Ace rubbed against the tree, his back itching unbearably. It was enough to put him in a foul mood. Well, more than he usually was. With a frustrated snarl he threw himself against another tree, trying to relieve the irritation before freezing. He smelled blood. Cautiously he turned around and checked the tree, worried that he had scratched himself too hard. When there was nothing on the bark his brows furrowed, confused as to where the smell was coming from. If it wasn't him, that meant it was probably an animal. And that meant a possibly easy kill. Which was just what he needed since he was much too distracted to hunt properly today. If he was unlucky he'd have to fight off other predators for the meat, but even that would be a welcome distraction to the itch.

His mind made up, he pushed his way through the underbrush towards the direction where the smell was coming from. It was thick in the air, telling him whatever it was was already very close by. Possibly on the other side of the pricker bush. He carefully used a thick stick to part the sharp branches and spied his prey, almost dropping his makeshift weapon in surprise. It was boy. Blond, with a tattered noble shirt and pants… so a noble brat - one that had been in the woods for a while by the looks of it. He didn't seem to be bleeding, but the way he held himself told a different story. Ace must have made a noise, because the boy spun, wincing at the motion before glaring at him and leveling a pipe threateningly. The dark haired youth felt a twinge of jealousy at the better quality weapon.

"Who are you?" The blond snapped.

Ace snarled back, "Who are you? You're in my woods."

The other lowered his weapon slightly with a snort. "It's not your woods."

"Oh, are you going to claim them for yourself, Noble?"

"Don't call me that!" The venom behind those words took Ace back. "I'm not - I won't go back!"

"Why not?" A glare met him. "Something to do with why you're hurt?"

"They can't have my freedom too-" The blond huffed, lowering his pipe completely, "Who the hell are you?"

"... Ace. You?" He lowered his weapon as well.

"Sabo." The blond winced as he held out a hand.

Ace sighed reluctantly. So much for his easy meal. Now it looked like he'd be hunting for two. Because he might be a bastard, but he couldn't leave Sabo alone in these woods bleeding like he was… "Come on, I'll get us some fish."

The place he led them was luckily free of crocodiles for a change. He didn't think he could deal with that today on top of everything else. Unfortunately the fish were all in the deeper water, which required him to go for a swim. He tossed his pole at Sabo, earning a surprised look, before diving into the water. A short while later he was kicking his way to the shore with a massive fish in tow. For being a noble's brat, Sabo was a pretty decent partner and caught on fast, slamming his steel pipe into the head of the fish and killing it instantly before helping him drag it to shore.

"I can start a fire…" The blond offered, pointing to the wood already gathered. Ace just nodded, pulling off his shirt before turning to grab the fish and gutting it. There was a gasp behind him, and he spun, looking for the threat only to see Sabo staring at him with wide eyes. "You- you have feathers!"

Ace felt his blood freeze. "No I don't!" No one could know that! He hadn't used his wings all day and-

"You do, between your shoulders." Sabo held out a hand placatingly, his other one undoing the buttons of his shirt before letting it drop and revealing a thick swatch of bloody bandages. "I do too... But you, you still have your wings, right?" He asked excitedly.

He could only nod mutely, easily guessing what had happened to Sabo, driving him out into the woods. Then and there he swore nothing like that was ever going to happen to him- and no one was going to hurt Sabo again.

Doflamingo didn't bother looking up from his book when his brother entered the room. He chose to ignore him instead, turning the page with a calm disinterest he didn't feel. The whole thing with young Trafalgar being a D of all things just rubbed his face in the fact that his beloved sibling was hiding things from him. He didn't like that, especially from his brother who had gone through hell with him growing up. Doflamingo would happily blame Law for corrupting Corazon but his brother had gone soft before the little shit had joined. He turned the page again, glancing up to where his brother nervously stood. He 'tsked' at himself, disgusted at how soft the other had become. Finally he looked up, glaring at the younger. "What?"

:: Law's wings have stopped molting.:: The note said.

"You interrupted me for that?" He turned the page again.
:: ...What's wrong?::

Doflamingo snapped the book shut. "Besides the fact you're cozying up to a D?"

::You were training him to be your second before you found out he was a D.:: His brother calmly wrote back. ::Even though he was dieing.::

"That's just it. I didn't know." He stood, storming up to his brother, "But you did. Didn't you?"
::I don't see-:: He took the note and ripped it.
"Of course you don't see! What else are you hiding from me?"

