I admit that I had no intention of posting this chapter, because it was too short and not very action packed. However, I enjoyed writing more about Elva; her character development and relationship with the boys is the main point of this piece. Stay tuned, because more is bound to happen.
"Aloe is nearly depleted; need to pick more Bearberry leaves too." Elva heedlessly swept the floor as she randomly named off supplies she was in need of. Less than a week in the protection of Dadan and her bandits and already the kit was looking bare. A helpless grunt rippled from her throat. What am I to do? She had no way of getting the supplies herself – the pirates generally did this for her – and frankly, she didn't want to pester Dadan. Rarely did anyone ever leave the cabin; the trio was an exception. Ace told her once, when she asked, that before Luffy came along, he fetched the food and supplies. The bandits are lazy, she recalled him saying. Don't expect much help from them. This meant that she'd have to find a way to get supplies herself. "But I can't do that if I'm stuck doing chores," Elva cried out.
"Can't do what?"
Elva clutched the broom to her chest and shrieked; the sudden but familiar voice startled her. She blew a sigh of relief the instant she saw Sabo in the doorway. "You about gave me a heart attack."
Sabo knotted his brows. "Surprised I snuck up on you. Don't your ears usually pick up on far away noises?"
"Yeah," Elva confirmed. "However, I need to focus in order to hear them. I was thinking, so I didn't hear you come in." Her ears twitch in response.
That's … kind of cute. Sabo felt his face heat up, turning his attention to the floor in order to regain his composure. He'd nearly forgotten why he was there; to ask her a favor. Clearing his voice, Sabo returned his attention to long eared girl. "Luffy got beat up. Is there any way you can fix him?"
"Again!?" Elva glared at him. She honestly thought about whacking him upside the head with the broom, but took a deep breath instead. "Have you no idea how much supplies cost? I don't have the belly to spend on them whenever you guys injure yourselves doing something reckless."
Sabo scratched his neck. "Are they really that expensive? We could steal them if that will help."
Knowing that he was just trying to help, Elva huffed another sigh. It wasn't that she was against the idea – she stole countless times just to make it through the day – but honestly, she wished that each of the three would take care of themselves a little better. She wouldn't always be around to patch them up whenever they got injured. As much as it hurt to admit, Elva knew it would someday happen. Then again, it was her responsibility now as the doctor to patch them up, which is why she had an offer to make.
"I will agree, but under the condition that you bring me medical supplies whenever you go into Gray Terminal."
Sabo agreed with a nod. It was a suitable deal, given that most of her reserves went to them anyway. He gave her a minute to gather her bag, then led her from the house and into the forest. Elva was silent as she trailed closely behind the blond, writing quick notes down into a small, leather notebook. Sabo would glance over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure she was still keeping up, wondering just what she was writing about. This was the first time he had seen her with it, so it grabbed his interest.
"What are you writing about?"
The long eared girl briefly peaked up at him, then returned her attention to the pad. "I'm making a shopping list for you, but mostly I document the many roots and herbs I find on the island; uses and such." Woefully Elva sighed, remembering the volume she abandoned. "There's this volume of books – I have one of them – and they contain every known herb and root in the world. However, the series is pretty hard to collect, but I hope to find them all one day."
Again Sabo scratched his neck. "So this series is important to you?"
Elva confirmed with a nod. "I want to be a doctor who can cure people without the use of harmful treatments. A Modern Herbal is the best shot I have at doing that."
Sabo didn't understand how a book could help do this, but he admired her determination to follow her dreams. It reminded him of his own dream to be a pirate and be free. Wanting to help, Sabo vowed that if he ever found one of them, he'd take it for Elva. Seeing her go back to writing, he smiled and lead her to where Ace and Luffy were.
Seated on the woodland floor, Sabo found the straw hat boy; he was more beat up than he remembered. Ace stood, relaxing against the chalk board they used to tally the winner, and bobbed his head to acknowledge Sabo and Elva as they came into the clearing.
"What happened to him? I thought we agreed to only spar 100 times a day."
Ace rolled his eyes. "We did, and besides, he did that to himself."
Elva puckered her brow. "To himself … but how?" It looked as if Luffy ran into his own fist a few couple times. She moved over to him and sat with her legs beneath her, taking out a few supplies from her bag. Having some turmeric powder in a container, she poured some into a wooden mortar and laid out some bandages for later. All she needed now was to saturate it.
"I need water; preferably warm. Have any of you got some?"
Picking up a metal cup, Ace brought it to her. He watched in curiosity as Elva mixed a deep orange-yellow powder into paste and gathered some on a thin, wooden blade that reminded him of a pop stick. She then smeared it thickly over the swollen parts of the rubber boy's face.
Luffy sniffed and drew in his lips. "That smells bad."
"Kind of like mustard," Ace added while taking a step back. Surprisingly, Elva didn't seem too fazed by it.
"Teach you not to be so careless next time," the proud girl stated. She taped a bandage over the knot on Luffy's head and glared at him. "What were you even doing to injure yourself like this?"
Luffy chuckled and brought his lips up into a smile. "I was practicing my new technique on Ace, only I can't seem to get it right and punched myself in the face."
Elva huffed a sigh. Luffy could be very dense at times. "Didn't you think to stop? You could have knocked yourself unconscious."
"Not until I get it right," Luffy argued. "And besides, I have you to fix me up if I hurt myself."
As much as she wanted to agree, Elva couldn't. She balled up her fist and whacked him on the head. "That's not the point, Luffy." Again, she couldn't stress how important it was for them to be careful with their lives. She almost punched him again, but realized that she had knocked him out cold. His brown eyes were stark white and rolled back. Elva squeaked and grabbed him before he fell over, restating to him how sorry she was.
Sabo went pale. "Does that count?"
"It was a straight knock out, so yeah." Ace tossed him the chalk. She packed a strong right hook for such a little girl.
"Hey, Ace! I was thinking … we should bring Elva with us the next time we go into town. Her ears are pretty effective, don't you think?"
Ace huffed a sigh. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Honestly, she's not really the fighting type, but I agree that her ears could be of use." Her level of skill as a doctor is pretty amazing too.
"You saw her back there at the shack, right? She defended herself just fine with that itching powder." Sabo propped his pipe onto his shoulder and watched a number of emotions flicker across the boy's face.
Ace knew he was right, but he wasn't so certain that it was a good idea. "What's the reason you're so keen to have her tag along with us anyway?" He had to know.
"She's like us. Her dream is important to her, more than death. I knew it was the moment she told me, and I want to help if I can."
Again the freckled boy sighed; this time in defeat. "Do whatever you want, but remember that it's your duty to train her."
I knew you'd see it my way, Sabo thought.
