Even so many weeks into her voyage with the Strawhats, something about visiting new places fascinated Yamato to no end. Even the mundane and bland locales the crew would routinely stop off at for supplies had the Oni almost vibrating with the need to explore top to bottom, which usually resulted in some sort of catastrophe when she inevitably destroyed something.
She supposed that it stemmed mostly from having spent most of her life isolated on a solitary island, but then again, Luffy seemed to hold an almost equal amount of enthusiasm for novel places, so maybe she was just insane like him. Nevertheless, the fact remained that Yamato enjoyed exploring, which was why she had decided to accompany Chopper on his hunt for medical herbs at the port town the Strawhats had docked at.
As she walked along the cobblestone tracks of the town's main thoroughfare she openly gawked at the buildings that surrounded her, horned head swiveling to and fro in an attempt to see everything at once. It wasn't like the shops and houses that lined the street were anything special, they were the standard affair of brick and glass that made up the bulk of most seaside towns, it was just that Yamato had promised herself to take in every new place as if it were the first time, everytime. Her overexuberence certainly made for exciting living, but Chopper just wished that people would stop staring.
Perched securely atop Yamato's head, the young reindeer grinned sheepishly at the baffled townsfolk. He'd elected to nestle in between the Oni's horns for a better view, seeing as she towered over every other person in town with ease and, while being so small had its advantages, it didn't make large crowds easy to navigate. Yamato hadn't minded, in fact she'd encouraged it since it meant she could converse with the small doctor without having to strain her ears at every other word.
Between bouts of open mouthed rubbernecking, the Oni looked up at her companion. "Is there anything else we are missing?" she asked the doctor, eyes rolled all the way back to catch a glimpse of his colourful hat. It's only polite to look at who you're talking to, after all.
Chopper hummed in thought for a moment and, while she couldn't see it, she could feel him rummaging around the tiny paper bags that were somewhat skewered on her left horn. It tickled a little. "Just some powdered Crocus and Hydrangea. See if you can find a florist or something," he replied.
Yamato wasn't entirely sure what a florist was, but she nodded her head (slowly, wouldn't want him falling off) regardless, sure that the reindeer would steer her in the right direction. She decided with a smile that the best course of action was to go back to sight seeing and left the job of finding their destination up to her friend.
They continued walking through the town at a leisurely pace, occasionally breaking the companionable silence every now and then with idle chatter. Meandering between bustling market stools and crowded public squares, Yamato considered her doctor friend.
Before she'd joined the crew, Chopper was probably the member she knew the least about. In fairness, her interests had initially lain solely with the captain, seeing as he was the man she was waiting for, but the rest of the crew had garnered her attention over time with what little information scrounged newspapers could provide, not the least of which was their bounties. The paltry figure that Chopper had earned led Yamato to believe that he truly was nothing more than a pet, and so she paid him little mind. His actions at Onigashima had dissuaded her of any notion that the little reindeer was anything other than a vital part of the crew. The samurai had treated him with almost as much reverence as they had his captain thanks to his treatment of Queens plague and Yamato couldn't think of a more worthy person err...animal.
"Over there Yamato, the one on the corner," Chopper's high pitched voice snapped Yamato out of her reminiscence and she glanced up to see where his hoof was pointing. She followed the line of his sight only to see one of the most ostentatious store fronts she'd ever laid eyes on in her short time as a free woman.
Top to bottom flowers of every shape, size, and colour decked the hanging baskets and wire shelves of the shop's veranda and behind the thin glass of the storefront, even more interwoven bushes and wreaths of breathtaking beauty crowded for space and attention. A kaleidoscope of petals fell to the cobblestones in droves, only to be picked up by the breeze, painting the town with welcome colour. Small birds that had taken up residence amongst the chaos of plant life, chirped brightly as they darted from flower to flower. It gave the shop a natural vibe that had Yamato smiling on reflex alone, taken in by its tranquil feel. To the tune of a tiny bell, the glass panel door swung open and an elderly man clutching a bouquet of white lilies exited the building with a satisfied smile, leaving the entrance wide open for a scant few seconds. From what Yamato could see, the inside was equally as decorative.
