A winter's night

"Urgh, I hate snow! And it's cold as hell, too. "

"What? I thought you liked this weather."

"And why the hell would you think that?!"

They looked at each other.

"Your ship is called Polar Tang, your navigator is a polar bear, and you voluntarily hung out on Punk Hazard."

He felt his temple start to pulsate.

"How stupid are you? Don't answer, that was a rhetorical question. So no, I hate snow and I hate the cold. Don't you?"

The other shrugged his shoulders. "Nope, not really."

They looked at each other disparagingly for a moment, then Law sighed and snapped his fingers once. The next moment, he had swapped positions with the screaming attacker behind him, and Zoro-ya took care of the rest.

"Why did I have to end up here with you?" growled Law, swinging his sword over Zoro-ya's head as he ducked, and knocking out two others. "And who are these guys who are after you?"

"After me? That guy back there shouted your name. I was just the first to be attacked."

The obvious enemies around them posed little danger, but their sheer number was annoying.

"Then why did you interfere? The alliance is history."

The other's back slammed against Laws.

"Because I ended up here with you and was the first to be attacked," Zoro-ya replied with a slightly biting undertone.

"Oh, I get it, without me, you won't find your way back to your crew with your non-existent sense of direction."

"Just shut..."

"Trafalgar Law!"

At the last moment, one of Zoro-ya's blades jumped into his field of vision and deflected a lightning-fast arrow that would otherwise have hit Law's neck. Instantly, the arrow shattered into thousands of pieces, which simply vanished into thin air instead of falling to the ground.

"See? He's after you," Zoro-ya grumbled, looking up at him with that slight smile that Law couldn't stand at all right now.

How much bad luck could one have? Almost at the same time as the Straw Hats, they had reached the harbor of this winter island – although they had deliberately taken different courses after Wa No Kuni – and suddenly there had been a hurricane. Well, and now Law was here, wherever here was, with the Straw Hats' swordsman, and had no idea where his crewmates were. But on a mountain in front of him stood some fellow with golden wings, shouting his name while pointing his bow and arrow at him again.

"Who the hell is this guy?" grumbled the swordsman next to him.

"I don't know. But we should be careful. He seems to possess devil powers; this arrow was not normal."

"Oh, those arrows aren't very strong. They can't harm my swords."

Law rolled his eyes. But before he could say anything, the foot soldiers attacked again.

"Golden Arrow!"

"Watch out, he's atta... What?"

Several arrows hit various attackers near Zoro-ya. The enemy closest to him laughed out loud and then his shirt tightened, tore under ever-increasing muscles.

"Oh shit!" Zoro-ya was just able to fend off the attack and the next moment another guy next to the muscle mountain grew half a meter, who had also been hit by an arrow. "What the hell is going on here?!"

Zoro-ya struck down the first, Law the second, but in the meantime five others had turned into doped bodybuilders.

"Shit, as soon as they get hit by the arrows, they get really strong," but despite the cursing, the swordsman grinned as if he had the time of his life. "This is getting exciting."

But Law's thoughts were elsewhere. He remembered the golden wings and a restless feeling crawled into his stomach.

"I think I've seen that guy before," he muttered, but before he could continue, things suddenly sped up.

The wingman shouted something, Zoro-ya fended off three attackers at once, an arrow going straight for his shoulder blades. As if in slow motion, Law snapped his fingers, but nothing happened and then his legs just started moving.

"Urgh," he grunted as the black arrow pierced his chest. If he had reacted faster, he could have drawn his sword. What a rookie mistake. If he had reacted smarter, he could have pushed Zoro-ya out of the way. What an idiotic mistake.

"Torao!" he heard Zoro-ya behind him, but he just stared at his chest where the arrow had disappeared.

"Oh, fuck," he muttered, and then he could feel it. An iciness that spread and dug into his flesh, his bones. He writhed under this biting cold, heard Zoro-ya shouting after him, heard metal against metal, gasps, and groans, and then the pain subsided, but the cold remained.

He was freezing. In a way that he hadn't felt for years and yet immediately recognized. He was trembling all over. Then his gaze fell on his hands.

No! That can't be... That can't be...

The world around him froze and he stared at these hands, his skin partly as white as the snow falling on them. He had difficulty breathing, his chest tightened, and he was cold, so cold.

"Hey, Torao!" he heard somewhere behind him. "Cut the crap. We don't have time for your magic tricks now!"

Excuse me?!

He spun around, tangled up in his own clothes.

"What the fuck makes you think that this was me?! That was obviously the devil power of that bastard!" he hissed, pointing with an outstretched arm to the hill where the archer was standing. "He ate the Ya-Ya-fruit and can..."

He had to interrupt himself to gasp for air, but it only ended in a coughing fit.

"His arrows make... you strong or weak... depending on which arrow... hits you," he explained, coughing, barely able to keep standing as metal clanged above him.

Where was his sword?

Still coughing, still trembling, Law looked around, saw it lying in the snow right behind him; he must have let go of it. That's when he became aware of it, only then did he realize it when he wanted to reach for his sword. Quite naturally, he had looked up at Zoro-ya when he had snapped at him, at Zoro-ya, who was supposed to be shorter than him. But now Law understood. It wasn't just his skin; it wasn't just his chest. It was his whole body. The body of a child.

His body as a child.

Fuck, he needed to concentrate. They were in the middle of a battle, he was significantly weakened. But this was not the past, not the...

A shot was fired.

"Shit!"

Suddenly, there was a huge shadow in front of him, arms crossed, and blood spurted. Zoro-ya had been almost too late, but he had thrown himself in front of Law.

Law looked up at him, saw the drops of blood in the wind, how the bullet brushed the shoulder of the other, everything seemed slow, while the first snowflakes fell.

Law hated the cold.

The next moment, the attackers were there, and Zoro-ya fended them off. More shots were fired, and Law could hardly move in his way too big clothes, his knees gave way and then he kneeled there in the snow, the swordsman of the Straw Hats above him. Blood splashed to the ground.

