Hey guys. Hope you've been having a good few weeks.
Just a few story-related notes. Firstly, I know in previous chapters I've been a bit iffy about how I write honorifics (aside from Sanji's). Generally I don't like randomly using Japanese words unless it's a specific title. However, as I'm sure most of you know what the different honorifics mean, & only a few characters make a habit of using them, I decided to stick with the Japanese versions.
Secondly, while it'll be a long time before Abel gets a bounty, I'd like for you guys to think of some suggestions what Abel's epitaph should be. I have one in mind already, but you never know if someone can come up with something cooler. So pitch my any ideas you come up with as the story progresses.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my original additions. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Warnings: Mild Violence & Language, Suggestive Content
It constantly amazed Abel at how quickly life returned to normal on the Going Merry after legitimately almost dying. She wasn't entirely certain it was strictly healthy how easily everyone just brushed off almost dying. Perhaps it was because near-death experiences were so commonplace now that they were just numb to them. Or maybe it came more from a mindset of celebrating life and living in the moment. Still, it amazed Abel at how quickly everyone fell back into routine.
Abel herself was no exception. After seeing to everyone's injuries, Abel enjoyed the peace of soaking in a warm bath. This served the dual purpose of cleaning the soot off her, and easing the ache in her bones. Abel would probably be stiff for a few days, but at least nothing was broken or ruptured. Although she did have a spectacular bruise on her stomach. Before putting on clean clothes, Abel took a bottle of liniment and rubbed a generous helping into her sore muscles. Liniment was essentially just an ointment used to treat sore muscles and joints. Abel spent some time messaging the liquid on her skin, aiding in the absorption.
With her midsection tender, Abel decided it best to forgo her usual attire. Instead of wearing a corset, even a simple one under her shirt, Abel wore one of her few strapless bras to avoid putting pressure on her stomach. From there, she donned a simple, loose white tanktop, relaxed fit jeans, gray-and-white Vans and a gray sweater coat that hung loosely around her frame. Not her usual style, but Abel wasn't one to suffer for fashion's sake. And as usual, she finished her look with her scarf and thigh holsters.
Upon exiting the storeroom, Luffy and Usopp's singing greeted Abel. "Gi-gi-giants! Gi-gi-giants! Elbaf! Elbaf! Everyone is huge! They're so huge, because they're giants! Gi-gi-giants! Everybody's huge!"
Abel watched the duo sing their hearts out, arm around each other's necks, swaying on the bulwark. "Try not to fall overboard, Boss," Abel said mildly as she walked past them, heading for the aft deck. They really were like a couple of kids, and made Abel feel much older than she was sometimes.
Standing at the top of the stairs, Abel surveyed the deck. Nami, Vivi and Carue sat on the deck around the mast. The girls chatted about something, and Nami handed Vivi the eternal pose. Abel noted that the redhead looked a bit tired. Her eyes dropped as she leaned against the mast, looking like she could fall asleep at a moment's notice. Perhaps they weren't all as immune to nearly dying as Abel first thought. But since Nami seemed more than willing to rest, Abel didn't press the matter.
Abel heard Sanji banging around in the galley, likely preparing a snack. Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since breakfast. Strange how much could happen in less than a day.
But then, a strange sound caught Abel's attention. Is that... grunting? she thought.
Following the sound to its source behind the galley, Abel discovered Zoro engaged in what he must've considered light exercise. He swung a pole with five hundred kilogram weights attached, swinging it over his head to simulate using a sword. Given his sweaty state, he must've been at it for a while.
Eyeing the blood soaking through the bandages on his ankles, it was on the tip of Abel's tongue to say something. While it's true she'd advised Zoro he could engage in light exercise after she sutured his ankles, she wasn't sure anyone would classify five-hundred kilograms as "light." However, Zoro beat her to it. "Don't give me any lip," he panted, not even turning to face her.
Abel said nothing; just crossed her arms, leaning her hips to one side and gave the man an inquiring look. Not that he could see it. At length, Abel purred, "Perish the thought. I was just enjoying the view."
Silence stretched between them as Zoro slowly absorbed Abel's words. When it finally sunk in, Zoro paused, lowering his weights and slowly turning his head toward Abel. But before he could question her on the matter, Vivi's panicked voice interrupted their stare-down. "Everyone! It's an emergency!"
"Ah, so the next crisis rears its head," Abel commented offhandedly, already turning away, leaving the man to his thoughts.
Abel emerged from behind the galley just as Luffy came out from it, mouth full of food. "What is it, Vivi!?" came his muffled question.
Vivi turned a frantic expression to the others from where she hovered over Nami's prone form. "Nami has a terrible fever!"
Upon linking Nami to the emergency, Sanji burst through the door, shoving Luffy roughly out of the way. "Nami!?" he gasped.
Ignoring the man's growing hysterics, Abel walked down to the two women. Vivi gave Abel an imploring look. "She said she was tired, and then she just collapsed!" the princess explained in a rush. "Now she's sweating all over, and her skin's hot to the touch!"
Focusing her attention on their navigator as the others gathered round, Abel did a quick assessment. Shallow breathing... flushed, clammy skin... Abel placed the back of her hand to Nami's forehead. Her fever's quite high... all generic symptoms. Abel would have to do a more thorough exam. Standing, Abel dictated tasks to the others. "Vivi, you and Sanji carry Red down to our room. Usopp, fold the couch out into a bed. Boss, dig out the spare blankets."
The boys nodded, quickly running off to follow the closest thing they had to a doctor's orders. As Sanji gingerly pulled Nami into his arms, Vivi nervously turned to Abel. "Um... Nami gave me this before she collapsed." She held out the eternal pose.
Nodding, Abel carefully took the instrument from the princess. Turning to the only other person without a task, Abel said, "Do you think you can manage maintaining the direction the bright red needle is pointing?" She said it in a tone like a mother asking a child if they remembered simple instructions.
Zoro didn't answer. He just watched her with a strange expression. Not suspicious or skeptical, but something in that area. Shrugging off whatever was going on in the swordsman's head, Abel placed the eternal pose on the railing next to him before heading for her office to pick up a few medical supplies. Abel didn't consider herself a doctor, but she was knowledgeable in general diseases and first aid after spending so much time absorbing her father's expertise.
By the time Abel arrived in the women's quarters, the others already had everything set up. Nami lay on the fold-out bed, covered liberally in blankets. Vivi knelt beside her, watching the redhead anxiously as she waiting for the thermometer to give a reading. Sanji, Luffy and Usopp stood nervously behind her. Without a word, Abel walked past them, sitting on the bed next to Nami's head. Abel noticed the cool wash cloth placed on Nami's forehead in an attempt to relieve her fever. The woman wasn't doing well. She seemed unaware of most of what went on around her, although she was lucid enough to keep the thermometer in her mouth. Her breathing was labored, and she grimaced every so often, as if in pain.
Behind her, Sanji asked, "Iz Nabi gunna die!? Well!? Iz she, Abel!?" His tears caused his words to come out muffled, but Abel got the gist of it.
"It's a bit premature to make such dramatic predictions," Abel replied calmly. As far as she could tell, right now Nami just had a fever. That in itself wasn't a dangerous condition. Carefully drawing one of Nami's arms out from under the blankets, Abel placed her index and middle finger over the pulse in her wrist. Watching the clock over the desk, Abel began counting.
"It's most likely the climate," Vivi said thoughtfully. "One of the obstacles all sailors who enter the Grand Line run into is illness caused by abnormal weather. There are countless stories of tough, notorious pirates suddenly dying from this. Carelessness makes even the slightest case deadly." Vivi glanced at Abel, noting the controlled, confident way the brunette cared for Nami. "Do you have medical experience, Abel-san?"
Abel didn't answer right away, instead finishing her calculations. Her pulse is elevated, Abel noted before folding Nami's arm back under the blankets. "Vicariously," she said in response to Vivi's question. "I did assist my father in caring for patients at his clinic on my home island. But my knowledge lies more in the realms of anatomy and trauma, not pathology." Vivi frowned somewhat at Abel's answer, which Abel understood. She was no physician.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll get better if she just eats some meat!" Luffy suggested cheerfully. "Right, Sanji!?"
