Chapter 1: Beginning
Midsummer and warm air was wafting lazily in through the open window of a bedroom causing the scarlet curtains to flutter gently in the light breeze. The figure lying in bed though was unaware of the lovely day just outside the window and was snoring away in bed.
The sleeper was Luffy, a pretty 16 year old. Not perhaps the brightest gem in the crown, but smart in her own way. For the past several days though, she had been bedridden by what her family believed to be some sort of summer flu.
For the moment though, Luffy was blissfully unaware and immersed in a dream, one she had had several times before. In this dream Luffy found herself on a ship, a sailing ship. The kind described in fairy tales and old legends. The kind made of wood instead of metal and has no electricity. The ship was large and absolutely stunning, the huge white sails unfurled and billowing with wind. The deck had a grass lawn and even a couple of deck chairs. Luffy always found herself lying on the ships figure head, an enormous lion's head, gazing up at the sky and feeling the waves rock the ship from side to side.
"Captain. It's time for lunch."
Ah, the call. Luffy knows that she's the one being called, that she bears the title of Captain. Yet she has no idea who the speaker is. It isn't always the same speaker, but still, whoever speaks holds a tone of familiarity, as though the speaker knows Luffy well.
Never one to refuse the call of food Luffy jumps off of the figure head and runs to the ship's dining room. The room is spacious and bright with a large oval table as its main feature, currently piled high with food. Separated from the kitchen by a long counter so you could see what was cooking and allowed for conversation with the chef. The counter was yellow, with tall barstools to sit at and enjoy the sight of cooking food. The kitchen itself was utterly off limits to everyone but the chef, Luffy knew, but wasn't sure why, or how she knew. More food was cooking in the kitchen, supervised by someone who Luffy presumed to be the chef, but nothing about their appearance could be made out. It was like trying to look through tinted car windows; all you got was a vague outline, if that. Still, the figure felt familiar, as did the other seven people scattered around the room. Luffy could see no more of them than she could the mysterious chef, yet she felt very comfortable in their presence, as though the nine of them spent a great deal of time together.
Pausing to smile to the room in general, Luffy focussed her attention on the mountain of food, trying to decide what to eat first. She settled on an enormous stack of spare ribs, smothered in barbecue sauce. She ran up to the table, seized the ribs with a cry of "FOOD!", and… woke up with her arms outstretched above her and her stomach growling.
"Oh, I really wanted that meat." She grumbled as she got up and got dressed, still feeling a little dizzy but definitely much better than she had the previous day. Once Luffy was dressed in her favourite red shirt, baggy jeans and a fair of flip flops, she went downstairs to see if she could scrounge breakfast off any of her family.
As luck would have it, Luffy's brother Ace was already in the kitchen, wolfing down a mountain of toast. As soon as he saw her, he quickly swallowed his mouthful of toast and jam and quick as a flash, was standing in front of her, a worried look on his face.
"Do you feel better? Should you be out of bed? Go back and rest." Ace asked, one question after another without stopping to give Luffy time to reply.
"I'm fine, much better than yesterday. I've had enough of lying in bed not allowed to do anything." Luffy replied, slightly annoyed at her brother's habitual over protectiveness.
"If you're sure …" he trailed off, still concerned with how pale his sister looked, despite he assertion that she was much better. "I still think you should go see a doctor, just in case." He decided.
Knowing she wasn't getting out of this one, Luffy agreed, though she tacked on the end "Just to make you happy and stop worrying about me." Ace laughed at that, ruffling her mussed hair. "I'll always worry about you, Luffy. All my life, and probably even after."
"Just so long as you don't haunt me." Luffy laughed, having had similar conversations with her brother before. She would go, after all, she still felt ill, but there was no need to tell him that. It was strange for her, she could not remember any time she had ever been sick. Besides, if she went to the doctor, she got to skip school and spend time with her brother. She wasn't passing up that chance, even if their time together was spent in a doctor's waiting room.
"I'll make you some breakfast then, we'll leave once you've eaten."
Two hours later saw Ace and Luffy in the car, speeding towards the clinic. The drive was unusually quiet on Ace's part, content to listen to Luffy fill the silence of the car. He was worried. Luffy had never been sick before in her life so he was fearful that her illness was worse than just a simple cold. Despite this, he was happy to see that other then the deathly pallor of her skin, she was much better. That didn't stop him from worrying though. Luffy, on the other hand, was unconcerned. She jabbered on about the anything that came to mind, mostly food, and what she'd do with her friends when they got together again. All the while smiling brightly at being out of the house for the first time in a week. She didn't think she'd ever spent so much time indoors before.