Law hated the snow.

"We have to get out of here," he whispered, hearing the grunting of the other, who was now single-handedly defending himself against shots, attackers, and arrows. If Zoro-ya got hit as well, it was over for them. Law could do nothing in his current condition, his body was weak, and control over his powers was deficient at best. If he already had them, if he actually had... He had to pull himself together!

Right now was not the moment to let the past catch up with him! Zoro-ya was strong, but he wasn't exactly astute. This meant that Law had to keep a cool head and think of a way.

But what kind of way was there?

He couldn't really help. On the contrary, due to the wingman's devil power, he had not only lost his offensive strength, but was also a disadvantage for Zoro-ya, who now had to protect him. Well, he didn't have to. They weren't friends, the alliance no longer existed, and yet he stood wide-legged in front of Law, who was kneeling on the ground.

"You know how this devil power works?" Zoro-ya growled, looking down at Law out of the corner of his eye. "How long will this last?"

"I don't know exactly," Law replied, while Zoro-ya fended off other opponents. By now, they had all been reinforced by the golden arrows. By now, they posed a danger. "If I remember correctly, then at least a few hours, rather longer."

"I see," grumbled the swordsman, and probably at that moment he came to the same conclusion as Law, because in the middle of the movement he went deep to his knees and whirled up the snow around them with a lot of force. Then he grabbed Law and his sword, threw him over his shoulder and ran.

"Hey!"

"No nagging! With you as ankle-biter, we're clearly at a disadvantage right now, as long as this guy artificially amplifies all his friends. I can't really fight if I could step on you anytime."

"Shut up and let me..."

"Besides, you sound like you need a doctor! I'll get you to Chopper."

Law froze, looked at the back of the other's head. Single snowflakes glistened in green hair, as if they had fallen on dewy grass. He had forgotten for a moment how cold he was. For a very brief moment he had been warm.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could suddenly see something fast and black rushing towards them as they left the enemies behind.

"Watch out! You..."

"Urgh!"

A black arrow pierced straight into Zoro-ya's back, right between his shoulder blades. But he didn't stop, kept running, and nothing happened.

Five steps further on, Zoro-ya sped around his own axis and stirred up snow again to cover their tracks. Then he ran on, into a snow-shrouded forest, didn't slow down for even a second.

Could it be that this arrow didn't bother him? How was that possible? Law was currently trapped in his thirteen-year-old body again and nothing happened to Zoro-ya?

This was not possible! The power of the Ya-Ya-fruit could take one back to either the moment of supreme strength or the deepest weakness, depending on the arrow, and nobody should... perhaps Zoro-ya had never experienced a moment that he had perceived as weakness. Law couldn't explain it any other way. Or maybe his moment of weakness had nothing to do with a physical situation, maybe he had lost an argument against Blackleg-ya, or had been seen by someone in an embarrassing situation. Whatever it was, they were lucky that it wasn't something as extreme as it was with Law.

For the moment, they may have lost sight of their pursuers, but they had to remain combat-ready, and Law was actually unable to get to safety on his own. The onset of a snowstorm gave them the advantage of covering their tracks, but it also made it just as cold as hell. The approaching night did not make the situation any better. Law wouldn't be able to endure like this for long, not in his current state, so he couldn't help but rely on Zoro-ya...

"Hey, what are you doing?" he hissed.

Just now, Zoro-ya tore open the door to some godforsaken hunting lodge and stumbled inside.

"You are aware that we're like in a fishbowl here? We have to get away quickly and get toAah!"

Zoro-ya had fallen on one knee, taking Law along with him to the ground. Now he could hear the harsh breath as his hat flew to the ground.

"In a... in a moment," came it from Zoro-ya hoarsely, and he let go of Law. "Just let me... let me rest... for a sec..."

Shocked, Law stood in front of him.

He had been wrong.

Zoro-ya squatted in front of him on the floor, in this dark hallway, behind him the door slammed shut through the wind, with both hands he supported himself, breathing heavily, partly already icy blood ran down his forehead and temples, his short green hair stood out in all directions and then his eyes flashed in the darkness, when he looked up at Law.

"You look... like shit..., Tiny-Torao." A faint grin settled on the pale features of the other, who then dropped back and leaned against the wall. Blood seeped through his coat. Law had been wrong, it had caught him too, and how it had caught him. "Don't worry... just a few minutes... then I'll get... get you to Chopper."

"I'm much more worried about you!" As if to contradict himself, Law had to cough. He was so cold. "You need a doctor."

Zoro-ya laughed softly, but grimaced because it obviously hurt.

"Cho... Chopper always says that, too."

Law made a decision. In this state, there was no way Zoro-ya was able to fight, damn it, maybe he wouldn't even last as long as the curse would last, in the cold and without supplies. It had been right to seek shelter here, even if they were easy prey this way.

"Come on, we need to get you off the cold floor," he said, trying to pull Zoro-ya to his feet, but his own body was shivering from cold and exhaustion. He stumbled backwards and would have fallen if it hadn't been for the wall. Annoyed, he grabbed his hat from the floor and put it back on, ignoring how low it slid. "I need to examine you. I don't know if I have my powers right now – and if I do, I'll have a hard time controlling them – but you need to be taken care of quickly."

"No… worries." Zoro-ya looked at him with heavy eyes. "What about... you?"

"I'm fine. This is only going to last a few hours, not long enough to get me killed, but for you it could..." Again, a coughing fit interrupted him. What did he hate the cold. No, no matter how he wanted to twist and turn it. They needed warmth, both of them, they needed supplies, but first of all they needed "fire. I'm going to make us a fire now."

"Then we are... easy prey," Zoro-ya said, confirming Law's thoughts, and his words made it obvious. He didn't even hide the fact that he was done, that he couldn't fight.