"It's beautiful…" she murmured, transfixed, and made a beeline for the store without having to be told twice by Chopper. Onigashima certainly hadn't been a place filled with such flora but she could still remember the sheer brilliance of nature in Wano. The shop brought her back to the days she'd spent there.
It was no less pretty for being up close but the shower of petals would probably get tiresome after a while. Through the panes of glass, the pair could see a young woman bustling about behind a counter, back to the door.
Yamato carefully pushed the front door open, taking care to put little strength in the motion; it wouldn't do to destroy the place if they intended to buy from it after all. Once again, the tingle of the bell called out, spooking some of the more skittish birds from their perches and prompting the proprietor to call over her shoulder in a friendly greeting. "I'll be with you in one moment!" she sang, reaching up high above the shelves behind the counter. In her hand she held a large watering can and she lightly sprinkled the flowers with it while humming softly.
"Hi! We'd like to buy some Crocus and Hydrangea if you have any," Chopper replied. He was trying his best not to throw up as Yamato spun recklessly, enraptured by the various displays.
The Woman hummed in thought but didn't take her eyes off of the flowers she tended, "We should have some in the back, I'll have a look for you once I- OH MY GOD!" Just as the woman took her first look at her new customers, she screamed, dropping her watering can to the floor with a loud clang, spraying the liquid all along the counter and soaking the tiled floor.
Instinctually, Yamato reached for her holstered weapon at the sudden shout and she could feel Chopper tense atop her head, no doubt startled himself. It was odd though, she couldn't sense anything dangerous. There was no one lurking behind the door, radiating killing intent, no wild beast moments away from shattering all the windows in a rage; for all she could tell, the shopkeeper was screaming at nothing. Unless. Yamato turned to face the woman very slowly.
She stood there, cowering behind the counter, hands clutched to her chest. In her eyes, Yamato could see the fear plain as day, manifesting in the sweat pooling at her brow and the shivers that wracked her body.
It was a strange feeling, being looked at with such terror. She'd been in countless battles, seen the fear in a person's face when they thought they were about to die, but this was different. In a fight there is always the possibility of death, so in every man and woman confronted their own mortality in combat is a modicum of acceptance: an understanding. The woman looked at them as if they were predators and she were prey. It made Yamato ill.
"Ju-just take wh-what you want, d-dont hurt me!" she squealed, somehow managing to get the words past her trembling lips.
Yamato felt Chopper move himself atop her head and, a moment later, he jumped from his perch to land squarely on her right shoulder. His expression was somewhere between embarrassed and pacifying and he held up his hooves in a placating gesture. "It's alright, we're not gonna hurt you. We just want to buy some flowers," his voice was gentle but Yamato couldn't help but notice that it sounded rehearsed, as if he had practiced saying such words over and over. Either that or he had experience with situations like these.
The woman ignored his attempt at calming words and merely cowered at the sound of his voice. "Wh-why would you want flowers? Just get out and leave our town! You're just a pair of monsters!" she shouted, eyes tightly shut. At this point she'd sunk to her knees and covered her head with her hands, as if they might protect her from the dangers at her door.
In an instant Yamato was furious. She'd heard that word before, been called it a thousand times: it was never pleasant and even after so many years it made her heart wrench just a little bit. But Chopper was innocent. Even compared to the rest of the crew Chopper was the sweetest person she had ever met (even if he was a reindeer) and the last thing he deserved was to be labeled a monster. How dare this random woman who didn't know anything call Chopper such a horrible thing.
She took a controlled step forward, face tight with anger. She'd never hurt the shopkeeper of course, that would make her every bit the monster the woman thought she was, but she'd give the lady a piece of her mind, maybe break a few displays for the sake of pettiness. Yes, that would be enough. Yamato grinned, humourlessly. It was only Chopper's soft voice that spared the lady a few broken vases.
"So what?"
The simple question stopped Yamato dead in her tracks and she turned to her companion with a stunned expression. His face was the picture of mild curiosity, head tilted to the side with one eyebrow raised. His tone was light, as if he was truly interested in the answer to his question
Evidently, the florist was equally as shocked, if the strangled "Huh?" that escaped her is any indication.