Sanji wiped his tears with his sleeve. "Well, I can make her nutritious meals that are easy enough to digest even for a sick person, but..." Sanji stared at the ground mournfully. "Even all that only goes so far as the called 'nursing.' It may not actually cure her. And in the first place, when it comes to preparing meal for Nami-san, Abel-dono and Vivi-chan, I put a hundred times more effort than the rest of you lot. I only use the freshest meats and vegetables to cook a perfectly balanced meal for them. The leftover scraps and ingredients on the verge of spoiling are then..." Sanji looked at Usopp and Luffy. "To you."
"What!?" Usopp shouted in outrage. Was Sanji being serious, or was this just his usual attitude towards men?
Luffy, however, wasn't bothered. "Even so, it still tastes great!"
"In any case," Sanji continued seriously. "As long as I'm the chef on this ship, there won't be any troubles related to malnutrition or such. So if someone is still sick, then that's because of a completely different illness. And unless I know what that is, I won't know what type of meal would be best either."
Abel was impressed with Sanji's forethought on the matter, but she supposed it was that surprising. Being a sea cook, it was imperative that Sanji understand how to make the most out of the available food. In a setting where you never knew the next time you'd have the chance to stock up, understanding how to keep people healthy through nutrients alone was a valuable skill. Many conditions could be prevented with a good diet... but not all.
Naively, Luffy suggested, "Then she can just eat it all!" Then, someone ought to make you feel better, right?
"Not having enough energy to even eat is what we call being sick in the first place, you idiot," Sanji sighed.
Pulling the thermometer from Nami's mouth, Abel held it to the light to read it. Forty degrees...
Vivi, who'd been hovering nearby, saw this as well. "Her fever rose again!" she gasped.
For her fever to rise so sharply over barely a few hours must indicate the presence of a very aggressive disease, Abel thought, rubbing her lower lip as she pondered. This wasn't just some passing cold.
"There'll be doctors when we get to Alabasta, right?" Usopp reasoned. "How much longer 'til we get there, Vivi?"
Vivi's fists clenched on her legs. "I don't know," she hesitantly admitted. "But it'll definitely be more than a week!"
Randomly, Luffy queried, "Is being sick really that painful?"
Even worse was when Sanji and Usopp answered at the same time, "Dunno. Can't say I've ever been sick myself." Abel was almost envious. She knew all too well what Nami felt like in this moment.
"Are you people even human!?" Vivi snapped. How can someone go through their entire life never being sick? "Of course it's painful! A forty degree fever almost never happens! This may be a life-threatening illness!" Abel knew Vivi was right. Just two degrees higher, and they'd start to see cell death and organ failure as the body couldn't regulate its own functions anymore.
However, she probably could have phrased it a bit better, because the sudden knowledge that Nami might die from this sent the three boys into a raving panic. They ran around the cabin, screaming, crying, and making a general ruckus. Abel winced at the amount of noise in the tiny room. It didn't help that Vivi added to the commotion by yelling at them to calm down. Mentally sighing, Abel leaned back against the wall and watched the chaos for a moment. She figured she'd let them get it out of their system before she intervened. Some people did better if they were allowed to freak out a bit before getting down to business.
Once she'd determined they'd expended enough energy, Abel slammed her hand against the cabin wall. The sudden force jostled one of the paintings, causing it to fall and land on Carue's head. The duck squawked loudly, starting the others into silence. As they gaped, seemingly coming to their senses, Abel took the opportunity to interject, "Do you feel better now that you've had your meltdown?"
"But Abel-" Luffy began.
"Believe me, I understand better than anyone of you how serious Red's situation is," Abel interrupted, keeping her voice firm but not unkind. Unwavering. "I'm glad you so concerned about Red's welfare, but you need to channel your emotions towards a task that will actually help her. And that's not running around like lunatics. She's dependent on us."
The cabin grew silent as the crew digested Abel's words. Abel watched them all, expectantly. It was okay to be scared. It meant you were aware of how dire a situation was. But you couldn't allow your emotions to control you. After a still moment, Luffy nodded, expression serious, yet determined. "Right. We have to find a doctor right away." That would help Nami.
"... no."
Everyone, even Abel, gasped as Nami sat up, shoving the blankets aside. "Nami!?" Vivi exclaimed, rushing over to the navigator's side.
"Yipee!" Luffy cheered, jumping up and down. "She got better!"
"No she didn't!" Usopp snapped, smacking Luffy in the back of the head. Based on the way Nami still panted for breath, her red face, and shaking arms, she most definitely wasn't better.
As she pulled the washcloth from her head, Nami directed tired eyes toward the princess. "There's a newspaper... on top of my desk..."
Vivi frowned, unsure of what this had to do with anything. Still, if Nami was bothering to tell them in her current state, it must be important. Obliging her, Vivi went over to the desk and picked up the newspaper. Turning it over to the front page, Vivi's eyes widened when she saw the headline. "Wha!?" she gasped, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"What is it?" Luffy asked.
"Is it about Alabasta, Vivi-chan?" Sanji guessed. What else would upset the princess so much?
Letting Nami lean back against her shoulder for support, Abel listened as Vivi read the paper. Vivi gripped the pages so hard Abel heard them crinkle. "That can't be..." Vivi whimpered, pupils dilated. "Three-hundred thousand royal soldiers have defected to the Resistance!? Originally the six-hundred thousand strong royal soldiers could contain the rebels who were only four-hundred thousand strong... but now the situation is completely opposite!"
Abel understood now. "With numbers now in their favor, the rebels may deem it time to launch their revolution in full force," she concluded.
Nami nodded heavily. "With that, the situation in Alabasta has entered its most critical phase..." She sounded breathless, like speaking above a whisper was a struggle. "And that was the paper from three days ago. Sorry for not showing it to you until now... I didn't want to worry you any further since we were already sailing as fast as we could." Nami faced their captain. "Understand, Luffy?"
"Things are very bad," Luffy concluded, crossing his arms.
Nami smirked weakly. "That's right. I'm surprised I managed to get through to you so well."
"But if we don't get you to a doctor soon..." Usopp began.
"It's fine," Nami interrupted. She kicked the blankets off her feet, sliding stiffly to sit on the edge of the bed. "That old thermometer's broken anyways. There's no way I could have a fever of forty degrees. I'm sure it's just heatstroke or something. And even if there are problems, I'm sure it's nothing Abel can't handle." With more effort than should've been necessary, Nami stood. Brushing past Luffy and Usopp, Nami called over her shoulder, "In any case, we'll continue to head for Alabasta as planned for now." Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, Nami smiled back at her crew. "But thanks for worrying about me."
"Sure," Luffy replied as Nami disappeared up the stairs. With a confused expression, Luffy asked, "So is she all better now?"
Usopp scoffed. "Of course not. She's only putting up a tough front."
Still on the ground, lost in her own turmoil, Vivi croaked, "If I can't stop this, then it's all over for the kingdom of Alabasta! It'll be taken over by Crocodile!" She buried her face in the paper and started shaking her head back and forth. Her entire body trembled with barely suppressed grief. Abel never knew a person could grieve over something that hadn't happened yet. "It's not good enough to just return alive anymore... If I can't get back soon enough, then a million of my people will be killing each other for no good reason."
"There's a million people there!?" Luffy gasped. Coming from a small town, it seemed amazing for that many people to live in one place.
Sanji looked pensively at the suffering princess. "That's quite the burden." He couldn't imagine having that many people depending on you... and they didn't even know it!
Leaning back against the wall again, Abel crossed her arms over her chest. I believe this qualifies as a worst-case scenario, she thought. They really were between a rock and a hard place. Nami obviously needed more advanced medical treatment than what Abel was capable of, yet she refused to admit it so they wouldn't have to veer off course from Alabasta thanks to the rebellion coming to a head. But Abel couldn't think of a single thing a dead person could do to help another, which was what Nami would be if they didn't find a doctor.
"What do you think, Abel?" Luffy suddenly asked.
