Chapter Twelve: "Someone call a doctor!"
A piercing scream rang out over the deck.
"Wha- what?" Sora sat up, jerked out of her nap. She jumped to her feet, scanning around.
Usoppa was frantically trying to save the formula she had spilt when the scream had split the air. Luffi was clutching desperately onto the figure-head, having almost fallen off her favourite seat.
"What is it?" Choppa asked frantically. The little reindeer was shaking as she (badly) hid behind the mast. "Is it Baroque Works? Is it bandits? Is it-"
Sora was already heading for the kitchen. Her sword was half drawn as she stepped in. "Sanae, this had better not be another cockroach."
"No! Worse! Spider!" Sanae squeaked, pointing at the wall. "Kill it! Kill it!"
Sora looked at the arachnid, and then back to the cook. "No."
"What?!" Sanae shrieked. "Kill it!"
"Kill it yourself," Sora muttered, turning around again.
"Wait!" Sanae ran for the door, pushing past Sora.
The cook shoved Sora out of the way and frantically slammed the door shut behind them.
Sora snorted. "I think it's trapped."
"I know it's trapped!" Sanae snapped, peering nervously in through the galley window. "Can you please go in and kill it?"
"I told you. Do it yourself." Sora walked back to her position in the sunlight on the deck, ignoring Sanae's cursing.
She peered in through the door again nervously, and then jogged down to the navigation room.
Namizo glanced up from the map he was pouring over. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, noble hero Namizo, I beseech you, rescue a fair maiden in distress," Sanae said, clutching her hands to her chest.
"… You want me to rescue you?"
Sanae nodded eagerly, her eyes in hearts.
Namizo took a moment to calculate that. If no-one else was running to face the problem, it probably wasn't a Baroque spy or anything else he couldn't handle. "Sure. I'll save you… for a price."
"Oh, no price is too high for the price of love…" Sanae sighed dreamily.
The side of Namizo's mouth twitched. Having Zoro in his debt worked out nicely, considering how welcome a companion Viv (and the promised reward) was, and Sanae was just as strong. "So what do you need help with?"
"…There's a spider in the kitchen."
Namizo stiffened, his mouth drying. "Um… how… big a spider?"
Sanae held her hands out.
Namizo guessed she was exaggerating, but on the off chance there really was a spider the side of his hand in there…
Well, Sanae was easy enough to ask for help even without being in debt.
"Sorry, can't. Spiders and me don't mix," the red-haired navigator shuddered.
"But… but…" Sanae protested, her eyes wide with renewed panic. "But I can't get rid of it!"
"Then ask Luffi or someone," Namizo sighed.
Sanae chewed the side of her cheek, her eyes glazing over. "Or I suppose the handsome Prince Viv would act as noble as his title suggests…"
"Yeah. Go ask him, then," Namizo suggested, lightly steering Sanae towards the door.
As soon as the cook was out, Namizo locked the door firmly, casting a couple of nervous looks around the room lest there were any hand-sized spiders in with him.
"Viv?" Sanae knocked politely on the boy's room.
"Hmm? Oh, hi, Sanae," the prince of Alabasta smiled. He ran the small brush over Karoo again, making sure any feathers landed on the neatly positioned tarp underneath. "What's up?"
Sanae smiled broadly at him. "So… would you possibly be able to help a damsel in distress?"
Viv grinned. "I'll do my best. What's the matter?"
"There's a spider in the kitchen and I need someone to get rid of it."
Viv stiffened, his smile freezing in place. "Well… I suppose I can try…" he said, swallowing.
Sanae didn't miss the fact that he was hesitant as the prince headed towards the door, his fingers tightening.
The cook ran a hand through her long blonde hair as he left, two conflicting sides at war with herself. On the one hand, she liked Viv and didn't want to have to upset him. On the other, she did so love a strong man who was willing to put aside his own personal fear in order to rescue her.
The side of her that wanted to be rescued won. Sanae happily followed Viv, walking up the stairs behind him when she froze in her tracks.
Of course, Viv was already constantly in terror of his world being destroyed. No-one ever mentioned it, but every few nights it was apparent that his eyes were red from silent tears.
How absolutely selfish it would be of her to make such a natural hero, already tasked with saving an entire kingdom, face yet another of his fears.
"Wait," Sanae caught him by the shoulder.
"Hmm?"
"You're scared of spiders too, aren't you?"
Viv smiled sheepishly. "Terrified, yeah. But it's no problem – I can get rid of it for you."
