The snow began falling harder, we eventually looked back up at the Drum Rockies. I was getting so much idiot detector overload, I almost wanted to run towards the Rockies myself, but in the state I was in I couldn't even fool myself into thinking I'd be much help.

I stared up at the mountains, "I wish I could've gone to help them..."

"Hm.. The snow 's really staring to pick up, huh?"

"Yeah.." I bit my lip.

Vivi seemed to be praying. "Tell me something," Dalton said, drawing our attention, "Just who are you guys?"

"Why do you ask that?" Usopp asked.

"You're a group of only seven people traveling the Grand Line on a ship without a doctor. That seems incredibly reckless."

"Well... Before now Nami and I could handle most of the medical emergencies that happened..." I said.

Usopp turned towards Dalton, "Yeah, and in case you forgot, we're pirates, that's the reason you guys were pointing all those guns at us, remember? Now we may be a small group, true," He crossed his arms, "But with a brave warrior of the sea on board, there's no reason to worry about anyone or anything."

"... OK."

The sharp shooter raised a fist in the air, "Even though we are very brave, we are looking for someone to be the ship's doctor, in fact I was really hoping we'd find one here on this island, but of course what I wasn't expecting was that the doctor here would be a witch living in a castle." He pointed to the castle.

"Well, she's all we have."

I sniffed, "I don't know, I'm fairly hopeful," I said turning to Dalton, "Could doctor Kureha be training an apprentice of some kind?"

The man smiled, "Doctor Kureha is a very isolated woman, we're lucky she makes semi-regular trips to the villages."

"Oh.." I was still hopeful though, something was telling me we would find a doctor here. I sighed, turning back to the mountains.

"You certainly seem to be a lot different from the pirates we're used to."

"Oh!" A different voice said, "Hello Dalton!" I turned to look, it was a woman, but my god... she was the size of a freaking bear! "I was looking for you."

"What can I do for you?" He asked as Usopp bowed, I tugged gently on his hood, pulling him upright.

"Not a Hiking Bear." I whispered to him.

He looked embarrassed.

"I heard the new comers were looking for doctor Kureha." The bear-sized woman said.

"Yes, but the sick woman's friends have already taken her up the mountain." Dalton stood up.

"Oh, that's to bad, because I heard that the doctor is in Cocoa Weed right now."

Beat.

"SHE'S WHERE!?" We all shouted.

"SO NAMI AND THE OTHERS ALREADY PASSED HER!?" Usopp nearly screamed.

Dalton ran into his house and grabbed several things, then quickly ushered Vivi, Usopp, and me into a sleigh. We left Big Horn post haste, intending to catch doctor Kureha before she left he village of Cocoa Weed.

It was a fairly large red sleigh, being pulled by two rather sizable reindeer. I was shielding my eyes from the snow, standing in the back using Vivi's shoulder to keep stable as we gained speed. Usopp sat to her left and Dalton in front working the reins.

"I'm sorry," Dalton apologized, "This is my mistake. I was aware that the doctor had come to town for the mountain in the last few days, I had assumed that she had left and wouldn't be back for quite some time."

"Don't worry about it," Usopp shouted over the sound of the reindeer pulling the sleigh, "This isn't your fault, the problem here is how abnormally strong Luffy and Sanji are. Even if we go up the mountain after them there's no way we'd be able to catch up to them!"

"Usopp is right, the best we can do now is hopefully catch doctor Kureha and tell her they are heading up the mountain looking for her!" I shouted.

"You're right," Vivi said, "It's true, we have no other choice."

Dalton leaned forward, "Forgive us." He said suddenly, "Forgive this land for not having more doctors."

"Don't say that!" Vivi said, "This isn't something you should be apologizing for, Dalton!"

Usopp nodded, "She's right, you know!"

"Let's hurry!" Dalton said as he cracked the reins.

We sped through the snow, I just barely caught sight of a sign for a town called Gyasta, I blinked, There. We need to go there. I thought desperately, Gyasta is where we need to go! "Dalton!" I shouted, "Slow down a sec!"

He did as requested, "Why?"

I let go of Vivi's shoulder, "I have some business in Gyasta," I lied, "You guys head on to Cocoa Weed!" I hopped out of the sleigh, rolling into a snow drift.

"Wait!" Usopp shouted, "But you can barely stand!"