They eventually arrived at the clinic, and spent half an hour in the waiting room as they'd had to make an appointment with the doctor at the front desk. Luffy, had she been feeling completely well would have been bouncing up and down on her seat, but as she was still feeling tired she was contenting herself with wining about how she hated sitting still and that she was hungry again. She wasn't really that hungry, but it didn't matter as there was no way for Ace to get Luffy any food. It would also keep him from worrying too much if she acted like she was feeling better. Ace, for his part, was only half-fooled. He could tell that Luffy was tired from the short journey to the clinic, but was taken in by her whinging about being hungry. It gave him some hope that things were not as bad as he feared.
Eventually, the doctor called Luffy into his clinic for the check-up. His name was Dr. Miller, he was tall, balding and had a very soft voice which tended to be hard to hear. Luffy liked Dr. Miller because she found him funny. He tended to make jokes while examining patients and had an excellent sense of humour.
"Hello, Luffy. " he greeted her upon entry into his office. "I haven't seen you since you came to get a tetanus jab."
Luffy grinned widely and replied "Yep! That's 'cause I haven't been sick since."
"Is that so. So, Luffy, what ailment brings you here now?"
"What's an ailment" Luffy asked. She always had problems understanding the long complicated words he sometimes used.
"I forgot most don't understand technical terms. I meant; what are you sick with?" Dr. Miller clarified.
"Dunno. It's a mystery disease." Luffy's explanation for anything she doesn't know.
"I see. Well, I'll just have to solve this 'mystery disease' of yours."
"I'd appreciate it, Doc." Ace added. "She's had if for a week."
"I see. So, Ace, what have her symptoms been?" the doctor asked, knowing that Luffy's explanation would be confusing at best.
"She's had a high fever, been tired, and completely lost her appetite. The past few days I've had trouble waking her up long enough to give her water. She couldn't keep anything else down. Her fever must have broken sometime last night, she was better this morning and managed to keep some cereal down. Still, she didn't eat nearly as much as she usually would."
"That so. Sounds like you had a rough time of it this past week." Dr. Miller says sympathetically. Already knowing how protective Ace was of his sister. "From what you said it sounds like a bad case of the flu. But knowing Luffy's iron-like stomach and penchant for warding off any kind of illness you want to be safe rather than sorry." The man surmised.
"Yes." Ace agreed.
"Well then, Miss Luffy, if you would come with me we can take some tests and make sure what you had is out of your system."
"Sure." Luffy replied, following the doctor into a side room with equipment and leaving her brother to wait in the waiting room.
In the clinic, Dr. Miller ran tests on Luffy. He took her temperature, pulse, blood pressure and reaction time. All the while he muttered to himself about what he found. He spoke so quietly that Luffy couldn't make out much, and what she did make out she didn't understand. He ended by taking a blood and saliva sample then sending Luffy back to her brother with instructions to come back in three days for the results of the tests.
"As far as I can tell, there's nothing seriously wrong with her anymore except from exhaustion. And that could just be an after-affect of her illness. We'll have to wait for the test results before conclusions can be drawn, though." Dr. Miller explained to Ace. "In the meantime, I would suggest some more rest to get over the fatigue and to eat as much as possible."
"Thank you, Doctor" Ace thanked the Doctor and took Lune home, reassured some but still worried about the possible results of the blood tests.
Three days later and Luffy was almost completely recovered from her illness. She was no longer tired and her appetite was completely back to normal. She did however; find that she became quite dizzy if she moved too fast. Ace had noticed, and worried silently. He knew better than to bring it up to her, she would vehemently deny it if he did. But he watched her carefully. He just hoped it wasn't serious.
Back at the clinic, Dr. Miller wore a frown when he noticed them waiting which immediately alerted both Ace and Luffy that something was wrong. Ace was filled with dread as he waited for his sister to be called.
When Dr. Miller finally called Luffy and Ace into his office they went in with trepidation. He gestured for Ace and Luffy to sit down before speaking.
"I am referring Luffy to a specialist in hospital." he began.
"Why?" Ace interrupted before Miller could continue.
"There was something foreign in the blood sample. It might not be anything serious but I'd like for Luffy to be examined by a specialist in the field."
"Luffy?" Ace asked, seeking her opinion on the subject.
