The Pirate King Is Dead - Long Live The Pirate King

Part 3 of a Four Part Saga

By Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Fourteen - Chopper Practices Good Medicine

Almost every day, the little boy named Sakura's timid face would poke around the corner, looking for Chopper. If he saw Kureha he'd run away for a few hours. At first, the boy sat and watched as Chopper massaged his mother's feet and hands to help with her circulation and studied books, looking for something that would help the poor woman. Finally one day, he spoke up.

"Are you going to give her something?" Sakura asked, his voice breaking the silence of Chopper's studying.

"I don't think so," he answered slowly, not looking up from his book.

"Well, why not? Are you not going to cure her?" he shouted, getting to his feet.

Chopper closed the book and looked to Mrs. Hulgan's prone form. "Sometimes medicine isn't the answer, but it doesn't mean there isn't a way to help her."

Sakura balled his little fists. "Then what are you going to do!"

The doctor hadn't been sure he wanted to try this idea, but it seemed Sakura wanted results. He made it look like he was doing something while still thinking about the best method. Perhaps this way the boy's anxiety would be eased. "Ok," he said seriously. "We're going to try a radical form of treatment."

"Radical?" he wondered, his eyes going wide.

Chopper nodded. "Here," he said and pulled a book off of the shelf in front of him. "Carry this for me."

Sakura did as he was told. He looked at the cover, but couldn't make out the words in the fancy gold lettering on its cover. He watched carefully as Chopper found a wheelchair and brought it over to the patient's bed. "Heavy point," he muttered and grew into his large size. Carefully, he put his huge arms under Mrs. Hulgan and lifted her, sheets and all, into the chair.

"What are you going to do to her!" Sakura asked, terrified.

"I'm going to administer some vitamin D," Chopper replied. "Follow me with that book, please." The large, fuzzy man pushed the chair with the sleeping woman out of the door and down the hall. "Bringing your mother here was a very good idea," Chopper said as he wheeled the chair toward a large balcony at the end of the broad hallway. "Since the elevation on Drum Rocky is so high, the exposure will be more concentrated. The dose should be administered in only a short exposure with the maximum effect generated." He stopped, opened huge leaded-glass doors and pushed the chair out onto the balcony.

Snow had been cleared off of the balcony earlier that morning and the sky was clear and crystalline. The air was as warm as it got on Sakura Island, a balmy fifty degrees. Icicles dripped along the windows behind them creating a sound almost like music. "This won't take long," Chopper told Sakura while he pushed the sleeves of Mrs. Hulgan's nightgown up to her shoulders and pulled back the sheets, exposing her legs to the knees. She looked a bit like a doll sitting in the wheelchair with her pale white skin glaring in the sun. Chopper sat down on a bench to her right and shrunk back to his normal size. He motioned for Sakura to join him.

"Why are we out here? Isn't it bad for her to be out of bed?"

"Not at all," Chopper answered, taking the book from him. "My friend Nami used to say that we were all overdosing in vitamin D, being out in the sun on the ship all the while. She was partially right. Being on the Grand Line and exposed to so much sunlight is definitely a great way to get the D you need, but the exposure time doesn't have to be long. It's summer here right now and there's not a cloud in the sky: perfect conditions for the sun to shine UV-B rays down on the patient. Her health will greatly improve from this treatment, but the next step is the main reason we're out here right now."

"What now?" the boy asked.

"We're going to read to her."

Sakura frowned. "But she can't hear us."

"How do you know that?"

"'Cause she's asleep!"

"She's in a coma," Chopper corrected. "She needs stimulation. I've been massaging her extremities to keep her circulation going and to remind her that she has a body that she can use. We need to read to her and talk to her to remind her that she has people who care about her." He opened the book. "We need to give her all the help we can so she can be strong and want to wake up."

Sakura's lip trembled. "Will that really help?"

Chopper decided not to veil the truth. "It might. I can't promise anything. The only thing we can do is try. If we give up on her, how can we expect her to fight on her own?"

Sakura wiped his eyes and running nose with the back of his hand. "I'm not gonna give up on her!"

Chopper smiled. "That's a good boy. Now, which story are we going to read to her?" When he had composed himself, Sakura helped him pick a story about a boy who falls under a spell and has to be rescued by his friend from the evil Snow Queen.