"We are either way when someone sees the hut. But... I'm cold and you're freezing – and bleeding - to death, so we need fire, and you need some medical care," he decided in a hoarse voice. Zoro-ya wasn't wrong. As soon as the sun had set, the slightest spark of light would betray them. But Law was also right, without a warming fire they would not survive the night.

The other watched him for a moment, his breathing slowly calming down.

"Okay," he then relented, grabbed Law's sword, and pulled himself to his feet with difficulty.

Law tried to ignore his own body as he lifted his coat and fought his way out of his pants.

"Looking really cute there," the other teased him.

"Shut up," he grumbled, grabbing his pants, and pulling them behind into the adjoining small room. "Lie down on the sofa, I'll make us a fire and then I'll take a look at your injuries."

It worried him that the other did not object.

The logs in his arms were heavy, luckily, they were right next to the fire pit.

"So what kind of… power is this?" asked Zoro-ya. "The arrows don't just make you weaker, do they?"

"The attack is called Cupid's Arrow or something," Law muttered as he took care of the fire. "If you are hit with the golden arrows, your body returns to its state of its greatest success, and if you are hit with the leaden arrows, then it turns back to the time of your..."

"... greatest failure," Zoro-ya finished his sentence.

"Exactly."

"Well, shit, sucks to be us right now."

"Tell me about it."

Law tried to light the fire several times, but his hands were shaking too much. He had forgotten how helpless he had been back then, how vulnerable, how cold. He tried to create a room to relieve his trembling fingers, but the feeble structure broke; well, after all, at least he had his powers, but they did him no good in this state.

"Let me do this." Out of nowhere, a rough hand reached over his shoulder and took the matches from him. "Otherwise, it's never going to happen."

"You're supposed to lie down." He looked up to the other, who looked huge from his position and shrunken height, as he, halfway bent over Law, ignited the wood wool. The fire spread to wood chips and pieces of bark within seconds.

"At least it seems to be dry wood." Cumbersomely, Zoro-ya straightened up again and limped back to the sofa. The spot where he had knelt showed a small dark red stain, blood stuck to the matches. "How long did you say, will this last? Hours?"

"I think so," he replied, sitting by the fireplace, waiting for the fire to spread to the logs. "How long it lasts varies, but I don't know what the duration depends on. "

"When did you fight him?"

"Never."

"Then what was all that fuss about?"

He looked up from the fire and at Zoro-ya, who sat down ponderously on the old leather, grunting softly. Damn, what did he look young and vulnerable — not that Law was in a situation to judge right now — and he wondered at what moment the devil power had thrown the other's body back. He knew too well about himself but didn't want to think about it.

"I guess I… stole a few of his friends' hearts and brought them to World Government," he grumbled, rising as the fire licked over the logs.

"Oh, to become a Warlord? I remember." Zoro-ya laughed softly, ending up coughing. "Next time, get everybody, okay? And don't leave any idiots with shitty devil powers behind."

"Let me check your wounds."

"Nah, it's..."

"That wasn't a suggestion." He pulled the green coat aside and almost regretted it. The belly wrap was completely soaked, and blood dripped onto the leather. "What the...?"

He pulled down the belly wrap. The whole abdomen was covered with wounds and bruises. Some obviously older, some fresh. At that time, whenever it had been, the older injuries had certainly been treated, but only the body had been set back. Sutures and bandages had not reappeared.

"Yes, Chopper always makes that face, too." Zoro-ya leaned back slightly and closed his eyes. It was a miracle that he had not yet fainted due to the pain.

"I can't stitch up the wounds," Law muttered thoughtfully. "Once that curse wears off, the injuries will disappear, but the stitches would remain. So all I can do is tie them together as good as possible. The good thing is, we don't have to worry about inflammation either. The main thing is that enough blood stays in your body that you don't bleed to death within the next few hours."

"Sounds like a plan," the other laughed lightly, then took a sharp breath.

"Well, I check for medical necessities." It would be easier to take off the coat, but Law was also freaking cold, so he wrapped it tight around his tiny, shivering body and then shuffled around the room, tripping multiple times over the hem and his socks slipping off little by little. "Where are my boots by the way? Don't tell me you just left them behind?"

"Had other problems," growled the other from the sofa.

Law actually found a dusty first aid kit. He snorted softly, he had liked those boots, they had been very comfortable.

Back at the sofa, he tried to roll up his sleeves, but had to realize that it wouldn't work no matter what. Grumbling to himself, he took off his coat. His shirt, which was way too big, hung down from his body like a dress. After all, at least the fire burned good enough by now that his fingers no longer trembled quite so annoyingly as he rummaged through the box. But he had to hurry. The blizzard allowed less and less light of the dying day to pass through, and trying to treat wounds in the unsteady light of flames was anything but ideal.

"You're really tiny. How old are you? Six?" Zoro-ya interrupted his thoughts.

Angry, he stared down at the other.

"I'm still 26, and that doesn't change just because I'm in a child's body right now. And this one is not six, but thirteen. "

"Oh God, you're tiny for thirteen!"

"My growth spurt just came a little later!" he hissed at the other and pulled out the bandages. "And as we both know, I'm significantly taller than you!"

He hated that evil grin Zoro-ya gave him, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, deserved!

"But right now, you're really tiny. In particular, for 26."

"Screw you!" Cursing quietly, he took care of Zoro-ya, who remained silent most of the time. However, despite his teasing comments and brazen grin, whenever Law looked up at him, it was obvious how badly he was holding up.

Law himself noticed how the warmth of the fire made his condition more bearable - and again and again he reminded himself that this was only temporary, in a few hours he would be back in his healthy, adult body! - but while Law was working, Zoro-ya leaned his head back, his eyes closed, obviously trying to breathe calmly and against the pain.

"And what about you?" Law asked, as the silence became uncomfortable. "How old is this body? What have you been wounded by?"

"Must be 20," moaned the other softly, "must been a little more than two years ago."

Goosebumps swept across Law's arms. At the age of 20, he already had such...

