A/N: For MrsxRoronoa, Shiina Yuki, Guest (aw man, wish I knew who you were), Mezaron, and all the others who have like, read, and/ reviewed this story. I'm mostly dead in this account now I guess, and I've been missing private messages and the like. Sorry for the extremely long hiatus.

~Vermilion Flycatcher~

Chapter 3 - What is it?

Kid's face nuzzled against his stomach as the boy's arms tightened around his waist. Law ignored the incoherent whines, but did nothing to physically make the boy let go. Instead, he let the cold night air bite against his face. Since he was awake now, his body was slowly registering the low temperature of the forest, and he didn't deny that Kid's warmth felt nice in comparison.

Law closed his eyes and breathed slowly trying to steal as much time he could with lethargic movements. His hand lifted to push the boy off, but somehow, his fingers ended up brushing through reddened locks.

"…ck off, Trafalgar…" Kid moaned, and he didn't doubt that there was a curse word muttered in there.

Realizing what he was doing, Law stopped moving, but kept his hand where it was.

"Eustass," he said with more conviction than he felt. "I need to leave."

"Mhn," Kid groaned annoyed. He curled his body slightly closer against the older teen. "Stop fuhm… movin'… Just stay here an' stop botherin' me…"

Law would have let out a little chuckle at any other time, but now, his mind was getting clearer too. The darkness of the sky was sinking in. It was late. Really late. He had never returned home later than five in the afternoon, and that was when the sun was barely setting. There would be faint traces of red and orange in the sky, but now, it was black. A certain man would be looking for him and finding him soon. Although, that wasn't what he was worried about.

Law told himself to push the redhead off his lap now. He was berating himself for why he hadn't done so already, and this would probably be deemed as the stupidest moment in his life because he's still not doing it, and he's just sitting there staring at the dark shadow of this stubborn, stubborn boy. His hands are starting to hurt from the cold, but the heat radiating against his thighs is enough to override the pain. He scolds himself a second time. It would be easier to just stand up and let the boy roll off naturally, except, somehow, he convinces himself not to. He stays seated in his spot and steals a few more minutes of silence.

Yes, it was greedy.

But it was just so hard.

When Law finally decided that enough was enough, he had wasted too much time already, he forced his hand to move. Kid was falling into a deep sleep again, but a good shove would fix that. He almost touches Kid's face when he hears a snap. His whole body instantly froze, but his eyes jumped to scan behind the trees. He can't see anything because even with the waning moon, it's still too dim. Silence fill the air, and his gut is getting tangled in knots. The feeling of wanting to stay is gone, and his face falls into a mask. His palm presses firmly against Kid's mouth to keep him from making a sound, and the abruptness of if it all snaps Kid awake.

The boy's eyes flew open.

"Don't talk," Law whispered, but that only roused the redhead to think that something was off.

Kid gripped the hand that was over his mouth, and Law could see him parting his lips to speak so he swiftly pulled the boy up by his wrist. Law was able to adjust the baby bird that was laying on his lap moments before onto one of his palms while the other held tightly to Kid's wrist. The boy stumbled a bit as they got to their feet. Without warning, Law started dragging him in the direction that the boy usually came from. He could just sense the confusion that was swirling inside the Kid's head, but all he offered was, "You need to go."

The arm in his hold struggled until it finally broke free.

"Trafalgar. What the hell?" Kid was fully awake now, although his voice was a bit groggy when he snarled. He stopped walking, but Law wrapped his hand around the boy's wrist again to keep urging him forward. "Shit. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Quiet!" Law snapped.

He realized too late that the harshness in his voice sounded too urgent. After a few seconds, he added, "Nothing. Nothing is wrong with me."

"Then why the hell are you dragging me?"

"Because it would be worrisome if you didn't get home safely," he quipped. Internally, he was having a difficult time keeping his tone soft. "Don't you have people waiting at home for you? It's quite late."