"I'll be fine!" I shouted back, "Just go get doctor Kureha!" I slowly got to my feet. Gyasta... I've never even heard of this town! I frowned as they disappeared from sight. Why? Why did I do that? I shivered from the cold, taking several unsteady steps towards the town.

I crossed my arms, hugging myself for warmth. "Perfect... I have no idea why I'm going to this stupid town, and I can't even... even..." I blinked trying to keep my thoughts straight, What did I do two days ago? I thought, completely loosing any train of thought. I... can't remember... Is this some off set effect of my amnesia? Then again... what did I do a couple months ago?

I swayed more than before, now that I had no real distraction from my exhaustion, I was feeling the full effects. Every step took more effort and concentration I didn't have. I think the only thing keeping me going was the odd determination that flamed in my soul then, pushing my forward towards a goal I couldn't see.

The snow and trees seemed endless on the slim path between the road to Cocoa Weed and Gyasta. I blinked, faltering slightly then lurching forward. I almost wanted to pass out right there in the road, I shook my head as pictures began to play in front of my eyes, things I know couldn't have been real.

Fire places don't appear on a snowy road, old friends aren't faceless nameless people offering comfort, and young blond males you've met don't just reappear after only having met them once in a town you left seven days ago.

"Leanah," The male said, "You're pushing yourself to hard!" He sounded very familiar now, "Please, return to Big Horn!"

I shook my head, "No... I... I.. can't." I said slowly heading passed him. "Have to... Get Doctorine..." I squinted, and saw something moving along the path in front of me. My heart lifted, "Doctor Kureha!" I shouted, breaking into what had then felt like an effortless run, "Doctor Kureha!" The sleigh didn't seem to be slowing down, I pushed myself to run faster, now screaming, "DOCTOR KUREHA, PLEASE STOP!"

The sleigh slowed to a stop, and I jogged up next to it, huffing and feeling like I was going to cough up my lungs. "Yes?" The woman in the sleigh said.

"Do... Doctor..." I leaned on her sleigh for support, I looked up at her, she dressed like she was a twenty year old on some sandy beach, cherry blossoms adorned her shirt and pant leg, but my mind was focused (or trying to, anyway) elsewhere. "Please... You.. you need.. to return to the mountain... my..." It was hard to get a solid breath, "friends... they-"

"Tell me..." The doctor said suddenly, "Are you happy?"

I blinked, "Wha-?"

Doctor Kureha repeated the question, then went a little deeper, "The way you carry yourself, it makes it look lie you're not comfortable in your own skin, that and the dark circles under your eyes. You haven't been getting much sleep have you?"

I gulped, it had been less than two minutes and she already had me diagnosed.

"Tell me, how long have you been awake?" She flicked her sunglasses up and her glasses down, sizing me up.

I felt like I'd shrunk, "... It doesn't matter, I'm not here to talk about me. My friends-"

"You're not going to be much help to your friends if you're killing yourself to help them. Chopper."

The reindeer pulling the sleigh responded the to the unspoken command and before I knew it I was an unwilling passenger on the sleigh, with a blanket covering me. All my brain registered at that moment was warmth and a comfy place. I was out like a light.

I opened my eyes, there was a large static... thing in front of me. It could only be described as a tear I guess. I started around it, white, then through it, more white... But then I saw a man looking through the other side. "Hey! Who're you?" I called out, hesitantly moving closer.

It seemed he was doing the same. "I'm Leahon."

I laughed, a little uneasily, "Funny... I'm Leanah."

He laughed. "That's... uncanny."

I tugged on my bandana, I was now close enough to be able to see Leahon. He looked... like me. Well, he was a little taller than me, probably 5" 11' maybe 6" 0', he had on a bandana as well. It was freaky. "Um... Are you... a pirate?"

He nodded, tugging his bandana off. "I'm a Mugiwara Pirate."

"I'm a straw-hat Pirate."

"Heh.. I'm sure you are." He seemed disbelieving, "My captain is Monkey D. Luffyko."

"Luffyko?" This must be a joke. "You're joking. My captain is Monkey D. Luffy."

"Right... sure. And your captain's bounty is-"

"30 Million?" I guessed. "And I bet you've even got a swordsman on your cr-"

"I'm the swordsman on our crew, but we have a swordswoman named Roronoa Zorina."

"Three... swords?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yep."

"There's a swordsman on my crew named Roronoa Zoro who uses three swords."

