sword. "It looks like they're slowed down, just enough to let us catch our breath. Goddamn, they're persistent, y'know?"

"I can't believe we were chasing one of them all night!" Jyabura exclaimed, slamming back into his seat, sprawled out with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He fought another huge yawn, to which Lucci yawned, and both of them growled at each other for it. "How did you know she – he – it was a Strawhat?"

"He gave himself away, dog," Lucci said, finding all the pins that kept the dirty wig in place, and tossed it out the window, nearly hitting Kaku as he twisted in the saddle to shoot off a few rounds.

"Reloading!" Fukuro yelled unnecessarily. "I've broken the legs of the last horse! They're definitely unable to follow us by animal! It's a shame I couldn't kill one of those guys personally!"

"I'm sure we'll get another chance, soon! They looked very determined to catch up. It looks like they're taking to the meadow to cut us off, Lucci!" Kumadori reported.

"Let them. We're on animal, they're just insignificant humans. Their effort will be in vain," Lucci said with no worry on his features. He reached over for the smaller suitcase on the floor, lifting it to his lap. It was Sanji's, and his male clothes were inside, causing him to look through the various items with a judgmental expression before exploring the inside lining for hidden compartments. When he found nothing more of interest, he closed it up and pushed it underneath their seat, using it as an ottoman.

"To answer your question, Jyabura, he used a story where his persona was working in a brothel down south, where the Donquixote family had a weapons factory there. Yes, it's true, there was a brothel there – but he also mentioned a Christy family as well. While what he said was true about the eldest Christy son being disowned from the family farm down there, what he didn't say was that this son traveled his way East to Dressrosa, where he worked in the brothel on Donquixote grounds. He was a worker there for one year, before a customer stole off with him and they made their way west. Unfortunately, once a worker, always a worker. His jealous lover killed him, then himself, on a wagon trip west. When his body was returned to his natural family, they wanted nothing to do with it. They left it to rot at the end of their driveway, where their neighbors complained until the local constable had to do something with it. The only reason why that particular fact sticks out is that Sanji Blackleg started off in the brothel in Dressrosa, at the same time as the eldest Christy. They knew each other. And when Sicily spoke about their newest girl, Blackleg had told her that same story, but also mentioned being mentored by a woman named Shishimori, an older sister of sorts. Who was also the eldest girl at the Dressrosa brothel. Shishimori never left Dressrosa. The only reason why I know all this is because, before his death, the elder Doflamingo brother was required to keep paperwork on all his workers, to keep from engaging into human trafficking with them. As long as we knew where everyone was, and they had the necessary paperwork, he was allowed to run his business alongside our suggested guidelines."

Jyabura frowned at him, not at all impressed. He was aware of Lucci's tastes, and while it didn't bother him that the man found his entertainment in shady places, the story was just too well researched for him to remember. "So, you knew this, and…?"

After releasing another loud yawn, Lucci then said, "Not only did that stick out in my head, but, really, after last night's transgressions, did you honestly think a she-male could elude us as easily as he did? Or have the energy to continue on as he had? It was mentioned that the Strawhats are made of stronger stuff, being that most of them are considered…godly…but, once these things made sense, that's when I changed my plans in slaughtering him."

"We had the chance to take him down when he took a nap!"

"And ruin this moment? He was setting off to meet the other Strawhats, and what a perfect opportunity to find them by him leading us to them. And look at us – in gun battle with the criminals, and with him still in our custody. With the way he praised his 'family', I have no doubt that they'll chase us to the ends of the earth to get him back. We can use this to our advantage."

Jyabura shook a finger at him, eyes shutting heavily. "You're good. Yes. I give this to you, now."

"Now that we have them in the open, we can do one of two things: take them to Aeneus for proper justice served, or dish out our own brand of justice, and return with their heads. What sounds easiest?"

"Let me nap on it," Jyabura said, yawning again. "Because if I read the file right, they're escape artists. So killing them now might be best. But then again, think of the response we'd get if we hung them all in a public setting? It'll squash any uprising that people might have towards the government."

"This is why we get along, dog. You and I think alike."

"Not entirely. Don't flatter yourself, cat."

Lucci felt his eyes closing heavily, frowning as his partner fell asleep with a loud snore, Fukuro laughing once more.

