Chapter 6: Sick
Kc groaned in annoyance as she woke up and sat straight on her bed. Then she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and she sat back down on the floor, a hand resting on her forehead.
She didn't feel right, she felt tired and for some reason extremely hot as well. Making the palm of her hand as her personal cooling pad she then let out a breath of relief.
"Aww, much better. Maybe I caught the common cold." Kc muttered to herself.
The dizziness was still there, but not as bad and she was starting to feel a little bit better.
Not having much of an appetite, Kc just decided to have a glass of orange juice.
"Not hungry." Killer commented.
"Not feeling it." Kc responded with a loud yawn.
"You need to eat, you're already scrawny enough,"Kid said after taking another bite of his food.
Kc didn't know if she should take that as a compliment or as an insult so she just walked away without saying a word.
As the Kid Pirates were fighting off the marines that were either brave or stupid enough to challenge them.
"Eustass Kid! Give up now or prepare to die!"The Marine captain demanded.
Kid scoffs. "Like hell you can take on me , not only that but my whole entire crew as well."
Then Marines started jumping onto the deck and Kc was barely holding up.
*Tail whip!* Kc uses her tails to whip the marines off the deck and into the ocean.
Kc then heard a small sound of a blade and looked to see Killer cut one man who pointed his gun at her back. Kid passed her and killed anyone who stood in his way. Kc heard a Marine run up to her, but she couldn't react in time.
"You're already tired, but the battle just started." Kid stated after he repelled a sword at the man who almost cut her in half.
"Shut the hell up, I got this!" Kc shouted as she tried to catch her breath .
Kc then round-house kicked one marine in the face and another one in his side. "See I don't need your stupid help." She said with a small smirk.
"Whatever bitch, just don't slack off or I'm throwing you overboard." Kid retorted with a loud growl.
The number of Marines shrunk quickly, but the last ones that still remained didn't give up and fight with everything they had.
Sooner or later, every marine had been disposed of and now the crew was sweeping them into the sea.
Running where no one could see her, Kc then empty out her stomuch.
She turned around when she felt someone touching her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Killer asked, a little concerned to see her puking her guts out and her face a little flustered as well.
She nodded "Yeah, I think I caught a stomach virus."
As the minutes ticked by, her condition didn't get better. She was now laying on her bed as she panted heavily, even if she can make her body cold as ice. She still can feel her fever getting worse and worse. *What the hell, I never get sick and my devil fruit powers aren't helping me that much either.* Kc thought to herself in slight annoyance.
Decided she wanted to take a bath in hopes to bring down her fever, she then asked Killer to watch the bathroom door so no one will disturb her while she is bathing.
Kc then stripped off her clothes and plopped herself into the tub and stayed there for about 20 minutes. When Kc saw her reflection in a mirror, she almost choked at the ugly sight.
With shaky hands she reached the back of her shoulder and touched where her skin turned a new ugly shade of purple and red. "Ouch!" She yelps in pain. Coating the place where her shoulder hurts with ice, Kc then quickly changed back into her clothes and rushed out of the bathroom. Without sparing Killer a single glance or anyone else she passed by, she then slammed her bedroom door shut.
Thinking she was in the clear, Kc face planted into her bed while silencly sobbing into her pillow.
"Kc…" Killer's voice sounded outside her room, but she ignored him and hugged her body tighter where she sat on the bed. The handle juddered on the locked door and still she didn't say anything, not even moving a single inch. "Kc, let me in!"
When Kc still didn't answer, she heard the door strain and the lock break as Killer kicked it open, stepping into her room before closing it behind him gently.
"Aww man, my door! Now I have to fix the lock. " She threw up her hands dramatically only to quickly put them back down when her sleeve started exposing her darkened shoulder.
"What's that?" Killer asked while pointing at her left shoulder.
"I don't know what you mean." Kc responded.
In a blink of an eye, Killer already had both of her hands and legs pinned down on her bed.
Pulling down the collar of her shirt, Killer couldn't help but gasp at the ugly purple and red-looking piece of flesh.
"Get off of me!" Kc demanded as she thrashed.
Realizing the position they were in, Killer immediately jumped and landed back a few inches.
"How long has that been there?" He asked.
She only shook her head. " I don't know, I just saw it only a few minutes ago. But don't worry it's not that bad, I'll be fine in a few days."
"Kc, you need a doctor." Killer stated.
"No, it's nothing. I have it under control and besides there's no doctor on this ship and the only medical supplies you guys have in your infirmary room is only first aid stuff. Just don't tell anyone about this." Kc said as she put another thin coat of ice onto her shoulder.
"Okay, but let me know when it's getting worse." Killer responded as he left her room.
2 days later as her symptoms only got worse, the harder it became to hide it from the rest of the crew, especially Kid and his first mate.
Then on the third day at dinner time, while Kc was picking up everyone's empty plates. A large wave of dizziness made her stumble back before she collapsed onto the hard wooden ground.
Before anyone could rush to her aid, she started puking out what little she had in her system while coughing aggressively. Putting his hand across her forehead, Kid immediately jerks it back. "Holy shit your burning up."