"Damn it, Trafalgar!" Kid cursed loudly ignoring what he had been told earlier

There was the shuffling of leaves as the boy almost tripped on a rock and brushed up against a bush. Law wouldn't slow down so he cursed some more. It seemed like Kid couldn't stop crashing into objects and kicking his own feet once he started, and that only contributed to getting the redhead to not only feel even more disoriented, but pissed as well. They didn't get pretty far when a hand latched on to Law's shoulder and forced him to turn around.

"Can you just stop for a sec, and tell me what's going on?!"

Law huffed. They didn't have time for this. A scowling face glared at him when he stared at the dark figure of Kid. Shadows hid most of the boy's features, but it was obvious that he wasn't happy. Law waited as patiently as he could knowing that he had to ease the younger boy somehow to stop making a fuss. He stared at the boy's tense shoulders as he tried thinking of what to say. His mind was telling him that he shouldn't have gotten too worked up himself in the beginning, but the very imminent threat of Vergo was driving his nerves mad. He could handle Doffy's dog if it was just by himself, but Kid needed to go. He needed to be as far away as possible.

"It's late," was all he could come up with, and the answer was quickly getting repetitive.

He looked down wishing he could explain more, but the explanation would sound horrible. Some part of him was afraid – afraid that if he did tell Kid everything, the boy would come to hate him. Yes, as if he could easily say that the person he considered as his mentor employed a man to make sure that he was well behaved. Said man took delight in abusing him merely because he could, and his mentor thought that a good beating from time to time was a nice lesson so he didn't stop it.

"Are we going the right way to your home?" Law spoke feeling strained.

Kid moved so swiftly that he was caught off guard. The boy used the arm Law was holding onto to pull him back behind him, and in a few steps, the redhead was in front of him in a protective stance. His arms were spread wide around Law ready to attack. At first, Law's heart was beating wildly expecting Vergo to jump out from the darkness. The two of them stood still eyeing their surroundings, but nothing happened.

Kid slowly let up from how he was standing, but didn't look away from a spot a few meters away. Law relaxed slightly as well, and it was then he noticed what had transpired. A frown bent his lips.

"I don't need protecting, Eustass-ya. I can take of myself perfectly fine."

"Shut up. I just thought I heard something."

"It must have been some animals that have gone out to hunt. There are many nocturnal predators in this forest. This is exactly why you must return home."

"Yeah, you keep going on about that," Kid turned to face him. The irksome tone in his voice returned now that the feeling of danger had temporarily passed. "Do you usually get this annoying at night, or do you have curfew or something? Why do you want me to go back so much?"

Law was glad for the darkness because it hid his uneasy stare at the same direction Kid had been looking. "Eustass, you must have realized that the sun has disappeared."

He received a snort in reply.

"No shit. I can see. Not like it matters since I've slept here before. My friends aren't gonna go looking for me unless I don't come back in the morning. If you're gonna get worried, worry about yourself. You're the one that's gonna get scolded at since it takes you an hour to get home."

Kid's voice trailed as if he was just making an off-handed comment, but the last part made Law's head snap at him. His yellow eyes widened.

"What do you mean it takes me an hour to get home?" he asked carefully. Now, he was more scared of what Kid did know.

The boy folded his arms against his chest as he switched his weight on one foot. "C'mon. I know you're not from here. I'm not an idiot. Asshole…"

There was a bit of bashfulness when he cursed.

"I can tell by your clothes. They're different and nice. I mean, look at me."

There was a pause to when Law did. He couldn't see them clearly now, but he remembered from earlier what the boy was wearing. Kid's faded grey hoodie was fraying at the ends, and was missing the strings attached to the hood. Law never mentioned it, but the sweater looked to have been owned for a handful of hard years. Kid's pants were black and seemed decent enough, but it was baggy on him and had a hole on one knee. His shoes, the most worn looking out of all that he had on, was supposed to be a dark brown, but the outer leather was peeling off at the toes and heel to make the boots grey instead. Not that Law cared how either of them dressed, but Kid was right about the contrast. Doffy had money and dressed him affluently; his whole wardrobe was designed and tailored from North Blue and Dressrosa. Kid, on the other hand, was just another punk that lived in the docks.

