Sorry! Chapter two had some major issues, our schedules were really conflicting, and AIM all but kicked Karaleyn in the pants every time she tried to talk to Quatrina. But we're here, and we're going to try very hard to keep this from happening again! If you notice a delay in the future, rest assured that we WILL be back to bother you. We have a lot more than just two chapters already written. We just may be having technical difficulties.
About the title change: If you're wondering about the title change, well, there's irony for you. We spent forever trying to find a title but couldn't, deciding to share the story and use the best one we had. So, of course we'd find a better one a few weeks later. Toppling Reason worked, but in the end Breath is much more significant. Sorry for the confusion.
That being said, THANK YOU to all the reviews! We're really happy about them and probably squeed in undignified manners at each one. (But we'll never tell, now will we? Bwa.)
Luffy had attempted to reach into the bag several times during the trip to snag some food, but it was rather difficult with the galloping horse, the need to have one arm firmly around Zoro's stomach, and the fact that the bag was on the most inconvenient of places: Luffy's back. After the fourteenth failed attempt to steal some food from his own back, Luffy let out a loud, unhappy groan and dropped his head onto Zoro's back, his cheek now getting immersed in what he assumed was sweaty grit.
"Zorooo," Luffy whined, "when do we stop? I need to eat!" He had thought they would go at a light trot a few steps and stop for lunch, but this? This was insane!
Zoro tensed as Luffy pressed his face against his back, and a strange metallic smell greeted the prince's nostrils. "Gnn--" He paused, adjusting the reins as the horse slowed down to a trot. The air was becoming chilly as the red sun slipped past the horizon. Crystal-like stars dotted the sky, but the green-haired man barely glanced at them. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" he wheezed.
Luffy frowned, pulling away from Zoro's back and peering at it suspiciously. He couldn't really tell, what with the bad lighting in the place and all--couldn't the stars try a little harder or the sun stay around longer so he could see better?--but he was pretty sure he knew what was on Zoro's back. He thought it was sweat all this time!
"'Cause we were going too fast," Luffy answered absently, removing his arm from around Zoro's middle to poke gently at his back. Now that he thought about it, hadn't Zoro been shielding him when they were eating? It had not occurred to him what that could mean until now... and his conclusion was rather distressing. "Is this blood? Did you get hurt at the castle? Why didn't you say so earlier?" If he was so obsessed with protecting Luffy, what kind of idiot bodyguard got himself hurt and didn't even tell his ward so he would know they had been compromised?
Zoro's back arched as the younger fellow curiously poked at it. "A-ahh..." He didn't appreciate being prodded at under any circumstances, but being injured really made it that much more unpleasant. The horse trotted to a halt, and a gust of wind roamed past the pair. Zoro could barely hear the cry of some wild beast in the distance, and his eyes became alert and wary. A hand slid to one of his swords. Ignoring the boy's question, however, he said, "I suppose we could eat here..."
Luffy scowled at the hidden wound as if it were at fault. He understood that sometimes people got hurt for their goals, and as far as he was concerned, that was part of the process. But it pissed him off when someone he cared about or knew well was hurt for no reason.
Of course, he had known Zoro for less time than he usually took to eat his full dinner. Even so, the swordsman had appeared expressly to help him out, and even if Luffy didn't know exactly what the point was of having someone run across the country with him when he could just wait for Ace to return, he still couldn't ignore something like this. Zoro was hurt because someone had malicious intentions, and that was really all that mattered.
"Zoro, don't be stupid. You're bleeding! We should stop and figure this out. I don't know a lot for how to help--do we blow on it or wash it or something? How much did you get hurt? Here, lemme see." Luffy reached up and tried to yank down Zoro's collar to get a better view of the wound, forgetting for a moment that the collar was part of the rest of his clothing and may actually hurt Zoro more in the process.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Zoro felt the cuts on his back tear open more at the sharp jerk of his collar. He yowled before jerking away -- but he lost his balance and abruptly slid off the horse, with nothing but the ground to break his fall. The horse nervously pawed at the dusty ground at the sudden movement. With dazed eyes Zoro gazed at his prince's curious face from a crooked angle, and somewhere within his foggy mind he was a little baffled that someone of such high ranking would actually waste their breath to express concern for a mere bodyguard like himself. He had always thought rich people to be arrogant and annoying, but this boy...this boy seemed to be different somehow...