"No, no," Sanae said gallantly, shaking her head. "You don't have to do that."
She was a little disappointed that he didn't insist, but the grateful smile he gave her still made her heart melt. "Thanks, Sanae."
"It's no problem…" Sanae said dreamily as Viv slipped back down the stairs, thankfully returning to grooming Karoo.
After a few seconds Sanae snapped out of her daze. She still had a spider in the kitchen that she needed to get taken care of…
Well, if none of the boys would do it – and the stupid swordsman was just being stubborn by not doing it, Sanae thought resentfully – and she herself certainly couldn't do it, then that meant she'd have to ask one of the other girls.
Given a choice, Sanae would much prefer to be rescued by a dashing Prince Charming, but she was willing to be flexible if that would get rid of the spider.
Usoppa was still mixing compositions when Sanae stopped next to her.
"I need you to get kill a spider."
Usoppa stopped, and glanced up. "What?"
"There's a spider in the kitchen and I need you to kill it."
"Um… why do you want it dead?"
Sanae stared at her blankly for a moment. She knew not everyone was scared of spiders, but she couldn't quite comprehend someone who didn't hate them.
"Because," she said slowly, sounding like she was explaining something to a very petulant toddler. "It's. A. Spider."
"So?"
Sanae gripped her hands behind her back to avoid throwing them into the air. "Look, can you just get rid of it or not?"
A smirk crossed Usoppa's face. "I'm sure I could if you ask nicely."
Sanae's jaw locked. "Please," she ground out.
"Now put it all together," Usoppa said, still smirking as she got to her feet.
Sanae gritted her teeth. "Would you please get rid of the spider in the kitchen?"
"Of course, Sanae," Usoppa said with a dramatic flourish.
Sanae barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before she saw Usoppa's smirk return. "But you still haven't properly asked," Usoppa half-sung.
"…I said 'please', what more do you want?"
"You have to say: 'Please, Captain Usoppa'," Usoppa corrected, smirking.
Sanae scowled.
A moment later, Usoppa was frantically trying to save the spilling concoctions Sanae had kicked over, attempting to ignore the smarting ache from the new bruise across her stomach.
Luffi was humming happily, still neatly positioned on the Going Merry's figurehead. "Oh, hey, Sanae!"
"Hey, Luffi," Sanae leaned on the sheep's head. "Can I get your help with something?"
"Sure!" Luffi grinned widely, turning around to face her. "What's up?"
"There's a spider in the kitchen and I need someone to kill it for me."
Luffi cocked her head to the side curiously. "You're afraid of spiders?"
Sanae frowned, unwilling to admit being afraid even if it was obvious. "Can you get rid of it?"
Luffi considered that for a moment, and then got to her feet. "Sure thing!"
The captain jumped from her perch, skidding through the deck. Sanae stepped out of her way as the rubberwoman ran for the kitchen.
"So where is it?" Luffi asked, pulling open the door.
Sanae stood hesitantly by the door, peering in. "On the wall."
"'Kay."
Luffi walked in, running her eyes all along the walls of the kitchen. "I can't see it!" she called.
"Keep looking, then!" Sanae snapped, still standing back.
"Maybe it left!"
For a moment Sanae entertained the hope it did, before it crashed down again with the realisation that then it would be loose somewhere on the ship. "N-no… I-I trapped it in…" she said shakily, frantically revisiting the scene in her head. Zoro had been about to close the door, so she'd shoved the stupid swordsman out of her way and locked it.
"Well, I can't see it!" Luffi called again.
Sanae nervously peered in through the window, and then groaned. "Stop snacking!"
"I wasn't!" the captain protested.
"Luffi, the fridge is still open and I can see the meat in your hands."
"No it's not," Luffi said, her hand stretching across the kitchen to shut the door.
"I saw that too! Luffi!"
"M'not doin' an'thin'!" Luffi protested as she shoved more food into her mouth.
A snicker caught Sanae's attention. She turned around to glare at the green haired swordsman, who was viewing the proceedings in amusement.
"What do you want?"
"To watch," Sora smirked.
Sanae glared at her decidedly useless crewmate, and then glanced back in the kitchen. "If you're not going to get rid of the spider, could you at least get rid of Luffi before she eats all of our rations again?"
Sora raised one eyebrow, a smirk still on her face. "Fine," she agreed, pushing past the blonde cook.
The crossdressing girl didn't waste time with subtlety. She grabbed Luffi by the back of the shirt, pulling her backwards.