Corazon looked surprised. ::Hiding?:: One eyebrow went up in confusion, and he felt some of the tension unwind. ::When I found out about Law I left a note. I thought you'd seen it.::

"What note? Why not tell me in person you fool!" He shoved his brother and was shoved in return.

::Because it wasn't important. Kid was going to die anyway.::

"Then why did you bother to save him? You should have let him die."

Corazon shrugged. ::He's not much use to you dead.::

"He's a D! A winged one. You should have let him."

::I didn't know about the wings.:: His brother turned away, ::Reminded me of us.::

Doflamingo took the note, fingering the words. It cooled his anger more than he'd like, but since he'd felt the same about the brat before finding out he was a D, he could see it. The world against them, fighting for their right to live and proving that they really were better than normal people. Not that he'd actually expected Law to be anything special, and being a D definitely didn't make him better. The opposite was true, in fact; Ds were the lowest of the low, the clan that had refused to acknowledge their position below the tenryuubito - worse, they'd gotten others to rebel as well. The clan had deserved to be broken. His hands tightened on the note in anger. Other tenryuubito believed that what was left of the clan wasn't a threat. He knew better, but then again, he was even better than the other tenryuubito. He could rule without hiding behind a title...and he wasn't going to let some young D take that away from him. "That's the only reason I'm not killing him. Once we take away the taint, he'll learn his place and serve me well."

"Luffy, Luffy you have to stop struggling. I have you now; I won't let you drown." Shanks attempted to stop the flailing child. A task made more difficult by his missing arm and his own shock over the turn of events in the last few minutes. His little anchor had gone and sprouted wings of all things! Wings that were heavy with salt water and threatening to drag the kid down even faster than his devil fruit. Shanks winced as one gray wing slapped wryly against the stub of his arm.

In truth if it wasn't for the sandbar there would have been no way for him to keep both of them afloat until Benn arrived with a boat. Not as injured as Shanks was. He wished his first mate would hurry up. He was bleeding heavily and Luffy was starting to shiver. While trying to keep Luffy up on his hip he attempted to wrap his arm around the wings to hold them closer to the boy and keep them out of the water. They were slick and hard to get a grip on even though Luffy wasn't fighting him. It was a relief when he spotted Benn, and he couldn't stop from calling out to his friend, "Over here!"

Immediately Benn dropped the oar and waved, changing course for the two stranded in the ocean. Now that the end was in sight Shanks could feel himself start to shiver. He knew from experience shock was setting in. He'd lost a lot of blood and if Benn took much longer he was going to find himself without a captain. It was a relief when the skiff pulled up alongside them, his friend's face drawn taught in worry at the sight of all the blood in the water.

"It's all mine. Luffy's not hurt. Can you take him for me though?" He turned, offering the small child to his first mate. Benn was quick to comply, but froze slightly at the sight of the rather large wings that now flopped loosely between the two adults. "Benn, worry about that later. Get him in the boat."

"Aye, Captain." The reaction was automatic as Benn placed the shivering boy in the boat and turned to help Shanks. He cooly assessed the missing limb before clasping Shanks arm and hauling him aboard. "I'll get this tied off. You sit and take it easy."

"Take care of Luffy first."

"I'm f-f-fine." Luffy protested weakly.

"No you're not, anchor. You've got half the ocean in those wings. Fluff up and Benn will help you towel off."

Benn glared at him, "After I take care of your arm."

It only took the man a moment to tightly tie a piece of cloth around the stub to prevent Shanks from bleeding out. Then both men turned their attention back to the boy who was tightly huddled into a ball. "Luffy, come on now. Fluff up those wings better than that." Shanks encouraged.

"Do I even want to ask why he has wings?"

"I don't have wings!"

"Probably not." Shanks cheerfully informed Benn before sighing. "Yes you do. Cool ones that you smacked the hell out of me with."

"No I don't! Jiji said I don't! Wings make you a monster! I don't wanna be a monster!" Luffy shook harder, crying. Shanks had never wanted to punch Garp as much as he did in that moment.

Gently he placed his hand on Luffy's head, "Hey, listen to me, Anchor. This doesn't make you a monster. This is just part of who you are, alright? I think it's really cool, too. You know, not everyone who's a D has wings, and I bet your Jiji was just saying that because he wanted you to fit in."