Luffy peered down at Zoro, looking curious and concerned at the same time. "What're you doing down there, Zoro? Is there a healing person?" He brightened, straightening and looking around as if there would be a doctor's office located conveniently nearby. "I remember what I always do! I go to the doctors and they fix me up and then sometimes the nurse kisses it better! Or," he added thoughtfully, "she used to before I grew older. But it worked real well!" He cheerfully peered into the growing darkness, one hand held above his eyes as if to shade from the sun as he squinted. "Okay, so where's the nearest place? Isn't there a bell to ring around here or something...?"
He looked down at Zoro, continuing his monologue. "If we don't find someone soon, I can kiss it better if you want, but," he added solemnly, "it's not a cure. You gotta do other stuff too." He paused, then added seriously, "And it doesn't go away all on its own so we do hafta do something..."
Zoro blinked as he gave a blank stare to his prince Bells? Doctor's office? Nurses? "There's none of that here," he said hoarsely. "I guess I'll just have to tough it out." He wasn't there to be babied, after all. He was there to keep Luffy safe. And he couldn't do that if a doctor were fussing over him. Even so, he couldn't help but be vaguely amused by Luffy's expectation of there being the comforts of home around. He couldn't suppress a grimace as he felt the blood ooze from his wounds, though. Now that he thought about it, he felt pretty light-headed too.
The horse cast a nervous glance at Luffy, who was starting to freak him out a little.
Luffy stopped looking around and blinked down at Zoro, rather startled. "But Zoro," he protested, confused, "won't that hurt?"
"What do you want me to do about it?" he wheezed, eyes half open now. "Wouldn't you rather worry about a country or something?"
Luffy thought that was a strange answer. "Why would I worry about a country? It can worry about itself if it wants, can't it? And anyway," he added, exasperated, "a country isn't sitting on the ground bleeding all over our meal place, is it? Now how do I get off this thing again…?" The last was said largely to himself as he leaned forward and peered around for the stirrup-hole-things.
Zoro eased himself to a stand, barely repressing a sigh. He wobbled a bit, but with a hard gulp he swallowed down the bile that was beginning to rise at the back of his throat. He felt like garbage, especially with hours of intense riding under his belt, but he threw back his shoulders and stepped towards Luffy. "Here," he grunted, and lifted the prince from the horse. It was only proper to do so with royalty, after all. And he didn't feel like explaining anything verbally -- and running the risk of his Prince falling off and hurting himself.
Luffy blinked. So that was how it was done... you just waited for someone to help you down! Luffy had plenty of experiences with horses, but they always seemed to be running at full speed while he got on or off, or jumping around and making a racket. He really wasn't quite sure what to do with it when it was standing still like that... Luffy found it rather unnerving. Like it was a statue or something.
"Okay," Luffy said brightly once his feet were touching the ground again, "first we find a healer person, and then she kisses it better, and then we eat!" He grinned widely, turning in a circle while he tried to decide which direction to go. He was, as usual, very excited about the thought of eating, but he had at least some priorities. Since some jerk had hurt Zoro in the line of duty, it was only fair that they fixed his back and then ate. At the thought, Luffy frowned at his bodyguard. "But we should do the healing thing fast 'cause you haven't eaten in longer than I haven't eaten, and you gotta be dying by now!"
Unfortunately, no healers were in sight. How strange... Despite what Zoro had said, Luffy was certain there would be doctors and healers all over the place. There always were. They were as natural as paved streets and high terraced walls, after all. Why wouldn't they be there?
Zoro gave an irritated frown as he silently unhooked the pack from Luffy's back. He opened it up, dismayed to find only one meal that had been hastily packed in the last, chaotic moments they had been at the castle. He inwardly supposed that they could hunt -- he didn't have swords for nothing. Even so, he gruffly responded to Luffy's rambling. "Well, as soon as you see a town nearby, we can do whatever." He tossed the food to Luffy. "Eat up, you'll need it."
Luffy frowned. He wasn't used to being disregarded, especially when he had all these great plans. And Zoro wasn't even acting like Coby did--continually mumbling about bad ideas and how it wouldn't work. No, Zoro just ignored him! When the food came his way he automatically caught it, but then crossed his arms and peered through the growing shadows at his bodyguard.
"No," he said firmly, though he didn't really know what he was protesting to other than the fact he felt he needed to protest something about this whole situation.