"Zooo-rrrroooo!" Luffi whined, swallowing the mouthful of whatever meat she had gotten her hands on.
"Yeah, yeah." Sora kicked the fridge door shut as she left, dragging her captain behind her.
The swordsmaster paused as she reached the door. "By the way, I think the spider got bigger," she said lightly to the cook. She hadn't actually seen the arachnid, but her reaction was sure to be interesting. "Or maybe it has a friend?"
Sanae somehow managed to pale at the same time as glaring at Sora. Normally terror and anger didn't mix that well on a face, but the Straw Hat chef pulled it off.
Sora smirked, tossing Luffi in the general direction away from the galley. The female swordsman walked lightly back to her spot on the deck where she could both rest and watch the entertainment.
Sanae glowered after her, then checked to make sure the door was securely locked.
Stupid swordsman… he'd better be lying…
Choppa was watching Usoppa in fascination when Sanae stopped next to her.
"Oh. Hey, Sanae," the little reindeer said, looking up at her. "What was that scream about earlier?"
"Can you get rid of a spider?"
"Um… what?" Choppa blinked innocently. "What do you mean?"
"There's a spider in the kitchen. Do you think you'd be able to get rid of it?"
Choppa considered that for a moment, and then shrugged. "I guess…"
Much to Sanae's relief, the ship's doctor climbed out of the kitchen again a few minutes later, hands curled around a small creature.
"I couldn't see any other ones, so I think this is the only one," Choppa said lightly, inspecting the black arachnid she was holding. "What do I do with it?"
"I don't care, just don't let it near me." Sanae shuddered.
"Ohh… okay," Choppa nodded hesitantly.
Sanae smiled slightly. "Oh, and by the way. Thanks. That really helped. You were great."
Choppa beamed. "Don't try and lie to me because that won't make me happy or anything!" she squealed, almost dancing with joy.
"Alright," Sanae smiled. "I'll keep that in m – the spider, don't drop the spider, don't drop it don't drop it don't drop it!"
Sanae practically fled back to the Going Merry's kitchen, the door neatly locking behind her.
"So you did get the spider, huh?" Usoppa asked lightly. She was standing next to Sora, both watching the spider-related drama unfolding.
"Yeah," Choppa nodded, then frowned. "But, uh, what do I do with it now?" she asked shyly.
"I vote we put it into the stupid cook's hammock," Sora said thoughtfully.
Usoppa laughed, and then froze as it occurred to her the sort of vengeance Sanae would wreak on the entire crew if that happened. "Y-you know, th-that m-might be a b-bit c-c-cruel, wouldn't it?"
"Whatever." Sora yawned, sliding down the railing until she was sitting on the ground. "If the stupid cook finally shut up, I'm going to sleep."
"Okay…" Choppa agreed, leaving the swordsman alone.
After a few moments consideration, the little reindeer ended up releasing the spider on the mast, watching it scramble off. "There you go. Don't go back into the kitchen again, now."
"Can you talk to insects, too?" Usoppa asked, impressed.
"Huh?" Choppa spun around to look at her, and then shyly shook her head. "N-not really. Sometimes I can understand the general gist of what they're feeling, but I can't really talk to them."
"Still more than I can do." The sniper grinned. "That's pretty impressive, you know."
Choppa tried to protest that of course that compliment didn't make her happy, dancing in glee as she did.
"But of course, I don't need to talk to them," Usoppa continued boldly. Choppa looked up at her. "After all, I am the brave Captain Usoppa! It only takes one look at me before the eight legged freaks scuttle away in fear, once they know of my reputation."
"Really?!" Choppa blurted, her eyes sparkling.
"Absolutely! Why, I remember this one time, I met a Genestatisan Arachnid. They're over two hundred meters tall, naturally, and so what I did was…" Usoppa continued her story, Choppa dutifully playing the part of the delighted audience.
X
They probably could have avoided the fight. The other ship hadn't seemed to have noticed them, but Luffi hadn't been willing to accept that. The Going Merry had sailed towards the other pirate ship, with Luffi waving.
The other pirates had waved back, and proceeded to board the ship with their weapons gleaming, shouting about stealing treasure.
Of course, it hadn't taken too long before they realised that despite being a much smaller ship, the Going Merry was far from easy pickings.
"Hey, they're running back to their ship!" Luffi protested, pulling back a fist. "Do we go after them?"
"That's your decision, captain," Sora said dryly. "But we probably should get our navigator back."