We both shivered, there was a disturbing pattern forming here.

"Do you... have amnesia?"

Leahon nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

We inspected each other closely. "Weird." I said. "Did you wake up in the care of the Red Hair Pirates?"

"Red Hair...?" He seemed to be thinking, "Do you mean Akagami? Shana-sensei's crew?"

"Three scratches over their eye?"

He nodded, "Yeah, and left arm missing?"

"Shana is Shanks for me."

He smiled, he was really getting into this, "And what about Usoni-chan and her mother, Yasoni-san?"

"Usopp and Yasopp. Benn Beckman?"

"Benjimina Beckman."

"It's like... We're living the same lives... only..."

"Genderflipped." Leahon said.

"That's so cool!" We both said at the same time.

I sighed, "What about our memories though?"

"Did you... hear that weird voice in Labooni?"

"It called me Jennifer..."

"Jeremy..."

We both tilted our heads, "Could those be... our real names?"

We crossed out arms, this was really surreal. I bit my lip, he bit his.

I held out my hand, it almost went through the tear-thing. "Well... pleasure meeting you, Leahon."

He reached out to take my hand, "And you as well."

The white room flashed around us and went dark. I squinted through it, only barely being able to see Leahon on the other side of the tear.

"My my... That won't do.." A feminine voice said.

"Constants and variables, sister. It was bound to happen eventually." A masculine voice replied.

"Who are you..." I started.

"And why are you here?" Leahon finished.

There was a soft sound of something being flicked through the air, I reached out and grabbed it. It was just a coin.

"Heads, tails." The masculine voice said.

"Leanah, Leahon." The feminine voice continued, "Rosalind, Robert."

"It's all perspective."

"What the hell does that mean!?"

The silence weighed in the air as I realized, did I said that or did Leahon say that? I couldn't tell.

"Oh my. I fear we might have been a moment to late."

"Indeed, it does seem they've formed a bond."

"I suppose there's only one thing to do now..."

The world around me turned completely staticy, flashes of white and grey.

I jolted awake, laying in a bed as apposed to in the sleigh. "What was that?" I whispered.

"Odd dreams?" A voice asked.

"Odd... is an understatement..." I looked over at doctor Kureha, and several things came to my attention. I was now in an actual bed, in a castle, the castle I assumed, "How long was I out?"

"Not long." she laughed, she sure sounded like a witch. "We brought your friends in not to long ago."

I sat up, looking around the room and spotting Nami on a bed not to far away. "Nami!" I looked at the doctor, "Is she going to be OK?"

Kureha laughed again, "She'll be fine, you got her here just in time."

"What about Luffy and Sanji? Are they OK?" I asked.

"If you mean the boy with no coat and the man with the spinal injury, yes. They'll be fine."

"No... coat?" I said softly, "Spinal... injury?" My brain processed through that information slowly. "..." I frowned, "Yeah... that's them." I could picture it clearly in my head. Luffy laying on a snow covered ground with out a coat and badly bloodied hands, Sanji passed out after having revived a major jolt to his spine, and Nami with her deathly red face, fighting for survival.

The doctor moved to a desk not to far away, "I hope you don't mind, but Chopper and I took off your coat and gave you an examination."

I blinked, now realizing my sleeves had been rolled up, and scars clearly visible. I froze.

Kureha walked over, I sighed as she checked my arms, "Some of these are very deep," She observed, "And others didn't heal properly."

"Hnn..." I turned my head so I could look in the other direction.

"You don't remember how you got these do you?" I shook my head, "Do you have amnesia?" Nod. "Have you had it for a long time?" Nod. "How long?"

I begrudgingly answered, "Little over a year, I woke up on my previous captain's boat and could only remember a few things."

"And your memory been getting worse over the past few days?" She guessed.

"Yeah, but it's just my amnesia again, I bet."

Doctor Kureha shook her head, "No, that's not it. How long have you been awake?"

I glanced over at Nami, checking if she was really sleeping, I bit my lip, then answered. "About three days... Vivi wasn't getting much sleep so I told her I would watch over Nami while she rested, then Zoro would stop trying to train at his usual level with his stitches in, so I had to make sure he didn't break his stitches.. Then Sanji began over exerting himself soo.."

"You kept taking on more and more things until you ended up staying awake for three days straight."