"Wait a minute!" He stared at Zoro-ya. "Two years? You are... 22?"

Zoro-ya just nodded, his eyes still closed, and suddenly he looked so much younger than before.

"I thought you were my age," Law muttered, indicating the other to pull down his pants so he could take care of the wounds as well.

Zoro-ya shrugged his shoulders and did as he was told. "Don't know how old you are."

"26, I just told..." Law froze, distracted by the deep flesh wound across Zoro-ya's thigh. Just a hand's breadth below was an already healing wound that almost looked as if the skin had burst open from the inside out.

He remembered. Back then in the auction house, his gaze had only briefly swept over the swordsman of the Straw Hats, had immediately identified him as one of the more dangerous before his attention had slipped further. But he still had the image in his head, the open shirt, which, with every slight movement, showed the discolored and bloodshot side. Almost scarred wounds on his chest and arms. At that moment, he hadn't given it any further thought.

"Two years ago." He looked at Zoro-ya, who didn't even avoid his gaze. "The Annihilation of the Straw Hat Crew."

Only the fire could be heard.

Then Zoro-ya leaned his head back and closed his eyes again.

"You said it yourself," he grumbled, unimpressed. "The moment of one's greatest failure."

"But you were already injured from a previous fight." Law didn't even know why he said that, if it was just a simple observation, but why did it almost sound like a justification for the other?

"I was weak!" Zoro-ya condemned himself. "And that's why we lost. If I had been stronger, I could have protected my friends."

Hard these words reverberated between them.

"There's no greater failure than not being able to protect someone," Zoro-ya grumbled with a shake of his head.

Law had to swallow, his hands trembling.

"At least you tried. Isn't that at least something? After all, it's better than if you couldn't have done anything." He wished he could have done something back then, anything. But he had been helpless, stupid, and naïve, doomed to do nothing. He hadn't been able to protect anyone, not even himself, and so someone else had given his life for him.

"No."

Law stared at the other, but Zoro-ya looked up at the ceiling.

"If you can't do anything, that's how it is. It's shitty too, no question about it, but you couldn't have changed anything anyway." He inhaled hard, and Law wasn't sure if it was because of the pain. "But if you can do something and it's just not enough... Well, whatever." Then his eyes fell on Law. "But a sick child shouldn't have to worry about that."

He didn't know if it was because of the cold, but under that gaze he got goosebumps.

"Oh, shut up!" he growled. "And again, I'm not a child! I'm still 26!"

"Sure," Zoro-ya grinned back, obviously making fun of him, and the heaviness of the last few minutes passed somewhat; however, the tension remained.

"Show me your arm," Law then urged, noticing his cheeks getting warm.

Zoro-ya obeyed, revealing another ugly cut.

"We should splint this," Law grumbled softly. "Was the arm broken?"

The other just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, could be, don't remember."

Snorting softly, Law continued his work. He wanted to avoid a more in-depth examination of the wound - especially because the arm would be healed in a few hours anyway - but they didn't have to risk anything.

As he worked in silence, he noticed how pale his skin was in relation to Zoro-yas. The white spots made it worse. He could see them, those looks, heard those words, remembered how people had shied away from him. But the skin under his tiny fingers was warm.

"Don't you have a problem with me touching you?" he muttered, looking up at Zoro-ya.

"What? Why should I?"

Law hesitated. "Because I'm sick?"

"Is it contagious?" Zoro-ya asked, without making the slightest effort to pull his arm away.

"No, but a lot of people thought it was contagious."

"Huh? I don't get it? If it's not contagious, why should I have a problem just because some idiots were afraid of a little cough?"

"Wait, what?" Law looked at the other, who looked back in similar bewilderment. "No... Not because of the... coughing, but..." He raised his hands up.

"Huh?" Zoro-ya straightened up a bit more and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "No idea what you mean?"

"The spots!" growled Law, starting to get annoyed. He couldn't be that stupid.

"Oh, no, I don't know. Don't mind petting a cow either," muttered the other and leaned back again. "But then again, you really have to be careful with those beasts. They can bite, let me tell you."

Was he feverish? There was no other way for Law to explain his stupidity. He stared at this idiot for a moment, then just shook his head. There was no point in trying to understand this guy.

"We should stay here for the next few hours," he decided. "We won't get very far in this snowstorm anyway, and it's pitch-black outside."

He packed away the bandages and quickly put his coat back on.

"I think we should split up the work."

"Huh?" Zoro-ya said, looking at him with half-open eyes.

"Of the two of us, you are probably rather fit to fight at the moment - which is really sad given your condition - so you should rest now and gather your strength. In the meantime, I'll keep watch and as soon as the storm has subsided, we'll go and search of the others."

Zoro-ya looked at him for a long breath before finally nodding.

"Deal," he grumbled, and it didn't even seem to take a second before he had already fallen asleep.

Law looked at him out of the corner of his eye as he sat down on a stool near the window and wrapped his cloak even tighter around him. Zoro-ya had stayed the way Law had left him. Ripped open coat, one arm pulled out. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, almost relaxed, especially when one thought of their delicate situation.

Perhaps it was fortunate that he had met this enemy with Zoro-ya, of all people. Because despite his poor condition, the swordsman had still managed to get them both to safety and for all his annoying traits, at least he wasn't a gossip, and Law would rather not have everyone know about this.

At the same time, he felt the tension that Zoro-ya seemed to be able to ignore. These wounds were already bad and who knew how long the other would stay in this state.

Law really didn't like this situation. He in this weak, sick child's body, crammed into some hut during a blizzard, together with a badly injured guy who saw it as his greatest shame that he had not been able to protect his crew, even though he had almost died while trying.

No, Law didn't like the situation at all, counting the seconds and minutes, looking at the darkness behind the window, but always checking out of the corner of his eye that the other's chest was still rising and falling.

At some point in between, he rose to add some new wood, but he knew full well that the cold he now felt came from within and could not be relieved by heat. He had really forgotten how weak he had been, how cold he had always been, how helpless he had been.

