The Pirate King Is Dead - Long Live The Pirate King

Part 3 of a Four Part Saga

By Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Five - Chopper Returns To Sakura Island

"I am Doctor Tony Tony Chopper," the reindeer repeated to himself. "It'll be alright. It will. I can do this." Of all the journeys he'd been on since leaving Drum Island over five years before, this was the hardest of memory. "I am Doctor Tony Tony Chopper." It was the first time he'd been alone.

"I can do this," he whispered. His eyes still stung from crying when he said good-bye to Sanji and Zoro. He knew they couldn't come up to the castle with him. It had been hard enough to avoid being chased by Marines until now. He'd have been devastated if his selfishness got them caught. Chopper pursed his lips and tried not to cry again. Memories flooded in as he stepped through the snowy streets; memories of Dr. Hiruluck and Dr. Kureha weren't as hard as those of when Luffy and company had come along and changed his life. He had become a pirate. He had found nakama. But now, all that was gone.

"I can do this," he sniffled. His smaller form was only a little bigger than it had been when he left, but it was still too odd for most folks to handle so he walked along on four legs. Still, people stared at the animal wearing a large pink hat and a backpack. "I'm a reindeer. I'm a doctor. I'm ok. Nobody try to mess with me, please. Just let me get to the castle," he fretted. "Why does it have to be so far?"

"You see that?" someone said.

"It's reindeer."

"You think he's lost?"

"He's got a hat on…"

Chopper picked up the pace. "Don't run, don't run," he urged himself. "Just bear it. Just get to the castle. If Docturinu is still there…" Suddenly he had a horrible thought. What if she was gone? What if she was dead! He made a startled sound and decided to break into a run. It would have behooved Chopper to look up first. He ran into someone and both of them fell over from the impact. "Oh my God, are you ok?" Chopper cried, forgetting he'd decided not to talk out loud until he saw a familiar face.

The boy he collided with rubbed his head and stood up. He stared at the big, pink hat. "Are you… Chopper?"

"Eh?" he took a step back.

"Yeah, you are! I remember you. My name's Tama. You and Dr. Kureha saved my life when I was little. It was really scary at the time, but if it wasn't for her, I'd be dead."

Finally, Chopper relaxed. "Really? That's great!" He marveled at the preteen before him. "Is she…?" he asked, afraid to get bad news. "Still around?"

"Dr. Kureha? Oh sure. She's the Surgeon General."

Chopper's eyes became stars. "Really!"

"I was just headed to the castle myself. Let's take the cable car together!"

"Mm!" the young doctor agreed and followed Tama happily.

Drum Rocky was vibrant and full of life. Chopper marveled at the amount of people coming in and out of the castle. Tama lead him to the Surgeon General's office which was close to where Dr. Kureha had her offices when he lived with her.

"I gotta go get my fishing license renewed," Tama said with a smile. "I'll see ya later!"

"Un!" Chopper chimed and waited until he had disappeared down the hall before changing his shape. He stood outside the door, fretting and reaching for the knob, pulling his hand back, fretting some more, reaching again. After about a minute, someone barked from inside, "If you're going to come in, just come in!"

Chopper cried out in alarm, leapt two feet in the air and shifted form into the Guard Point defensive puff-ball. It took another half a minute to calm his racing heart and turn the knob. A large desk that looked like it was supposed to face the door was turned to face giant windows that looked out over the snowy courtyard five stories below. In a plain wooden chair with her back to him sat Dr. Kureha. She was leaning on her left hand and writing something with the right. She put the pen down, picked up a bottle of plum wine and took a long swig. "Well, what do you want?" she barked.

"D… Docturinu…" Chopper stuttered. The old woman straightened up and turned her head quickly. For a moment, a look of utter joy and surprise flashed across it before she regained her composure.

"Choppah! Well, well, well as I live and breathe…" she marveled and stood up. The 144 year old doctor didn't look five years older. She put her hand on her hip and smirked at him. "I never thought I'd see the likes of you again. Did you have fun?"

Chopped blinked back tears and nodded his head.

"I'm sorry about your friend, the Straw-Hat kiddo," she said, noting his tears. Chopper nodded again, remembering their oath that only former crew members should be allowed to know the truth in order to protect Luffy from the government. "Well," Kureha said, sitting back down. "I'm glad you had fun while it lasted." She relaxed and looked lazily out the windows. "A lot has changed here because of that kid. You've come back at a good time."

Chopper wiped his nose and joined her at her desk. "The castle is alive!" he agreed brightly. "It looks like people are happy, at last."

"They are. It's nice," she said with a sigh.

"Are you happy, Docturinu?"

"I'm just tired, Chopper. This job is hard. I'm Surgeon General. I'm in charge of all the doctors in the kingdom and there's a shit load of them these days." She took another swig of wine. "Pay's good. Stability's good. Workload's rough." Chopper furrowed his brows. She took a deep breath. "Come on, I'll show you around. The place is a lot different since you've been gone. You'll be amazed!"

She toured him all over. The ballroom was redecorated and was being readied for another party later in the week. The offices were occupied with administrators. Diplomats, secretaries, officers and the like roamed the halls, working diligently at the task of maintaining the kingdom.

"As you might now, Dalton is king these days."

"Really?" Chopped cried.

"Of course! Who wouldn't want an Akuma no Mi user in charge? And a good man as well." They turned a corner, heading back to Kureha's office and a young boy walking toward them who was too busy looking back over his shoulder collided with Kureha. "Oi!" she shouted, putting her hand on the top of the startled youth's head. "You finally come to your senses?" The light brown haired boy couldn't be more than five years old. He looked up at the very tall Dr. Kureha with frightened black eyes. They got even wider when he looked into the eyes of her strange, fuzzy companion.