For some reason I felt guilty about having done that, Weak, even when you're trying to be strong, you're weak. And your 'friends' didn't even notice.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by doctor Kureha pinching my bottom lip between her index finger and thumb, adding some ointment to it before letting go.

I licked my lip out of curiosity, "Euck!" I cringed at the taste, "What did you put on my lip?"

"It's an ointment that'll heal your lip as well as stop you from biting it. You've probably done it so often you don't conscientiously think about it anymore." I drooped, pursing my lips. Kureha turned, "Now you get some more rest, now. Chopper will be by soon to check on you and the other girl."

Chopper? I thought, The reindeer? I shrugged, turning on to my side, Weirder things have happened. I closed my eyes and got a little more sleep.

I was rudely awoke not long later. "SHUT UP, LADY!" A small voice shouted, "Oh, and can you tell me how you're fever is doing?"

"IT'S TALKING!?" I heard Nami shout, probably starling the other person because there was a loud commotion soon after.

I groggily pushed myself into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes, "What's going on?" I asked before doctor Kureha shouted to us.

"KEEP IT DOWN, CHOPPER!"

Chopper? Right... the reindeer.

"Leanah?" Nami asked looking at me.

"Nami! You're awake! That's amazing." I smiled, quickly rolling down my sleeves.

Kureha laughed, watching from the doorway, looked exactly the same as when I had seen her god-knows-how-long-ago, only now she was holding a bottle of something. "You're fever seems to have gone down, and some sleep seems to have done you some good. You happy?" She asked.

"Doctor Kureha..." I mumbled as the doctor walked over and put a finger to Nami's forehead, taking a large drink.

Nami was utterly confused, as she didn't hear me, "Who are you?" The navigator asked.

"Yes.." The doctor mused to herself, "It's gone down several degrees. Oh right," She turned to Nami, removing her sunglasses, "I'm the only doctor around here, doctor Kureha, but you can call me Doctorine, okay?"

"Oh," Nami understood she looked out the window behind her, "So that means we're..."

"Looking for how I stay so young?" Doctorine asked.

"No... That's not it." Nami looked around, you could see a train of thought being to form.

I smiled again, happy to see Nami awake.

Doctorine took a large drink from her bottle, "Anyway, yes, you're in the castle on the mountain." She walked over and pushed me down from the sitting position, "You need some more rest." She said.

The navigator looked at the doctor, "In that case there were two other people who showed up here with me weren't there?"

As soon as Kureha turned away I sat up again. "Yeah, they're sleeping in the next room very deeply, two real tough guys." Nami sighed in relief as Kureha sat on the bed next to her, pulling Nami's shirt up slightly. There was what appeared to be a large purple bruise on her stomach. "This is what caused your sickness."

"Wow..." She looked down at the infected area, "Really?"

"You were bitten a bug called the Kestia." So... I was right, it was Kestia... "It's a poisonous tick that thrives in jungles with high heat and humidity. When it bites you it introduces a type of bacteria into your body. These bacteria lay dormant for five days, causing severe pain." Doctorine crossed her legs, "It causes a high fever, severe infection, myocarditis, and arthritis. Not pleasant. Given the infection's progression in the effected area, I'd guess you've been infected for about three days, now. The pain you've been feeling must've been terrible but still it would've eased up in two more days without any treatment at all."

"It would have gone away in two days?"

"Not... in the sense you're thinking..." I said slowly.

"Uhuh, you wouldn't be feeling any pain what-so-ever because you'd be dead." The doctor said flatly, Nami certainly didn't take that very well. "This particular infection is known as the five-day disease. I had hear that kestia died out over a hundred years ago, but I kept the antibiotic just in case. Where did you guys come from that you might've been exposed to this? Were you walking around some ancient jungle with your belly showing?" She chuckled, "No, ridiculous."

"Uhhhmmmm..." I blinked. I could think of exactly when Nami got that bite. I hadn't thought much of it then, but Nami had her shirt off in Little Garden before we left. That must have been when she got bitten.

"Aaahhhhhh..." Nami had the exact same look I did on her face.

"Does this situation sound familiar at all? What crazy people you are." She pushed Nami back down into the bed, "Now, stay in bed, the treatment for the disease isn't complete yet."

"Thank you so much." Nami said, "I'll be fine as long as my fever goes down, my body will take care of itself after that."

"Nami's pretty self-reliant, so I don't doubt that." I said.