"Excuse me?" growled Zoro, turning to the other fellow. "What's your problem? Just eat, will ya?" He rubbed at his aching temples while rummaging through the bag suddenly. He found some changes of clothes, which he vaguely recalled being told were absolutely essential to keep the prince safe. Taking out a pair and holding them up, he realized that they were typical civilian clothes -- robes and boots, with a headdress to keep his scalp protected from the sun. He tossed them to the prince. "And change into these while you're at it."
Luffy scowled now. He crossed his arms, though he was careful to keep the food firmly in his grip, and he dropped to the ground where he remained a picture of obstinacy. "If you won't listen to me, then I won't listen to you. And anyway, your clothes are grosser than mine. You change into that."
"I have clothes, too," muttered Zoro, holding up his own pair. "You think I'd be dumb enough to walk around in uniform when so many people are after you?" A pause, his voice suddenly becoming indignant. "And what makes you say I'm not listening to you?"
"You aren't!" Luffy said, angry and pouting at the same time. "I'm trying to help and you're just ignoring me! It's so rude! Just because you wanna fall over from being sick doesn't mean I want you to. You're getting fixed and then we eat." He nodded his head to himself as he laid down the rules quite firmly, arms still crossed stubbornly at his chest.
"Wouldn't you rather eat first?" Zoro asked. "I mean, look -- there's no town in sight. We might not even reach a town until morning."
Luffy glared up at Zoro, and even though his stomach was angrily telling him that the bodyguard was making a lot of sense right now, Luffy wasn't satisfied. "Stop being so stubborn! This isn't that hard to get. I refuse to eat until we start healing your back and that's final." If it took something ridiculous like that to get Zoro to stop being so stupid and just lead them to a healer, then fine. Normally Luffy would not deny himself food to make a point, but Zoro was too difficult to work with. He probably wouldn't give up short of a statement like that.
"You were the one insisting that we stop to eat in the first place," growled Zoro, taking a step towards his Prince. Even so, he lifted him in his arms and eased him back onto the horse. He didn't understand why Luffy was freaking out so much. "Besides," he muttered awkwardly, pressing the boy's hat more securely onto his head, "your health and safety comes before mine."
Luffy frowned down at Zoro. "Well, I didn't know at the time you were hurt, did I?" A pause when he belatedly heard the muttered words. He looked away at the darkness, liking how alien everything was so far from the palace walls, but also being disoriented from it. He was quiet a moment, thinking. "Everyone's health's the same though, isn't it? It's stupid to say mine's more important just 'cause I get to wear neater clothes. If you fall, then no one's here to protect me, right? Doesn't that make your health more important?"
Zoro gave the prince an annoyed look. "Luffy," he muttered, "just let me do my job, okay?"
Luffy peered sulkily at Zoro. "Okay, I'm trying but you wanna to bleed to death so I'm not sure it's such a great idea to leave it up to you." Instead of coming out as a complaint, it sounded like slightly disgruntled teasing.
He had finally won, but unfortunately all the arguing had drained the bit of energy Zoro had left. Leaning against the horse, Zoro's eyes began to roll to the back of his head. His knees felt rather wobbly all of a sudden. "On second thought," he muttered. "I think I just need some sleep..."
Luffy stared at Zoro for a few moments before suddenly grinning brightly, as if his somber and irritable mood had never existed. "Okay! Maybe you just need food! Let's eat and sleep and I can fix your back before you sleep and then in the morning we'll find a healer person!" He was pleased with this new plan. It involved eating earlier and fixing Zoro a little too.
The bodyguard released a soft sigh before allowing himself to fall onto his face and drift into silence. The horse gave a sudden neigh, pawing at the ground nervously.
Luffy looked down. "What a weird way to say yes, Zoro," he informed his bodyguard, then began the laborious task of figuring out how to get off a statue horse. It only took a few tries before he decided to just jump off like he normally would if it were running really fast. This seemed to work quite well as Luffy landed on his feet and plopped down next to Zoro. He peered down at him and cracked his knuckles as he prepared to get to work.
"Okay," he said to himself thoughtfully, "I'm pretty sure they always..." He trailed off and tried his best to fix Zoro's back long enough for him to sleep so they could eat and, wait, then sleep, and then find a healer person.
Zoro gave a soft grunt as Luffy prodded at his wound. Because his mind was too foggy to swat Luffy's curious hands away, however, the bodyguard remained relatively still
Meanwhile, Luffy was a bit perplexed. The clothes were a problem. How was he supposed to fix anything if he couldn't see it? He had to get Zoro's shirt off, but that proved difficult when he tried tugging on the bottom of it. He paused, then shoved against Zoro's shoulder to roll him on his side so he could begin working the shirt off over Zoro's head. Although trying to be careful, he could only do so much when working with someone far heavier and further unconscious than him.