"Lost them!" he announced grandly, peering into the window at him, green hair fluttering with the wind.

"I'm going to take a short nap," Lucci decided, looking down at the man laying over him. He wondered why Sanji Blackleg didn't look like his Wanted poster. The real thing was nondescript and plain up close – he couldn't get the attraction at all. But when dressed up as a woman, it was all he could do to keep his eyes off him. After his warning shouts to the others, Lucci had made short work of his consciousness by testing the inside wood paneling with Sanji's head, so he suspected, along with the constant all-night travel, that Sanji would be out for awhile.

Enough for him to take a nap, to replenish his own energy. He ran his fingers through matted blond hair, wearing an expression of disgust as he tilted his head back and went to sleep.

: :

Luffy was determined to get to that coach, and so were the other two men with them. Running through the thick grasses of the meadow, he pushed hard to cut across the wide open to get to the vague incline ahead. Sabo had shouted that he'd take the others to the nearest town for horses, to get Nami and Tony to safety, and Ussop stayed behind to help him get assistance for the disabled wagon. Sabo knew he couldn't talk them out of pursuing the agents to get Sanji back, so he let them go with reluctance.

Now that they were on the run, he could feel his blood boiling with anger and determination. He was not going to let them reach Aeneus, not when his friend was so close. These months without Sanji had been a hard one for all of them, all of them in a frozen state of existence while they wondered if he were okay, if this meeting was truly going to happen. What happened for Sanji to be in the state that he was in was a story for him to tell later, when they were all together. Right now, what really mattered was getting to him.

The snowclouds were coming in fast, and the wind chill made his snot freeze. The air nipped at his skin, and he could see his breath as he exhaled. Glancing to the side of his eye, he could see their breath, too. All of them wore determined expressions, and he knew he could depend on them to follow him into this battle. They splashed through a bubbling creek, maneuvered over rocky, uneven ground, then climbed up the incline, into a thick treeline that reached upward for a large bend in the road. Luffy could see it, in his mind's eye the road that they traveled on. He knew if they cut across this forest and crossed a narrow ravine and then the wide river, they could reach the road in time to meet them. The road had to wind in a far arch away from the river, where the only spot available for a proper bridge was a narrow point in the water. They'd stopped at that bridge so they could look over the railing below, to consider fishing for a bit.

He put on the speed up the incline, the steepness felt in the strain in his thighs, but the sensation was ignored. Because his friend needed his help, and those guys shot their horses, forcing Ussop to kill them to end their pain, and they were going to get it.

An hour later, he scrambled through the trees, hearing Law loading his rifle. Zoro had his swords out, and the two separated, still running. The wagon was in sight, and the single rider was moving ahead, the horse clopping along with light steps. The two in the driver's seat were singing some tavern song, miming the touching of beer mugs to each other. All of them were pretty happy, considering what crimes they'd committed already. There was already light snow falling, and they alternated between complaining about it and commenting on it. Luffy knew what the land looked like around them. They'd crossed the river nearly a mile ago, and it swirled at the base of a low cliff side, which faced a wide open ground of grass, brush and what looked to be a springy meadow. Beyond that, in the vague distance, was the railroad tracks. A train traveled along it, smoke visible, but it was only carrying a single car.

Luffy headed straight for the wagon, trusting the other two to handle the man on the horse, and the ones on the driver's seat. The coach was still being dragged, the harsh sound of metal and wood being forced atop of hard dirt and stone ringing out over the songs of the men in front. How the thing remained intact said something to Luffy – it wasn't made from the same material as a normal coach. Only Law's ammunition had managed to penetrate it, so they assumed it to be mostly bulletproof. Not only that, but probably able to withstand intense amounts of trauma that it might encounter on the roadway.

He came up fast, renewed by a burst of energy. He burst out from the tree line, and mere moments later, the loud crack of the rifle rang out, and the front left axle exploded, causing the horses to rear up with surprise. The men on the wagon had just barely reacted to this sound before realizing the tilt of the thing before Zoro hit from the other side, slashing through the reins and tongue at the front of the coach, the horses running free from the surprised hands of the drivers. Luffy slammed up against the door of the coach and ripped it open, shouting for Sanji. One man sat up with surprise, and the other lifted his head wearily, and once Luffy saw Sanji lifting his head up with a sleepy expression, there was chaos everywhere.