Doctorine walked back over and pushed me down again, she looked at Nami, "Well aren't you two optimistic. This disease usually takes a course of treatment 10 days long to successfully cure. Even with medicines as advanced as mine are your body will still need at least three days to fully recuperate. If you don't want to risk more suffering and possibly death, get some rest, girl." she glanced at me, "And you've been awake for three days, your body doesn't have the energy to do much. It's amazing you lasted this long!"

I turned, not quite sitting up, but enough to fully see Nami and Doctorine, "But.. we can't wait three days!"

"We can't stay that long!" Nami shot up, "We need to get Vivi home, back to Alabasta!"

I didn't quite see what happened, but I knew that Kureha had Nami pinned to the bed, "When a patient leaves this castle it's because she's either cured or deceased," She laughed, "You aren't going anywhere girl, you better get used to it."

I froze, Doctorine wasn't going to budge unless something big happened. A nearly imperceptible smile crossed my face, I just knew we would get out of here by sundown, I drifted off again thinking that.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" A voice broke through my sleep, I open my eyes just in time to see a tiny reindeer run through the door with a hungry Luffy and Sanji attached to him.

My eyes widened, Luffy opened his mouth to take a bite of the screaming reindeer, I jumped out of bed, "Guys! No! That reindeer is not food!"

They weren't listening, "Hold on, Luffy, Let me cook 'im first!" Sanji said.

"GUYS!" I shouted, running after the reindeer and my crew mates, "YOU CAN'T EAT CHOPPER!"

I chased them down a long hallway when Chopper made an unexpected U-turn and ran back the other way. I huffed, but still followed. When I got back into the room with Nami, Luffy had de-attached himself from Chopper and was standing at Nami's bedside.

"Nami!"

Sanji also unattached himself from Chopper and frolicked to Nami's bedside, "Nami!"

"You look like you're all better!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Getting there, thanks." She smiled, albeit half-heartedly.

Chopper was sneaking back into the room, I slid to cover him, He froze. I looked down at the tiny blue nosed reindeer and winked. He seemed to relax, but I could tell he was still wary.

"Right!" Sanji said, "One tasty venison dish for Nami coming up!"

They turned to look at me as I blocked their view of Chopper, "Leanah?" Luffy asked.

I smiled, "I managed to catch doctor Kureha between towns, I told her you guys were coming up, I got brought along." I skillfully skirted around telling them about my sleep deprivation.

Sanji smiled, wider, "Well, I guess I could make that venison work for two people."

Chopper would have gotten away clean had he not make a screeching noise at that. I froze, Luffy and Sanji inched to the side to see what was behind me, and as soon as Chopper saw them doing that he bolted. Sanji and Luffy were hot on his tail, "COOOMMEE BACK!"

I ran after them, "HE'S NOT FOOD!" After a while I managed to grab on to the edge of Luffy's shirt.

My captain was attempting to eat one of Choppers horns.

"Don't eat it yet!" Sanji chastised.

"Don't eat him ever!" I shouted.

Eventually they all ran faster than I could keep up with, I huffed, leaning down. I was still to tried to be at full energy. I walked back to the other room.

"-e's different it's just because he ate a human-human fruit, that's all."

"Human-human fruit... A devil fruit, right?"

I walked over and sat down on my bed. Listening intently to what I assumed was about Chopper.

"That's right." Doctorine said, "He's still a reindeer but now he has the abilities of a human, like talking and walking up right." She smiled, "And also he's a doctor, I taught Chopper everything I know about the field of medicine."

My stomach growled. I blushed slightly, "Sorry..."

The doctor smiled, "No, that's alright, I'll go get you some food."

"Thanks..."

It didn't take long for Kureha to return with food, and that food brought Sanji and Luffy in tow.

Luffy and Sanji both introduced themselves properly to Doctorine, then thanked her for the food. I was sitting at the table with Doctorine's permission.

"So Leanah," Sanji asked, "How did you get up the mountain?"

"Oh, I caught Doctorine as she was leaving Cocoa Weed, I told her that you guys were heading up the mountain and I came with her." It wasn't the whole truth, but it was good enough for me.

Luffy titled his head, mouth stuffed full of food, "Buh then why were you in bed like Nami?"

Kureha laughed, "You mean you don't know?"

I looked at her, eyes wide, silently pleading for her to not say.