When Kid picked her up, something caught his attention when part of her shirt draped down.
After removing her shirt completely off, Kid and everyone who was currently in the galley couldn't hide their shock, disgusted expressions.
From her shoulder all the way down to her back was a ugly coloring of purple and red with black veins popping out everywhere.
"Damn it Kc, you were supposed to tell me if it was starting to get worse." Killer shouted in anger but mostly in worry.
"You knew!" Kid yelled.
"She told me she had it undercontrol." Killer defended.
"105 degrees!" Killer read out loud after taking out a thermometer from her mouth.
"Is that bad?" Kid asked.
"Of course it's bad, if we don't get her a doctor soon she will not live another day. But i'm just wondering how this could even happen, she needed to be injected with something judging by her skin reaction." Killer stated
Then something clicks in Kid's head. "The scorpion… She got stung by a large scorpion after she." Kid stopped himself before he could finish the rest of his sentence.
"She what?" Killer question with a raised eyebrow.
"After she pushed me aside from getting attacked by it." Kid said the last part in a soft mumble.
3 days later and the clock for Kc's life became shorter by every second that went by.
Killer reached over and brushed Kc with his hand through her soft hair, not caring about the sweat that covered his fingertips. Kc looked terrible; breathing heavily and uneven, her face covered in sweat and her hand tightly gripping the bed sheets like she was in tremendous pain.
The door knob made a clicking noise before someone entered the room. He looked up from Kc and glanced over his shoulder to see Kid standing in all of his glory, though he did look like crap. There were small bags under his eyes and his hair was all messy and greasy.
"How is she doing?" Kid asked.
"I have no clue, I'm not a doctor." Killer said as he ran his hand through his long blond hair.
"Any other news?"
"We're going to land on an island soon," Kid informed him. "There are some doctors there that might be able to do something. It is our best shot if we're going to save Kc."
"Heat has a friend on the island that would probably help her." Kid said.
After securely placing Kc onto Killer's back, Kid and heat started making their way to where the doctor lived. After fighting many large bloodthirsty animals and a long walk through the forest, they finally saw a house that was inside of a cave.
-x-
"She is fucking crazy," Kid announced as he watched the doctor in question run all over her small workspace. The female doctor had just ran into a wall for the ninth time, cackling as she fell, "I suggest we try the next island and look for someone who hasn't gone insane." Killer nodded next to him but Heat just stood there, with crossed arms, looking like a statue.
The woman didn't give indication by Kid's rude comment, just got back up and dusted herself off and ran around in her room again.
The trio of Kid Pirates stood off towards the back, not sure what they were supposed to do. Kc was lying down on a bed that the doctor had set up with a blanket over her shaking shoulders.
The doctor opened her cabinets and pretty much threw anything that wasn't what she needed over her shoulders and onto the stony floor.
"I say we should kill the crazy bitch and take Kc to the next island." Kid declared which made Killer nodded his head in agreement.
"No," Heat protested. "Kc won't make it to the next island. Besides, she is a world renowned doctor and my good friend."
The old woman headed to the cabinet only to pick up an empty bottle and toss it, shaking her head. "Damn, I thought I still have some left." She spun on her heels, looking at the three men that were still in her house. "I don't have the medicine to help the girl. She's going to die. Sorry."
"What the fuck do you mean you can't help, what kind of doctor are you!" Kid shouted while Killer and Heat held him back.
"What do you mean 'you can't help her?" Killer's voice was low and dangerous. "We specifically sought out you because we knew that you could help Kc."
The woman put her hand on top of her head dramatically. "I could help her," She said defensively. "But not without this little thing right here." Her long finger nail pointed at an empty bottle.
The old woman snorted before throwing the bottle over her shoulder, not caring in the slightest when it shattered against the floor. "I need the vemon of the most dangerous snake that only lives on this island." She stated.
Killer poked his head around Kid's body. " Why don't you just get more."
"Hell no, last time when I fought that monster I barely survived and that was over 30 years ago. And it's already night time so it is a lot more dangerous out there."
"What does the snake look like?" Kid asked, now becoming impatient.
Her eyes then sparkled. "It has green scales, purple eyes and weighs over 10,000 tons. If you really want to, you 3 can get me some of it's venom and I will whip up something for your friend." She took out another bottle from her bag that was slung around her shoulders and tossed it to Heat.
-x-
Almost 2 hours later, Kid, Killer, and Heat found themselves slightly burned and bruised but overall fine and running through the forest to find the old woman's home. It was under a cave right? That didn't really help much, considering that there were rocks and hills in the woods but at least they know what they are looking for.
The snake was a lot tougher than any of them could even have imagined. It deflected all of Heat's fire, and Killer spinning blade attacks.
Eventually, Kid had distracted it enough with a dagger to the eye and was able to take its venom. Then all 3 of them made a run for it.
"We should have killed that thing." Kid mumbled under his breath.
"We can kill that thing after we give that crazy woman this to cure Kc." Killer said as he gestured to the bottle.
"Sssssssss!"
Kid smirked at the large beast that was eyeing him down. "Already wanting a second round, well bring it on."