Looking at her captain for a moment, Abel glanced between Vivi and the stairs. What did she think? There was only one word for it. "Fuck."
After a moment of silence, Abel headed above deck, leaving the others to contemplate their plight. Abel hadn't even opened the storeroom door before she heard Nami and Zoro arguing. "What were you watching all this time!?" Nami shouted, with far more energy than a sick person ought to have.
Abel couldn't hear Zoro's calmer response, but as she opened the door, she certainly heard Nami lecture, "Yes, but you need to be looking at the log's needle!"
"I don't need to. I was watching that big cloud there," Zoro retorted.
"Clouds can move and change shape, you know!" Nami snapped.
Now officially on the deck, Abel turned to find the two on the deck above, outside the galley. Zoro looked rather comfortable multitasking, watching the sea while lifting a ridiculously large dumbbell in one hand. Nami, on the other hand, looked miserable. And sick. Despite her insistence, Nami's normally sun-kissed skin looked pale, accentuating the bright flush across her cheeks.
Groaning, Nami held her head in her hands. "My head's killing me..." Abel wasn't sure if that was a comment on her health or her frustration at Zoro.
Snorting, Zoro replied brashly (yet not unsympathetically), "That's why I told you to go get some rest while I take care of things."
"How can I when you can't even take care of the directions!?" Nami growled.
Hoping to calm the navigator down, Abel quipped, "I don't think arguing with a lost cause is conducive to your health, Red."
Instead of responding, Nami started looking around, almost blindly. For a brief second, Abel feared Nami's fever may have reached the point of delirium. But then the navigator mumbled thoughtfully, "The atmosphere... changed..."
"Huh?" Zoro asked eloquently. He looked at the bright sky skeptically. "The weather's been clear all day."
"Just call everyone here, will you?" Nami demanded.
Opening the storeroom door again, Abel called, "Red needs everyone on deck."
Everyone aside from Vivi hurried outside. Before they could ask what the problem was, Zoro'd already started giving orders. Nami was too preoccupied staring at the sea, likely searching for the source of her discomfort. "Talk the helm and steer for south."
As Usopp hurried to obey, Sanji protested, "What? I don't feel like taking orders from you."
Zoro scowled. "Just shut up and do it! Lower the sails so we can catch wind from portside."
Sanji returned Zoro's look before turning his attention to a more worthy source. "What is it, Nami-san?" he asked. If Zoro was giving them orders to change directions, it must've been at Nami's request. "The seas are calm and the weather looks clear to me."
"Wind..." Nami murmured, not fully paying them attention. "I have a feeling... that there's going to be a strong wind coming this way. Probably-" Nami trailed off when Luffy suddenly appeared in front of her. She blinked when he slapped his palm to her head.
Luffy left his hand there for a moment before yanking it back with a cry. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" he yelled, clutching his smoldering hand. He gave Nami a panicked look. You could fry eggs on her forehead. "We really do need to land and take you to a doctor!"
"That's just my normal temperature!" Nami argued. "Now stop wasting time and get the ropes!"
"Nami-san," Sanji said gently, trying to make their point without upsetting the woman. "I know this is for Vivi-chan's sake and all, but you really shouldn't be pushing yourself too much..."
"I told you, I'm fine!" It didn't help Nami's case when, immediately after, she leaned heavily against the railing, panting.
Usopp tried his hand. "Nami, I think you oughta-"
"Just be quiet and turn the ship around already!"
The crew exchanged a glance before silently agreeing to follow Nami's orders. Perhaps once Nami felt they weren't in pressing danger, she'd be more agreeable to reason with.
Sighing as the crew finally started turning the ship, Nami stared out at the deceptive sea tensely. Just what could it be... she thought, eyes searching diligently for any hint of turbulence. So far, all was calm. But Nami's instincts told her otherwise. It seems a little different from a normal storm...
"Red."
Nami blinked in surprise when she found Abel standing beside her. When did she...? She hadn't even heard the woman. Must to a hunter's instinct to be stealthy, even without meaning to. But Nami knew from her expression what Abel was about to say. "Don't say it," she warned.
Holding her hands up disarmingly, Abel replied, "I'm merely suggesting you can issue orders just as effectively from bed." She might not be able to get the woman to relent on their course, but Abel could damn well get to her rest in the meantime.
Still, Nami frowned. "We're going to Alabasta," she insisted. If she wasn't here to keep an eye on their path, she didn't trust the crew not to try to sneak to another island to get her help.
"Thank you, Nami."
The two women turned at the soft voice. Slowly, contemplatively, Vivi climbed the steps to the galley. Once she was where she could see everyone on the ship, Vivi turned to face the crew. Her expression was what Abel could only call dire. "I have a request to ask of all of you," she began, speaking in a clear voice. Abel imagined it was the same she'd one day use to address her people - assuming they succeeded. "I know that it's not my place to make such demands as a passenger on your ship... but with the emerging crisis in my country, I want to go there as soon as possible. We can't waste even a single minute! That's why I ask for this ship to head for Alabasta at the fastest speed!"
"Of course!" Nami readily agreed. "Just like we promised!"
Abel's eyed drooped. She fully understood Vivi's desire to save her home from bloodshed, and normally Abel supported the whole "needs of the many" philosophy, but... Could anymore blame her for feeling a little selfish? It was only natural to care more about your friend than a bunch of faceless people you had nothing to do with. Part of Abel wanted to say, 'Screw it.' Take her ball and go home, so to speak. And judging from the expressions on everyone else's' faces, they felt the same.
Smiling, Vivi continued, "Then it's settled. Let's find an island with a doctor on it right away." For once, Abel looked genuinely surprised. Undeterred, Vivi continued, "We have to see to it that Nami gets better as fast as possible, and then head for Alabasta! That'll be the only way this ship can sail at the fastest speed, right!?"
"You bet!" Luffy eagerly agreed. "Can't get any faster than that!"
"You sure?" Usopp asked. "Aren't you worried about the lives of a million Alabastans, being a princess and all?"
"Exactly!" Vivi agreed, surprising Usopp. "That's why we need to get Nami a doctor as quickly as possible."
Color me impressed, Abel thought. Vivi was thinking in a roundabout way, but it solved all of their problems. Thinking outside the box, and consider what was best for everyone.
"Well said, Vivi-chan!" Sanji said, though for once it came across as genuine approval instead of flirtation. "I've fallen for you all over again!" Okay, that was pure flirtation.
"I like your guts," Zoro stated simply, probably one of the highest praises he could give a person.
Facing Nami and Abel, Vivi said sincerely, "I'm sorry for making you worry. But please don't overexert yourself Nami-san."
As if a heavy weight had been taken from her, Nami started to sag. Perhaps now that Vivi had declared they ought to look for a doctor first, Nami felt no need to hide the extent of her condition. As Abel placed an arm around her shoulders, Nami muttered, "Sorry... Vivi... but I think... I'm really..."
Seeing the effort remaining upright took, Abel said, "You can pass out now." And it seemed Nami didn't need much convincing, as she slumped forward, leaning heavily against Abel's frame.
As Abel held Nami up with both arms around her torso, she heard Luffy scream, "Ahhh! What's that!?"
Looking back, in the direction they'd previously been going, Abel's eyes widened at the giant cyclone that appeared out of nowhere, with no warning whatsoever... aside from Nami's premonition. It was only thanks to Nami's insistence that they change directions that the ship hadn't been caught in it. It was as if someone flipped a switch; one second bright and calm, the next dark and violent. Like the storm didn't want to be rude and interrupt them.
Vivi stared intently at Nami as the redhead panted against Abel's shoulder. Incredible... she thought. A cyclone on the Grand Line's said to be impossible to predict! This girl isn't just predicting the weather based on weather forecast theories... it's almost as if she'd directly feeling the minute happenings of the climate itself! "I've never seen such a navigator..." she breathed, awed.
"All right, let's hurry it up, guys!" Luffy rallied. "We'll keep heading south to find a doctor!"
"Right!"