He wanted to tell him that their different status was never something he considered relevant, but even though Kid talked about things that happened near his home, Law knew that the boy was too conscious about it. It wasn't exactly embarrassment. He just got put down by the fact sometimes.

"Unless you stole 'em, then you're fresh off the boat from sailing here," Kid grumbled when he felt he paused for long enough. "You also bring those big ass books to read, and you said you were studying to become a doctor. You're an apprentice to some doctor, right?"

Law said nothing to admit or deny it.

"So you're staying in the inner district then. That's where all the foreigners go." The redhead took the silence as confirmation and grunted which made it hard to tell whether or not the boy was annoyed at him.

Kid was scrutinizing him up and down. Law didn't know why the longer he felt the brown eyes on him, the guiltier he felt. It wasn't exactly a lie if he did nothing to convince Kid that what he assumed was or wasn't true. In a way, he was right on target about him shadowing a mentor. He saw Doffy as someone who was teaching him new and crazy things, and they did come to South Blue for medical "research." Other than that, it wasn't that important for the redhead to really know where he was temporarily residing. It wasn't as if he was going to invite the boy over to what – meet Doffy himself? To have lunch where the boy would end up being the meal?

"I'm not stupid," Kid suddenly said breaking the teen out of his thoughts.

Law blinked, again thrown as to why the redhead would think that. "I never said that."

"Then stop treating me that way," he felt Kid push him on the shoulder, but not roughly. His body swayed back a little. Before he could correct his posture, there were hands on each of Law's arms which kept his body steady for him. "So tell me why you're acting like something's going to eat us."

"I am not 'acting' in any way," Law said defensively. He shrugged off both the redhead's hands and stood straight. Using his height since he was still taller than the other boy, he looked down at him. "Eustass, I am older than you. I'm doing what any responsible person would do and that is to make sure that a kid like you doesn't get hurt. There are many dangers that appear at night, especially in South Blue. If you know that I'm a foreigner, then you should know that your country doesn't hold the cleanest reputation to the rest of the world, especially here. This city is near a popular port. You live by the docks. There are pirates coming and going, the reports for criminal activity in this city is at its highest rate, and we're in a forest – "

A suppressed snort interrupted him mid-sentence.

"What?" Law asked affronted. He wasn't joking about any of the possible dangers lurking in this city. When Kid started sniggering, he raised an unimpressed brow. "This isn't a laughing matter."

Unfortunately, the boy didn't seem to think so. Kid was wearing a wide grin, and Law could just feel the haughtiness exuding from the younger boy in waves.

"I get it now," he said as if he just unraveled a great secret.

"Get what?"

"That you're scared."

Law pursed his lips. If only Kid could understand that he was scared for his life. He was the one that was going to die if they were found by the wrong person, but he was acting as if the situation they were in wasn't such a great peril.

"Eustass," he hissed. "You don't understand."

"No, I do," the boy insisted. "So I'll take you home. I'll walk you back if that'll make you feel better. I know this city like the back of my hand so we can take some shortcuts. If your mentor or whatever gets mad at you for breaking curfew, just tell 'em that a punk from the city kept you. It's the truth anyway."

"Eustass, listen to me – "

"Trafalgar, I don't care if you are older. I'm not gonna listen to you if you can't admit that you're scared of a bear or a dumb robber. Just trust me."

Law could barely restrain himself from lashing out, but the abrupt sounds of shuffling leaves and twigs drew the two from their conversation. Their heads jerked at the direction they had been staring at before towards a tall bush. Something was fast approaching, and it was pushing an ominous feeling deep into Law's stomach. Kid didn't seem too bothered since he most likely thought that it was just an animal passing by, but when the noises stopped for a second then started again in an erratic rush, Law jolted into action. He snatched Kid's hand and starting running.