Luffy though about what the doctor had said. It had sounded as though he thought that there was something very wrong with her. Much as she hated it, she had a feeling he was right. She hated hospitals; they smelt of chemicals and decay however much the walls were scrubbed. But if she went, it would stop her brother from worrying and maybe the dizzy spells would go away. In the end she asked:
"How long would I have to stay?"
"It wouldn't be very long, Luffy." Miller hurried to reassure her. "A few days until they found out what was wrong. Then you could leave."
There was a pause as Luffy thought through this information. At last she agreed to see the specialist. "But only until you figure out the mystery disease" she stipulated.
"Of course, Luffy. As soon as Dr. Trafalgar finds out what's wrong you can leave hospital." Dr. Miller was quick to reassure the girl.
"Dr. Trafalgar?" Ace asked.
"Yes." Dr. Miller answered. "An expert in the field of blood disease. I'm sure he'll be able to find out what's wrong."
"Okay. When's the appointment?"
"I'll call you when I make one. He's a busy man but this might interest him enough for him to make some time for it within the next couple of weeks."
"Fine, do that." Ace agreed.
"In the mean time Luffy, no strenuous activity. That means no school, no sneaking off, and no fighting." the doctor stipulated.
"What!" Luffy cried. "What'll I do? I'll go bored with nothing to do."
"That's too bad, you'll just have to cope somehow."
"No fair!" she continued to complain.
"Life isn't fair." commented Dr. Miller. "Everyone has to do things they don't like."
"But I already do stuff I don't like. I go to school." Luffy continued objecting vehemently for another five minutes before giving up. Not liking things one bit she mumbled:
"At least I can still eat all the meat I want."
Ace, who heard what she said, paled drastically. Luffy was going to be a horror to live with until this thing was over. He was going to have to constantly supervise her to make sure she didn't try anything stupid out of boredom.
Luffy, for her part, was horrified at the boredom she would have to go through until this appointment with the special doctor. By the end of it, she'd probably be looking forward to going to the stupid hospital.
The next day, Dr. Miller phoned Ace and Luffy to inform them that he had managed to schedule an appointment for the following week.
"You're very lucky." he said. "Dr. Trafalgar found Luffy's condition very interesting. He's rather eccentric, so when he doesn't like something he can put it off for months."
Ace was thankful that he wouldn't have to cope too long with Luffy bored out of her mind. But he was also worried that the quick response and that the appointment was so soon meant that Luffy's condition was potentially quite serious. Luffy, though, was just glad that she didn't have to wait months when she heard. One week was long enough.
The time leading up to the hospital stay saw Luffy sleeping and eating a lot. They were the only things she could do, so in between she complained constantly about how bored she was. Her sleep was plagued by the same dream of being Captain on a ship. The figures were becoming clearer the more she had the dream; she could now make out colours and shapes. The dreams were also lasting longer, with more happening in them. In one, they reached dry land and went exploring. Luffy figured that the dreams were of adventures with friends so she enjoyed them a great deal. She still had the feeling that she knew them, though she couldn't remember ever meeting the figures.
The day of the hospital appointment dawned, and Luffy was down early, she wanted this over with so she could go back to fighting all the delinquents. She was the best of them all, good enough for them to consider her their leader. If felt nice to be better than all the older boys.
Ace pulled up outside the hospital, glancing at Luffy out the corner of his eye. She seemed unconcerned about what would happen. The dizzy spells hadn't gone, and she hadn't been complaining nearly as much as he had expected. That combined left him worried that something really was wrong with his little sister. To add to that, her appetite had drastically increased, he was beginning to worry that she would eat the two of them out of house and home.
The hospital seemed typical of hospitals everywhere: big, clean, and smelling of antiseptic and the slight undertones of decay. Luffy took an instant dislike to it. Ace wasn't too fond of the place either. That you were there at all meant that something was wrong. The walls and ceiling were a brilliant white, it was almost blinding. The reception area was huge but only manned by one young, harassed-looking nurse. Adam approached cautiously, aware of what women could be like under severe stress. He dealt with Luffy on a daily basis, even though his sister was rarely stressed, she was still hard work.
"We're here for an appointment with a Dr. Trafalgar." Ace began, addressing the nurse.
"Name?" she replied, seeming irritated that her momentary peace had been interrupted.
"Monkey."
"Monkey, Monkey …" she muttered, scrolling down on her computer.
"Ah, Yes. Here it is. Monkey D Luffy, appointment at 10.30."
"That's right." Ace replied.
"Room 207. You go down the furthermost corridor to your left, around halfway down the corridor."