Abel sat in her office, leaning over a microscope, barely moving save for her hands. She sat in silence, the only sound the creaking of the ship, completely absorbed in the task at hand. One hand rested on the adjustment knob, occasionally turning the knob to move the microscope closer or farther from the slide she viewed. The other sat with a pen in hand, making quick tally marks. The slide that had Abel's attention was a sample of Nami's blood. After putting the navigator back to bed, Abel had done as thorough an examination as she could, including taking a blood sample. Although she highly doubted she had the knowledge to make a diagnosis, at the very least she might be able to identify the pathogen and monitor its growth.
Abel's lips pulled down slightly at the corners. Nami's sample did not bode well. Her white cell count was extremely high. Combined with her other findings, Abel knew Nami needed immediate medical attention.
A knock at the door broke Abel from her focus. Light filled the room behind her as the door opened, whoever it was deciding to let themselves in. Abel pulled away from the microscope, blinking blindly at the door. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden burst of light. Look past her visitors, Abel idly noticed the sky turning orange as the sun started setting. She'd been at work longer than she thought.
Abel finally addressed her interrupters. "Boss. Chief."
"Did you learn anything?" Luffy asked, sounding uncharacteristically serious. Then again, Abel had learned that Luffy always took his crew's welfare seriously.
"Yes and no," Abel replied, for once not deliberately trying to sound cryptic. It was just the truth of the situation. "I've uncovered much of Red's condition; enough to know what she has is beyond my expertise, but not enough for any practical purposes."
"What do you know?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the wall. He had a feeling getting a medical answer from Abel would be time consuming.
Resisting the urge to smile at how, despite most people in the crew rarely pulling rank, they seemed to fall into their roles naturally when it was appropriate. Everyone was equal, and it was only when the situation warranted it that anyone "stepped up" into their official role. Grabbing the chart she'd made to document Nami's condition, both to synthesize her own thoughts and save time when they found a doctor, Abel reported, "I can tell you Red has contracted a very aggressive blood-borne virus, in all likelihood from contact with an insect on Little Garden." Gesturing as she spoke, Abel rested a hand on her stomach. "I noticed during the physical exam a large rash on Red's stomach. My hypothesis is that a mosquito infected with whatever this virus is bit Red while she was... in a state of undress." Abel paused then, looking up to make sure the men were following her. She didn't want to get too technical.
Luffy tilted his head slightly, thinking hard before concluding, "So Nami caught something from a bug?" Abel smiled encouragingly, glad he'd picked up the basics.
"That's not so surprising," Zoro added. "Mosquitoes are known to carry nasty diseases." Anything that fed off the blood of other creatures was bound to pick up diseases. Plus, Little Garden had lots of bugs. It was amazing none of the rest of them were sick. Just luck, Zoro guessed.
"Unfortunately, due to Little Garden's prehistoric ecosystem, the odds are stacked against us that this disease isn't widely known in other parts of the world. If all the islands in the Grand Line develop essentially in isolation, I doubt their diseases travel either. If we want to help Red, it's imperative we find someone with extensive knowledge of medicine, extending into rare or even extinct conditions."
Luffy nodded thoughtfully. "If we keep heading south, we're bound to run into an island. Doctors here must know a lot about these special sicknesses."
"How's Nami now?" Zoro asked. It wouldn't matter if they did find a doctor if it was too late for Nami by the time they did.
"She is stable," Abel reassured. "And because it's a blood-born pathogen, the only chance of the rest of us becoming afflicted is if you managed to get Red's blood in an open wound. For now, her only obvious symptom is a fever. That's easy enough to treat, but I'd prefer to not give her anything to reduce it. Fevers can actually be productive at killing off foreign pathogens."
Luffy blinked wide eyes at Abel. "Fevers can be good?" That sounded strange. Wasn't being sick in any way bad?
Smiling lightly, Abel explained to her captain, "A fever is the body's natural reaction to invaders. Sort of like how we cook food to make it safe to eat. Heat kills germs."
"Nami's body's trying to cook her!?" Luffy exclaimed, almost looking panicked.
"Idiot!" Zoro snapped, smacking Luffy in the back of the head.
Abel just laughed. "We'll monitor her temperature. Only if it increases will we intervene. So no cooking."
Straightening his hat, which Zoro'd knocked askew, Luffy sighed. "That's good." Suddenly, his stomach rumbled loudly. All this talk about cooking reminded him of how long it'd been since he last ate. Smiling sheepishly as he held his noisy stomach, Luffy asked, "Do you think Sanji's got supper ready?"
Zoro snorted. "He's been glued to Nami's side all day."
Running out the door, the two heard Luffy shouted, "Sanji! Is the food ready!?"
Chuckling at Luffy's antics, Abel began putting her equipment away. As she carefully stored the slides with Nami's samples, Abel heard Zoro ask, "How long do we have before things get serious?"
Turning, Abel quirked a brow. "It's already serious, Chief," Abel replied. "But if you're inquiring about a time frame before Red's past the point of helping, I'm afraid I can't answer that. I may be able to develop an incubation trajectory by measuring how quickly the disease reproduces over the course of several days, but I sincerely hope it doesn't take that long to reach an island."
"... so the sooner the better then," Zoro summarized.
Abel nodded, finishing her clean up. Abel winced as she stood. Everything popped from where she'd been hunched over for so long. Even Zoro winced at the sound. Rubbing the back of her neck, Abel sighed. It actually felt better now that she'd gotten the kinks out. After storing everything away safely in her cabinet, Abel turned to Zoro. "We'd best see if dinner's ready before Luffy eats everything," she suggested lightly. As she followed Zoro out, they were greeted by Sanji kicking Luffy across the deck, yelling at him to wait for supper to get done. It did Abel good to see that some things never changed.
The sun rose on the second day of Nami's convalescence with little change. Slowly stirring from an uncomfortable slumber, Vivi's eyes fluttered open. It took her addled mind a second to register that everything hurt. At first she did understand why she felt so stiff, until she realized her position. Vivi sat on her knees in the floor, her head resting on the bed next to Nami's legs. Did I sleep like this all night? she wondered. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she clearly must have. And that explained why her legs and back ached.
Groaning, Vivi leaned back, sitting cross-legged in the floor. Her knees and hips popped a few times as she moved. Vivi rubbed her stiff neck with one hand while wiping the sleep from her eyes with the other. "Morning, Sunshine." Vivi blinked at the greeting as she finally noticed Abel seated in the desk chair next to her. The brunette looked quite content, sitting with one leg propped up against the bed at an angle from Nami's head. A book sat in her lap, apparently put down from reading.
"Morning," Vivi managed back, brain sluggishly revving up. "Did you sleep well?" she inquired, noting the other woman appeared to be in the same position Vivi last remembered. Abel made a noncommittal sound, causing Vivi to blink. Had Abel... been awake all night? Vivi studied the woman for a moment, but as Abel appeared completely awake, she decided the huntress must've just awakened earlier.
Turning to more important matters, Vivi looked towards Nami. "Has there been any change?" she asked.
"Negative," Abel replied, her eyes remaining on the sick navigator. In a more positive tone, Abel added, "But on the bright side, her condition hasn't worsened."
A frown tugged at Vivi's mouth. Looking at the redhead, she saw that Nami looked exactly the same as last night. She lay buried beneath a mound of blankets, sleeping. Since her collapse yesterday, Nami barely regained consciousness. They had managed to rouse her to drink and try to eat, but the woman hadn't had the energy for even that. Poor Sanji had fretted himself into a state as they'd tried to feed Nami. They'd gotten a bit of soup into Nami, but that was it. They didn't want to feed her too much in case she got sick. High fevers had a nasty tendency to spoil food in the stomach.
A sudden shiver ran down Vivi's arms. Rubbing her hands against her arms, Vivi immediately became aware of the sudden drop in temperature. "It's so cold," she murmured, looking down at the clothing that did little to keep the chill out. Her hoodie was fine, but the shorts did little to protect her legs.
"The temperature's fluctuated all morning," Abel commented. Nodding to the wardrobe, Abel advised, "There are coats in the wardrobe if you're chilled. I don't think Nami will charge you for borrowing her clothing."