Feeling his weight give a sickening lurch, Zoro's eyes cracked open as he called upon all of his will power to keep himself from entirely slipping away. After all, if he fell asleep, who would watch after his charge? "It unbuttons," he croaked, watching Luffy's confused eyes roam across his chest. The swordsman could sense what the prince was trying to do, and seeing that he couldn't stop him, he figured that he may as well help.
"Ohhh," Luffy said by way of answer, and scrabbled around Zoro's chest until he found the buttons. They were too hard to see clearly, or maybe it was Luffy's angle. So it took a bit but he started to get the buttons off and this was much easier than what he thought he'd have to do! "Thanks!" he said cheerfully, grinning hugely as he began (a little gentler this time though still rougher than a real doctor or nurse would) pulling off Zoro's shirt so he could see his back.
"I'm okay," Zoro muttered. "You don't need to do this." The boy was a prince, after all, and he doubted that anything like this was very fun for someone of royalty. Besides -- as a bodyguard, he should be strong. Which meant tolerating even the most fatal wounds. A rough, calloused hand wrapped itself around Luffy's wrist. "If you just let me sleep, I should be okay."
Luffy frowned down at Zoro. He didn't believe him. Zoro said weird things that made no sense when it came to stuff like this. Zoro didn't even tell him he was bleeding for hours! Bleeding! He didn't believe that Zoro would be okay if he slept. Or, he did, but Luffy thought it would be better his way and not Zoro's.
"Stop trying to stop me," Luffy scolded and continued what he was doing. He managed to get Zoro's shirt off with one hand but he couldn't finish with Zoro holding his wrist like that. He tugged against Zoro's grip. "Let go." The command was mild, more conversational than anything, but he meant it. "You can sleep after I'm done. I won't sleep if I know you're bleeding all over by me."
"Fine," Zoro murmured, his hand falling to his side. Couldn't argue with the prince; that was one of the main rules he had sworn by. His dark, clouded eyes continued to watch the boy, however, to make sure he was safe out there in the wilderness with him. Night had already settled, and the horse continued to nervously paw at the ground. The wind flittered past them, and the swordsman finally allowed his eyes to roll to the back of his head, soon plunging into a heavy darkness.
Luffy paused, at first not sure if he had really won like he thought he did, or if Zoro was going to be stubborn again, but soon it became apparent he had. Great! He grinned widely to himself, immensely pleased. People usually either let him win right away just because he was a prince or they didn't let him win at all if they knew him better (like his parents, who seemed to be under the false impression that Luffy was irresponsible and prone to trouble). Luffy liked having someone to argue with but he had to admit it had started to irritate him when Zoro didn't listen to what he was saying and just kept telling Luffy what to do instead.
But now he won and it was his turn to show Zoro he could do stuff too! If Zoro could shield Luffy from danger than Luffy could at least fix him when he was hurt. Seemed a fair trade to him.
After he got Zoro back on his stomach, he was finally able to see the wounds better. Zoro's shirt was sort of tangled around one of his arms, but it was out of Luffy's way so he didn't really care about it.
He peered down at the wound curiously. It looked like it should hurt a lot but Zoro didn't seem to care. Besides, if the man could argue that long he must be fine. Satisfied that they would make it through the night before they got to the healer person, Luffy felt better about just being able to kind of fix things temporarily. He tugged Zoro's shirt off his arm and started trying to wipe all the blood away so he could see even better what he was dealing with, but all that did was smear it. He tried a few more times before it occurred to him that water would help. With that in mind, he stood up and looked around, but there were no fountains in sight.
Hmm. Curious.
Maybe he was just in the wrong park... Wait. This was outside, on an Adventure. Did they have parks out here? If not, where did they get their clean water...?
Luffy stood up and, bloody shirt trailing on the ground behind him, began to wander looking for some sort of water.
The wilderness seemed to be endless. Just as endless as the night sky and its twinkling stars, or the wind that pulled gently at his clothing. Foggy mountains rested in the distance, and the air around Luffy was becoming rather chilly. An eerie echo of a wolf's howl sounded through the darkness, and the dust of the ground flittered around the boy's boots as he strode through a makeshift path. But there seemed to be no fountains in sight. And no parks, for that matter. The further he walked, the smaller Zoro and the horse became in the distance. But a faint flicker of light could be seen far, far ahead.