"Lemme go!" he shouted.

Kureha sighed dramatically and took her hand off of his head. He dashed between them and down the hall.

"What was that all about?" Chopper asked.

"Nothing. Don't worry about him. He'll come around." She directed Chopper to an open door where the boy had come out of. "This is my personal attention ward. Doctors from around Drum send their worst cases here for me to help with. I try to work with them to cure them." There were six beds, three on either side of the room. A fireplace crackled at the far end and more of the elegant windows let a good amount of light in. Only one bed was occupied. Kureha sauntered to this bed and picked the chart off of a hook on the footboard. She handed this to Chopper. "What do you think?" she asked.

Chopper looked at the patient then down at the chart. "Mrs. Olga Hulgan. Age 35. Admitted three weeks ago, avalanche victim. Possible brain damage, persistent coma." He flipped the chart, looking at the diagnosis and treatment plan. "What's being done for her?"

"Right now, we're just keeping her alive."

"There must be something we can do."

"She doesn't have the money to pay for it. Her doctor trumped up her symptoms to get her in here but she's just in a coma from a severe injury. There's nothing we can do."

Chopper frowned and looked at the patient information. "Her husband was killed in another avalanche a few years ago, but she still has a son, Sakura, five years old." He looked up at Kureha. "A boy named Sakura?"

Kureha laughed loudly. "In the year after Hiruluck's Sakura-colored snowfall almost everyone in Drum named their kid 'Sakura', they were so moved by the experience."

"Really?" Chopper beamed. "That's wonderful!" Then he remembered the woman in the bed in front of him and sobered. "This woman's son is one of them."

"You just met him a moment ago," Kureha said and leaned on the bedrail. "That brat who ran into me was Sakura."

"Why did he run away? Is he afraid of you?"

Kureha laughed. "There's that too, but he's not handling his mother's condition very well."

"He's only five!" Chopper pointed out.

"That's what I mean. A normal five year old would cry and cling to his mother. This one is angry and runs away. I'm impressed he made it this far today. He must have sneaked a peek at her then turned and fled." She touched the blankets covering Mrs. Hulgan's foot. "He doesn't want to believe she'll never wake up again."

Chopper frowned. "Do you think she won't?"

"I've seen worse, but yes. I think she's too far gone. The doctor who brought her here waited too long." Kureha stood and walked out of the room.

"I'll help," Chopper said seriously. "I've seen all kinds of crazy stuff on the Grand Line. My friends have been injured in more ways than you'd ever dream of. Maybe there's something I can do for her."

Kureha smiled. "Have at it," she said and walked back to her office.

.X.

The following day was filled with excitement for Chopper. King Dalton heard about his return and asked to meet with him. Chopper was surprised and honored (and typically bashful) to be received by the King as a returning hero. Being the adopted son of Dr. Hiruluck, Chopper was the closest living relative of the man known as the 'Kingdom's Joy'. Hiruluck's recipe for cherry-blossom-snow was used every year to mark the anniversary of King Walpol's defeat and Hiruluck himself was remembered as a national hero.

Dalton sat across from him at a table and they had tea together. Chopper in his Heavy Point large form and Dalton with his normally impressive size were an amusing sight, sipping tea from small, dainty cups.

"I'm very glad such an accomplished physician has returned to Sakura Kingdom," Dalton remarked between sips. The island's new name still made Chopper's heart race with joy. "Dr. Kureha is very capable, but I'm afraid that she doesn't like her position."

"She said the job was good, but demanding," Chopper surmised.

Dalton nodded. "And she is getting on in years, as well." He raised a brow, letting the inference sink in. "I hope you decide to stay here in Sakura, Chopper." He finished his cup and stood up. "We Zoan-users have to stick together, you know." The king winked at him.

Chopper laughed. "Thank you very much, Your Highness. I am seriously considering just that. The warm welcome I've received makes me feel truly at home." They shook hands. Chopper bowed and went back to the Surgeon General's offices. On the way he mulled over what Dalton had said. He was so deep in thought that when he turned the corner to go into the Special Care ward, he didn't notice the visitor there until he was practically on top of him.

The boy looked up at the huge, fuzzy, blue-nosed man with the huge pink hat and his eyes went as big as saucers.

Chopper tried to calm him by shrinking back to his normal size. "It's ok! I'm a doctor!" he cried and waved his hooves wildly. The boy pinned himself against his mother's bed and stared, unblinking into Chopper's eyes. He slowly realized that he wasn't going to be eaten and relaxed a little. "You must be Sakura," Chopper said politely. "My name is Dr. Tony Tony Chopper. Pleased to meet you." He stuck out a hoof which trembled only slightly.

Sakura nodded and swallowed deep. "You don't look like a doctor," the boy grumbled.

"I guess not," Chopper said and tried to change the subject. "I just got back yesterday. I'm going to help your mother."

"Fat chance. She's never gonna wake up," Sakura said and frowned. He remained with his back to her sleeping form. "Just like Dad."

Chopper sighed. 'I can't tell this kid that I'll be able to wake her, because if I can't, it'll hurt him.' "Ne, Sakura. Do you want to help me?" he asked, an idea forming.

"Help you? I'm just a little boy…" he said gloomily and stared at his feet.

"I'm only 20 years old," Chopper pointed out. "When I started studying I was just a kid, too. You'd be surprised what you can do if you try." He smiled sweetly at him.

To be continued…