This chapter's boring. And there are only two sentences in the entire thing that I like.
OH! And Zolo says a bad word once…but that's just him…
That is all I have to say.
Baking bread in your oven,
Ken
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CHAPTER 4: GO BACK TO START; CONVERGE AT EVENT HORIZON
The news of Sanji's condition came as a drone from the doctor, settled in silence over the entire galley, and was (attempted to be) quickly put out of mind by the navigator, who excused herself from the table to check coordinates. The rest of the crew cursed or sat in silence as Chopper sighed heavily, his hooves scraping against the floorboards as he shuffled them. He didn't like trying to stand still around people; especially now, he felt uneasy.
"She can't dismiss it like that," he said definitively. "It's not a choice whether to deal with it or not: he is what he is and that's that. The scans don't lie."
Luffy nodded in silence, Usopp sitting motionless, as Zolo slammed his knees unintentionally into the table, standing up roughly. He shoved it a few inches from its original position, cursing.
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Nami didn't cry: ever. She wanted to, many times, not by her will, but she hadn't let out a single whimper or ever let tears fall down her face, except for being saved from Arlong. But that didn't count, she decided; that was happiness, not sadness. Not since Belle-Mere had died had she resorted to crying for emotional release. It was weakness. She vowed never to cry, but now, she almost let herself break that vow.
Chopper said it all as a confident doctor, without emotion, as it was. The chef was reduced to an infantile state. He lost all ability to talk, walk, and restrain excretory actions. He could not remember anything that he had ever done, experienced, wondered at, thought of. His desires and preferences all converged to wherever ideas, dreams, obsessions, feelings, and hopes go when forgotten and lost. His talents were in the memories only of those who knew of and remembered them (unless their memories had converged too). His mind was wiped clean, allowed (or forced, as Nami saw it) to start life all over again: in an adult body.
"I have never seen this happen," the little reindeer said, his antlers not once moving against the background of the galley wall that Nami was staring at when the news was told, "but the tests aren't false. This area shows current thought processes compared with an average adult's, while this shows..."
She didn't want to see the stupid scans. She didn't even know if he'd said those words…was her mind playing tricks again?
The ocean was a deep heavenly azure as the afternoon sun shone over it, the waves climbing over each other to soak up the rays. The weather was cooler now, she wore a thicker jacket. The frost finally set in overnight, her grove insulated in frozen condensation, the leftover tangerines sugared with ice crystals. It had taken Chopper four days to collect data from his machines to compile a decent medical report, and in that time, Sanji was left in the men's quarters with a few I.V. needles stuck into him for nutrients. Only the reindeer kept a close eye on his patient, constantly taking temperature, blood pressure, and pulse rate. The other crewmen decided to sleep in the kitchen on blankets until Sanji was removed (he cried out too much). Nami wouldn't let herself go into the stuffy little room; she didn't want to see him. So she'd decided. She had argued with herself that it was because she was still angry with him, which was only covering up her instinct to go and check in on him. That damned motherly instinct she'd felt not that long ago. She had almost gone to help him (at least to help him sleep well) after the several days of forcing herself away from the mast ladder. That was when Chopper finally revealed the fruits of his labor at the brain scan machine.
She definitely didn't want to see those stupid scans.
Nami felt someone tugging on her jacket.
"Nami, I know you're struggling to get a grasp on all of this but...you have to accept it as it is." Chopper looked up pleadingly. "We're all in the same boat as you---er---no pun intended..." She continued looking at the ocean, now attempting to busy herself with the compass.
"I don't need to get a grasp on anything. If you want to get to your next destination, you'll have to do your job and take care of him while I do mine and navigate." She stuffed the little instrument back into her pocket. "If this crew were larger, his accident would barely mean anything. The only reason anyone feels any sentimentality towards Sanji is because we are a small group on the ocean. Larger crews wouldn't even bother. What's one man to many?"
"One man can mean a whole lot to many!" the shocked little reindeer cried out, his tiny blue nose pointed up at her. He instantly thought of Dr. Hiruluk and his goal to make everyone's health better, regardless of his medical credibility. He was only one man, but his wish was to touch the hearts of many, all around him. He had touched Chopper's especially. The captain himself had touched Chopper's heart with his strange way of kindness. Now, Nami's words sounded so foreign to him. "Nami, please! What's wrong with you? Sanji's our friend and we need to---"
"I SAID DO YOUR JOB AND I'LL DO MINE." The whites of Nami's knuckles threatened to knock against any skull nearby (in this instance, Chopper's) as she barred her teeth, her eyes trying to stop Chopper's rapidly beating heart with one deadly glance. The reindeer trembled slightly as he backed away, staring frightfully at the floor. He stifled a whimper and lightly clopped back to the mast. He opened the door to the ladder.
"Maybe that's true for a larger ship, Nami, but maybe it's also true that the heart of the crew is inversely proportional to the number of its members," Chopper said defiantly. "Big crews may not care about each other; there's no heart for the next replacement since he's just like the others. Smaller crews need to make up for all those cogs in the machine with care towards the few on board. And you know that Sanji needs you now more than ever. And if he could understand, I know it would mean the most to him if you'd care." He climbed through the door. "Sanji needs you, Nami."
The red hat disappeared as the door shut with a soft thud.
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Zolo opened and shut every cupboard in the galley before turning to face Luffy and Usopp at the table, both looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"What are you doing?" Usopp asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"I was returning routine to its place."
"What's that mean?"
"It means these doors haven't been opened and closed in days and they need to be." He looked around the room aimlessly, walking slowly towards the door. Luffy smiled awkwardly.
"That's a bit weird, don't you think?
"Listen, I'm used to hearing things, noises, sounds, anything from this kitchen and it hasn't made any noise in days, too long for my comfort, so I'm making the sounds myself." He sneered angrily at his crewmates, feeling his face start to go red. He knew how stupid he sounded, but couldn't help it. He hated when the norm changed into something new. Thinking about it all made him more angry, and he slammed a clenched fist into the galley door, knocking the handle and lock loose and sending the door swinging helplessly on its hinges. "Oh, that's just great...fuckin' stupid door..."
He gruffly stomped through the door frame as the door continued swinging, Usopp shaking his head.
"I gotta fix that..."
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Sorry it's so short...