He was kicked out from the coach by the first man, so he hit the dirt in a flail of limbs, surprised by the impact of foot against chest.

Zoro was already engaged in combat with the horse rider, the animal running off with a startled whinny, Law taking one of the men in front with a blast of his rifle before the other could arm himself.

Luffy climbed to his feet, charging at the taller man that faced him, looking fiercely irritated that he'd been awakened so rudely. Throwing punch after punch just to test his range with the guy, Luffy moved in quick, confident that this distraction was enough for Sanji to escape.

Sanji was making the effort to leave the coach, dressed in weird clothes that made Luffy do a double take – was he wearing a dress? – but he wasn't jumping into action like Luffy expected him to. He seemed stuck there, straining to get at least half of himself out through the doorway, obviously being held back against his will.

"He changes into a wolf! Watch out!" Sanji shouted at him. "He shouldn't have that much energy, he was complaining about being tired! You have to outthink him!"

"Quit giving away my secrets! Look, kid, you keep this up, and I'm not going to hold back," Jyabura threatened Luffy, kicking out just to keep the teen from crowding him. He looked around to see what happened to his companions and saw Kumadori lying dead against the coach, slumped in the driver's seat, Fukuro using his assault rifle to keep Law at bay. Zoro and Kaku were matching swords in a fierce battle just feet away from them.

"They hit Kumadori! Man down!" Jyabura then shouted out with dismay. He then looked at Luffy, and removed his sunglasses, his jacket, kicking off his shoes.

Luffy looked at him with total bewilderment. Then made to remove his jacket with a shrug.

"Idiot! He's going to change!' Sanji screamed at him impatiently before being forced back into the coach.

"Into something more comfortable?" Luffy asked tentatively, pausing in removing his raccoonskin hat, Jyabura giving an impatient growl as he hopped on one foot, untying his boot.

"Just wait until I get this off, because you're going to get it!" he threatened Luffy, who removed his jacket and put it aside carefully, then shivered violently.

"Well, hurry up," Luffy complained, seeing that Zoro and Kaku were moving into the trees, swords clanging noisily while Fukuro hunted down Law in the trees on the other side of the road, both of them exchanging gunfire.

Tossing aside his last boot, Jyabura then leapt at him, changing form in mid-air. Luffy screamed with surprise, hands out as the wolf, much bigger than him, began attacking him. Its jaws snapped inches from his face as he set his hands out on its throat, and the creature attacked him savagely, whipping its head from side to side, pushing in to get at his throat. His teeth snapped thin air as Luffy jerked his head about, screaming without breath as the animal stood over him.

Wicked growls joined the sounds of battle as he inhaled deeply, getting over the initial surprise of seeing a man turn into a wolf. It lowered his shoulders and pushed forward with its back legs, trying to bite him, aiming for his face and neck, and it was his small size and formidable strength that kept it from doing so. With a grunt, he shifted on his back, to get his legs up. Once he had his feet in the wolf's gut, he kicked upward, latching his fingers into its fur, and then twisted. The animal twisted with him, lunging forward – it was too big for him to wrestle with, he could only keep it from biting him. He gave a shout of effort as he shifted his fingers up from the creature's throat to just under its jaw, his head digging back into the dirt as those teeth snapped narrowly as his nose, at his eyelashes. He cringed, grimacing as drool landed on him, and he twisted his hips, pushing to his knees, those paws pushing back at him to keep him from getting up. Its weight and strength were more than him, and it was his own fingers clenching skin and fur that kept those teeth from latching onto him.

He screamed, then gagged as drool slipped into his mouth, and, coughing violently, he started to retch. The wolf paused slightly, then moved in to snap again until he retched louder, tasting the animal's spit at the back of his throat. The wolf pulled away, coughing on its own.

"Are you kidding me?" Zoro asked from his position away, catching sight of both wolf and teen in the midst of heaving action.

"I'm a sensitive guy," Luffy said, eyes watery as he retched again, spitting out his own saliva caused by the heave. The wolf coughed, then sputtered, shaking its head. It managed to cough out a bit of digested food, and this caused Luffy to puke the jerky he'd been eating before the attack. Both of them heaved once they realized the other had puked.