Smiling gratefully, Vivi took up the offer and walked behind Abel to the wardrobe. As she searching for something she could wear, Vivi explained, "The climate between islands can become quite erratic. The warring magnetic fields from each island pull and push against each other, creating odd weather patterns. Not as bad as what you'll find coming from Reverse Mountain, but they can make for sporadic travelling conditions."
Pondering Vivi's explanation, Abel concluded, "So in theory, when the climate stabilizes, it indicates being near an island." That would be a nice mental shortcut to know how close they were to land.
Pulling a puffy white coat and purple pants from the wardrobe, Vivi turned to Abel and offered, "I don't mind watching Nami if you want a break." After supper, the hunter had sat at Nami's bedside through the night. Or at least as long as Vivi'd been awake. Given that the hammocks hadn't been pulled down, Vivi could only assume that meant Abel had slept in the chair. That couldn't be comfortable.
"I'm accustomed to bedside vigils," Abel replied cryptically, not really answering one way or the other. Abel stared at Nami unseeingly for a moment before blinking back into reality. Pulling her foot off the bed, Abel leaned over Nami. Placing a hand to the cloth on Nami's forehead, Abel felt it'd gone dry. Removing the cloth, Abel reached for the empty bowl on the floor by her feet. It needed to be refilled. Standing, she told Vivi, "I'll see if the others are awake." Vivi nodded, moving to take the seat Abel just vacated.
Immediately upon stepping outside, a white flurry of a wind blew into Abel's face. Between the cold and intensity of the gust, Abel had to pull her scarf up to shield the lower part of her face. Snowflakes clung to her eyelashes, making her vision seem wet. Although it wasn't snowing as hard as it did when they first entered the Grand Line, the wind made it feel worse. If the weather doesn't relent, I'll have to break out the parkas, Abel thought as she hurried to the galley. Her sweater helped, but only a little.
The warmth of the galley was a welcomed relief. And it looked like most of the crew had taken refuge here as well. Only Usopp was missing, having the unfortunately lot of manning the crow's nest during the evening. With Nami in desperate need of a doctor, the crew agreed that someone should always been on watch. Technically someone was supposed to be on watch at all times, but they tended to be a bit lax about it. Not now, however. They couldn't afford it.
"Abel-dono!" Sanji greeted with a broad smile. It amazed Abel how, despite being the first person up every morning and the last person to bed at night, Sanji never seemed to lack for energy. Or maybe it was just because it was her he was greeting. She doubted he greeted the guys as enthusiastically. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, mirroring Vivi's question.
"As well as could be expected," Abel answered. After setting the bowl and cloth on the counter to be refilled when she left, Abel took a seat next to Luffy. In truth, Abel felt a bit groggy. She hadn't slept any last night, sacrificing her sleep in favor of watching Nami. And she was starting to feel the effects. Her eyes felt heavier than normal, and the comfortable heat of the room didn't help matters. Being out in the cold had given her a brief burst of alertness, but the heat was slowly sapping it from her veins, making Abel wish to do nothing more than curl up into a ball, put her head on the table, and snooze.
The sudden fragrance of strong coffee under her nose perked Abel up instantly. Sitting up properly, Abel took the steaming mug from Sanji as the blond placed a bowl of hot oatmeal in front of her. Holding the mug to her face and letting the warm steam waft over her, Abel wondered if Sanji sensed her tiredness or if it was just his usual courtesy. Taking a cautious sip (Abel didn't want to burn her tongue), Abel felt her mood lifting at the strong, bitter flavor. Abel wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but nothing kept her awake like a nice strong, black brew. But it wasn't the caffeine, as Abel never consumed enough caffeine to get the touted energy rush. It was the taste. Sharp flavors always invigorated her senses.
Feeling much better after just one sip, Abel watched Luffy's hands dart across the table, picking up the various toppings Sanji'd placed out to add to their oatmeal at their discretion. Said cook had already left, carrying three plates out the door. One for Nami, Vivi and Usopp each. Idly Abel hoped Nami would feel up to eating something. She needed to keep her energy up to fight off this disease. Abel wasn't surprised in the slightest as Luffy put just about everything in his oatmeal: milk, sugar, fruit... By the time he finished, it was one big slurry mess. Zoro, in contrast, didn't put anything in his oatmeal. Abel'd noticed Zoro didn't seem to like sweets. Batting Luffy's hand out of the way, Abel sprinkled some fresh cranberries and a bit of brown sugar into her oatmeal before tucking in. She suspected this would be a long, tedious day.
Abel was a bit surprised to find Usopp watching Nami when she returned after breakfast. She remembered hearing someone running the shower upstairs, so it was likely Vivi decided to get a morning shower to brace her for the long day ahead. Usopp didn't seem to notice Abel's presence. He just sat in the desk chair, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, staring at Nami. Abel tilted her head as she observed Usopp's expression. He looked... pensive. Almost angry, with the way that frown tugged at his broad mouth. Abel found it to be an odd, unfitting expression on the sniper.
Abel watched Usopp silent for a moment before walking forward. She pressed her hand lightly to Usopp's shoulder, startling him. Abel held her laugh as Usopp jumped so high he nearly fell out of his chair. "Abel!" he gasped, clutching at his chest.
Grinning, Abel moved past Usopp without a word and sat on the bed. Resting the now-filled bowl in her lap, Abel placed the washcloth in the tepid water, letting it get nicely soaked without being messy, before placing the cloth back on Nami's forehead. Setting the bowl aside, Abel commented without looking away from their navigator, "You seem perturbed." Usopp, who'd been in the process of getting back in the chair, paused to stare at Abel. Taking note of his surprised expression out of the corner on her eyes, Abel's lips quirked slightly. "I've been on both sides of the sickbed enough to know that expression. Hitting a bit closer to home than you'd prefer?" She looked at Usopp then. She had the distinct impression Usopp had been seeing someone other than their redhead in that bed.
Usopp looked towards Nami briefly before looking at the floor. "Yeah..." he admitted.
Abel didn't press the issue, she just watched Usopp. Sometimes people just needed a minute to think without interrupted. Sure enough, after a moment, Usopp looked back at Nami and explained in a low voice, "My mom was sick for a long time before she died."
"Ah..." Abel breathed. "An uncomfortable parallel."
Usopp was a bit surprised Abel didn't say she was sorry. That's how most people responded when you told them a loved one died. But Abel never did respond to things like most people. She was sort of like Luffy in that way, only smarter. And strangely, Usopp liked Abel's response better. Why apologize for something you had nothing to do with? Turning to the hunter, he said, "I guess you've seen a lot of death too, being a doctor's daughter and all."
"Some," Abel agreed. "Although I've never witnessed the death of anyone close to me. It was harder to watch the family's reaction to death than the death itself."
Usopp nodded. "I guess people respond to grief differently."
Peering at Usopp, Abel asked, "How did you respond?"
Usopp blinked, almost looking offended. But after considering it, he replied, "I told stories." Staring at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression, Usopp continued, "I guess as a kid, the only thing I could think of to cheer my mom up was to tell her Dad was coming home. That if she thought he was home, she'd magically get better."
Abel raised a brow at that. Yasopp was already gone? Abel hadn't been surprised to hear the Usopp's mom had died. Given the way he only talked about joining his dad on the seas and didn't have anyone other than Kaya to say goodbye to when he left his home island, Abel assumed as much. However, she'd also assumed Yasopp had been around for some of Usopp's childhood. Reconsidering, if Boss and Usopp are roughly the same age, for Boss to have met Usopp's dad when he was still a child, Yasopp would've had to have set sail when Usopp was even younger.
That thought actually made Abel rather angry. Does he even know his wife is dead? she thought indignantly. Does he just assume she's still waiting for his return, dutifully watching over his son? How could someone just leave their family behind like that? Chasing adventure was all well and good, but not when you had people depending on you. Hell, Abel'd had a hard time leave, and that was just the natural order of things. Kids are supposed to leave the nest. Parents aren't supposed to abandon their children.