Namizo was already climbing across one of the grappling hooks attaching the two ships. Three enemy pirates were already lying unconscious from where he had started. "No-one tries to steal my treasure!"
"Yeesh. It's not like they got anything." Usoppa rolled her eyes as she fired a well-aimed Tabasco star into the eyes of one of the few pirates not fleeing. "Or that we have anything to steal, for that matter."
Luffi grinned. "Hey, he can't take all the fun. Gum-gum mooring line!"
Straw Hat stretched her arm straight across the divide, grabbing hold of the railing on the other side. "Anyone else want to come?"
"No way! I'm not leaving the Merry unguarded!" Usoppa refused, shaking her head.
"Viv, please will you rescue me?" Sanae was saying sweetly to the Alabastan prince as she lightly stepped out of the way of a sword stroke. The pirate holding the sword was trying to kill her because she had already dispatched twelve of his comrades, who were lying unconscious.
Viv gave her an incredulous look as the cook deftly blocked the sword with one foot. "Do you really need it?" he asked, spinning his yo-yo anyway.
Choppa was in horn point, ramming several of the pirates. They were tossed, yelling, into the sea.
Luffi glanced at Sora, who shrugged and sheathed her swords. The female swordsman grabbed hold of Luffi's arm, before the two pirates hurtled onto the attacking ship.
Sora cracked her head against the railing. For a moment everything was out of focus as Luffi cheerfully released her on the deck.
Someone fired at them. Sora dodged the shot without needing to see it and Luffi took the bullet to the chest.
Sora was glad her vision came back in time to see the expression on the enemy pirate's face as he realised the bullet bounced off.
The man dropped his gun and fled. Luffi laughed and started to chase him.
Shrugging, Sora moved off in the opposite direction. Someone on this ship had to be at least a little bit of a challenge, and if not it was still their fault for starting the fight.
She disposed of several with laughable ease before a group of five had the intelligence to team up against her.
Sora easily blocked a heavy handed overarm thrust and sidestepped a jab to her ribs. With a quick blow she sent one of the attackers stumbling backwards, and dropped another with a cut to the chest. The next two were taken out in one spin, and the final one fell screaming as her sword bit into his shoulder.
"Shut up, would you?" Sora grimaced from around the sword in her mouth. "It's disgraceful to howl like a baby."
"Yes, sir, sorry, sir!" the pirate sobbed. Tears were still streaming down his face but not another sound came out.
"That's better. Isn't there anyone here who can actually fight?" Sora challenged.
"I can," a pirate said from behind her. "Why don't you give me a try?"
Sora's mouth twitched as she turned to face him. "Alright."
The swordsman made a point to never underestimate her opponents, so she didn't feel disappointed when she realised how he was holding his sword. It was a broadsword, and he had one of his thumbs wrapped around the handle as if about to pull it back. Apart from that, he was holding it loosely at his side, which would be difficult to pull it up in time.
Either he was incredibly fast and would be able to shift positions in a heartbeat, or he legitimately had no idea how to hold a sword.
The observation had taken place in less than a second. Sora took a step forwards, swinging one of her swords around in a circle.
The man let out a yelp and scrambled backwards, just barely avoiding the tip of the blade.
"Hmmph." Sora snorted. "So is that sword just for decoration if you can't even hold it?"
The man scowled at her, before pointing the sword at her. It looked like he was about to try a thrust, but his balance was abysmal and his aim was off. Despite the poor swordsmanship, he smiled wickedly at her.
"Who said this was a sword?"
Before Sora had a chance to do more than widen her eyes, the pirate pulled on the trigger disguised as the sword's crosspiece.
The bullet slammed into her chest. Sora stumbled backwards as another hit her in the stomach. She sunk to her knees, panting.
It took a moment for what happened to sink in. When it did, though, the pain seemed to fade away to be replaced by blazing anger.
He had disguised a gun as a sword.
"Like my weapon? I designed it myself," the pirate said sweetly, stepping forwards. "I find it much more useful when your opponents don't know what they're up against."
Sora was still kneeling when Yubashiri slashed through the boasting pirate's chest. Sora got to her feet, breathing heavily. "A fake sword is a disgrace," she hissed, picking up Kietsu as well. "You are going to regret ever thinking of it."
Within a few seconds Sora stumbled over his unconscious body, grabbing the deceptive gun. With a snarl she threw it over the side of the ship, letting it fall into the ocean. Something like that shouldn't exist in the world.