"Thank you." Ace politely thanked the nurse, then grabbed Luffy's hand and dragged her towards what he presumed to be the correct door. Her directions weren't the most precise and Luffy's sense of direction was always a little off.
It turned out that Dr. Miller's description of Dr. Trafalgar being eccentric was a bit of an understatement. Luffy's first impression of the man was that she thought he was interesting and really cool. Ace's first impression was that the man was some sort of psychopath. He wore a large spotted hat with a white doctor's coat. Underneath which he wore skinny jeans and a bright yellow hoodie. He had tattoos on his hands that spelled death and resting in the corner was what appeared to be a very large sword. He was dark-skinned and had a very creepy smile on his face. The walls of Dr. Trafalgar's office was also covered with photographs of various illnesses and diagrams of internal organs. All in all, not the most reassuring place to be.
"You look really cool!" was Luffy's first response to seeing the doctor, causing Ace to face palm at her enthusiasm.
"Why, thank you, Miss Luffy." Dr. Trafalgar grinned as he replied. Ace's opinion was that the grin just made him creepier. He was having second thoughts about letting this guy examine his sister.
"So, Dr. Traffy, you're gonna cure my mystery disease. Right?" Luffy went straight to the point, causing Ace to again face palm at Luffy having already given the doctor a nickname.
"My name is Trafalgar." the doctor ground out through clenched teeth; he had obviously not appreciated the new name.
"I know, but it's kinda hard to say." Luffy replied, which just annoyed Dr. Trafalgar even more.
"Anyway," the doctor continued, deciding to ignore Luffy's nickname. "I'm going to run some tests on you so I will need to know how you have felt during the past week."
"Bored." was Luffy's prompt reply.
Dr. Trafalgar grit his teeth in an effort to calm down. "Besides boredom." he attempted to clarify.
There was a pause while Luffy thought. "Really tired," she finally said, "and even more hungry than usual."
The doctor nodded but kept his thoughts to himself. He then gestured for Luffy to follow him into another room. Luffy looked like a kid in a candy store when she saw all of the equipment in the room.
"Stop gawking, I need to run these tests. Don't touch anything either, unless I tell you to." Dr. Trafalgar commanded, seeing Luffy's arm stretch out to poke at something with wires coming out of it.
"But it looks so cool!" the girl exclaimed, causing a very slight smile to appear on the doctors face. It vanished after a moment, and he said:
"Let's get on then, I have other stuff to do today, and I'm sure you do as well." He then proceeded to run a lot of tests on Luffy. It took roughly two hours to get everything done but she was remarkably well behaved considering how long it took.
Finally they were finished, and Luffy was returned to her brother. Dr. Trafalgar held a clipboard, his face unhappy. "She has blood cancer." he announced. Ace stared at the doctor in shock. His little sister with cancer? He couldn't comprehend it. "It has no known cure." Dr. Trafalgar continued, "But I can prescribe a course of treatment that will help to regulate the pain she is going to be in, as well as combat any other symptoms of the disease. Though Luffy's life expectancy will be much lower. I would estimate a maximum of 10 years."
Luffy was shocked. She didn't understand everything the doctor had said, but she had got the gist. She would die by the time she was twenty-seven. But she could grasp that. That was okay. She could still go on tonnes of adventures. She was more worried about how her brother would react and the way he would act around her from now on. Glancing at him out the corner of her eye, she felt justified in her worry. His face was blank with shock, but his eyes showed abject fear. She would be treated as if she were made of glass from now on.
Luffy got the treatment that she would need from Dr. Trafalgar and Ace drove her home, still in that same shocked state. Luffy stayed just long enough to grab a coat and then left. She headed for the beach; it was where she always went when she wanted to get away from things. When she wanted to think. It was a cold day with the hint of rain and she was the only one there. She sat in the sand and watched the sea, thinking about how things were going to change. She would no longer have to go to school. That was good. But she would also no longer be allowed to fight either. There would be very little fun anymore. Even worse, her brother would watch her with fear in his eyes, waiting for the moment when she would become worse. He would become paranoid, but he would try to hide it. Things would never be the same.
Ace found her at this point, having got over his shock and realised that Luffy was gone, guessing that she'd go to the beach nearby. Worried about her, he had come to fetch her back home. She got up slowly, head uncharacteristically lowered, and started for home. Knowing that to say anything would be useless, Ace followed her. Luffy glanced back towards the beach when she reached home; her thoughts were that this was just the beginning, the beginning of the end.
She was right, yet wrong at the same time.
