Pen delivered a flurry of kicks from behind just as Veena had thought she was able to send him flying with her punch; he couldn't really blame her, after all, the shock waves from it should have translated to being able to damage him without even actually touching his skin. The problem was, Veena was still not used to the Fishman Karate techniques.

"She's slower this way…" Anandi watched from her position on a folded out chair.

"I'll give the shrimp this, his timing is perfect." Kuroobi acknowledged with the smallest of grudging smiles. "He was able to feint and make her think the blow had landed with more force."

Veena was sent slamming into the main mast; his kicks had become stronger to the point the solid wood had splintered into a small hole from the musician's landing.

"Shioyaki-san isn't going to be happy about that…" Anandi could already see the fishman's incredulous glare in her mind once he saw the damage. It wasn't enough to cause severe harm, and Veena herself had gotten up in seconds with enough time to dodge Pen's fists, but it seemed that most of their spars ended with some sort of damage to the ship.

"And you?"

Anandi blinked up at Kuroobi; his eyes were still glued to his pupil's movements, but she knew he meant to address her.

"What do you mean Kuroobi-san?"

"These two need almost constant treatment now. I'd think you would be sick of patching them up."

Anandi shrugged one shoulder. "I am the ship's doctor, and like you said, with me not being able to stand for long, there's no much else for me to do."

"What about your target practice?" he inquired with an almost threatening tone; after Pen's training proposal, Kuroobi agreed wholeheartedly that the least Anandi could do was have some way to aid in a potential emergency. Still half broken leg or not, he would not let her slack off.

"You tell me."

Kuroobi's eyes switched over down to where she sat just in time to see her hand settle down to her lap. To the unaware observer, it looked like she had simply shifted her hand to get comfortable.

"Can't dodge me now!" Pen cried out triumphantly as his hand was about to make contact with a point in Veena's neck; he wouldn't actually knock her out, but how the spar went was when once one of them was caught, the other was declared the victor.

Veena was pressed back into the ship's railing, and with Pen's hand only inches away, she had no time to move.

"Oh, wait a minute…"

The fuzzy thought came and went in seconds as she found her knees giving out under her; her eyes fell closed and she was out cold before she hit the deck. Pen had no time to stop his descent as he found his own weight working against him and sending him flying over the railing.

"Dammit Anandi, not again!"

"Oops." Anandi winced as she heard the sound of Pen hitting the waves. "I didn't mean for that to happen this time."

Kuroobi just shook his head as she fought back a grin and went over the side of the ship in one graceful diver's jump. As soon as he was gone, Anandi laughed into her hands while Veena was just starting to stir.

"Sorry Veena-chan, I couldn't resist."

Veena very slowly raised herself up, mindful of how she had landed. "Oh it's fine Anandi-san, the dosage was much smaller, yes?"

Anandi nodded and hobbled over to the still groggy girl. "But you woke up just a second later than I hypothesized. You're much smaller than Pen, so I thought it would work faster, but then, I'm still trying to figure out the right doses for fishmen too."

"Oh, did Shrimp-san fall in again?" Veena didn't even bother to hide her delighted smile; in truth, there were only so many things that could make her smile genuinely. Unfortunately, one of them was Pen struggling, but Anandi supposed they had to start somewhere.

"You're just happy he almost drowned, aren't you?"

"Oh no, I'd never want that." Veena used Anandi as leverage to raise herself up; even with the broken leg, Anandi was barely burdened by the smaller girl's build. "But it is very funny to think of him flailing down there. Is Kuroobi-san still fishing him out?"

"Kuroobi-san wouldn't let Pen drown…" Anandi tried to say confidently. "But he's probably laughing too. On the inside."

Veena tried to find her footing; her limbs still felt oddly heavy, but the medicine was wearing off much faster than last time. "Anandi-san, what's the point of having a dosage that only works for a few minutes?"

"Well, for one, this was just a practice run" Anandi located the tiny needle sticking out of the side of Veena's shoulder. "I am making ones with varying doses, but if I were to shoot a human with a tranquilizer meant for a fishmen or some large animal or a Sea King, then they'd probably die instantly."