"This girl here is sleep deprived. Three day straight without any sleep, it's safe to say any longer and her body would have given out."

I shrank as Luffy and Sanji stared at me. The conversation fell into silence until Luffy finished his food. It seemed that the revelation of my sleep deprivation was forgotten by the captain. He stood up, "You should be one of my crew! Please old lady, we really need to have a doctor on board!"

Doctorine, who was sitting across from Luffy, pointed at him, "Luffy.. You did tell me that's your name, right?"

"Yeah."

A dangerous look passed her face, "And did you just call me old lady?"

"Yeah, right, that's what I said, old lady."

I closed my eyes just as Kureha kicked Luffy in the face, sending him flying into the opposite wall, "If I were you I'd be more careful of what I say!" I opened my eyes, staring down at the tiny bit of food I had left. "I'm still well within my youthful 130's, thank you." She crossed her arms.

"Geeze.. you're a tough old hag." Sanji said, I ducked just in time to avoid getting hit by Kureha's kick as she sent Sanji into a wall as well.

I slowly got up, "Your kicks are about as bad as Zeff's..." I mumbled to myself.

"What was that?" She leaned forward staring at me hard.

"I said you don't look a day over 60." I smiled.

"Oh, how nice of you. But flattery will get you no where." Kureha sat back, then looked at Luffy, who was crawling towards us. "Are you boys really asking me to become a pirate? Don't be ridiculous, that would be an incredible waste of my precious time, besides I have no interest in life on the sea."

Luffy used the table to pull himself up, his face was scratched up and he had a bloody nose, I snatched a napkin and stood up myself, trying to wipe the blood off of his face. "Those are all lame excuses!" He said, "It's about adventure, old woman!"

I sighed, stepping back. Doctorine looked at me, pointing at Luffy, "Well this one's a slow learner." I shrugged, she addressed Luffy, "Didn't I just tell you to watch what you say?"

"So... these guys are pirates?" A small voice said. We all looked at where it was coming from, and saw Chopper, Poor thing... I don't think he realized he said that out loud...

Sanji and Luffy's jaws dropped, Chopper's jaw dropped so far it hit the floor. In a split second the chase was on again, "WAIT, FOOD! COME BACK HERE!"

I wasn't about to chase after them again, but it seemed doctor Kureha was up to the chase, she jumped out of her chair, knocking it over, "That's enough of that, idiots!"

The room was quiet of a moment before Chopper burst back in, screaming at the top of his lungs. Luffy and Sanji passed by a second later, Sanji paused for a second, He smiled, "In just a second I'll cook you two a reindeer dish you'll never forget!"

Kureha came from seemingly nowhere, "I don't think so!" She landed on the ground like a cat, armed to the teeth, "I'll eat you guys before I let that happen!" She dashed towards the captain and the cook.

They screamed in terror, "AH! SCARY HAG!"

And so Chopper was running from Luffy and Sanji who were in turn running from doctor Kureha.

They all dashed out the door, leaving it open behind them.

Nami sat up, "I don't care about food," She said. "I just want some peace and quiet."

"Agreed." I sat the chair doctor Kureha had knocked over on it's legs and sat down. A breeze came through the room, I looked at the door as snow began to line the floor.

"Snow? But that shouldn't be in the castle.." Nami said, crossing her arms for warmth. "It's freezing."

I shivered from the cold, "Yeah.." I began to get up, "I'll close the door."

"No!" Nami and I looked to see Chopper, "You both need to rest. And you still have a fever." He said, addressing Nami, then glancing around the area.

"I don't think so." Nami said, "I think it's pretty much gone now."

"I lost them..." Chopper said, "At least for now..." He ran to the door, glancing outside, "Doctorine's medicine worked quickly to reduce the fever, but the bacteria from the kestia will still remain inside your body for a little while longer." He shut the door, "So just take your antibiotics shot and stay in bed." He looked at me, "And you should be getting more sleep."

"Thank you." Nami said.

"Hm?"

"You're the one who's been taking care of us, aren't you?"

The tiny doctor glanced back at us, we smiled. "Y- You just shut up!" Chopper shouted suddenly, "I don't need thanks from you or any other low-life human!" He began doing a little happy dance, "Hehhehhehhehheh~" He changed again, "DON'T MOCK ME!" Then again, "Oh! Never mind that I'm just bein' silly, no seriously! I'm being such a fool. Hehhehheh~"

"Awww." I said to myself, "He's kind of cute."

