Chapter 4: With Friends like These
"IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT-!"
"-Oh, stop complaining, it's just…- a stupid…- bullet! You're lucky I'm not…- making you remove it…- on your…- own!"
Coby lay on the covered cot, viciously shaking as Lucy tried to grab the bullet lodged inside the muscle of his shoulder.
"Damn it Coby…! If you keep squirming, then I won't be able to get it!" The ravenette scolded as she grabbed a new piece of gauze, and dabbed it in the wound, sopping up excess blood.
Zoro sat on the bed opposite them, quietly watching the scene in mild amusement.
Lucy forcefully covered the pinkette's mouth, and used her body to hold him still. She then took the forceps and finally pulled out the round object with a sigh of relief.
"Woo! I got it!" She held the bloody bullet in between in the palm of her hand. "The first bullet to pass through your body! Isn't that really memorable? ~ …Want to save it…?" She asked, placing her trusty sunglasses back over her eyes.
"NO! Why would I? That was horrible! I don't want to get shot ever again!" He said slapping her hand away.
In a small, homely guest room in a house just north of the Shells Town Docks, sat three weary guests. Borrowed medical supplies were messily strewn about the pine flooring, ranging from tapes and bandages, to needles and ruby soaked rags.
"But I thought you wanted to be an awesome marine? Awesome marines get shot at all the time; I'm sure that their bodies have been riddled full of bullet hole's by the end of their career." Lucy picked up the suturing kit and began to expertly stitch the cleanly cut skin back together in a matter of seconds.
Coby's eyes widened. "...I suppose..."
He looked up the ceiling, reality setting in. "I suppose you're right... I have to get a lot stronger don't I..." He turned to Lucy. "Even though I say that, I'm not really sure how… "
The ravenette grabbed a wash cloth and began cleaning up the wound and all the excess blood. "Well...I guess that's just something you end up figuring out along the way... I'm sure that as long as you want to get stronger, you will." She threw the bloodied wash cloth to the floor and picked up the bandages, wrapping them tightly around his shoulder.
She roughly patted the wound, causing Coby to cringe in pain. "There! All done! Who's next! ~" The teen turned to Zoro, grinning.
"Not me..." The swordsman shifted to face the wall. "I'll be fine after I sleep it off."
Lucy shrugged. "Alright then… Can't force you." She complied as the former bounty hunter immediately feel asleep within half a second of announcing the plan.
The pink-haired boy glumly moaned. "You forced me..." He muttered, his right hand finding its way to opposite bandaged shoulder.
The ravenette slapped his hand away from the injury. "But you could've gotten an infection or worse. You don't want'ta die right?"
"...!"
"Well... death might be a bit of a stretch, but you'd defiantly wouldn't be able to 'sleep it off'." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"But, wow Coby you sure are opening up! In just two days, you went from being unable to get a word out without stuttering, to speaking in full, fluid, coherent sentences. That's a big improvement!"
Lucy pretended to rub a tear from her eye as she dramatically looked away. "Kids grow up so fast these days..."
The boy's cheeks began to flush scarlet. "Wh-what are you talking-!"
Lucy got off the bed and began to take off the blood splattered latex gloves; taking a quick peak out the window. Upon seeing the familiar orange-haired thief walking down the street, she threw open the window.
"Nami, up here…!"
The girl stopped, and looked up from the leather bound book she'd been scribbling in. "…Lucy…? Where the hell'd you run off too?!" She snapped the journal close and gripped her hips, "I had to carry that heavy bag all on my own you know!"
The younger girl rubbed her arm. "S-sorry…! It's just that, well, Coby got shot and Zoro passed out and…- I'm sorry!"
Nami sighed. "Whatever… Anyway, it looks like there's roughly thirty-two houses here; with eight of them doubling as businesses."
"And if we say maybe… three people per house..." Lucy ran numbers across her fingers. "That should be around 645,833 berries… Right?"
The red-head tapped her pen on her chin. "Yea, I already ran the numbers; Looks like divvying it up by property owned would be easier."
"So, what…? 1,550,000?"
"Yup."
"Alright then." Lucy looked behind her at the first-aid kit, thinking. "We'll meet you by docks in thirty minutes."
Before Nami could reply, Lucy had shut the window and closed the blinds. "Alright, shower time…" She kicked her boots off and rushed out of the room, almost tripping as she turned a tight corner. "See ya' in five!"
Coby blinked after he'd finished staring at the doorway in puzzlement. He sighed. "I don't think I understand anything, anymore…"
Nami sat at the bar of the pub below the home she'd seen Lucy in just twenty minutes prior. Impatiently tapped her fingers on the wood, she sipped a glass of orange juice that'd been kindly given to her on the house.
- "Come on Zoro let's hit the road! ...Err, the sea in this case!" Lucy exclaimed, happily dragging an exhausted Zoro down the stairs.
- "Damn, you're so noisy; keep it down, you're giving me a fuckin' migraine..."
- "Sorry, sorry! I'll try to keep it down…! …IS THIS LOW ENOUGH FOR YOU…?!"
- "Damn it, I said take it down! Not to go up a level! Haven't you ever heard of an "inside voice" before!"
