Eleutheromania

Chapter 12

I START UNI TODAY~! Just a little bit excited XD
Sorry I've taken so long to update, thank you all so much for all the new faves, follows and comments since the last chapter!


Lami remained impassive, even as Sabo continued to thrash on his bunk. "Why should I believe you? How do I know that that isn't a virus, or even poison?"

"You don't." Leif said plainly. "But you also don't have the time to spare: he's already been exposed, that's why he's reacting so violently. So please! Use this instead, and save your captain!"

Lami wasted only another second making her decision, snatching the pouch from Leif and opening it to reveal a wad of herbs wrapped tightly into a little ball. A piece of paper with a woman's fine scrawl read, Sedative, for spasms, fits and shock. Place under tongue and make sure the patient doesn't swallow! Following these instructions, Lami watched as her captain calmed, and fell back into a fitful doze.

Gesturing to Koala, the girl's released their hold on Sabo; Koala wiped his brow with a clean, damp cloth, and Lami checked his vitals, and made sure that he hadn't, as yet, swallowed the medication. Nodding, satisfied, Lami then became a blur of motion, slamming Leif against the cabin wall, Senzo no Chi's blade at his throat

"Why would your doctor give us a virus?" Lami asked coldly.

"It's a power thing." He answered. "If you don't go to him for treatment, you die. Didn't you wonder why everyone on this island has pink hair?"

"What?" Koala gasped.

Lami narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Explain."

"The cure to Frosche-sensei's virus marks you so that he knows that you've had his sickness. Once you've had it, he can infect you again whenever he likes. Only some of the islanders remember this, and that's mostly the elders."

"So then how do you know this?" Lami asked. "Why do you have so little pink in your hair?"

The answering grin Leif gave was feral and wild. "My mother and Aunty Dawn were clever – I'd already been hidden away, so by the time I did join the town, they'd found their own cures and preventatives. I'm almost immune now."

"Is that how you came to have a sedative on you?"

Leif went to nod, but remembered Senzo's blade at his throat, and grunted an agreement instead.

With a sigh, Lami pulled back and sheathed the drawn twenty centimetres of blade, and moved back beside Koala by Sabo's bunk. It was at that time that Coby returned with his mother; a pale woman with pink-streaked green hair. The girls both took up slightly defensive positions in front of their captain.

Hazel eyes narrowed. "Coby, will you go back and mind my shop please? If anyone asks for me, I've gone looking for new silk worms." Once her son had left, she leant back against the cabin wall, arms crossed. "What trouble has Dragon-kun gotten his brats into this time?"

"I beg your pardon?" Koala asked, half-offended.

Dawn snorted. "I was the doctor of this island for almost twenty years before that idiot came along. Dragon-kun is originally from this sea, off an island with the same name as me – I've been patching him and his brats up for years." Her eyes had raked over both girls, and were now seeking out Sabo amongst his blankets behind them. "So tell me, how is it that one brat is fine, another has mild electrical burns, and the third looks like he's been mauled by a shark? Don't tell me you tried to take on Nokogiri no Arlong?" The last part was snorted derisively.

Lami's eyes were almost slits. "I thought you were a tailor."

A dark shadow passed over Dawn's eyes. "That was my sister Dusk, Leif's mother. When the Marine's decided to take over this island, though, they felt that it would be easier if there was a doctor's position to fill, and memories of our culture altered. Since she was already a wanted woman, and Coby was still so young, Dusk made the swap without telling me, leaving only the antidotes we'd developed against Frosche's viruses, as well as instructions for protecting my nephew." Dawn's grip tightened on her upper arms. "There are advantages of being identical, and having your parents train you both equally, and at the same time. I was almost as capable of sewing as I was of healing. They never suspected a thing."

"That was twelve years ago?" Koala asked, violet eyes suspicious. At Dawn's nod, she turned to Leif. "The pirate attack that took your parents, that was organised by the Marines?" Her hands clenched into tight fists. "This stink of the rotten and the corrupt, even East Blue isn't free!"

"What a typical Revolutionary response to such a story," Lami sneered, turning back to Sabo and moving to rewrap his sides. "Naturally, where there are people in power, there will always be others trodden underfoot, lives taken away too early." Even though her hands remained steady and her face calm, the eyes hidden beneath her hat brim were haunted. "The weak don't choose their way of dying, idiot."