If it weren't for Zoro-ya, he might not have been able to light the fire, probably wouldn't have made it to the hut, hadn't escaped their pursuers. He was really useless in this body, could do absolutely nothing.

Shaking his head, he banished these thoughts. Self-pity didn't get him anywhere either. Besides, it wasn't true, maybe back then, but not this time. He had taken care of Zoro-ya, who would probably have bled to death by now, and now he took over the guard so that the other could recover as well as possible.

But maybe that wasn't even necessary. If they were lucky, they would transform back before the storm had subsided.

They were not lucky.

The swordsman of the Straw Hats was still sleeping peacefully while Law watched the unavoidable. As the storm slowly subsided and snow continued to trickle to the ground, he could make out the first shadowy tree trunks; the dawn was near.

"We should leave soon."

He turned around.

Zoro-ya, who had just slept soundly, now leaned forward, and pulled his dirty coat shut, blood already shimmering through some bandages.

"You're awake," Law stated unnecessarily.

"And you're still tiny, Tiny-Torao," he replied without even looking at him. "If the guy still wants your head, his henchmen will look for us, at the latest as soon as the sun has risen."

He looked earnestly at Law, his elbow resting on his knees. He didn't have to say it out loud, they both knew. As long as at least one of them did not transform back, their situation was more than difficult.

"That means we have to find the others before we're found," Law concluded, to which Zoro-ya nodded. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

Zoro-ya waved it aside. "Don't worry about it. I slept for what felt like two days and I'm fit again."

"Sure," Law said, barely convinced, raising an eyebrow. "It was one night, not two days, you can't possibly be fit again."

"You're really a pessimist, Tiny-Torao. Speaking of, wouldn't this have to stop at some point?" Without waiting for an answer, he straightened up, swayed slightly, as if he would tip over again at any moment, but he kept standing. "You're not really good for anything while you're so small, are you?"

"How dare you, you..."

"Means, I have to carry you, otherwise we'll be too slow. But your sword is so long, I'll have to strap it on my back. So, fighting will be difficult." He shrugged his shoulders. "But well, I couldn't lead Enma like that anyway and as shitty as it is, it would probably be wiser to avoid fighting."

Law was silent for a moment. Zoro-ya was right about everything he said. But it didn't change the fact that it pissed Law off, really pissed him off.

"Can you use Haki right now?"

Zoro-ya laughed softly: "Wouldn't give it a try."

"What about your arm? Can you even carry anything with it?"

"What bothers me more is that I won't have a free hand to fight."

"You shouldn't fight with a broken arm," Law noted.

"That's what Chopper always says," Zoro-ya replied with a slight shrug as he grabbed Law's sword and strapped it around his back. It did sting that someone else was carrying his Kikoku, but at least it wasn't an ene... What was he thinking? The alliance was history, and they were working together because it made the most sense. The swordsman of the Straw Hats might have been seduced by some sentimental feelings, but that was not the case with Law. He wouldn't make the mistake of seeing the other as a friend just because they were in trouble together and dependent on each other. He did not trust Zoro-ya at all, neither with his sword nor with his life.

"We should get going," he grumbled, before he walked over to the fireplace and extinguished the last flames with the bucket full of sand for emergencies; immediately it got dark in the room and the cold seemed to gnarl into his flesh again.

Zoro-ya agreed with him without saying a word, grabbed Law's pants and tied them around his waist. Would be fun to see if Shachi would be able to get the bloodstains out again.

"I still can't believe you just left my boots behind," Law complained.

"Would you have preferred it to be your sword?" came it from Zoro-ya just as brusquely and he followed Law into the cold and draughty hallway. "Didn't think about it, okay? I just grabbed you and off I went. Your boots just got stuck in the snow."

When he arrived at the door, he felt unsettled. He simply did not like to be carried, in this body, by an injured Zoro-ya, probably hunted.

"Hey, wait! Wait! Let me down!"

"Stop making a fuss, Tiny-Torao - and stop kicking me in the stomach - the sun will rise at any moment, we have to go. Just shut up, okay?"

He froze. When Zoro-ya had grabbed him, his hat had slipped into his face, now Zoro-ya had pushed it up with one hand and they were staring at each other. With his other hand, Zoro-ya had pressed Law against his body. Even through his clothes, Law could feel the heat radiating from the other, while his face was only a hand's length away from his, absolutely serious, small and big scratches everywhere.

"As long as you're like this, this is the best way to go, so don't make it any harder for both of us. And hold on tight, okay? Not that I end up dropping you midway."

For another moment, Zoro-ya looked at him so intensely. Very slowly, Law nodded, lowered his gaze, and dug his little hands, which were lost in the sleeves of his coat, into Zoro-ya's coat.

"We should head south; the port should be somewhere there."

"Okay, let's go," Zoro-ya agreed, but the mischievousness that was so often present, the quiet wit, all that was missing. As soon as he opened the door, it became icy cold and almost automatically Law pressed himself a little more against this warm body.

He was freezing cold, and the pain, which had been almost forgotten for the last few hours, was scraping through his bones again.

He felt Zoro-ya grab him tighter, hugging him, a paw around his torso, and then he ran.

"Not this way, you idiot. Don't you see the light? There is east. No, north, east again, west... Are you actually kidding me?! This way!"

He pointed to two trees with a trembling arm and graciously, Zoro-ya finally ran in the right direction.

"Everything looks the same," he grumbled.

"No, it does... What are you doing? This way! You're running north again!"

It was going to be exhausting.

Zoro-ya may be the one to run, but Law always had to be careful, because the other could change direction unexpectedly at any time, sometimes in a matter of seconds.