Nami strangled the glass in her hand as she heard, more than saw, three people crashing loudly down the stairs into a mound.
Trapped between Coby and Zoro, Lucy pulled her arm out of the pile and pushed the door open to the bar. "…We… made it…"
"No thanks to you!" Zoro wacked her head. "Don't trip half-way down the stairs!"
Lucy puffed out her cherry red cheeks and looked away. "I didn't trip… I just… stumbled a little…" She shut her eyes and covered her ears. "It's not my fault…! That step just caught me off guard, that's all! I'll get it right next time, promise…!"
Coby rolled onto his back, tears streaming down behind his glasses in shock. I don't think I can keep this up much longer… So long cruel world…! At least I'll die free…
"Stop talking to yourself Coby, we don't have time for your deep inner monologues…" Lucy stated, rubbing the bumps on her head which she'd simultaneously received from Zoro and Nami. "We really should get going before the Marines realize that their valuables have, (for some reason) mysteriously disappeared… and also maybe their logbooks and code charts too…"
"Of course we'd better leave!" Nami yelled at her. "Especially since you basically revealed the entire plan in front of those guys!" She sank to the floor, her face a ghastly blue. "I'm too pretty to go to jail…"
"…Well… I'm sure it's fine; I mean, I did kinda' bash their skulls in a little bit. I'm positive they won't even remember each other, let alone some petite girls that beat the crap out of them." Lucy smiled optimistically. "Besides! It's not like you'd go to jail alone. We could be cell mates~!" She bumped her elbow into the older girls arm. "Break bread, share soap, maybe start a knitting club~?"
Nami sighed, her head dangling by a thread. "Urk… Can you not…? I don't want to even think about knitting…"
Sweat rolled down Lucy's temple. "Well gee, try not to get to excited there…"
Coby sat up and rubbed his head. "Umm… Lucy…? Where do you plan on going anyway?"
Lucy helped the pink-haired boy up and straightened the clean yellow-striped hoodie dress she'd received from Rika's mother. "I thought that was obvious. I've got to get back to the Grand Line."
Coby and Nami both stared at her mouths agape. "You're going to the Grand Line!?" They shouted in shock.
The ravenette tilted her head to the side. "Is… that a problem?"
Zoro tsked. "Of course not. There just scared."
"Oh…" Lucy looked at the duo, and blinked. "Why?"
"What do you mean why!?" Coby loudly asked. "Don't you know what they call that place?!"
The black-haired girl blankly stared at him. "Ugh…The Grand Line…?"
"They call it the Pirates Graveyard!" He answered. "Only a handful of pirates that have entered, ever came back. Their ships were all but destroyed, and they could only speak of the awful monstrosities that appeared…"
Lucy scratched her ear. "… Of course they don't come back, you do realize just how massive the Grand Line is right? Even if you rushed on through, it would take at least four years to make it all the way around."
She stretched her arms into the air and swung a backpack over her shoulder. "Besides even if you wanted to turn back, it's almost impossible once you're far enough away from Reverse Mountain. Maps and compasses hold no meaning on the other side of the Red Line; hell, I'd never even seen a compass in my life before Nami whipped one out earlier."
The gears began to shift into action inside Nami's head after Lucy had finished her expositional monologue. "…Wait…?! You mean there's no way to navigate?! How are you supposed to get anywhere?!"
Lucy smirked and tilted her nose toward the ceiling. "The Grand Line's a mysterious place, filled with things that would defy your understanding of common sense. Ah, the things I could teach you… Log Poses, vivre cards, shells that record and play sounds, migrating islands…"
Her conniving grin spoke; a testament to her words. "Not that any of that should interest you; seeing as how… you have no ambition of going there yourself. Such facts must bore you to tears."
A tick mark appeared on Nami's cheek. "I never said I wasn't interested in the Grand Line!"
"What's that? You'd love to come with me? ~ Why thank you!" The young ravenette grabbed her new target's wrist with her right hand, and Zoro's with her left.
"Adieu! Thanks for the altruistic contributions Ma'am! May your exemplary actions bring you, and the other fine residents of the fortuitous town, into an unforeseen sum of fruition upon our hasty, farewell escapade!"
Coby, Rika and her mother, watched quietly as the awkward trio bumbled through the bar room and into the streets like drunken sailors on a stormy night. To them, it was anything but forgettable.
Coby glumly tapped the side of his iced beverage. Well… what do I do now? He wondered as the drink glass began to condensate, a heavy bead of its sweat plopping onto his finger.
I was so stupid… there's no way I could join the Marines. All I managed to do was get shot and be in people's way…
He sighed, taking his glasses off and slumping his head on the bar top. Just another liability…
As he sat there with his eyes closed, the tavern itself seemed to fade away into silence. Instead perhaps, like the rain that dived into puddles, all he seemed to hear were the droplets of water that trickled down the side of the cup against the table.
** "I… am sick of surviving, so fucking sick of it. I just want to start living again, even if it means I'll die." **
Coby tiredly creaked open his heavy eyelids, and stared at the wet patch beneath the drink. To want something so bad, you're willing to die… Is there a feeling like that, in everyone…?