"Oh...I see." Veena looked a mix of relieved and horrified. "And how do you tell them apart?"

"Don't worry, I can tell!" Anandi reassured her cheerfully. "I wouldn't just use any of these on anyone indiscriminately."

Their conversation was interrupted as Kuroobi tossed Pen on deck at Anandi's feet.

"Hey, make him breathe again."

"WHAT?!"

Both Veena and Anandi rushed to Pen's side; he was out cold and soaked to the bone. Anandi strained her ears to hear any breathing or to see his chest rising.

"Anandi-san, is he-!"

"Nyu, what's going on here?" Hatchan came running over with Pisaro and Arlong close by. "Hey, what's wrong with shrimp?!"

Arlong looked barely affected. "Huh, surprised it took this long…"

"Is that all you can say Boss?" Pisaro mumbled as he peered closer at Pen's limp form. "Anandi-chan, what happened?"

"Hold on, give me space!" she whipped her head to look a them and made an impatient gesture with her hand. "Pisaro, get me a blanket, Hachi, get the defibrillator, it's in the largest bottom shelf!"

"Right!" They ran off at top speed; Arlong just stood there, arms crossed and boredly apathetic as Veena looked ready to have a panic attack. Even Kuroobi was looking mildly disturbed as he watched their doctor tilt back Pen's face to see if she could even fell his breaths; Anandi never raised her voice to them that way unless she was serious.

"Damn...guys, give me room." Anandi placed both her hands over the middle of Pen's chest, one on top of the other. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5-"

Veena found herself keeping count mentally as Anandi counted to thirty; each push was hard and fast, but Pen didn't seem to register anything; she drew herself to a standing position and hugged her body.

"Don't look so scared girl." Arlong's careless voice was just heard over Anandi's counting.

"I-I just-"

"Doc knows what she's doing." he said simply as if that was all anyone needed to say about the matter.

Veena stared at him briefly. "So that's what he isn't worried?"

Pisaro and Hatchan had already returned with what was needed, but they kept a distance as Anandi twisted her hair back over her shoulder and tilted Pen's head back further, keeping one hand on his chin to keep him still while she covered his mouth with her own and pinched his nose shut.

Arlong felt his fists clenching; it was only two deeps breaths, maybe less than five seconds that Anandi was able to make Pen's chest rise from the artificial breathing before she went back to compressions, but it seemed to have lasted far too long. He chanced a look at his crew, but no one else seemed to notice anything odd.

"15, 16, 17, 18, 19-!" Anandi was pushing down even harder this time; her face didn't show it but they could tell she was feeling slight anxiety. Arlong made to look away as she proceeded with two more rescue breaths but forced himself to not at the last minute. He was going to wonder just what in the hell he was about to do that for, but the train of thought was cut off as Pen hacked and doubled over, sea water spilling from his mouth; Anandi did not manage to move away in time to miss the spray.

"Pisaro...please hand me the blanket." Anandi took it with a dull look as she wiped her face dry, ignoring the fact that Pisaro's cheeks bulged in an effort not to laugh. "Hatchan, if you wouldn't mind putting the defibrillator back; it won't be needed now."

"N-nyu!" Hatchan muffled his laughter behind two hands while two others carefully carried the machine away; partially it was out of relief that the rest of the crew, minus Arlong, began cackling madly at what had just transpired.

"S-shit!" Pen continued to cough up a bit more water, his voice raspy as he held back just getting sick on the deck; ocean water was decidedly not tasty. He was still having trouble breathing, but at least now he was conscious.

"I guess I deserved this for making you fall in again." Anandi confessed as she folded the blanket over his shoulders. "Sorry Pen…."

"I-ack!" Pen wrapped a hand over his throat. "Can I get w-water….? Preferably not seawater…"

"I'll get it." Veena volunteered and got up to go to the kitchen without looking at Pen; he stared after her briefly before feeling sharp pain in his chest.

"Ah, I hope I didn't break a rib…" Anandi said absently. "It's much more common in these cases than people would think."

"What?!"