Abel's mouth pulled into a tight line as she restrained herself from voicing her thoughts. It wasn't her place to criticize the man Usopp looked up to - even if Abel was beginning to think he didn't deserve such adulation. To distract herself, and because she sensed that the conversation was heading in a depressing direction, Abel suddenly requested, "Tell me a story."
Usopp startled slightly, breaking from his thoughts to gape at Abel. The request caught him off guard. "Huh?" he managed.
Sitting back slightly, Abel smiled and said, "Delight me with one of Captain Usopp's famous fables." I think we could all use a little distracting.
It took a second, but a broad grin stretched across his face. "Well, who am I to deny a fan's request? Perhaps I'll tell you of the time I valiantly slew an army of mole men bent on enslaving us surface dwellers!"
The day progressed much as Abel'd anticipated. The weather continued to fluctuate, but never rose higher than to be called "cool." This caused Vivi to worry about Nami's condition even more, but honestly, Abel didn't think she was in danger of catching anything else. Besides, between the fever and the dog pile of blankets, Abel doubted Nami felt the cold. If anything, the navigator would probably welcome a relief to her body heat.
The crew was in and out of the women's quarters throughout the day, each stopping by occasionally to check on Nami. Sanji, naturally, was their most frequent visitor. Under normal circumstances, his presence would've driven Abel up the wall, but it seemed his concern for Nami had toned down his usual flirting. As it was, he just seemed to be worrying Vivi with his constant fretting. It was actually rather amusing to watch someone else lose their patience with Sanji.
It wasn't until around midday that anything out of the ordinary happened. Abel had been sitting on the bed, replacing the washcloth on Nami's head, with Vivi, Carue and Sanji for company. Abel gasped when, with no warning, the ship began to rock violently. And it wasn't the normal rocking, like when they came across choppy waves. It felt more like being picked up and shook, like they were a toy ship in a child's bath.
"Why are we shaking!?" Vivi exclaimed, trying to calm Carue down as the duck squawked.
Cursing, Sanji lifted Nami's bed, holding the entire thing (with Nami and Abel on it) with the support of one leg, using the other to balance all of them. Abel hated to admit it, but she was impressed he had the strength and balance to hold them steady without falling over himself, especially when the ship kept shaking. Glaring at the ceiling, Sanji yelled, "Hold the rudder steady! If anything happens to Nami, I'll have your heads for it!" As if they'd actually heard him, the ship gradually stilled. Both sighing and grumbling at the same time, Sanji carefully sat the bed back down. Probably the only reason he wasn't going up to give the guys a piece of his mind was because Nami remained oblivious to it all.
Abel had been ready to write the entire thing off as just a random wave, until the sound of footsteps clomping angrily over the deck above their heads filtered down. Staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, Abel mused, "Even for those three, that sounds a bit excessive." It sounded like they were being invaded or something. Which wasn't a good thing.
"I agree," Sanji said.
Abel decided it best to check things out and headed for the stairs. Apparently Sanji decided to follow, as Abel heard him tell Vivi, "Vivi, we'll leave her with you for now!"
Abel made it out the storeroom door before coming to a complete halt. Mostly because of the rifles now pointed at her face. That was enough to give anyone pause. Calmly resting her hands on her hips, innocuously within reach of her crossbows, Abel took a moment to gauge the situation. Armed men dressed in uniform... even more men waiting on that strange ship... I believe we're being invaded.
Despite the Jolly Roger flying atop the mast, which Abel could only describe as a gorilla wearing a crown and licking its lips, the ship before Abel looked more like a military vessel than a pirate ship. A full-fledged warship, with a metal hull, strange metal gears on the side, and a crowned hippo for a figurehead. Not only that, but the fact that all of the men crowding both the Going Merry & the enemy ship's deck wore the same long, green military coats and furry hats suggested they were closer to an army than a crew. Privateers, perhaps?
Without moving her head, Abel heard Sanji running up behind her. "What's going on out here!?" he exclaimed, before coming up short. Abel heard more than saw him stop, sensing the cook glancing around, calmly assessing the situation.
Unable to resist, Abel asked, "Can't we leave you alone on our own ship without attracting trouble, Boss?"
"Sorry," Luffy replied nonchalantly, despite the guns pointed at his head. Then again, they wouldn't hurt him. "We were ambushed."
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her, Abel heard Sanji strike a match before lighting his ever-present cigarette. Despite Abel's orders that Sanji couldn't smoke around Nami in her condition, Sanji still kept an unlit one between his lips. Likely force of habit. Abel's nose crinkled as Sanji blew out a string of smoke. "Yeah, that's what I figured..." he drawled.
"Since I'm certain you gentlemen didn't decide pointing guns at our heads was the best introduction to a casual chat, how about you get down to your demands? We have a schedule to keep," Abel spoke. A few of the men blinked, likely surprised by Abel's calm statement, but to their credit their aim didn't waver. Not that Abel appreciated having guns aimed at her.
"Hmm... that makes five people in total..." a greasy voice thought aloud. Turning her head in the direction of the voice, Abel spotted who must be the leader of this band, given that he wore different clothes. The odd man reminded Abel of a dumpling; squashed and round. He had an oddly prominent chin for such a husky man, which looked to be a different color than the rest of his face. The steel-gray color for some reason didn't look like just a five o'clock shadow, and it actually looked like he had rivets around his mouth. He wore an armor-plated chestpiece over a long orange tunic that stuck out at the bottom with a purple fringe, brown gloves and fur-lined boots, with some animal's white pelt covering his back and head like a cloak. Wild, dark violet hair peeked out from under his hood.
The man carried a sword with a chunk of meat speared on it. He took a big bite of the meat before biting the entire blade off. Abel's eyes widened slightly as the man chewed the mouthful, blade and all, like it was nothing. "Well, whatever..." the man mumbled. "Let me ask you something..."
"The hell!?" Luffy gasped. "He ate through that knife whole!" You knew it was bad when Luffy wanted to lecture your eating habits.
"Ack!" Usopp gagged. "It hurts just looking at it!"
Apparently thinking nothing of it, or perhaps to show off if his smile was any indication, the man shoved the rest of the jeweled handle in his mouth. Chewing it up like candy, the man stated, "We want to go to the Drum Kingdom. Do you happen to have an eternal pose or even a log pose on you?"
"Nope," Sanji answered, "And we've never even heard of that place before."
"If you're done asking, hurry up and go away," Luffy demanded impatiently.
The man sighed. "There's no need to rush through life like that..." He then shrugged. "Well, if you don't have it, then I might as well take all your treasure and your ship instead."
"What!?"
Why wasn't Abel surprised? She hadn't expected he'd just kindly leave when they didn't have what he wanted. That would be the sensible thing to do.
Randomly, the man announced, "But first, I'm feeling a bit hungry!" It may have been a trick of the eyes, but Abel swore the man's mouth grew to enormous proportions before he literally took a bite out of the bulwark. The crew gasped as the man chewed the hunk of wood up like he was some sort of demonic beaver.
"What the hell is with this dude!?" Usopp squawked.
Asking favors at gunpoint, making demands and then eating someone's property... Abel thought. "Were you raised in a barn?"
Again ignoring them, the strange man turned to their anchor, eyeing like it was licorice. "Oh! You even have an anchor rope for me!"
As he reached for it, Luffy finally had enough. "Don't eat our ship!" he shouted, jumping off the railing.
"Don't you dare move!" one of the soldiers shouted, shoving a rifle barrel in Luffy's face. "His highness is in the middle of his meal!"
Highness? Abel thought before glancing at the flag again. That would explain the crown motif... and the poor manners.
Not feeling threatened in the slightest, Luffy swiftly punched the soldier in the head. "Shaddup!"
For some reason, the other soldiers didn't like seeing their friend getting knocked out. "He's resisting! Shoot!"
Of course, this meant the Straw Hat Pirates didn't have to stand around twiddling their thumbs. "Should've done this from the beginning," Zoro laughed, reaching for his swords.
"Oh? We can have at 'em?" Sanji asked, a bit too gleefully.
Drawing her crossbows, Abel answered, "No need to be polite when someone's trying to kill you."