Ignoring the possible dangers of wolves and the distance he was gaining from his bodyguard, Luffy headed toward the light immediately. Maybe it was a doctor's place, or an inn or something! Being a naturally curious person, Luffy could not refrain from investigating, and he always liked to explore new places and go on more adventures. He was too accustomed to being caught within palace walls to resist the lure of the unknown.
The flicker of the fire grew in size and intensity as he eagerly drew near. Dark smoke seemed to rose from it, indicating that it was a campfire of sorts. A couple tents dotted the area beside it, looking worn but of decent quality. A group of men sat around the fire, with fat bags at their feet. They were counting something sparkling and gold, which gleamed in the moonlight. Softly chattering among themselves, they did not see Luffy until he was in their midst.
Luffy stopped at the edge of the encampment, eyes caught by the glittering gold in the hands of the men. Money! He'd completely forgotten about that--did Coby even pack any for him? They would probably need it sometime; definitely for the healers if nothing else. The men certainly had more than they needed in those bags... surely they would share!
"Hi!" he greeted them cheerfully with a grin, "Can I have some too?" With his free hand he held down his adventure hat, his other fist still gripping the torn shirt.
Several pairs of eyes stared at the boy, wide and gleaming. "Pretty bold of you to ask, eh, lad?" Several chuckles emitted, and one of them passed a bottle of beer to another. The fire continued to crackle.
Luffy cocked his head curiously. "How else would I ask?"
"This money ain't for sharin', right, boys?" chuckled the large fellow who seemed to be their leader. "And we can't let anyone who's seen us with it escape..." A couple of his friends cracked their knuckles, their attention now more on Luffy than the gold.
"Look, boss," observed a muscular guy with beady, stupid looking eyes. "Kid's got a fancy outfit, don't he? Must got lots more money on 'im. Nerve of 'im to ask for ours."
Luffy looked confused. "What are you, stupid? If I had money, why would I ask for it? And lots of people have money, why's it matter if I see you with some?" These people made about as much sense as Zoro. Luffy was beginning to believe the entire world was mad.
Their boss laughed, a bandaged hand rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Tell me, lad, where you come from?"
"From Anchor," Luffy said automatically, cheerfully. "You?" He looked around at them all curiously, still willing to be friends with them if they would stop being weird.
"Anchor, ehhh?" The boss peered at him, lifting up the shady hat that covered his eyes. "You mean that sparkly palace down yonder?" He guffawed. "Awfully far away from home, ain't ya?"
Luffy frowned thoughtfully and dropped down to the ground, legs crossed and arms resting easily on his knees. "I dunno, am I? Where are we?" He looked around as if he would find a street sign.
The man laughed again, his belly shaking with him this time. "What a riot this lad is!" But he was the only one laughing -- everyone else just seemed to smirk at the lost boy. "I'll bet this is your first time outside, ya' pampered little brat." He leaned forward, his sweaty face barely inches from Luffy's. "Well, now." His breath smelled of beer. "Looks like you're all official n' such, ain't ya? Think you're all special now, don't ya?" He poked Luffy in the forehead, a toothy grin on his face. "An' you have the nerve to go askin' me for money that my men and I worked real hard to steal."
"Yep!" Luffy agreed with a grin then paused. "Wait, special? Whaddya mean, 'special'? Coby told me once everyone's special."
The man cocked a brow. "'Scuse me? Special as in filthy rich." He poked him in the forehead again. "Special as in part o' royalty n' such." He poked him yet again, his toothy grin becoming wider. "Special as in rare. Uncommon. Unheard of. Not seen very often. Get it?"
Luffy scowled, reaching up to stop the man from poking his forehead. "Stop that! It's annoying," he said crossly, then added after a moment. "And I'm seen a lot! Anyone in Windmill can see me and lots of people in Anchor see me too... And you're all seeing me now. I'm not part invisible, you know." Geez, these guys were dumb.
"Naw, but fellas like you. Princely sort. Rich sort. They aren't seen very often. And you're one of 'em, whether you like it or not." A pause. "In fact, all sorts of people care 'bout you, love you, adore you, kneel at your feet, kiss your hands. And you didn't do crap to get that kind of devotion, except get born into the right family."
"Oh," Luffy said, leaning back a little. He shrugged. Why was the guy talking about this? He didn't care about any of it. He—oh yeah! Now he remembered why he was here!
"Do you have water or a doctor or something?" he asked abruptly instead of bothering with the guy's obsession with 'special.'