"I'm just kidding. Mostly." Anandi said as she looked around for her discarded crutches. "I mean, if I actually broke a rib, you'd be in much more pain. I have salve for bruises if one develops though."

"Here." Veena knelt down to hand Pen a glass; he downed it in ten seconds and felt his throat clear a bit.

"Uh..thanks."

"I'm going to help Pisaro with dinner." Veena said quietly and before anyone could say anything, she was taking quick light steps to the kitchen.

"Huh...well, I think I'm gonna lie down for a bit." Pen turned around to give Kuroobi a quick smile. "Thanks teach."

"Just try not to drown next time." Kuroobi said shortly, though his furrowed brow was relaxed. "I guess this concludes today's lesson. Work on making quick stops next time."

Pen smiled wryly as Kuroobi went off to find Shioyaki for repairs to the mast. "Wow, if he's going to be this emotional, I might need some space." he looked down as Anandi reached for one of her crutches; she wasn't quite able to reach it, but he could have sworn she was able to prop herself up with just one before. "Oh hey, you need help?"

"Sure, I just-oh!" Anandi felt two hands heave her up by her underarms; her legs dangled from the ground as Arlong positioned her so that one arm supported her legs and the other her back. "Captain, I can walk with the crutches."

"Don't lie. I saw you bend your ankle when you rushed over to help this shrimp."

"Uh, still here." Pen raised a hand; Arlong just gave him a blank look. In all honesty, he was not feeling up to dealing with their captain's mood swings, so Pen decided to let it drop. He was just barely able to keep standing, his legs felt like gelatin. "Thanks Anandi, sorry about that."

She shook her head. "No, I was dumb and was messing around. This will be a reminder to not screw up again."

"Oh, I think I hacked up seaweed in your hair." Pen smiled roguishly before heading back to his quarters. "If you need me, I'll be vomiting somewhere."

"Duly noted." Arlong said as he stared daggers into Pen's back.

"Captain, aren't you the least bit concerned for him?" Anandi asked tiredly.

"You had the situation under control."

"And if I wasn't there?"

"That punk is tough, I'll say that much. And we'd have figured something out."

"You guys didn't even know the basics of helping a choking person!" Anandi was somewhat appalled at the mere thought. "I mean honestly, can you imagine of one of you had just been eating breakfast like normal? If all of a sudden Kuroobi or Pisaro or you had a chunk of food that just happened to go down the wrong pipe! And don't say you could have flushed it down with water, drinking water to help the blockage is a complete myth, the act actually-!"

Arlong's hand clamped down over her mouth. "As much as I like you feisty, this is toeing the line of amusing and just damned annoying."

Anandi gave him a dull look through his fingers; his whole one hand was enough to cover her entire face. She made a low muffled sound and pointed to her mouth to signal she needed to breathe.

"I don't know. Maybe if I keep my hand here long enough, I could practice that CP-whatever you call it."

Anandi narrowed her eyes; she would have crossed her arms to make her point, but if she let go around his shoulders, her upper half would fall from his hold.

"What's he doing?" Shioyaki stood next to Kuroobi just out of sight around the corner of Anandi's office/quarters. Arlong still had his hand over Anandi's face; she was kicking just slightly and making more unintelligible protests. His booming laugh had reached them all the way down where they had been under deck.

Kuroobi just looked cross. "What do you think?"

Shioyaki shuffled where he stood; he couldn't quite say why, but he felt like he and Kuroobi should leave. He found himself looking back and forth at his captain and the wooden floor; despite not deliberately sneaking around and having a valid reason for coming up to fix the main mast, he felt like he had stumbled on something he shouldn't have.

"Uh, maybe I'll come back to fix that-"

"For the love of-just go, there's no reason not to!" Kuroobi held a few tools in his own hands so they could efficiently patch up the damage.

"It's not in need of immediate repair-"

"Bullshit, there's no reason for you to just stand here like an idiot!" Kuroobi insisted once more in an oddly quiet manner.

"Then why don't you go over already?"

"I-! I need to see how my student is doing." Kuroobi shoved the tools into Shioyaki's arms. "You can handle this yourself. Get it to!"