"Knock it off!" Kaku yelled at Jyabura impatiently, pushing against Zoro's strength as Zoro had him trapped against a tree. He ducked, and Zoro's swords cut through the tree, causing it to topple towards the road. Branches broke through surrounding trees as it twisted at the break, falling slightly aside of the newly created stump, knocked aside by the presence of other trees that were bigger than it. The loud crashing noise it made as it fell caused all of them to look up cautiously, judging its descent.

Luffy sprang away to avoid being hit by it, and the wolf jumped back in a similar manner. The medium sized trunk slammed hard into the coach with a crunch, jolting it, but it remained standing. Pine fluttered around in a wave of brown and green, pinecones scattering like rocks into the dirt.

"Sorry!" Zoro called out, moving after Kaku as the man jumped onto the tree trunk, to continue fighting from there. Both of them cut and swung at each other, swords clashing noisily, as Luffy used the obstacle to climb up and over, to skitter around it as the wolf resumed chasing him. Eluding the creature in this manner, the wolf dashed back and forth, snapping at him every time he had the chance, then barking impatiently as he missed him each time. Luffy crawled up the tree, making his way to the coach, dashing over the roof and then peering in through the window on the other side.

"Sanji! Get out!" he ordered, the man looking at him with a start before the window was kicked out by a foot that Luffy knew wasn't Sanji's. He jerked his head back in time to avoid being hit, then looked back in with a scowl. Before he could say anything, the wolf was on that side and jumping up to snap at him, so he retracted over the roof quickly, then laid over the other side to peer in those windows.

"I can't!" Sanji snapped at him, lifting his wrist to show that he was handcuffed to Lucci, who looked pretty relaxed as he lounged in his seat, indifferent to the action happening outside. Luffy lifted up and away before the wolf could bite him from the ground, and scurried to the other side.

"Kick him!" he said impatiently, the wolf running around the coach with a frustrated bark.

"I…I can't," Sanji answered softly, looking shamed. "My leg is…I can't."

With a purse of his lips, Luffy lifted up from that window and moved to the next saying, "Don't worry about it, we'll get you out, then. Either way, you're coming home with us!"

"Stupid dog, jump up on the damn thing," Lucci said, hearing Jyabura chase Luffy to that side, the teen crawling over to the other window, as predictable as day.

Jyabura snarled at his voice, but he did jump up onto the coach, and Luffy jumped off to put distance between himself and the wolf, who gave quick chase.

Lucci looked over at Sanji, who looked strangely vulnerable sitting there next to him, hand over his leg. Lucci knew he couldn't put any weight on it, couldn't do much about it, and with him handcuffed to him, there was no chance of escape to his friends. If they wanted him that bad, they'd have to come inside and get him, and Lucci wasn't about to lose this round.

"It sounds lively out there, doesn't it?" he commented, frowning at him. "Look at you. What a mess. Disgusting. You look just as delectable as shit on a corpse."

"Yeah, well, you weren't complaining much the other day," Sanji said, pulling at his wrist with frustration. He had a plan in mind. With how fierce the efforts were outside – he heard Law's rifle earlier, and his heart thundered noisily as just how close they were – he knew he couldn't just sit here as they fought. He carefully eased himself from the seat, Lucci watching him with disinterest, as Sanji pulled out his suitcase and then looked for his clothes.

"I'm going to change," he said, reaching back with one hand to unhook the buttons to his dress. Lucci did nothing to make it easier for him, pulling back on his wrist when he felt his arm was overextended a little too much, so Sanji had to do this without his help. He glared at the other man, but managed to reach back enough to loosen most of the buttons. When he couldn't get the ones on his shoulder blades, he gave him a considering look.

"I'm not helping you," Lucci told him, looking out the window. "Why help out an enemy?"

"You forget you paid for me?"

"I paid for a woman, not a man. There's a difference."

With an annoyed look, Sanji straightened up from the floor, placed his good knee over Lucci's, and reached back, using his other arm to push his elbow as far as it could go in an effort to reach the frustrating middle buttons. When he got them, he then reached back underneath and did the rest, retreating back down to the floor. He shuffled out of the dress awkwardly with one hand, Lucci watching him with interest.