What did he beg his body to finally transform back! All of this would be so much easier if the curse of the Devil Fruit didn't hinder them any further. But nothing happened. Law was still in that frail body, simple breathing still hurt, and he was still... No, that wasn't true. Yes, it was cold, ice cold, but Law's body was pressed against Zoro-ya's chest, his hands buried in his coat. He was cold, but he was also warm. In the silence of the snow, he could only hear Zoro-ya's breathing, his soft gasps, his heartbeat as he ran through the forest, Law safely in his arms. Zoro-ya's grip didn't loosen for a second, even though his fingers had to be freezing in the wind, they were warm, even now. Zoro-ya was warm, even through Law's much too large coat he was warm, like a heater of flesh and blood. In unison with his heartbeat, his feet stamped through the snow as he breathed deeply.

Law's eyes snapped open.

He had dozed off! He couldn't say for how long, but Zoro-ya was still fighting their way through the forest, but it had stopped snowing. A glance at the hazy sky above them showed him that, surprisingly, they were still running in the right direction - or maybe again, as often as Zoro-ya just switch course for no reason - and he couldn't have slept long.

Zoro-ya was still running, still holding him, but now Law knew what had woken him up. Zoro-ya had picked up his pace, breathing harder, and there could only be one reason for that.

"They're combing through the forest," came it from Zoro-ya, as if he had heard Law's thoughts. "Hiding is pointless. There are so many that we would be found quickly and as soon as they have discovered the tracks in the snow, they will chase us. Damn, now a little snowstorm would be really helpful."

"Do you know how many there are?" murmured Law.

"Not really. I can't concentrate long enough, my Kenbunshoku Haki doesn't really work. There have to be at least 20, rather 30, too many anyway. Unless at least one of us transforms back at some point. It's starting to get really annoying."

Law couldn't agree more. Half a day must have passed and yet nothing happened. Law didn't think the curse would last so long. Hopefully, Zoro-ya's wounds hadn't become inflamed in the meantime. He should have checked them again before leaving. But well, it was probably too late for that now.

"How much distance do we have?" he asked, his weak senses barely able to perceive anything but his aching body, the biting cold, and Zoro-ya's warmth.

"If I could run faster, I would," came the answer that answered more than Law's question. He bit his tongue instead of asking what he wasn't allowed to ask. How long would Zoro-ya last? How far would he still...? Law's left sleeve was damp, and he knew it wasn't the snow that had drenched it. He had his answer. Slowly, Law looked up, saw those seriously eyes staring stubbornly straight ahead. Sweat ran down Zoro-ya's reddened temples, his lips cracked from the cold winter air. If he didn't transform soon, then...

"Let me down," Law whispered, having made up his mind.

"What?"

"I told you to put me down..."

"Cut the crap!" Zoro-ya's fingers dug even deeper into his flesh. "You won't stand a chance against them like this! We have to get away first."

Law stared at the other's chest.

"There is no we," he replied, as hard as his childish voice would allow, while his hands trembled. "When will you finally understand that we are not friends?! I'm just unnecessary weight that you should get rid of quickly before they get too... Urgh!"

Zoro-ya stopped in the middle of the movement and spun around his own axis, a sword in his hand. As if from a whirlwind, the snow around them was swept away as far as Law could see. Then Zoro-ya ran on, now breathing even harder.

"That should buy us a few minutes," he growled.

"You're so fucking stubborn!" cursed Law.

"And you're acting stupid. No matter what you think, and no matter how many times you say such crap, I'm not going to go along with it, so just shut it and hold on. Either we both get out of this mess or at least I tried."

"You're running in the wrong direction, down there!" He bit his lips as Zoro-ya continued to run, the ground at his feet getting steeper and steeper.

He didn't want that, not like that, not again, not again.

Suddenly, they could hear shouts, pursuers yelling his name.

"Damn! I thought we had a little more time!" Cursing, Zoro-ya got even faster, slid down in the snow, tried to hold onto trees with his shoulder, catch some support as he rushed downhill, panting, but at some point, there was no more support. "Shit!"

Law felt himself being pressed even harder against that body as Zoro-ya crashed to the ground and they rumbled down the slope.

Eventually, they had reached the bottom, wherever that was, Law still safe in the arms of the other who had curled around him protectively. Not like that, not again, not again.

"Hey Zoro-ya, are you still alive?!"

For a moment, nothing happened as Law tried to fight his way out of this stiff grip, then the other coughed and let go.

"Fuck!" cursed Zoro-ya between coughing, blood dripping down the corner of his mouth, single drops turning the snow red. "You okay, Torao?"

"I'm fine!" he lied as he pulled himself up, his socks in the snow, and the cold fed on him. "What about you? Can you stand? Can you walk?"

The yelling was getting closer, they didn't have much time left.

Zoro-ya crouched on the floor, leaning on one forearm, panting in pain, his other hand pressed on his abdomen. He laughed softly - why the hell was he laughing?! – and then groaned in pain.

"Oh, not good, really not that good." With difficulty he hoisted himself on one knee, but he was trembling all over, would probably collapse at any moment, but then he looked up and Law recognized this look, recognized it immediately.

Not again!

"You can still walk, right? That's good." Zoro-ya grinned at him. "I can give you a moment. So hide somewhere and wait, it can't take that long anymore."

"And now you're talking crap!" growled Law, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Come on, get up, we can still run away."

"Nah," the other laughed hoarsely. "I won't run anywhere anymore, knee is done." He grinned at Law and shrugged his shoulders. "That's it for me, Tiny-Torao, so get lost, not both of us have to go west here."

He could see it in those eyes, the pain, the guilt, and maybe something like fear. Zoro-ya would rather die than not be able to protect someone again, even if that someone was just Law.

"No," he objected calmly, as his pursuers came closer and closer, "you said it yourself. Either both or neither. I won't leave anyone behind anymore."

Zoro-ya's grin froze, but then it gave way to a gentle smile and for the first time ever, Law felt that Zoro-ya wasn't mocking him. "Okay, then let's make sure the past doesn't repeat itself."

The next moment he jumped up, snow swept into the air around him, and fended off several projectiles.

Breathing heavily, he stood there, all his weight resting on his left leg, holding one of his swords with both hands, trembling all over, blood dripping to the ground.