Lots of broken bones and large wounds later, the 3 of them finally took down the large snake. And was now dragging their exhausted bloody bodies back to the doctor's home.
"D-doctor we got the v-vemon!" KIller muttered, as he held up the bottle with a shaky hand.
Then on cue all 3 of the Kid Pirates collapse on the doorway.
-x-
Cracking her eyes open, Kc realized she was in a room that didn't look familiar to her.
"Your fever seems to have come down a little, girly. Are you happy." An older woman wearing a lab coat stated while drinking a bottle of wine.
The older woman then touched Kc's forehead. " Yep, your fever has come down a few degrees, so you should be alright. Hi, I'm a doctor. Dr. Diana, but you can just call me Dr. Dan ."
Before Kc could open her mouth, Diana held up her hand. "In case you are wondering, yes we are in the middle of the forest."
"Then there were 3 others besides me, right?" Kc Asked.
"Yeah, they're sleeping in the next room… very deeply. What tough guys…"Dr. Diana then walked closer to Kc's bed and pulled down her shirt.
"This was the cause of your sickness. You were stung by a scorpion that was supposed to be extinct 50 years ago. Once you're stung by it, It causes an extremely high fever which will eventually lead to a deadly case of heat stroke. Most people who got stung by that particular scorpion were supposed to die within that same day they came in contact with it.
From the information that your crew gave me, you have been infected for more than a week.
I'm just wondering how you are not dead by now? Do you walk in the snow while being butt naked all day. Ahaha..well that's just silly." Dr. Diana said with a light chuckle.
"Ah...oh yeah, that might be because of my devil fruit." Kc stated as she tried to conjure up some ice only to find nothing appearing in her hand.
Realizing just how dehydrated she was, Kc then asked for a glass of water which Dr. Diana gladly agreed.
While Dr. Diana walked back with the glass of water in one of her hands, Kc extended one of her tails and grabbed and drank all of it in 1 big gulp.
Pressing her hands together, Kc then created a mini ice sculpture that was the shape of a deer.
"Awww… how cute, can you describe to me what your full transformation looks like and what else you might know about your devil fruit?" Dr. Diana asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"Well for one thing, I need to be hydrated if I want to freeze or create ice at will. But when in a snowy climate I don't have to worry about that, since I can just manipulate the snow or ice that is around me. And as you can see I can also mold anything out of ice as well, but if I wanted a pacific shape like a key or this." Kc explained as she held up the mini ice sculpture closer to Dr. Diana's face.
"First I needed to mold the shape I want out of snow. Then with only a single touch with my finger I can turn it into solid ice."
"So that's why your hair turned white all of the sudden." Dr. Diana stated as she stroke Kc's long snowy locks with her finger.
Kc nodded. "Yep, my hair turns white whenever I use my ice abilities. And for the animal side of my devil fruit, I can grow claws and large fangs as well." Kc stated as she turned one of her hands into a white paw.
"But my favorite feature of being a fox is my twin tails. Most of my brute strength comes from my tails which makes it perfect for close combat and restraining peopl as well.
But what really makes them special is how they can spin to the point it can lift me off the ground and let me fly around like a helicopter. And they can also be used as blankets." Kc said the last part with a small chuckle.
"Have you ever heard the legend about the Silver Fox?" asked.
Kc shook her head. "No."
"It's an old legend from the North Blue about a fox who was severly bully by all the forest creatures just because it was born with 2 tails. But then one day the forest was attacked by evil bats who wanted to eat the woodland critters and while the 2 tailed fox was running for it's life. The fox made a wrong turn and accidentally fell off a cliff, but instead falling to it's death as it expected. The 2 tailed fox realized that it's extra tail was just a blessing in disguiset. With it's new abilities of flight, the 2 tailed fox then kicks all of the bats's asses. For doing such a good deed, the god of Winter then gave some of his powers to the fox and that is how it became the Silver Fox of the North Blue. It is also known as the most beautiful animal in the world. And what I can tell, your devil fruit gave you all of the traits and abilities of that certain Fox. " Dr. Diana explained as she got up from her chair.
Hearing other footsteps, Kc then turns to face her now awake crewmates.
"Ha, the bitch didn't die after all, good I don't want any weaklings on my crew who can't even deal with being a little sick." Kid said, trying to mask just how relieved he actually was.
Kacey only rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm going back to the ship."
Before Kc could get out of bed, Dr pinned her down with a scalpel inches away from Kc's neck.
"Until you completely heal up, you're not going anywhere. So you're staying here for at least 3 days. The only ones who leave this cave are either cured or dead people. "
"I'm fine, I don't even have a fever anymore." Kc defended, then she looked at her captain. "Right? Only strong people can call themselves Kid Pirates and I am a Kid Pirate." Kc stated in hopes Kid will take her side.
"Do what the Doctor says." Kid stated, which made Kc widen her eyes in pure shock.
"There is a difference between being strong and healthy, and right now you need rest."
"But!" Kc said.
"No buts, rest that's an order. I may not show it but I actually give a shit about my crew's well-being." Kid said as he and Killer pulled a chair next to her bed while Heat went back to the ship to inform the rest of the crew that Kc is okay.
