Homecoming Tour: Reindeer Edition
In which Chopper realizes that not only do they need him, they might actually want him too.
Chopper leans on the Merry's back railing watching until the snow blossoms and his home have sunk below the horizon. When he eventually he looks around everyone else has moved off. What should do now? He doesn't want to bother anyone, they're probably all busy.
He peeks uncertainly around the Mikan trees that screen the back of the ship. The one who smells like chemicals and gun powder is sitting at a small bench with a head lamp. Whatever he's messing with is making Chopper's nose burn even from several paces away.
The curly haired human looks up at the clop of hooves momentary blinding Chopper with his lamp.
"Oh, sorry," He takes the lamp off his head and sets it on the table. The light rolls around giving an ominous under cast to his face. Chopper steps back and tries to hide behind the trees.
The young man tilts his head, "No need to hide…or whatever it is you're doing."
He stands up brushing his hands on his pants, "Not sure if you caught it with all the running around," he squares his narrow shoulders, "so let me introduce myself," he lifts his long nose and points dramatically up at the sky declaiming, "I am the Great Captain Usopp best sharp shooter and story teller on the six seas!"
Chopper forgets to hide his face in the foliage and straightens up, "Really!"
"But you can just call me Usopp," the man adds graciously reaching a hand out toward Chopper.
It occurs to Chopper that he's never introduced himself to anyone before. Dr. Hiluluk took him in, named him and introduced him to Dr. Kureha. She, in turn, had introduced him to others, though they'd all thought he was pet.
Well, time to be an adult. Chopper walks over and reaches out a hoof to shake, "I'm Tony Tony Chopper," he hesitates over how to describe himself, "A doctor and a reindeer. But you can call me Chopper."
Usopp smiles at that combination and for a moment Chopper thinks he will laugh, but he only crouches to put a stopper on the bottle he was using and then straightens up waving for his new crewmate to follow, "Come on, I'll show you where you can put your stuff."
Usopp shows him down the hatch in the main deck that leads to the men's quarters.
He points to the hammocks hooked to the ceiling, "One left just for you." They go over to a large storage cabinet anchored to the wall. When Usopp opens it up Chopper sees that the left side is mostly taken up with hanging suits. The right side has shelves; each male crew member seems to have claimed their own slot with a few changes of clothes and personal items. Despite the small space, the lowest is empty.
Usopp rubs his chin, "Huh, I wonder who thought to make Luffy move his 'cool stuff' collection," He taps the empty shelf, "Well, looks like this one's yours."
All Chopper has are a couple pairs of shorts that were on top of the bag Dr. Kureha put in the sled, but he folds them and places them neatly in his designated space. It seems like a really big deal. He rests his hoof on the shelf for a few moments before shaking himself out of it.
He lifts the medical bag and explains apologetically, "I need to sort through the rest of this before I put it away."
Usopp nods and turns toward the ladder that leads back up to the deck, "Let's go up to the kitchen. You can use the table up there."
As they climb up the ladder Usopp explains, "The rooms off the main deck are both storage, the bathroom is through the back storage room. Though, really, if you have to pee it's better to just go off the back of the ship, it saves on having to pump up more water for the plumbing."
Chopper nods in understanding, before Usopp continues, "Just make sure Nami and Vivi aren't around or Nami'll thump you."
Nami's head appears over the hatch causing Usopp to start and nearly fall off the ladder, "I'm fine with you guys doing that. I just don't want to have to see it."
"Well, that's why I'm warning him," Usopp defends, "I don't think he has any money to pay the fine," Chopper whimpers in concern, but Usopp is already climbing out, so he scrambles to catch up.
When he reaches the main deck he looks around, he can see all but the back part of the upper deck from here. Nami is heading into the back storage room. The swordsman is asleep against the side rail still wearing the heavy coat he stole from one of Wapol's soldiers. Luffy is perched on the figurehead of the ship and Vivi is leaning on the rail next to him smiling and laughing as Luffy energetically tells a story that involves lots of yelling and punching. He's probably recounting the fights she missed earlier that day.
"Anyway," Usopp points toward the rear deck, "The kitchen is the main place to stay when we all need to be inside or have a meeting. Especially on cold days, the stove helps keep it warm."
When they enter Sanji is at the counter preparing a late meal. They missed dinner what with all the fleeing.
Usopp sits down to watch as Chopper climbs up on the table's bench and loosens the drawstrings on the bag.
On top are packets and bottles of medical supplies. There's plenty of disinfectant, antibiotics, and pain killers as well as smaller packets of medicine that are not as commonly used, but which would be vital if the need arose.
Under the packets are some cases containing equipment. There are a few common diagnostic tools including a stethoscope, thermometer, and head lamp. On the bottom of the bag he finds needles, forceps, scalpels, suture thread, and even a small saw. Tools he might need to perform emergency procedures.