Kikoku fell in the snow as Zoro-ya repelled another attack.

Law desperately tried to create a room, but it kept breaking as he coughed more and more.

"Urgh!" That soft groan, made him look up, saw the bloody blade sticking out of the other's back, and then pulled back with a disgusting smack. "Ah..."

"Zoro-ya," he whispered.

Zoro-ya staggered, struck down the attacker, and then he too fell. In front of Law, he was lying face first in the snow, his shallow breath the only sign that he was still alive. A half-open eye looked at him and he whispered silently run before a shadow loomed over him.

No, not like that, not again, not again!

"Geez, this guy just doesn't want to die, does he? Time to change that."

No!

„ROOM!"

He grabbed Kikoku, jumped forward, and fended off the attacker's sword.

"I'm not going to watch him die!" he roared, releasing his right hand, and snapping once. "Tact!"

"Woah!" All the attackers around him were whirled upside down into the air.

"Never again will anyone die for me!" He hauled Kikoku around briskly. "Amputate!"

Body parts pattered to the ground as he broke up the room, but he ignored the startled shouts of the attackers as he spun around to Zoro-ya and knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, Hey! Are you still with me?! Hey, Zoro-ya?!"

A choppy sound, half laughter, half cough, came in response, while that half-open eye was looking at him.

"You've taken your sweet time, Torao."

It was only then that he became aware of it. Once again, he hadn't even noticed. The spots on his hand were gone, his body no longer hurt. It was over, he was no longer helpless!

„Trafalgar!"

„Curtain!"

He had created his room just in time when a black arrow bounced off his curtain.

"I really don't have time for you now, Cupid!" he yelled, jumping up to the winged man and closing his hand. "Mes!"

The next moment the man collapsed, a few feet behind him lay a fist-sized cube and in it beat a lonely heart.

Without hesitation, Law impaled it, saw it beat once, twice, three times, and then no more, while the minions were still whimpering over their bodies. But he didn't care.

He hurried back to the swordsman, who was lying in the red snow, still breathing shallowly.

"But I defeated him..." Law whispered. "He's dead... his curse should be..."

But Zoro-ya still lay there as his blood seeped into the snow, obviously his young, wounded self.

"Shit!"

Law grabbed him, turned him to the side, and did the bare minimum that needed to be done. Then he picked the other one up and ran. Why didn't Zoro-ya transform back? He'd only been hit shortly after Law, so why was he still like this?

"Don't you dare dying, understood? It can't be that long anymore, so don't pipe out on me."

Zoro-ya laughed softly, coughing.

"What's so funny?" growled Law.

"You... you're not wearing pants."

He almost stopped running for a moment when he noticed that Zoro-ya still had his pants tied around his waist and Law was running around in coat and socks.

"So what? Is that really your main problem right now?!" he hissed at the other as his cheeks became boiling hot. "Are you feverish or why are you talking shit?"

The other mumbled something, but Law couldn't understand him. All he knew was that he had to take Zoro-ya somewhere warm, where there might be blood preservation, and away from the pursuers, just in case he hadn't taken care of everyone.

"Hey! Hey! That's Torao!"

He never imagined that the sound of this nickname would fill him with such relief when he suddenly saw Blackleg-ya in the distance, hurriedly waving at him.

"Gosh, you don't want to know how worried your crew got when Bepo showed up with your... What the...?" In the middle of the movement, he stopped, his arm still raised, as Law came closer and closer. "What the hell happened?!"

"Is Chopper-ya with you? Zoro-ya needs a blood transfusion right away. What blood type does he have? Do you know that? Is there anyone with you who could be a donor?"

Law didn't even stop when he reached the other, ran on, and after a moment Blackleg-ya followed.

"Yes, Chopper... Chopper is also there, but what is...?"

"I'll explain everything in a moment. But first, Zoro-ya needs help."

"Okay, this way!"

Few moments later they reached a tiny village, which could hardly be called that, since it was actually only a few huts lining a snowy road. But Law didn't care. The main thing was to find a warm place where there was fresh blood.

They had chosen one of these huts as their headquarters and there Chopper-ya and Uni were waiting, while the others had fanned out to look for the scattered friends, as Blackleg-ya explained to him, since transponder snails had no reception on this island.

When he arrived at the hut, there was of course a lot of shouting at first, but Law was quickly able to make himself be heard and explain the most necessary things. They hastily discovered that Zoro-ya and Uni had the same blood type and Law could also donate his own.

A little later, they did just that, while treating the wounds as best they could. Contrary to Law's worries, they were not yet inflamed. Still, Zoro-ya didn't look good.

"And you say you don't know exactly how long it will take?" grumbled Blackleg-ya and stood next to him.

"No, he was hit only a few minutes after me and otherwise would have transformed back long ago. It's probably going to take some time and that's how long he has to hold out," Law confirmed with his eyes closed, noticing the blood flowing out of his arm. "It's unbelievable that he could still stand in this condition at all."

Blackleg-ya snorted softly before sighing. "What a shitty devil power. To see him like that again..."

Law replied nothing. He had explained how the power worked, but not what time Zoro-ya and his body had been thrown back into. But it didn't seem to be necessary. Both Blackleg-ya and Chopper-ya seemed as if they knew exactly what time it had to be.

"Who else is missing?" he asked.

"The question is rather who is not missing. Bepo and Franky headed to the harbor to look after the ships and otherwise it's just Nami-swan, Penguin, and this little one from your crew besides Chopper, Uni, and me. The rest must be scattered all over the island and hopefully found shelter during the blizzard." Blackleg-ya sighed again. "Well, whatever. You are now taken care of. So I'm going to look for the others again."

Law sat there in silence. Then his gaze slid to his forearm and the machine hanging onto it, from which precious blood flowed into Zoro-ya. Now that Law's body was back to normal, he could easily donate blood, but Chopper-ya had been very clear that he was not allowed to give more than necessary. Of course, he knew this himself. As if he would come up with such a brain-cracking idea to give some guy more blood than...