"Look away!" Sanji snapped at him, reddening because he was wearing the full load – the underwear, the brassiere (stuffed with water balloons, thanks to Elizabeth's ingenious idea), the slip and the garters to hold pantyhose that would hide his hairy legs. Most of it was shredded, anyway, loose flaps of material that was horridly uncomfortable beneath the skirts.

"I paid for this."

"Not here!"

But the man only made himself comfortable, now watching him, gesturing that he continue, and Sanji felt himself grow flustered because there was a fight outside that he desperately needed to join, and this man was treating himself to an impromptu peep show. It made his plan a little more difficult to do if Lucci was going to watch him the entire time – it depended on a moment's opportunity.

But he remembered Lucci answering him earlier, saying 'man' with much derision. So then he continued undressing until most of the feminine clothing was gone and, indeed, the man looked away with disinterest. Sanji hastily pulled on his shirt halfway – as much of his dress sleeve was still caught by Lucci's handcuffs, so the material weighed his arm down heavily – then pulled on his trousers, his socks and boots. He grabbed his jacket, shrugging that on halfway as well, then looked at the dress material hanging between them. Lucci was still looking away from him, so he reached into the suitcase's pockets, rummaging for the small bottle inside. The perfumed oil that Sicily had given him was opened briefly, and he dabbed himself with it, before dumping the rest on the dress, onto the seats and floor, onto Lucci's pant leg.

He tossed it back into his suitcase as Lucci caught the scent and looked at him with incredulity. "You'll scent yourself with something I can track if you escape again?"

Sanji shrugged a bare shoulder, chilled by the cold that left snow falling in light tufts outside. He attempted to cover himself awkwardly, Lucci noticing his bare skin at that moment. He pulled his wrist to him, forcing Sanji to him. He immediately lunged back, and Lucci pulled him onto his lap, hand on his ass and the other twisting around him to hold onto his weak leg, squeezing hard to make him shout with pain. He leaned in with an excited exhale, to kiss and bite at Sanji's bared chest, Sanji pushing away from him, desperate not to be caught in this position by the others, by Law.

"Get off! Get off me, let me go, you fuck!" Sanji shouted furiously, pushing against his face as Lucci then bit him hard above his left breast, causing him to hit him.

Lucci laughed then, licking his lips, tasting the salt and dirt of Sanji's skin, surprised it tasted just as good as it did the other night. "Maybe it won't matter if you're a man, considering I already had a taste of you."

"Sadistic fuck! Fuck you!" Sanji snapped pulling away from him, examining the bite mark on his chest. He glared at him with burning hate, and would not regret following through with his plan.

Once he had the opportunity, he reached into his inside jacket pocket, withdrawing the lighter he felt clacking against his case of cigarettes. He flicked it on, and lit the dress just as Lucci caught whiff of the smell of smoke, looking at him in alarm. Quickly, Sanji used his other hand to wrap the material around their linked wrists, so that the dress was over Lucci's hand and arm as well.

Once he saw what Sanji had done, Lucci's face registered incredulous surprise, rising up with a start to escape the flames, then remembering he was handcuffed to him. Panic hit him as flames forced a flashback of horrid memories of his childhood – how they were burned out of their village, flames eating through their tents, through the brush around them, consuming those too wounded to flee laughing soldiers. It was a different sort of panic for him that made him forget where he was today, and the orange enemy ate at his arm, ate at the coach with as much dangerousness as the fire had of his village that horrible summer's night.

The dress burned quickly with the application of oil, and both of them started to feel heat eating towards their bare skin. With a grit of his teeth, Sanji used his boot to stamp some fallen material Lucci's leg, and Lucci slammed against his side of the coach with a startled yell, kicking out as flames licked up his pants leg. It bit into his flesh, caused him terror like none other because he was still caught up the flashback, and he was struggling to escape with the burning body of his mother still clutching his arm -

He attempted to pull his wrist back, found it caught by Sanji as he held himself back against the seat opposite him, and both of them stared at each other as smoke filled the coach, flames burning hotly between them.