"So what if we're monsters?" Chopper elaborated, his voice maintaining the same curiously soft timbre. He stared serenely at the gaping woman before fishing several folded Berry notes from his backpack. Yamato was close enough to the counter that he was able to jump from her shoulder with a relative short drop and place the money by the cash register. Then, he turned to point at a small cluster of dome shaped, purplish flowers just to the right of the counter and addressed Yamato with the same friendly tone he always did. "I can't see any Crocus in here so we'll just get the Hydrangea for now. That should be enough Berry for a good amount," he spoke as if there wasn't a terrified woman merely a few feet away from him and Yamato was so baffled that she only just about realised what he was saying.
"R-right!" she nodded and retrieved the plants, stems and all, from where Chopper had indicated. She handed them to the reindeer, who wrapped the plants gingerly in cloth and shoved the whole budle into his bag. Once he was finished, he scrunched his face up as if deep in thought, before taking one more 500 Berry coin from his pocket and placing it atop its counterparts.
"Sorry for bothering you ma'am, we'll leave now," he said. His tone was less than apologetic and he didn't spare the shopkeeper a second glance as he gave an impressive leap to land back onto Yamato's shoulder. Too low for anyone but the Oni to hear he whispered, "C'mon, we need to get back to the ship anyway, otherwise Luffy's gonna get stir crazy."
Stiffly, almost mechanically, Yamato marched over towards the shop's front door and pulled it open. She didn't put much care into the power of her pull this time, and was rewarded with the clattering sound of several plant pots falling from the window display, spraying the glass with soil and water. She smiled vindictively but stopped once she caught sight of the disapproving tilt to Chopper's mouth.
The silence of their return to the Sunny was unbearable for Yamato.
A million different questions leapt into her throat, choking her with indecision, but she decided to open with what she saw as the most pressing issue, "Are you alright Chopper?" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye but kept herself aware of her surroundings: the confrontation had put her on edge.
Chopper seemed unphased, a faint smile playing on his lips. If anything he looked more confident: his back was a little straighter, his head held a little higher. When he turned to face Yamato, he shot her a fully fledged grin, "Yep!"
Yamato pressed him further despite his upbeat attitude. "Are you sure? I would not blame you. That woman was out of line," she said through clenched teeth, furious on her friend's behalf, even if he wouldn't be. Her anger rolled off of her in waves, causing several people to instinctually move out of her path which, of course, only exacerbated her poor mood. Sensing this, Chopper gave her head several soothing pats, somewhat cooling her red-hot nerves. From anyone else, it might have seemed a little condescending, but it was different with the young reindeer. "I hate that word…" she finished lamely.
Chopper only smiled, "I used to hate it too," he said, almost too quiet for Yamato to hear.
"Used to?" His use of the past tense certainly drew her attention.
He nodded emphatically. "Do you wanna know what most people call Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji?" He asked. When Yamato only stared back in confusion, he answered anyway, "'The monster trio'" he waved his hooves for dramatic effect and carried on speaking before Yamato could respond. "Some humans think of Fishmen as monsters, and I know that you haven't spent that long outside of Onigashima but I'm sure you know that skeletons shouldn't talk," he giggled.
Yamato flushed in embarrassment but responded to his jests with her own small smile. It wasn't like she hadn't noticed the crews...diverse membership but still it didn't sit right with her that a random woman had insulted her friend in such a way. Even if he was technically monster-like and also part of a crew composed mostly of inhuman-seeming individuals. She told him as such, "That does not mean that that woman had any right…" she trailed off, unsure of why she was even angry if Chopper was not upset. She bowed her head in pensive thought, which Chopper took as an opportunity to regain his prime seat.
He continued to pat her head softly and Yamato could hear the grin in his voice as he spoke. "Well, look at this way, if it means protecting my friends, I'd gladly be a monster!"
It was as if a switch had been flicked in Yamato's brain. She was glad that Chopper was unable to see her face otherwise he could easily pinpoint the moment the sentiment washed over her: her expression a mix of wide eyed shock and at his maturity and pouty embarrassment for having gotten so worked up. The reindeer may have been young, but he was clearly wise beyond his years (and apparently beyond Yamato's years as well) if his self-acceptance was any indication.
"Yamato?" The Strawhat crew's youngest monster called to its newest.
The Oni grinned fiercely, "You might be right, Chopper," was all she said, striding down the thoroughfare with a newfound confidence brought on by her furry friend. After all, if it was for family, being called a monster was definitely a compliment.