"Jiji doesn't…."

"So how would he know if it makes you a monster or not, hmmm?" Shanks smiled before looking over at Benn. "You think Luffy here is a monster?"

His first mate had caught on quickly and snorted, "Hardly. He thinks you're amazing, what kind of monster would think that?"

"There, you see? Would Benn lie to you?"

"...No…" He blinked up at them, still sniffiling. "You sure I'm not a monster?"

"Positive. Now, come on, fluff up. You need to dry off a bit before those wings vanish on you."

"They'll vanish?!"

Shanks laughed, "Until you learn to control them, yeah. You'll be fine, kid. It's normal."

Luffy stared at him, eyes wide and unbelieving. In truth Shanks didn't blame him. In all his years on the Grand Line he had only seen a winged D once... What he had seen that day only made him worry for the little anchor all the more as the docks came into view. Benn must have felt the same way because despite the urgent need to get Shanks to a doctor, he slowed down to give the boy's wings a chance to recede. The two adults shared a look, both aware that despite the love the village had for Garp's grandson, they would see the wings as something dark- evil. That was the Yanko's worry- that Luffy would end up like the other winged D he had met. Dead at the hands of his loved ones who were trying to 'remove' the taint. At last the wings folded close to Luffy's body and were drawn in, leaving only a few pieces of fluff behind. The boy yawned.

"Law, it'll be alright now." Corazon repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time as he gently tucked the boy on the only bed in the cabin. The ship he'd managed to obtain wasn't very good, but it would serve its purpose in getting them the hell away from his brother. He'd always known his brother was… dangerous… but the man was seriously starting to lose it. After 'removing' Law's wings a week ago Corazon had truly hoped that would be the end of it - at least until he could get away. But no. Instead his brother had played with the large plucked bird wings he had substituted at length before announcing at dinner tonight that he was going to start a collection. A collection of winged Ds.

They had to get out of there. True, he didn't have a reliable map yet, but he couldn't wait any longer. The marines would be no help in this, either, not with the public stance they took on winged Ds. So when the sky was at its darkest, right before false-dawn, he bundled Law up and fled. Corazon had no delusions of their safety, despite what he told his young charge. If Doflamingo found them, he'd kill Corazon and quite possibly do worse to Law. But then they'd just have to make it so his brother wouldn't find them. He glanced down at the shivering, silent boy who watched him with wide, frightened eyes and knew all the hardships ahead were worth it.

He smiled, "I promise you, we'll be alright. I'll always protect you."

"S-shut up." The boy replied, cheeks coloring as he turned away.

Corazon smiled wider, ruffling his hat before leaving the small cabin to navigate the dangerous waters. He had a job to do, and he wouldn't fail.

"Gramps!" Luffy grinned up at the formidable marine safely from behind Shanks. "Isn't Shanks cool? He's a pirate and he saved me and he said I wasn't a monster or anything because I had wings and stuff! I wanna be just like him when I grow up!"

Garp frowned at his grandson, causing the small boy to cower back as he took a step forward, fist raised. "I'm raising you to be a marine!" He snapped, shoving past the Yonko to slam his fist into the young skull. Shanks bit back a growl at Luffy's cry of pain, not surprised when the boy darted out of range, once more clinging to Shanks. Garp opened his mouth, eyes thunderous as he finally processed what else the boy had said. "Wings? When I get my hands on you, boy-"

"You will do nothing." Shanks turned his attention to Makino, resting his hand on Luffy's head. "I think I hear Luffy's stomach. Why don't you two go get a bite to eat? And can you grab me a bottle of sake while you're at it?"

"Of course." She said, scooping up the protesting boy with a shaky smile and leaving. She knew very well that what the two powerful men were about to discuss wasn't something Luffy should hear.

"If I ever hear you calling your grandson a monster or a freak again, I will take him from you."

"He is my grandchild! You have no right, Akagami." Garp bit out, "filling his head with nonsense. Telling him his having wings is natural-"

"It is. For him."

The marine snorted, "I'll fix that soon enough. Can't be a Marine with wings-"

Shanks drew his blade and had it resting against Garp's neck in a flash, his eyes cold. "If you so much as touch one feather I will bring war upon the marines. He is just a boy, Garp. Teach him to hide them, hide him away if you want. But hurt him, Garp- well, let's just say I have allies of my own who won't take kindly to the maiming of a promising child."