"Damn you!" Lucci snapped at him, wide eyed and incredulous as his arm ate the rising heat of the dress, as smoke caused them both to cough. Falling pieces of material caught flame on the floor, on the seats, and Lucci watched this happen with rising panic, realizing why the oil smelled so strong. He was caught between images of carrying his dead mother and seeing Sanji pull at him, determined to make him pay for this mistake of his. "Crazy motherfucker!"

"Unhook me!" Sanji shouted at him, erupting into coughs as smoke made his eyes burn, and his throat dry. "Unhook me, we still have time!"

"Get out of there!" they heard panicked yells from outside, and neither was sure who it was.

When Lucci groped the side for the door, heat making it impossible to bear, he heard the blast of a rifle, and saw the hole the single round made through the door, exiting out the other side. He was targeted from this side, so he made to exit the other door, both of them coughing violently as the heat began eating at their arms, making it difficult to repress pained shouts and movements of discomfort. He pushed out that door, hindered slightly by the fallen tree, and then Sanji was holding him tightly with one arm from behind, the burning material of the dress coming apart to dangle between them, for Lucci's back to burn as some of the material laid over him.

Both of them fell out from the coach, and neither of them could escape from the heat, so Lucci kicked him just to get some space, to kick that burning thing from his arm, and both of them were screaming at this point, arms affected by the metal that burned them, pulling away from each other desperately. He saw his skin blistering, turning color, and the pain was unimaginable – until finally, Kaku slashed through the hot chain, and both of them separated, both of them in agony as the damage to their arms caused their friends to rush in.

Kaku spirited Lucci away as Zoro grabbed Sanji, tearing away the rest of the burning dress and throwing it aside, hastily putting distance between the other two. The event had Jyabura turning away from Luffy with a surprised yelp as he'd heard Lucci screaming, and Fukuro was running over with a panicked look, both of them looking over Kaku and Lucci, while Luffy and Law moved to Sanji and Zoro, and before anything could be said, both groups were moving away from each other, a truce set for the moment.

"Go! Go!" Luffy yelled, pointing ahead and moving to run when he realized Sanji couldn't run. Law was holding him tightly, Sanji doing the same, but it was his leg that he was holding aloft gingerly. Luffy raced back and looked at him with concern before reaching up and hugging him tightly, Sanji returning the gesture with as much strength. Once he realized his friend wasn't holding him like he used to, he pulled away to look down at his leg again, worry set on his features. "Is it still broken?"

"I'm pretty sure it is, again," Sanji said helplessly. "That's why I couldn't help."

Zoro pulled Luffy aside to catch his attention, pointing at Kaku's horse lingering near the road, and Luffy raced for it without another word.

Kaku grimaced at the damage to Lucci's arm, Fukuro hastily removing his scarf to wrap it, but Kaku stopped him quickly. "Water! Something! We need something!"

"Get them! Get them before they escape!" Lucci snarled, holding his arm just above the burn, looking furious. "Leave me!"

"No," Kaku said quietly, looking up at the snow coming in. "No, we save this for another day. You need treatment, your wound could get seriously infected. I'll take the blame for this one. This storm's going to hurt them, too. Blackleg's injuries will slow them down, and we can catch up."

"You're disregarding my order?" Lucci asked, looking at him dangerously, snow melting on the hideous wound.

Jyabura held his nose with his paw, and Fukuro looked worried as he looked at Kaku, seeing the man nod firmly, looking at Lucci with resignation.

"Yes. For the good of all of us."

: :

Once they had the horse, Sanji sitting in front of Law as Law was the better rider of the group, Zoro looked back to make sure they were in the clear. Seeing the group of agents crowded around their leader, he gave a grim nod, saying to Law, "Ride with him, go ahead of us. Get it looked at. Luffy and I will cut across and meet you were we left off with the others. It'll be faster if we do this than go as a group. If we have to, we'll be running behind, but we get some horses. We will catch up."

Law nodded, pushing the horse to a run before Luffy could say anything. But he and Zoro hastily shifted into the tree line, and began running the same route that they'd taken earlier. Once Kaku saw this, he gave a grim frown, Jyabura anxious to give chase, but looking at him for word. Kaku shook his head, and looked at him grimly.