The only one not eager to fight (then again Abel wasn't necessarily eager, just responding to the situation), Usopp scurried away from the resulting gunfire like a beetle on hot coals. "W-wait! I'm sure we can talk this out!"
But things were past the point of talk.
As Sanji leapt away to take on a group of soldiers on his own, Abel caught two soldiers off guard, firing on either side of her. When the bolts struck their hands, they dropped their weapons, taking a knee as the pain overwhelmed them. But this gave the other soldiers around Abel time to react. Unfortunately, they failed to see the danger in firing at the same target while encircling said target. Abel quickly educated them to that danger by simply ducking out of the way at the last moment, letting them shoot each other. Abel couldn't resist smirking as they fell around her at the same time, almost like it was choreographed.
Hearing someone stomping towards her from the back, Abel tilted a crossbow at an angle behind her before firing. Judging from the cry of pain and heavy thunk, she'd hit her target dead on. Standing, Abel spared a glance at how the others were fairing. They seemed to be having as easy a time as Abel was. Abel wasn't surprised. These men were like ants. They relied on numbers, not individual strength. As far as Abel was concerned, she'd be more wary if they were attacked by a single person surviving on the Grand Line.
"Wapol-sama, these pirates are-" The man never finished his statement, likely having been knocked out.
Not that their captain or whoever was paying attention, too busy eating more of their ship. Luffy screamed in frustration as he knocked several soldiers out of the way in a rubbery flurry. "Are you still eating!? Hey, you!" Only when Luffy was right in front of his face did the other man look up.
One of the soldiers laughed. "That idiot thinks he can fight Wapol-sama!"
"He'll be eaten alive by the power of the Munch-Munch Fruit."
"A Devil Fruit, you say?" The two men jerked in surprise when Abel appeared before them. A quick smack to their foreheads with the barrel of the crossbows sent them sprawling.
Abel turned to warn Luffy, but it was too late as she saw her captain disappear inside the other man's mouth, leaving just his arms out. The hippo figurehead was very fitting, because that's exactly what the man's mouth looked like in that moment. "Luffy!?" Usopp shrieked.
Had Abel not noticed Luffy's arms stretching over the side of the ship, she would've been concerned herself. As it was, it just added to her list of strange things she never thought she'd see. Bet it's like chewing gum, Abel thought as the man struggled to chew Luffy.
As the rest of the crew settled back to watch the ensuing victory blow, given that everyone else on the ship was out, the storeroom door swung open, smacking a soldier in the face in the process. Abel tried not laugh at Vivi's gobsmacked expression. She could only imagine how odd this scene must look. Lots of passed out soldiers and Luffy's arm protruding from a trash compactor of a man. Abel's humor only increased when Sanji casually asked, "Oh hey, Vivi-chan. How's Nami-san doing?"
Vivi's mouth gaped like a caught fish before she managed, "She's... What's going on!?"
"Just the usual," Abel replied, deliberately making light for her own amusement. Vivi could only stare back.
Still struggling to chew their captain, Wapol mumbled, "A tough one to chew through, aren't you..."
"Why you..." Luffy growled from inside his mouth. His arms came flying back in his Bazooka attack. When they struck the pirate, the man's eyes widened, and his jaw slackened, allowing Luffy's body to fall out. "Get off of my ship!" he shouted as the man flew through the air.
Shielding her eyes, Abel complimented, "Excellent distance, Boss." That had to be the farthest Luffy'd flung someone yet.
"This is bad!" someone on the enemy ship shouted. "His Majesty was flung into the ocean!"
"Crap! And he can't swim either!" You'd think fewer Devil Fruit users would make careers on the sea.
The hippo's mouth opened, extending a long ladder out like a chameleon's tongue. "Back to the ship everyone!" The soldiers staggered up as quickly as they could, leaning on each other to make their hasty escape. And as this meant they were leaving, the Straw Hats let them be. All they wanted as to be left alone, anyway. No need to pursue the defeated.
As the last men boarded, the ship pulled away. However, it was clear these men couldn't leave with what little dignity they had left, because they decided they could save a little face by threatening the crew even as they tucked tails and fled. "As for you scum! We'll have our revenge one day!" someone shouted. Even if Abel cared enough to see who was making the threats, they were too far away for that.
"Remember us!"
"Don't forget it!"
"Please remember us!"
"Please!"
The crew watched as the strange ship disappeared, just to make sure they didn't try anything funny. But it looked like they were more concerned with saving their "highness." Everything was over and done with so quickly that it seemed a bit surreal. How had weaklings like that survived on the sea? Usopp must've felt the same, because he eventually stuttered, "W-what was that just now? They seemed to call him Wapol, but..."
"Don't worry about it," Sanji said dismissively. "The guy's obviously a moron. Best to just forget about him."
"Because I'm certain with our run of luck he won't just randomly show up at a later date to cause us grief," Abel drawled sarcastically, grinning slightly. She didn't have to be psychic to guess that. It was just the way things went with the Straw Hats.
Off to the side, Vivi muttered to herself, "Have I seen him before somewhere?" She tapped her chin in thought. A face like that wasn't easy to forget. But where did Vivi know him from?
For someone as active as Abel, you'd think she'd have a hard time sitting in one place for extended periods of time. But so long as she could keep herself busy doing something she considered productive, Abel could remain in place for hours. That was why sitting by Nami's bedside wasn't as tiresome as one would expect for the hunter. This was the only thing she could do for Nami right now, and so Abel threw herself into the task. Of course she worried for Nami. But Abel didn't respond to emotions the way others did. She acknowledged and owned her emotions, but she believed in expressing them in a way that was productive. Feelings were nothing if they didn't motivate you to something. Abel often likened it to a brief form of OCD.
However, Abel knew the lack of sleep was starting to wear on her. Her vision drifted as she stared at Nami, her mind wandering to other similar incidents. Like Usopp, occasionally Abel's mind would overlap other scenes. Sometimes she saw Caine as she'd been as a child, lying in that bed. The twins had grown out of their weakened immune systems by their pre-teens, but there had been some close calls. Abel remembered lying in bed with her sister, watching her face like a hawk. Although the two had bunk beds, Abel refused to sleep when Caine got sick - at least not willingly. Caine was the same way. People often say twins have a psychic link. Abel wasn't so sure about that, but she did often instinctively know when something was wrong with her sister. It was that feeling that told Abel her sister was alive and well, somewhere in the world.
But if she wasn't carefully, Abel saw someone else in that bed. Someone most definitely not her sister...
Abel wasn't sure when she fell asleep or how long she'd been dozing in that position, her mind skirting round the edges of sleep without fully giving in, when she felt a presence beside her. The immense warmth emanating from the person, as well as the tingling in her spine, told Abel immediately who her new visitor was.
At first Abel didn't think much of Zoro being in the room. Most of the crew had taken turns keeping Abel company. Even Vivi and Sanji had other duties to attend to and couldn't watch Nami all the time, as much as they may like to. Everyone had spent some time being Abel's second. Even without moving from her position, Abel smiled as she thought about her observations of how each crewmates handled Nami being sick. Luffy tried to remain cheerful, talking to Nami constantly, undeterred that she couldn't answer. Occasionally Abel saw a flash of anxiety in his face, even though confidence quickly replaced it. Luffy worried about Nami, yet clearly kept reminding himself that they'd find a doctor to help her.
Vivi fretted, taking over Abel's role as Nami's surrogate nurse, but Abel suspected a large part of it was just the princess trying to stay busy. When Vivi wasn't with her, she was on deck acting as their stand-in navigator. As the only Grand Line native, Vivi was the only one with enough understanding of this sea to fill that position.
Sanji, naturally, was in there as often as he could spare the time. Their time together further cemented Abel's theory that, if he'd just stop acting like a fool around her and every other woman, Abel wouldn't have minded the cook half so much. Sadly, that would probably be nothing more than a theory.
Zoro acted more like a sentry than a companion. He tended to stand leaning against the wall, or sitting down, silent as a statue. Abel supposed he considered himself the protector of the crew, always watching for signs of trouble but rarely getting directly involved. He'd help if Abel asked him for something, but other than that he remained motionless. Although Abel had noticed him watching her like a hawk with a... broody expression on his face. Abel interpreted it as his thoughtful look.