The fellow eyed him shrewdly. "Why?"
Well, these guys were pretty stupid and obsessed with money, but they probably still knew more about treating gross back wounds than Luffy did. "'Cause my bodyguard's passed out by my horse and he's hurt and I was gonna fix him but I don't know how," Luffy answered with a huge grin. "Do you know?"
"Bodyguard?" crowed one of the smaller men.
"Haw haw! What a sheltered kid!"
The boss leered forward, his eyes glistening. "He's passed out you say? Wounded, maybe? Bleedin' everywhere?"
Luffy looked oddly at the others but turned back to the boss with a decisive nod. "Yep! His back's all ripped up 'cause he stopped a bomb from hitting me. So do you have water or a doctor or not? I don't have all night to wait, you know. He's gonna get sicker the longer I leave him unfixed."
"Son, I hate to tell ya' this, but the sooner you forget 'bout other people, the better off you'll be." The boss took out a cigar, lighting it and sticking it into his mouth. "Forget about 'im. He's as good as dead, ya' know. I'd be more worried about your hide, if I was you."
Luffy frowned, insulted. "Well, that's a stupid thing to say. How am I supposed to see Shanks if I just keep forgetting all my friends along the way? You could've just said you didn't have water or a doctor--you didn't have to say stupid stuff like that." He stood up, one hand pushing the adventure hat more firmly on his head, and turned to leave. "I'm gonna go fix him before he gets more broken. Have fun with your stupid money and 'special' obsessions."
The boss snorted. "You sure you don't want any money?"
Luffy paused and turned halfway, regarding the men with a more solemn look than before. "Yeah," he said seriously, "I don't want money from someone who tells me to give up on his friends."
The older man regarded the prince seriously, his eyes narrowing shrewdly. "Boys," he said casually. "Sack 'im." The rest of the men flurried into action, skilled and swift. A rough clout knocked Luffy across his face, and the world suddenly became dark as he was stuffed into a large, cloth bag.
Luffy was mostly surprised at suddenly being attacked with a big bag. He hadn't entirely trusted the men, but now he really didn't trust them. Plus, that hurt when he got hit! It was still stinging as he found himself getting shoved into something large and dark and coarse and very unpleasant. Someone pushed him, making him curl up so he could fit inside, and at first Luffy was too stunned by the rough smack to the head to react. But as soon as he realized what was happening, he was twisting and striking out furiously, both with his legs still largely free from the bag as well as his torso completely covered. "OW! That hurt!" he yelled loudly, furious. "Hey! Get off me! What the hell's your problem, you assholes!"
"You, you!" the boss's voice cut out. "Stuff him in the bag!" He whirled around from the two men that were struggling with Luffy. "And you!" he pointed to the rest. "Go the way this brat came from and find that stupid bodyguard of his."
"And then what?" asked the beady-eyed man.
"Break him so hard that he can't be fixed anymore." He laughed as they quickly mounted their horses. "We don't need scum like that roaming our turf."
Luffy struggled wildly, forgetting in his surprise the basics of his martial arts lessons he'd had for years now. But when he heard the man's words about Zoro, he was irate. "Don't you dare touch my friend!" he roared, fury giving him strength as he ripped harder at the bag and kicked violently at the men, aiming for anything he could hit. He was awkwardlytrying to rip the bag off over his head even as he struggled to find a way to roll to his feet. He would kill anyone who tried to hurt Zoro, especially when he was already hurt like that!
The two men faltered back for a moment, but a sharp snarl from their boss only spurred them into pinning the boy to the ground. "Hold nice n' still," a slender, blue-eyed fellow hissed. "Otherwise, we're gonna hafta gag ya' and knock ya' out totally. You want that?" The others that had been sent to find Zoro were already taking off into the night.
Luffy was beyond reasoning with. He jerked against the ground and threw all his strength, which was surprisingly considerable judging by how scrawny he looked, into shoving the men away long enough to get up and stop the other men from hurting Zoro. A foot connected with the slender man, throwing him back as he cursed profoundly. The other tried to reinforce his hold but Luffy was quicker, squirming out of the bag and into the open before he had the chance to get a good grip. Not even stopping to look the man properly in the eye, Luffy clouted him on the side of the head and kicked him aside when he tried to stop him.
Looking around, he quickly noted which direction the men were headed and took off after them. Sprinting, he still managed to find the breath to yell furiously, "Don't hurt Zoro! I'll kill you if you hurt Zoro! Don't you dare touch my friend!"