Nami looked at me, "He's not so good at hiding his emotions."

Then Chopper inched over to Nami, "Is it true that you guys are pirates?"

"Yes."

He gently poked her hand, "Really? Real... Pirates?"

"Real Pirates."

"So you have a flag a skull on it?"

"We do," Nami smiled, "It's on our ship."

"Luffy's the Captain, Sanji's the cook, Nami's the navigator, Usopp is the sharp shooter, Zoro's the swordsman, Vivi is a guest and... I'm..." I looked at Nami, "I'm... What exactly am I on our crew?"

Nami glanced at me and shrugged, "I'm not sure we ever found that out." She looked back at Chopper, "So you're really interested in pirates, huh?"

Chopper jumped back, hitting a bookshelf, "No! Not at all, you idiot!" We blinked at this sudden change, "SHUT UP!"

Nami pushed her covers back, "All right, all right, I get it. Now calm down."

"Really, we meant no harm." I said.

"But... One more thing," Nami said, She was smiling about as wide as Luffy would've "Do you wanna come with us?"

Chopper screamed.

"You could come sail with us on the ocean."

"Yeah. We've been looking for a doctor anyway, so we'd love to have you!"

"Yep, and if we had a doctor on the ship then we wouldn't have to stay here three more days, right? I think you'd have a really good time if you came."

"You and Usopp would get along great!" I said.

"NO!" Chopper shouted, "THAT'S CRAZY! YOU REALIZE I'M A REINDEER, I DON'T BELONG ON A SHIP WITH A BUNCH OF HUMANS!" That struck a chord in me, there was hurt in his voice, a wound so deep but invisible to the eyes. "I mean... Just look at me... I'm a reindeer but I walk on two legs and I talk and everything. Animals aren't supposed to be able to do that stuff."

"Ah.. We know, but if you're trying to scare us off it isn't working." Nami said, crossing her legs.

I sighed, "We've seen much weirder."

The reindeer slumped more, looking up at us. "But I have a blue nose.." He said it almost as if that was the deciding factor, that his nose prevented him from doing anything.

The room got dangerously quiet. Until the moment was ruined by the sudden appearance of our captain and chef. "THERE YOU ARE, MEAT! COME HERE, YOU!"

Chopper bolted out of the room faster than the speed of light, once again screaming at the top of his lungs with Luffy and Sanji on his tail.

We blinked, they really were set on eating Chopper. Kureha walked in calmly after them, she sat down, "Those brats sure can run, can't they?"

Nami slid back under the covers. I shook my head, "One of their many talents, I suppose."

Kureha sighed, "I don't much like what you were doing there girls." Nami and I looked at her, "Trying to tempt my reindeer away from me without my permission."

"I think he genuinely wants to go out to sea." I received a glare for my two cents.

Nami half chuckled, "What, we need your permission to make a move on a man all of a sudden?"

Kureha laughed at that, "No, I suppose you don't, if you wanna take him away from here, go ahead. But I must warn you, it won't be as easy as you think." The air suddenly felt heavy, "Chopper has a scar on his heart. A deep one my medicine can't cure... From the moment he was born, everyone, including his parents turned their backs on him. All because he was born with a blue nose."

I looked down at my hands, folding them and unfolding them in my lap, "So that's why he spoke with such a hurt tone..." I slowly stood up and moved back to the other bed.

"He was forced to walk at the back of the group separated from the rest of the reindeer, even though he was just a helpless newborn. Then one day he ate a devil fruit, and be became even more of an outcast than he was before." She paused, even if she seemed unattached to what she was saying, you could tell in some part that it hurt her deeply to explain what happened to Chopper. "The other reindeer pressured him to leave the herd. His blue nose already made him different... But now he wasn't like the ordinary reindeer at all."

I slipped under the covers of the bed, now slightly understanding why Chopper was so reactive earlier. My heart shattered, and I fell asleep again, listening to Kureha tell Chopper's sad tale.

We'd accept him... I thought, just before drifting off into another dream filled sleep.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay. I've been crazed, what with the end of school coming up.

Who are the mysterious people? Well, I can tell you what they aren't: Figment's of Leanah's imagination, neither is Leahon.

And ahmergerd this chapter is long! I didn't even realize how long it was until I loaded it in! Gosh.

Your ever willing author,
Kari910