Shioyaki frowned as his crew mate stalked off and then looked back to where Anandi had just released her arms and was trying to pull Arlong's hand from her face; he was still laughing, looking ready to double over and drop her at the shrill noises she was making. It was a happy laugh. It almost made him want to smile himself.

"...I think I'll just grab a snack first. You can't do manual labor on an empty stomach after all…"

Anandi was too preoccupied with Arlong's threat of suffocation to notice anyone else on deck; Arlong was too preoccupied with seeing her half panicked, half irritated glare to sense his crew mates presence. Not often did much get under their professional doctor's skin, so this opportunity wasn't one to be missed. Holding her up was a bonus, though he'd slice the throat and gnaw the face off any fool to point it out.

Almost anyone.

"Ah!" Anandi was freed and she took in a deep breath. "Arlong, you're the worst! I nearly did almost suffocate!"
"Yeah, yeah, cry about it why don't you? Do you really think I'd kill you?" Arlong lost his voice when she brought her arms around his neck; this action made it much more difficult to breathe, and not just because her arms were partially over his gills.

"No...but you are the worst still." Anandi settled herself in his hold. "So, this is nice."

"Huh?"

"You're not tossing me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Much more comfy, though I guess I barely weigh a thing to someone as strong as you."

Arlong didn't miss the note of sly prodding in her voice.

"Well, of course!" he said abruptly as if to make up for his tied up tongue. "Between my strength and yours, there's no contest."

"Of course." Anandi agreed. "So, you have no problem carrying me at all?"

"Nope, not at all." Arlong declared proudly. "I could probably carry ten of you."

Arlong's wicked grin faltered at the corners as Anandi leaned over to where his ear might be, making it impossible not to press her front against his as she moved in close. Her already somewhat low voice was barely over a whisper.

"Hm, then I guess you wouldn't mind carrying me to bed?"

Arlong opened his mouth and no sound came out; he was staring straight ahead, seeming to have forgotten the english language, even a cutting retort was out of his mind's reach. Anandi pulled back and smiled in satisfaction at her handiwork.

"Huh, looks like you might need resuscitation now."

This smart remark snapped him back to consciousness.

"DAMMIT YOU-! WHAT KIND OF PERVERTED-I'LL DROP YOU!"

Anandi looked confused. "But I thought you could carry me easily?"

Arlong sputtered and blustered, his face almost red from anger and something else he'd die before even thinking. Or he'd just kill her.

Gathering his composure once again, Arlong moved her to one of his arms and snatched up her crutches.
"You have a sick mind."

"Sick? How can I be sick? I'm a doctor."

"Don't play dumb!"

"Hm, never heard of that game." Anandi replied with a smile. "It's too easy today."

"I'll kill you."

"You could've done that already." she reminded him. "And I know for a fact you'd miss me terribly."

"Sure….for five seconds."

"Well, that's too bad."

Arlong didn't look down as he walked; he didn't need to to feel her head rest on his chest right next to his Sun Pirates jolly roger. Her hair tickled.

"I'd know I'd miss you. You are the captain, and I know for a fact if you were gone, the rest of us wouldn't know what to do with ourselves."

"Nonsense. Just do what you want to do." Arlong said. "You're strong enough by now to go off on your own. You know some combat, can make those poisons; once your leg healed, you could just set out and live your own life."

Anandi nodded. "I suppose if I wasn't a wanted criminal, I could. Maybe even despite it I could." she looked up at him; Arlong kept his eyes forward. His mouth was always permanently curled up at the edges and she could just see his teeth poking out; even so, she could tell his expression was more stormy and grave than amused.

"I could," she continued as she traced a finger in the old brand mark of a perfect sun. "But you wouldn't let me go right?"

He could have said no because of the reason they needed a doctor. He could have said no since she was indebted to him or because she was so weak, she still needed the extra protection from the marines. He could have said he owned her as far as he could see.

Instead, Arlong's hand tightened on her shoulder, in a show of reassurance or possessiveness, Anandi didn't try to guess.

"No."