"Kid!" growled an irritated fellow as he slowed his horse, seeing that Luffy was now running by his side. "You really don't wanna mess with me..."
"Yes," Luffy growled quite seriously, whipping out and yanking hard on the man's leg in an attempt to dislodge him from the horse, "I do if you're after my friend!"
The moment was overrun with chaos. Luffy had a good grip and was just about to yank the man away when a gunshot rang out, and something hot and swift suddenly pierced his shoulder. Startled more by the sound and impact than anything else at first, Luffy continued to run alongside the horse, not lessening his hold. He glared up at the man, eyes serious and furious in the night. "Get. Off."
But there were two other men that Luffy couldn't get at, and they had already begun to leave the others behind as Luffy's blood left a horrible trail behind him.
Luffy refused to be beaten, and realized that focusing on one man wasn't going to be enough. So, ignoring the pain growing in his shoulder at his movements, he released the man's leg long enough to swerve to the side, slowing down a little. He had plenty of experience with jumping on spooked, hassled horses. He decided to use this to his ability now. If he had a horse, he could get to the other men faster. Suddenly sprinting forward at an alarming rate, Luffy jumped straight at the horse's back, scrambling for a hold while still trying to dislodge the man.
The man abruptly shoved his elbow into Luffy's side, growling. "Get off, boy! Stupid brat, get off!"
"You get off!" Luffy yelled, and latched his jaw hard on the man's arm, biting as deeply as he could while he gained a better hold on the horse.
The man howled and lost his grip, falling off of the horse. But in the movement he reached over and yanked Luffy with him.
Luffy was not expecting the man to grab onto him and, he reflected as he slammed painfully into the ground, he really had to get better at this expecting thing. Winded and body white and confused with pain, he still absolutely refused to give up. Zoro needed him and he was going to help! Even if it killed him! Shanks would do the same, and so would Ace! He was sure of it.
So he staggered to his feet and started running again as fast and soon as he could, not even glancing back at the man he had knocked off the horse. He was certain he could catch that horse again, and then catch the men, and then stop them. He refused to let anything else happen.
Two male screams sounded up ahead, and the loud whoosh of something sinister echoed through the night air. The man Luffy had left behind hesitated as he got up to chase after the injured prince. Even so, another gunshot rang out.
Luffy was undaunted, despite the ominous sounds from ahead. His attention was solely on the horse he was chasing, and quite quickly catching up to. He put in another burst of speed, running recklessly at the spooked horse, preparing to leap on its back and help his friend.
He passed two bleeding bodies on the ground as the prince ran forward. A dark figure seemed to glide past him within a swift moment, going for the boss and the other henchman behind Luffy.
Barely sparing the bodies a glance, with a deep intake of breath in preparation he threw himself at the horse and scrambled up on its back while it jumped around, frightened at the sudden weight. Luffy yanked at its reins, talking in a low, calm voice continuously to the horse as he willed it to settle down. He knew how horses got scared about this, but, really, couldn't it wait to freak out until after he was sure Zoro was okay?
Several screams sounded behind Luffy, followed by a thud and the sound of someone running away. This only served to upset Luffy's horse even more, and it almost tried to buck the boy off of its back.
"Ow!" Luffy yelled abruptly, his shoulder jarring at the impact as his butt hit the horse's back after a particularly wild jolt. "Stop it! I'm not gonna hurt you! We have to go check on Zoro so stop being scared and just do something, you stupid horse!" He yanked harder on its reins, irritated. Although he had a guess about what was going on behind him, he wanted to be sure. It could be another trap by the mean men.
"Oi!" A gruff voice sounded from behind Luffy, hoarse, croaking, but warmly familiar.
Luffy looked back, almost flying off the horse when it pranced and bucked again. Luffy clung to the horse, wincing at the pain now in his butt as well as his shoulder, but he didn't say anything other than a very happy yell of, "Zoro?"
"Aaa." The dark, distinct figure was hunched over in the moonlight, a blade resting in his mouth, two others in his hands. His eyes were gleaming, though shadowed and sinister looking. A sharp wind blew, rustling the clothes and hair of the three bodies that were sprawled about the two of them.
"Oh," Luffy said, relieved as he finally gave up on the stupid horse and jumped off. The horse whinnied fearfully and started to gallop away, but didn't go far before stopping within sight, pawing nervously at the ground. Luffy, meanwhile, was jogging toward Zoro, apparently unconcerned with his friend's rather demonic appearance. "Hi! Did you sleep well? Are you okay? They didn't break you more, did they?" The last part came out with far more threat to it than the rest of the cheerful questions.