He closed his eyes again and hid his face in his arms. Lucy said she wanted to live so bad she was willing to die. I don't really get it, but…-
"Even if it means I'll die…" He whispered to himself. - …at the same time I do.
Coby's eyes flung open and he reached for his glasses. "Thanks for the juice ma'am!" He hurriedly thanked as he dashed out the door.
"-even if it means I'll die…"
Coby clamped his jaw tight as he ran to the Marine base.
-I don't want to be a liability anymore.
-And I don't want to just sit around and wait for someone to make the decisions for me.
He pushed the metal gate open just wide enough for him to slip through and kept running with all his might.
-I told Lucy I wanted to become a Marine, and that's what I'm going to do damn it…!
Coby stopped in front of the new ranking officer, his face red and out of breath. He bowed. "PLEASE LET ME JOIN THE MARINES! I'M READY TO DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES!"
The officer looked down at the panting boy covered in sweat and adjusted his cap uncomfortably. "… I take it you're Coby?"
The pinkette looked up at the caramel skinned marine. "… ugh… y-yes?"
The man sighed and shook his head dejectedly. "I've already heard the story, even if it was written out in cryptic partial truths and lies."
He cleared his throat. "Your… acquaintance… made it painstakingly clear that your history with Alvida wouldn't infringe with your placement into the Marines."
Coby stared at the officer in bewildered shock. "…huh…?"
"-Lucy! Wait…!"
Lucy took her hands out of her pocket as she heard a familiar call, but she didn't stop moving forward.
"He's calling for you." Nami stated as she looked over a map.
"…I heard him, but-" The ravenette bit the inside of her cheek. "He wants to be a marine, you know…? I'm just being respectful of that dream."
"So because of that respect you won't even say bye?" Nami exhaled quick sigh. "That's such a stupid reason."
"Well hey, I never claimed to be the brightest knife in the crayon box." Lucy bartered.
Coby ran, picking up, and losing speed intermittently as he chased to catch up with the raven haired girl. "Lucy…! Please stop! I really... have to…!"
Nami tripped the younger girl and then kept walking to the ship they would depart with.
Lucy mentally kicked herself and stood up, her face as red as a tomato. She waited.
"L-Lucy…!" Coby wheezed out at last having caught up. "You can't just help me without my knowledge and leave like it's no big deal!"
The girl scratched her cheek the crossed her arms; a freshly wrapped bandage tightly wound her right hand. "I… have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly, I'm clueless…"
Coby stared at her in disbelief.
Lucy sighed. "Fine… I maybe said a few things to make the pirate situation a little less prevalent. That's all."
She rubbed her left arm, and glanced back and forth between the pink haired boy and the wall beside her. "Now what? What more do you want me to stay?"
Coby jumped into high alert mode, heat rising up to his cheeks. "Oh, ugh… n-nothing! I just wanted…"
"For me to leave you some parting wisdom? I guess, let me just roll a wisdom check…" Lucy pretended to roll an invisible die. She shrugged and proceeded to clear her throat.
"…Defy the odds of commonality; not one person in this world is the same- what is true for one, does not always hold true for another. There are no "rights" and "wrongs" in the face of existence; abstract concepts such as "truth" and "ideals" are called as such for a reason. While sailing through the stormy seas of reality, how you navigate your ship is entirely up to you. Don't let the compass dictate your life- Sometimes… suffering, is the only true path to happiness…."
A brief moment of silenced fell between them.
"Eh-heh-heh…" Lucy rubbed the back of her head, giggling sheepishly. "Don't get too caught up on the wordy stuff; I was just trying to sound like this awesome character in a book I read~ … So, did it work? Did I seem cool? Capable? Perhaps worldly and wise, even~?"
The girl smiled and with a light-hearted giggle, pushed up Coby's glasses to sit atop his head. "Well, lucky for you, one needs neither "capability" nor glasses to see the way forward; just courage and an unshakeable will." She winked cutely and held her pointer finger in front of his nose. "So don't over rely on those glasses too much. Dependency is when a crutch meant to help eventually hurts you. Your vision is controlled by muscles, same as the rest of your body-! Get what I'm saying?"
"Wha..? Wait!" Coby called in desperation, as he watched through hazy eyes, the petite ravenette swiftly jump her way onto a scouting naval ship.
"Go see the world through your own eyes! And once you're strong enough, come challenge Zoro to a fight, okay?!"
"Hey! Don't go making challenges for me!" Zoro scolded as he un-moored the docked vessel.
She stood on the wooden bulwark, and turned around to face the chubby pink-haired boy. "Just have some faith in yourself, and go turn some heads! If anyone has what it takes to be a great marine, it's defiantly you! I'm glad I met such a wonderful friend on this wide blue sea!"
-Even if I die…
Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth in aid of projecting her voice. "Coby! Just remember- Even if no one else does, I'll always believe in you!"
-Even if I die…
Coby wished that moment never ended. For the very first time, someone believed in him. For the very first time, someone was glad to call him their friend.
-Even if I die…
If only he could stop the stinging tears from pouring down his face.
-Even if I die, I'll become a hero too…!