Kid let out a strangled noise as he tried to keep up and didn't protest because the sounds were following them. When they were side to side, he shoved their baby bird into the redhead's arms. There was a look of panic on the boy's face as he clumsily settled Kid-yainto his free hand while running. Law would apologize later, but if he was right about who was behind them, then Kid-ya would be better off with Eustass. Law's heart screamed in his chest because he felt like a rabbit being chased. His fingers tightened against the back of Kid's hand so he wouldn't lose him. The only thing in his mind was getting the boy somewhere where Vergo couldn't find him.

Navigating through the crowded trees and uneven dirt was difficult. The leaves from up above were getting thicker and beginning to block out more of the moonlight as they entered deeper into the forest. It made them keep stumbling because anything visible was limited to a three feet radius, but they ran even faster. Hoping to lose the beast chasing them, Law led Kid to jump through a few bushes so they could get off any paths. Thin branches and thorns scraped any exposed skin. Some got stuck to their clothes and continued to dig into their sides and backs as they ran.

They managed to do this a couple times until they ran out of luck and fell over a large stump hidden behind one of the bushes. Law fell right on his face first, his palms scraping the ground. Kid landed right beside him. Knowing the redhead, he was going to curse so he acted quickly. Law rolled to his side so he could wrap an arm around Kid's back and bring him closer so that he was basically hugging him while his other hand clamped over the boy's mouth. Surprisingly, the boy was compliant, but his elbow jabbed the older teen in the gut.

Scooting closer to the bush that they jumped through to get more coverage, Law draped his body over Kid's to hold still. Their breathing was ragged from all the running, but they tried to keep quiet, even if their lungs were killing them. From all the adrenaline running in his veins, Law didn't notice how tightly he was holding onto Kid. The boy's back was against his chest feeling the drumming of his erratic heart.

The two of them remained unmoving. The sounds following them were getting louder. Now that they could listen to it, the sounds were discernibly someone running with really heavy feet. Another sign that it was Vargo, and not some random animal. When Law felt a presence at the other side of the bush, he closed his eyes and held his breath hoping for their predator to pass them by. The sound of running slowed to walking. They stopped right at the other side of the bush so that when Law peeled open an eye, he could see a set of feet and legs through the leaves.

Law closed his eyes again. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that it was Vergo and not some burly animal. Those were human legs.

He was certain that that the man was going to find them, but he strained his ears listening for any signs of hope. Vergo stood for a while, and a small sense of relief filled him when footsteps directed away from their hiding spot. The thought of actually being able to get away entered his mind.

The ease was short lived.

An earth shaking crack made Law's eyes fly open, and they grew at the sight of a tree falling right above their heads. He and Kid rolled to the side to avoid the violent smack as the giant mass of wood collided against the dirt of where they were seconds ago.

Swiping Kid's hand again, the two picked themselves up from the floor and broke into running once more. He felt the boy look back and Law tugged Kid to face forward. Damn it, Vergo didn't need to see the boy's face.

They continued hurriedly away, but Vergo was quickly hot behind their heels in a matter of seconds. This cat and mouse game was certainly not going to work in Law's favor for the man's mercy later on. He just knew that this pointless pursuit would only prolong their inevitable capture while making the man's anger fester. Physically, the two boys couldn't keep their lead for much longer, and they were only able to escape due to an unexpected dip in the ground. The two of them slid down a slope. Kid seemed to collect himself quick and recognized where they were. He took the lead from Law and held onto his hand to keep him from falling on his rear end, but he couldn't control his legs.

Law lost his footing and his left leg bent awkwardly as he slipped. A sharp pain shot up his ankle when he landed and he cried out. Thankfully, they reached flat ground not soon after. Law powered through it as Kid helped him stand, and the redhead supported him as they hobbled over to another slope, albeit less steep than the one before. It was just big enough for them to hide behind while sitting. With Law's arm slung around his neck, Kid gently lowered the older teen to the ground.