The swords dropped to the ground, and the man allowed himself to breathe heavily. "Injuries?" he asked gruffly.
Luffy scratched the back of his neck with his good arm, his other remaining limp and bloody at his side where it kind of sort of hurt less. He cocked his head and blinked at Zoro, confused. "I dunno what your injuries are, why're you asking me? Don't you know?"
"No," he said, his voice strained. "Are you injured?" But, really, that was rather a stupid question, now that the swordsman thought about it. He limped towards his prince, his eyes taking in the sight before him. "You're hurt," he muttered, suddenly at his side. He cursed at himself, inspecting the wound closer.
"Yeah," Luffy said simply, looking calmly at Zoro. His good hand had unconsciously moved toward the gunshot wound as if to comfort it. "Now that I'm hurt too does this mean we get to see a doctor?" He still wanted Zoro's back fixed.
"You're hurt," he said softly, eyes narrowed. "I've failed as your bodyguard."
Luffy frowned, slightly distracted by how much blood was running between his fingertips. Wow! To think he had so much to spare in his body! He peered at Zoro, confused. "What're you talking about? You got those other guys, didn't you? They were bad men. They deserved it. They told me to forget about you and I told them they were stupid." He wondered how much more blood Zoro had if he could still be running around after bleeding all day. Luffy kind of envied that amount of blood... it seemed like a lot.
"I took an oath to keep you safe, and I intend to keep it if it means I have to never sleep again," Zoro stated simply, his face seeming rather pale in the moonlight
Luffy blinked at Zoro, then suddenly burst out into clear, untroubled laughter. "Don't be silly, Zoro!" he said between chuckles, "you'd be so cranky! Come on, let's go back and get fixed a little and then eat and sleep and then see a doctor in the morning!" He smiled guilelessly up at his companion.
"I don't think we should stay out here," said Zoro simply.
Luffy shrugged, then grimaced when the movement made his shoulder hurt. "Okay," he said, not really caring at that point. He gripped his shoulder harder and looked down at all the blood, mildly fascinated. "Look at it all, Zoro," he said, like a little kid pointing out a pretty waterfall, "It just keeps coming and coming and..." He blinked, pausing. "Oh," he said, a little distantly. "Also, I think I feel a little dizzy. Can we sit down soon? And then see a doctor sometime? This hurts." He was wobbling slightly on his feet, the adrenaline high coming down and the injuries and exertion catching up to him at once.
"Luffy--" He reached out to steady him, his eyebrows furrowing with concern. "We need to get you to a doctor right away." He inwardly kicked himself. How could he have let Luffy wander away like that? Growling, the swordsman looked around to see if any of the horses had lingered around. Upon awaking, not only had he discovered Luffy missing -- but their horse as well.
"Okay," Luffy said with a goofy smile, since he was getting his way again. "You get to go too, right?" He refused to give up on the thought. "You go too or I don't go at all." His eyes wanted to droop a little but he stubbornly kept them open. It was weird how sleepy he felt suddenly. He wished his stupid shoulder would stop hurting, and his butt, and also his face and why did this stupid men hit him anyway? Everything hurt from them throwing him around and trying to keep him in the stupid bag. Stupid bad mean men.
Zoro strode towards the horse that Luffy had snagged, gently bringing it back to his prince. He lifted him up onto the horse, settling him securely onto the saddle before he himself got on. "Our horse is gone," he said. "So is all of our stuff. I think someone stole them." And with that, he galloped forward to where he hoped would be the nearest town.
"Okay," Luffy said with a yawn as he started to lean toward a brief bit of unconsciousness, "jus'as long's you're not gone too, 't's fine," he mumbled, though still loud enough for Zoro to hear.
"Don't ever wander away like that again," spoke Zoro firmly, his voice fading beneath the loud noises of the horse's hooves hitting the ground.
Luffy nodded, but it was hard to tell if it was in agreement, or just his sleeping form bouncing with the horse's gait.
It seemed like hours drifted by, and the horse continued its steady path. Zoro barely spoke along the journey, although he cast several gazes back at his prince. He wondered if he was passed out.
Luffy must have been, because otherwise he would never have allowed himself to slump forward against Zoro's wounded back. But if that was not enough of a clue, his loud snores several moments later answered the question once and for all.
To be continued...
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