Usopp starts to sweat a bit as Chopper pulls these items from his bag and arranges them on the table. He's probably imagining, or remembering, the circumstances that would call for such equipment.
The sniper tries to rally, "I did pretty good job fixing Zoro up with just alcohol and bandages," he gestures at the tools, "but it'll be great to finally have someone who knows how to use those."
"You did what?!" Chopper cries. Sanji snorts, but doesn't comment.
Usopp gulps, realizing Zoro probably won't appreciate him sharing this information, but it's not like Chopper wouldn't eventually see, what with the man's tendency to practice without a shirt.
"Well, there was this warlord named Mihawk…," Chopper gives him an impatient look, "Um, Zoro got a pretty bad cut on his chest, we were kind of in the middle of a fight with this other guy, so I just cleaned it with alcohol and wrapped a bunch of bandages around it."
Chopper's jaw has pretty much hit the table during this ramble. Usopp tries to redeem his confession, "He got it stitched up by a doctor later," then ruins it by adding, "After we finished fighting Arlong…"
Chopper closes his eyes for a second and rubs the bridge of his muzzle with his hoof. He's obviously going to have to check up on the swordsman later, but first he wants to know what he has to work with. He takes a calming breath, "Is there cloth to make bandages and pads? What other medical supplies are on board?"
"Over there," Usopp points to the supplies stacked against the wall. There's a box on top of the pile that's about the same size as chopper's backpack with a red cross on it. Chopper hops off the bench and climbs up a couple crates in order to reach.
It's stuffed full of rolled bandages with a single bottle of aspirin on top. Chopper's fur stands on end; he's already seen how much trouble this lot can get into, "How are you all still alive!?"
Then he has a horrible thought, "You are all still alive right?!" He's already preparing to feel retroactively guilty for not being there when he was needed.
"We're not that easy to kill," Sanji asserts without turning around from where he is flipping vegetables and beef in a wok.
Chopper stops and takes another deep breath, Sanji has a point. He still he can't help letting his ears droop and some despondency leak into his voice, "But is this really all you have?"
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Usopp reluctantly answers, "Well, Nami has a sewing kit," Chopper crosses his arms and taps a hoof on the crate knowing he won't like what he's about to hear, "Vivi used it to sew Zoro's ankles back together after he tried to cut himself free of a trap."
"Yeah, by cutting his feet off," Sanji adds drily as he turns to start scooping rice into bowls.
"Whaaat?!" Chopper jumps off the crate and runs over to tug on the leg of the cook's suit while pleading, "Please tell me that's not true!"
Sanji looks down and grins around his cigarette, "I can tell you and the moss head are going to get along great."
"Says the guy who went out to fight with a dislocated spine earlier today," Usopp feels the need to point out.
Chopper thumps his head against Sanji's leg in despair, "And let's not forgets the one who climbed a mile high frozen cliff in shorts and sandals," he sighs, "You're all idiots."
Usopp laughs and Sanji frowns at being grouped in with Zoro and Luffy intelligence wise.
Sanji jabs his cigarette at Usopp, "You've nearly died at least as many times as I have!"
Usopp grins at this rejoinder, "And let's see," he rubs his chin in ostentatious thought, "Nami once stabbed herself in the hand to save my life. And Vivi, well besides getting shot a couple days ago, she is trying to take down a warlord, so it's actually pretty surprising she's gotten by relatively unscathed so far."
He crosses his arms and lifts his nose proudly, "So, we're all idiots together."
In response Sanji just snorts a laugh before turning to finish prepping the food. His head is bowed, but Chopper can see he is smiling a bit. Usopp leans back against the table appearing satisfied with himself.
In the moment of silence that follows Chopper is struck by how right this all feels. He experiences a spike of protectiveness and hope so sharp it is actually painful.
In his herd the weak were pushed to the edges so that predators would eat them first while the rest fled.
As a hybrid both sides feared him and drove him away completely except for those two wonderful exceptions, Dr. Hiruluk and Dr. Kureha.
Through helping the doctors, he had seen the nature of the beings that constituted the most dangerous predators on the island. The villagers protected the vulnerable among them in a way that his herd had never bothered to so, even after the violence with which the humans had rejected him, he couldn't quite bring himself to hate them.
But that didn't change that he had to hide his nature in order to be safe.
But here he is, hooves and antlers, talking and wearing clothes, and these two are chatting and teasing him as if it is the most natural thing in the world.
Chopper stiffens his spine and backs up a couple steps so he can point a shaking hoof at each of his new crew mates, "You bastards!"
Usopp and Sanji look at him expectantly as he wipes some moisture from the corners of his eyes, "I will keep you all alive no matter how hard you make it for me! And don't you forget it!"
Thank you for reading :)