The girl took a few shaky steps, sheathing her swords. She clutched the ship's railing for support as she tried to make her way back to the Merry. She was sure she'd followed the railing the whole way, and she didn't think she'd gone too far…
Now that there was no immediate danger, though, she was finding it hard to walk. Her sash was starting to soak in red, and she thought at least one of her ribs had broken.
It's not a problem. I can just sleep it off… Sora thought hazily, slumping against the railing. Hey, they actually had a doctor on board now; Choppa could sew her up.
Maybe she'd just take a nap first…
It felt like only a couple of minutes later she was jolted awake by Luffi's calling.
"Hey, Zoro! Did you get lost again?" Luffi asked as she jogged over.
"Hey, Luffi," Sora muttered, feeling the stabbing ache in her chest.
Luffi grinned. "What were you even do-"
The captain trailed off and her eyes widened as she saw the blood staining Sora's shirt. Suddenly her smile disappeared as she looked at her seriously. "Zoro! Are you okay? What happened?"
"Got shot," Sora said weakly as Luffi draped one of her arms around her, pulling the swordsman up. "Bastard disguised a gun as a sword…"
"Wait, really? That's just… that's just cheating!" Luffi said indignantly as she supported the green-haired girl along the length of the ship. Sora was too dizzy to notice Luffi was taking her the opposite direction than she had been limping in. "If you're going to fight, then do it properly!"
"I know," Sora mumbled.
"Okay, I'm going to have to rocket us across to the Merry. You reckon you'll be okay with that?"
"Yeah…"
Luffi pulled back the fist that wasn't holding up Sora and grabbed hold of the Going Merry. In a moment she sprung into the air and soared towards their ship.
The journey back was an improvement over the one over, as there was at least no risk of concussion this time around. It wasn't as if Luffi ever purposefully crashed her crewmates or herself, but she also rarely put the slightest thought into avoiding obstacles. This time, however, Luffi made sure to take the brunt of the landing in order to avoid jarring any of the swordsman's wounds.
Namizo was already back on board. Usoppa had allowed some of the pirates to return to pick up their wounded, without consulting the other Straw Hats, and the navigator was supervising them with a scowl. He was already in a bad mood since what he'd thought was the treasury had turned out to be both empty and booby-trapped anyway, leaving him with a burn that Choppa was currently applying salve to.
Sanae was helping drag the unconscious enemies back to where their ship was. She was putting no care into it, but with the number of black-and-blue bootmarks forming on skin, no-one had the courage to protest. Viv had offered to do the same, but Sanae had beamed at him and insisted that the prince stayed back.
"What took you so long?!" Namizo rounded on Luffi as she bounced onto the deck. "You better have a good explanation for why you left the ship in the middle of a fight-"
Usoppa was about to ask Namizo about his own fleeing the ship, but Luffi interrupted her. "Choppa!"
"Yes?" Choppa looked up from where she was packing away the burn salve. She looked curiously at Luffi, before her eyes trailed to Sora and the growing bloodstains on her body. "Ahhh! Zoro! Someone call a doctor!"
The cheerful mood on the Merry suddenly was tinged with worry as Choppa remembered that she was the doctor and grabbed her kit.
Namizo's eyes darkened and he turned to the enemy pirates still on the ship. "Why are you still here?" he hissed.
There was a sudden scramble to get off the ship as the pirates sped up their retrieval operations significantly.
Choppa started to pull at Sora's shirt. "What happened to him?!"
"He said he got shot," Luffi answered.
"I see." Choppa tugged at the shirt, trying to make it come off. Sora brushed her hoof off, causing the reindeer to frown.
Viv watched it repeat. Choppa again reached to pull off the swordsman's shirt, who slapped her away. Viv could see that Zoro's face was pained, but he also was pretty sure she was doing it on purpose.
Then Viv remembered Drum Island. He remembered seeing Zoro shirtless and the dull flush that crept up her face when she realised he knew; he remembered that Zoro was a girl and didn't want anyone else to know.
"Miss Toni! Why don't you… I really think you should move Zoro inside," Viv blurted, frantically trying to come up with a reason. "Is the deck really the best place for surgery?"
"No, no, you're right," Choppa shook her head nervously. "Okay. Luffi, can you help me carry him in?"
"No problem!" Luffi said happily. All traces of worry had vanished as she jogged towards the cabin, Sora still draped around her shoulder. The captain pulled her crewmate in and lightly placed her on the small mattress beside the table that they used for situations like this.