"Did you put your clothes somewhere safe?" he asked, Fukuro's face reflecting amusement as the wolf stared at Kaku, then looked at the burning coach. Then back at them. Jyabura then erupted into a long, mournful howl, followed by several outraged barks, snow falling softly around them.

"Kumadori," Fukuro then murmured softly, causing all of them to look in the direction of their fallen comrade. Having slumped over the coach after being shot, his body was consumed by heat and fire, and ashes lifted around them gently, mingling in with the falling snow.

"Let's get walking. There's nothing we can do right now," Kaku said firmly, prodding Lucci to walk with him, Fukuro and Jyabura watching the flames for a few more minutes before turning and following after them.

: :

Snow fell harder at this point, coating the road, forcing the horse to slow. It slipped a couple of times, and there was no pushing it to move any faster. While most of the ground was still visible, snow fell quickly, thick, and covered most of the tree tops. There was a strong, particular silence to snowfall that made it seem as if they were the only ones in the world at the moment. It seemed to absorb sound, eat at movement. The horse snuffed and heaved warm breath that shown as small exhalations, slightly sweaty from the efforts it had made most of the day. It was overworked and tired, and Law was afraid of pushing it any harder than it had done, today. Sanji was shaking violently in his arms, and both of them were cold, but there was nothing he could do about that. Sanji's flesh felt impossible hot against his shirt, and he hoped against hope that his man wasn't getting sick.

Nami had stolen off with most of that doctor's medical supplies, seemingly years ago, after the train wreck, but Law couldn't remember if any of it were things needed for this moment. He looked to the side with worry, thinking about Luffy and Zoro running through this storm, moving to cut across the land to meet them. He could imagine that they were pushing hard through the course they'd run across earlier, but the cold made a considerable difference in their strength, in their efforts, especially after battle.

He held onto Sanji tightly, utterly grateful that he could. He was much too thin, sharp and bony like him, and he worried about that. The man was either asleep or in his dissociative state, which he often retreated to if something were particularly harsh. He knew why it happened, but it was something easily forgiven. Law was just grateful he was there. That he was able to hold him, that he could touch him, feel his breath against his neck, feel his heartbeat against his chest. Months after not being with him, and now he was there against him, again, so everything could be forgiven.

He looked around himself, recognizing parts of the road where he'd studied if he weren't trading barbs with Zoro, or distracted by Ussop, whose sharp eyes saw everything at a considerable distance. They were at least an hour away from where they left the others, and that was encouraging. He trusted that Sabo had taken care of Nami and Tony; Luffy's older brother was made of different material than them, but he had a considerable amount of better common sense than any.

He felt Sanji shift slightly against him, and he leaned down to kiss his forehead, smelling sweat, dirt and smoke, but also familiar traces of him. Just being able to touch him sent a bolt of relief and happiness through him that he could only feel when with him. He felt like he could do things right, he felt like he was something when Sanji was with him. And they still had so much to catch up on. Law wanted to tell him everything. About Tony talking back to Nami and being spanked for it; about Luffy and Ussop catching the worst of the lice incident; about Zoro speculating that Nami and Kidd had hooked up during some point of their travels together; about how lonely and lost he himself felt without Sanji nearby…all of it. Every single detail. From the start of their mornings to the very end of the day. About the little animals that scurried across their path, about the mating calls of mountain lions, the eagles they saw flying earlier, the fish that were spawning up the river to the east, the changing of the seasons, and how it affected the colors around them – all of it was on his tongue.

But the silence around them absorbed it.

He felt Sanji's arm tighten around his waist, his injured arm between them, smelling harshly of burnt flesh and patchouli oil; he kissed his head again, murmuring something that even he couldn't hear. Just nonsense, really; words of love and comfort and relief. Sanji gave some sort of murmur in response, but he was pressing his face against his chest and breathing hard, and Law pushed the horse into a faster step, feeling a little worried because Sanji felt too hot, and his burnt skin smelled horrid, and the snow was falling a little thicker, now. The cold made him shiver, and the horse was pulling at the reins with a toss, not wanting to move harder than it was able.

The clouds in the sky pushed quickly over each other, covering the mountain tops, rustled what was left of the trees. But somewhere in that sound was the squeak of a flying bird of prey, circling the area for something weak and feeble.