"Oh, I forgot you were going along with Sabo-kun's stupid pirate idea!" Koala snapped. "Sorry to tell you this, but a pirate is incapable of changing the hierarchies that breed such corruption!"

"Try telling that to Captain-ya," Lami replied easily. "He seems to think he's capable of such a thing. My only interest in piracy is that it will help me rescue my brother, and nothing more. Who in their right mind would trust a pirate doctor?"

In North Blue, a tall, tan young man with Flevance tattoos sneezed, before heading into his operating theatre to attend to his newest patient.

"Penguin must have changed his deodorant, or something… Whatever."

"Sorry to interrupt your lover's quarrel," Dawn drawled, "But just out of curiosity, did you want my help with your captain or not?"


So this omake is for Shibo (it was either this or a Doffy smut scene – (I nakama-love you, but I'm not touching that with a ten foot cattle prod), and I hope it cheers you up a bit!

To say that Dadan's three pseudo-sons were worried was an understatement – they were freaking out. It was their baby sister's first day of high school! There were going to be boys there! Wait, no, there were going to be teenagers! (Leo wasn't picky in her crushes)

Luffy didn't really see anything wrong with it, since they'd all made it through fine. He was only year nine, though, Ace and Sabo were in their final year, and they knew, with overprotective-big-brother certainty, that something would go wrong!

At first, Leo had been amused by her oldest brothers' actions. That was before they had tried to tell her that her long sleeved, button up, collared shirt was too revealing, and her ankle-long, baggy pants showed too much skin. When they started begging Dadan for a chastity belt (whatever that was), that's when Leo decided to knock them over the head.

"I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself! Now get out!" She yelled, kicking all three brothers out of the room they shared. Panting angrily, Leo took a moment to concoct a devious plan of revenge! Claiming one of Luffy's vaguely-clean jeans, a tight black singlet and a fluffy-hooded vest, the finishing touches were the aviator goggles Sabo used to where when they were kids, and combat boots. She'd show her brothers!

Climbing out the window into the alleyway outside, Leo sprinted around the front, shouting goodbye to the thugs on guard duty, Mogra and Dogra, her bag slung over one shoulder, and cackling as she went.

For her brothers, it was not a good start to such a momentous occasion.

It didn't help that Leo continued to avoid her oldest brothers throughout the day – during smoko break, she'd attempted to find Luffy and managed to get herself lost in the process, too busy getting into a fight with a (in her opinion, very cute) delinquent called Kidd. Apparently, he didn't think "goatikins" was a very nice nickname. At lunch she was stuck in a detention with one of the girls in her class who she'd spent all morning arguing with, so Ace and Sabo couldn't find her then, either.

Of course, Luffy knew Leo was alright! He'd caught glimpses of her throughout the day, and Zoro said she was fine when he'd helped her find her way to her next class (at least until she got herself lost, but that wasn't Zoro's fault, one second she was there, then she wasn't!).

Ace and Sabo, after recovering from their temper tantrums that morning, had figured that it was probably best to leave Leo to her own devices for the day, after all. She could handle herself – she was their little sister!

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Meanwhile, Leo had been having a brilliant day of it all! Her classes were fun, the kids were either funny, or cool, or fluffy, or cute – except for Lami. She and Leo had been butting heads since homeroom, and it was all that bitch's fault they'd gotten detention! Yes, Leo had strong opinions too, but if Lami hadn't been saying such stupid things, Leo wouldn't have yelled at her! And now here they were, two o'clock on the first day, and suspended for a week with a month of detentions after they returned! Ok, Leo may have helped in destroying the gym, but Lami started it! And now she'd have to explain to her brothers what had happened, and tell Dadan that she had to stay in the house for the next week, AND tell Banchina that she wouldn't be able to make it to work for the next month because of her detentions (which Lami had kept her in, with those comments of what job could a thirteen-year-old possibly have?)

"This is all your fault, I hope you realise!" Lami hissed at her from the opposite ends of the Principal's couch.

"If you hadn't gotten in my way, I wouldn't be here!" Leo snapped back.

"Please, it was your own foolishness – "

"You wanna say that a bit louder?!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were deaf as well as stupid!"

It was shortly after the two had lunged at each other and fallen into a kicking, punching, scratching, biting mess on the floor that Ace and Law arrived to take them home.

It was going to be a long year!