Both of them were heaving as they sat next to each other, sweat dripping from their temples. It was warm now under their layers of clothing, and white puffs of air blew from their mouths every time they exhaled.

"Shit. Are you okay?" Kid leaned over, but kept his hands to himself in fear of touching something raw.

Law clenched his teeth and focused on his breathing. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall of dirt that they were hiding behind.

"I think I twisted my ankle."

He flinched when he put pressure on his ankle while exploring the damage. Wetness licked his fingertips, and his brows bent when he felt a loose flap of skin.

Kid's broken breathing huffed next to his cheek when the boy leaned close. He had settled their baby bird on the floor. When Law opened his eyes, he focused on the flycatcher fluffing its feathers from the cold. Kid-ya had most likely woken when they fell the first time. Everything that could go wrong tumbled down Law's mind like a growing snowball rolling down a hill, the scenarios getting bigger and bigger in tumultuous intensity, and his chest felt like it was getting tighter. He couldn't walk. The precious seconds they were wasting whilst sitting had probably enabled Vergo to catch up. The man would be coming any second, and Kid was still here –

A hand clamped on his thigh, and Law's gaze flew up. They landed on Kid's face.

The boy's cheeks were flushed with two blooming circles as sweat dripped down to his chin. His mouth was open to inhale larger amounts of air, and he looked terrified and exhilarated at the same time. Kid was going to die, and he didn't even know it. He just maintained that stupid brightness on his face as if everything was going to be okay. Their eyes locked for a long time, and Law was contemplating on how he should kill the boy himself before Vergo could get to him. A pity death. He'd kill him quickly.

Before he could decide on a method, there was an incredibly stupid glint in the boy's eyes that told Law that Kid was going to be an idiot.

"I'ma bait the thing away."

"Eustass! You – "

"Stay here." Kid's hand pressed tightly against him before quickly disappearing.

Law wanted to yell. There are no heroes in real life. He should have told him that when they first met. There are only those who die, and those who don't. Law wanted to pull the redhead from standing, but Kid was quickly on his feet before his hand could reach.

Kid jumped over the mound of dirt they were hiding behind, and Law couldn't see him anymore. When he tried to stand and call the boy back, pain coursed through his whole right leg. He slammed the back of his head against the dirt. How could Kid play the stupid hero? He told him he didn't need protecting. It was Kid that was in danger, and he just threw himself in front of his murderer. He clenched his jaw when he heard Kid take off into the trees somewhere.

His body started to shake from the thought that the boy was going to die because of him – because he couldn't wake up early enough. All he needed to do was open his eyes an hour or two earlier.

Frustrated fingers dug into his calves where he was bleeding as he bent over. A pressure bubbled inside his stomach. At the peak of almost bursting, he wanted to look up at the sky and scream when a hand reached over his face and slammed his head back on the dirt wall. Cold, hard fingers dug under his chin as a palm smothered his breathing.

The impact made his vision spin, but the realization came. When it did, he almost smiled.

Another hand grabbed the front of his shirt and hoisted him up.

"Curfew was at six thirty."

Everything he felt was all of a sudden gone. His body relaxed, and for the first time in what felt like hours, he was confident enough to speak calmly.

"I know. I just wanted to see you run, Vergo," he chuckled a bit.

His body slammed on the floor. Law zoned off as he prepared himself to put up at least a meager fight. Pain was numb to him now. The comfort of Vergo's presence being here instead of chasing Kid was enough.

It was enough.

A foot dug into his chest.

"Insolent brat."

He gave Vergo another winning smirk. He would've enjoyed an annoyed reaction, but the man hadn't been looking at him. Instead, Vergo's attention was directed to where Law had been hiding as a chirping sang loudly in distress.