She could sense Zoro just standing there, staring at her. To be honest, it was starting to make Abel more than somewhat nervous. She didn't like when people just stared at her. Bad memories... "Is this some new interrogation method, Chief?" Abel finally asked.
"What's wrong?" Zoro asked, and Abel heard the smirk in his voice. "Don't like the attention?"
"The last time someone stood staring at me like that, they ended up being possessed," Abel replied lightly, opening her eyes and raising her head, but otherwise not moving. She was rather comfortable.
Zoro blinked, not for the first time unsure what to make of the hunter's statements. Deciding it best not to press it, Zoro commented brusquely, "You look like hell."
Abel snorted, grinning slightly. "You're wooing technique needs polishing."
"When was the last time you slept?" Zoro asked seriously, unfazed by Abel's deflection. Abel just made a humming noise, which Zoro had learnt was Abel's way of answering without actually saying anything to incriminate herself.
As Zoro walked away, Abel allowed her eyes to close again. Her lids just felt so heavy. She vaguely registered Zoro shuffling around behind her. But he startled her when, before she even paid attention to where he was, Zoro'd lifted out of the chair and into his arms. Abel's eyes instantly flew open and she gaped at the swordsman as he carried her across the room as if she weighed nothing. Then again, if he could swing around five-hundred kilograms, she probably did weigh nothing to him. Noticing his eyes on something ahead of them, Abel discovered one of the hammocks had been pulled down. Unable to resist, Abel quipped, "So you've finally broken down and decided to have your wicked way with me." Even Zoro's neck turned red at the comment.
That might've been why he dropped her ungracefully to the hammock. Splaying her arms and legs out to keep the hammock from overturning, Zoro scowled at her and demanded, "Sleep."
Abel watched the man stalk back to his post without another word. She couldn't help grinning. "You have an odd way of expressing affection." The blanket thrown at her face only made Abel laugh. She had to admit, she was quite fond of the swordsman, and his unique way of expressing himself fit her own eccentricities perfectly.
Deciding it best to humor the man for a while, as she wouldn't put it past him to tie her down, Abel kicked off her shoes and pulled the blanket over her. Casting a final glance at the swordsman, Abel lay down and snuggled under the warm blanket. And with Zoro watching both women, Abel quickly drifted off to sleep.
Abel pressed an ear to his chest, listening to his breathe. Despite his raspy breathing being the only thing breaking the silence in the room, Abel heard nothing in her ear. A hollow sound where a lung used to be. Removed by her own father to save his life. Too shredded to risk leaving.
A hand reached up to tangle in her hair, and Abel closed her eyes. No longer listening to anything in particular, just embracing the stillness of the moment. There were no other patients in the recovery ward, and the staff had all gone home for the evening. Abel should have, too. And she would after she finished her last round. He was her responsibility, after all.
"What's the verdict, Doctor?" The words teasing without sounding like it. His voice had a raspy quality, and Abel wondered if this was a new development or if it had always been. She'd never know, of course, as she'd never known the man with two lungs.
Pushing herself up, the hand fell away semi-willingly. "That you're most fortunate to be alive," Abel concluded, eyeing the healing puncture wounds on his chest. She made a mental note to redress the wound before she left. Meeting his watchful gaze, she added with a smile, "You ought to take up gambling."
Due to a single lamp on the far side of the room near the door, the bed was mostly shrouded in darkness. But Abel saw the smile. He always had a tight smile, like he was trying not to. "I don't know about that... but something good has come from it." He pinned Abel with a look that paradoxically sent a shiver down her spine and heat flaring in her chest. Growing slightly more serious, the man asked, "Has your father said when I can be released?"
Abel hummed slightly. Not a pleasant topic, but one they needed to address eventually. "It's dependent on if your remaining lung continues to strengthen to take up the slack... and what you intend to do when you leave." If he intended to continue the present course he'd set for himself, he'd need to be near full strength.
He stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Then a few months at least... assuming your excellent bedside manner continues." Abel pinched his side at the teasing statement, making the man laugh. And despite the flush on her cheeks, Abel couldn't help smiling as well.
Sitting up suddenly, the man leaned in close to Abel. Wrapping an arm so his hand rested on her bare side, he pulled her closer. Abel willingly obliged, her shoulder leaning into his chest. Eyes full of a fondness Abel'd never seen directed at her, not even from her own family, he asked anxiously, "Have you thought any more about it? Coming with me?"
Abel stared at the floor. She didn't want to have this conversation, but she knew they needed it. "... I don't know..."
"Don't know?" he queried, his voice firm yet not unkind.
Abel knew what he was getting at. If she couldn't say yes, then the answer was obvious. "No," she corrected. "I just... can't leave. Not right now. I'm not ready." Abel changed to staring at the ceiling. Anywhere but at him right now. "I won't deny the thought of leaving with you is extraordinarily temping, but it doesn't feel... right. The timing," she quickly added. "I'm not like my sister. Brute force is not my forte. I'm not even sure if my methods are viable. I don't want to die senselessly... or drag you down. If I can't confidently stand beside you, then I'd rather not be there at all." She'd leave one day. But not today. It might not even be "that day" when he finally left.
The man was silent for a moment. Abel sensed a bit of sadness from him, but she knew he wouldn't argue with her. She may have been barely an adult, and him somewhat older, but he knew Abel was mature enough to have thought this out. And if she wasn't completely confident in her decision, then she shouldn't make it. He didn't want her to regret. Not with him.
His other hand came up to clasp her far shoulder in what she assumed was a hug, so it caught her off guard when the man twisted, yanking them both down. How a scream didn't escape her lips, Abel didn't know. She stared at the man above her, their legs now tangled in the blanket. His face consumed her vision. "What are you doing?" Abel asked in barely a whisper. A question she frequently asked of him, and one he always took in his stride.
This time was no different, as his hand brushed her cheek so softly she may have imagined it. "Making the most of the time we have," he responded.
She whispered his name in the dark as the mouth she was growing increasingly familiar with descended upon her. Maybe she'd change her mind and run off with him. Maybe not. But in that moment, nothing else mattered...
Abel's eyes slowly drifted open. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, she remembered that she wasn't back in her father's clinic. She was on her ship with her friends. Still somewhat hazy from sleep, Abel let her eyes drift across the cabin. The clock on the wall showed it was just before three in the morning. It seemed the entire crew was here, sleeping on the floor in various, uncomfortable positions. Luffy and Usopp were slumped against the desk. Zoro lay propped up against Carue. As with yesterday, Vivi passed out kneeling against Nami's bed. Nami herself seemed to be resting as peacefully as possible. Why none of them choose the second hammock beside her, Abel couldn't even hazard a guess. Only Sanji was missing, and Abel assumed he was keeping watch.
That dream... Abel slowly thought. It'd been a long time since Abel dreamed of that period in her life. Perhaps it was the act of nursing Nami that brought up the memory, or perhaps Nami's raspy breathing penetrated her dreams. It sounded so much like his when she first met him. Although with the snoring her crewmates did, it amazed Abel that she heard anything else at all.
Abel looked back on that time as bittersweet. She didn't regret that time, or any of the decisions she made during it. At least, not entirely. She felt she made the best choice she could at that time. Perhaps that's what made her think about it subconsciously. Having not only felt home, but fairly thriving now, perhaps Abel subconsciously wondered what would have happened if she took up that offer. Would she still be alive now if she'd left then? Abel knew it best not to linger of such things. People couldn't change the past, and had no way of knowing how their lives would change if they altered their actions. Maybe she would've lived, maybe not. There was no doubt that she'd been far stronger and more capable when she left, thanks to the experience with the basilisk, which hadn't occurred at the time of Abel's dream. And she'd grown even more since then, alongside her crew. Abel doubted she'd be where she was now without them.
And no matter what pangs she might feel at what she'd given up, or the uncertainty of what might have been, Abel was sure of one thing: she didn't want to imagine a life without her crazy crew.
To Be Continued...