He bit his lower lip and averted his gaze.

"You're such an idiot."

But no one answered him.

Dammit! The curse of the devil power must have confused him quite a bit. Additional the night without sleep, the pain. He could hardly explain it, but there by the fire, but also in the snow, even in the forest, all that time he had... felt safe. But he had also been afraid, but not for his own life.

"What are you looking this... grumpy, Torao? In the end... everything went well, after all."

"Zoro-ya!" Surprised, he looked at the bed. The other met his gaze with half-open eyes, his voice broken, but he grinned, as so often in the last few hours. "You're awake."

"Obviously."

For a moment they looked at each other calmly, but once again it was Law who broke the silence, could hardly withstand even this exhausted look. "By the way, I have a hunch as to what the duration of the curse depends on, namely..."

"The age," Zoro-ya finished, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. "We arrived in the early evening... just before you were hit. Between sunset and sunrise there were a little more than... nine hours and you were thirteen years old. The older one was, the longer... it takes."

"Exactly," Law remarked, more than surprised that Zoro-ya had noticed, too. "I knew that the positive duration of that power depends on how much time had been between the present and the strongest moment in the past, so I think that here too the hours correspond to the years, and I counted, for me it really took exactly thirteen hours."

He hesitated for a moment, but then continued: "That means you're going to have to hold out for another few, probably around six. Can you manage that long?"

"How many more times are you going to ask me that?" Zoro-ya laughed softly. "You'd better instead tell me where we are."

In a low voice, Law explained what had happened, as Zoro-ya had apparently lost consciousness even before they had reached Blackleg-ya.

At some point, Chopper-ya came in, scolded Zoro-ya as usual for his recklessness, shedding a few tears, while Zoro-ya appeased him, even though pain was written all over his face.

Law stayed out of their quarrel, while Chopper-ya pulled his needle, and watched the two, noticing the tone of the swordsman, the look he gave his crewmember. That's why, that's why he'd had this feeling around Zoro-ya. He had seen it back then with this brat on Wa No Kuni and now here with Chopper-ya, so that's why.

Law didn't know why he did it, nor how he'd done it, but he had convinced Chopper-ya that he would take care of Zoro-ya; the swordsman had not objected. Did he prefer it that way, so that Chopper-ya didn't have to see his pain, didn't have to see his weak self from back then?

So Law sat there, both of them most of the time silent, Law crossed his arms, Zoro-ya often asleep. Here and now, he looked even younger, or maybe just because Law was back in his adult body. He still couldn't believe that Zoro-ya was actually younger than himself, it may explain his frivolous nature. But it also made those wounds so much worse and Law wished Zoro-ya hadn't been hurt even more just to protect him.

Again and again, he nodded off, startled awake again and again, only after seconds he hoped, and checked the pulse of the other, always this constant worry, this fear for someone to whom he was not even friendly minded.

He sighed softly, knowing that this was not quite true. He wouldn't go so far to call Roronoa Zoro a friend, but he silently admitted to himself that he liked him quite well for a Straw Hat and that he could tolerate his annoying behavior better than his death.

Dammit! None of this should have turned out that way. It had just been some stupid alliance, should never have been more than a means to an end, and now he was sitting here, by this bedside, waiting. In his mind's eye, he kept seeing red snow, heard the shouting, felt the warmth, saw that smile, saw that grin.

Trembling, he took a breath, his hands shivered. He tried to calm his breath, but he didn't really succeed. Was he having a panic attack? Now, of all times, when everything was already over, and they just had to wait for Zoro-ya's curse to dissolve and then they could look for the rest of the crewmembers? How unnecessary.

"What are you looking like that again?"

He looked up in surprise. Opposite him sat Zoro-ya, just ripping the IV out of his forearm. Then he grinned at Law. Time was up.

Where had it gone? He felt that it had barely been minutes.

"Shouldn't you be in a better mood?" Zoro-ya rose, back to his old self, absolutely unharmed, even the wounds of the past battle gone, while Law stared at him in bewilderment, first not understanding what he meant, and then he understood. "After all, I didn't die, Tiny-Torao."

Law lowered his gaze, his lower jaw trembling. It was true. Zoro-ya had not died. This time it hadn't happened, not again. Suddenly, he felt the other's strong hand on his hat.

"Thank you for your help, by the way. If it weren't for you, I would certainly have been a goner."

He couldn't avoid it, couldn't stop it, while hiding his face behind a hand. Zoro-ya was silent, his hand still in place. Like with this brat from Wa No Kuni. Like with Chopper.

"No matter what happened back then," Zoro-ya spoke in a calm voice, as if he knew exactly what was going on in Law, "this time we didn't fail."

Wordlessly, Law agreed as tears continued to make their way.

"Don't you dare, telling somebody anything about this," he threatened, his brittle voice unconvincing, though he knew better, as he sat there, Zoro-ya's hand still on his head. "But thank you."

Zoro-ya laughed softly, but whatever he wanted to say was forgotten as a tumult wafted over to them from the adjoining room. Apparently, someone had found Straw Hat-ya. Zoro-ya let go of Law and walked towards the door.

"Zoro-ya." Law stood up and looked at the other, could see the other observing his tearful face. "You, too, saved my life. Today we worked well together."

The other looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly, as if he didn't know exactly what Law was getting at.

"Still, you should remember that nothing has changed," Law warned, prompting Zoro-ya to raise an eyebrow almost disapprovingly. "I still don't like the snow."

The other's disapproval turned into surprise, then he grinned. That grin that Law didn't want to like.

"But you're not cold anymore, are you?"

This question surprised Law, and he wasn't sure what Zoro-ya was implying.

"No," he replied, frowning, "I'm not cold anymore."

"That's good," Zoro-ya remarked, before shrugging his shoulders and walking to the door. "After all, you're still not wearing any pants."