Choppa knelt down next to Sora, picking up her kit. "First, I'll need to anaesthetise the injury-"
Viv hurried into the room. He immediately spotted Luffi, who was watching Choppa eagerly. "Luffi! I think we should leave Choppa alone!"
"I'm not bothering her, I just wanna watch!" Luffi protested.
Viv grabbed her by the shoulder and started to drag her out. "Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going!" Luffi protested as Viv let her go. Grumbling that she wasn't doing anything, the rubberwoman walked out.
The door slammed shut as the Alabastan prince followed suit.
Sora made a mental note that she really needed to thank Viv; although she did still wish that the prince could have figured out some way to stop Choppa from knowing either.
Choppa pulled off Sora's shirt. Sora cringed as it was pulled from her wounds. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"
"It's fine…" Sora muttered, watching Choppa's face for the inevitable realisation.
Choppa, however, didn't seem to notice, even as she folded up the binder to reach the holes. She checked that neither wound had the bullets lodge and then started to apply antiseptic. Then she picked up a needle between her hooves and delicately started to stitch her up.
Sora was just starting to wonder if there was a legitimate chance Choppa was trusting enough not to notice when confusion filled the reindeer's face.
"Zoro? What's this?" Choppa asked, pulling at the tight material Sora was wearing around her chest.
Sora cringed. So much for that hope. "It's… a binder."
"A what?"
Sora pushed herself into a sitting position. She did feel slightly dizzy, but she still thought Choppa overreacted. "No! Lie back down!"
Sora grimaced but didn't fight, obediently lying down again. "It's a binder," Sora repeated. "For binding breasts down."
For a moment Choppa blinked at her. "Why do you-"
"I'm a girl." Well, there it was. She'd probably have to tell her doctor at some point anyway.
Choppa looked confused, and then realisation lit up her face. "Oh. You mean you're transsexual?"
Sora shook her head. "No. I'm a girl."
"But… but I thought that… the others said…" Choppa was absolutely confused.
"Yes, and you can't tell them," Sora warned. "Okay?"
"O… okay. There's a doctor-patient confidentiality. If you don't want me to tell anyone then I won't. But I don't understand why you don't want them to know if they're your friends."
Sora wanted to answer, but didn't actually have an answer. She knew why she'd first dressed up as a guy, but that didn't seem to still apply on this crew.
She was almost grateful when Choppa suddenly seemed to notice something else on her upper body under the folded up binder. "Aaah! What's that?!"
"What's what?" Sora asked, startled.
"This huge scar!" Choppa traced the long scar across Sora's torso, her hooves gentle. "Whoever stitched it up wasn't very good…" she murmured. But she seemed a little calmer now she realised it wasn't a recent injury that was likely to cause Sora to keel over any moment.
"Uh, that was Usoppa. There weren't any real doctors around at the time."
"Oh. Did you at least get it checked out by someone else once you could?"
"Yes, I did," Sora said, pleased she could answer how the doctor wanted. She decided to avoid mentioning that she'd fought several fishmen in between that, since she had a feeling Choppa would get overdramatic if she did. It wasn't like she'd had much of a choice about fighting them, anyway.
"So how'd you get it, then?" Choppa's eyes were bright, eagerly awaiting a thrilling story.
Part of Sora hated to disappoint, but she wasn't Usoppa. She couldn't just weave words that would entrance anyone. She shrugged, deciding just to go with the truth. "I lost a fight."
"What?!" Choppa stared at her, stunned. "But… but… but… you're amazing! Who could have beaten you?!"
Sora was surprised at the sudden warmth that hit her when the reindeer stared at her, more shocked by the fact she'd lost a fight than that she was a girl.
"Hawkeye. The World's Greatest Swordsman."
"You fought the World's Greatest Swordsman? Wow!" Choppa said, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "And you're going to fight him again, right? One day? So you can be the greatest?"
Sora nodded once, trying not to smile at Choppa's obvious awe. It wasn't like she'd been aiming to get admiration from anyone, but it was hard not to feel at least a little pleased at the look.
"That's so cool!" Choppa's eyes were sparkling again as she picked up the bandages.
Sora resigned herself to having even more material wrapped around herself and holding her still for the next hour or so, until she found a place to train. Bandages were really hindering, and she couldn't imagine how she'd ever thought they were the best option.
Although the paste that Choppa applied to her aches and bruises was nice. Maybe she could see if she could pinch some when she went out to train.
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