That evening after everyone had gone to bed, Dr. Kureha opened a fresh bottle of plum wine and took a swig off of it. She looked down on Mrs. Hulgan and scrutinized her. "What do you know?" she muttered. "Crazy kid might just have something." She sat down and sighed. "Teachin' an old dog new tricks, he is." She laughed to herself. "What do you think, Lady? Should I give it to him? Is he ready?" Kureha took another long drink. Mrs. Hulgan was, as usual, silent. "Right, right. I'll wait. But I'm an impatient young woman," she cackled. "You better hurry up and get to talkin'. I want my answer soon."

For the next three weeks, Chopper and Sakura rolled Mrs. Hulgan around the halls of the castle. They took her to a couple of musical performances held in the castle's great ballroom. They read stories and newspaper articles to her. Her complexion was better and her overall health seemed near perfect, but her coma persisted. Perhaps the best improvement was in Sakura's disposition. Being shown around the castle, meeting with the King and living with Chopper helped bring the boy out of his shell. He was rarely seen without a glowing smile. His fear of Dr. Kureha even abated after being exposed to her and seeing that she was a good person with a rough exterior.

Chopper was thinking about how well the boy was doing one day as he read a children's book to his mother when suddenly he put the book down. "Doctor?" he asked Chopper. "Is this treatment really working?"

Chopper gritted his teeth. "Sure it is. You see how much better she looks? That's indicative of her good health."

"But she's still asleep!" he cried and closed the book. "I want my mom to wake up!"

"So do I, Sakura," Chopper said quietly. He wasn't sure he'd be able to ration with a frustrated five year old. 'How can I tell him to keep having patience?' he thought. 'It is starting to look bleak. She might be healthy, but she might still never recover.'

Sakura clenched his fists. "Some doctor you are," he grumbled.

Chopper's heart sank. "Sakura…"

The boy looked up, tears in his eyes and shouted at him. "I'm gonna study medicine and become a way better doctor than you or the Scary Old Lady!" He held his mother's hand tightly. "I'll wake mom up, you'll see!"

The 'Scary Old Lady' leaned in the door frame and scoffed. "You love your mother that much, that you'd dedicate your life to the study of medicine?"

"Docturinu!" Chopper jumped at her presence.

"You bet!" Sakura cried.

"Even if she wakes up today?" Kureha purred. "Will you promise to study and become a better doctor than either of us?"

"I promise! I will!"

The old woman's lips curled up. "You better study hard, Kiddo."

Chopper repressed a gasp, but couldn't help but smile with joy as he saw Mrs. Hulgan's eyes flutter open.

"Sakura-chan…?" she asked quietly. Her son nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around and stared at her. Her hand squeezed his back.

"Mommy!" he cried and threw his arms around her neck.

Kureha pulled Chopper out of the room and let them be alone for a while. She grinned down on her apprentice. "The student has become the master," she said, folding her arms.

He blinked a few times as if he hadn't understood what she said. "Student has… Oh! Come on! As if saying that will make me feel proud or something!" he blushed and wiggled with joy.

"You'll make a great Surgeon General." Kureha put her hands on her hips. "I'm handing in my resignation tomorrow."

"Docturinu…" Chopper whispered. He hung his head. "You really think I can do it?"

"Don't be such a wuss, Chopper!" she crowed. "You know you can! Don't even think about what I think about it, or Dalton or even that kid and his mom in there. Or even Hiruluck, even though he'd be fit to burst with pride if he were alive today." She turned and headed down the hall. "Think about what you think. What you want to do. It is your choice, Chopper. But we all believe in you. Never doubt that."

.x.

Three months later, Chopper was installed as Sakura Kingdom's new Surgeon General. He was given a number of fancy things as gifts from the King and the kingdom's administrators in congratulations, but his favorite acquisitions greeted him every morning when he came out of his room to start the new day.

"Good morning, Doctor," Mrs. Hulgan said with a sweet, closed-eye smile. She wore a white nurses' uniform with a pale pink Sakura logo on the right breast. "Shall I put the kettle on?"

"Good morning! Yes please, Mrs. Hulgan!" he chimed.

"Morning, Doctor!" Sakura called from the breakfast table.

"Morning, Sakura. How did you sleep?"

Mrs. Hulgan pouted slightly. "He didn't. He spent all night trying to read medical journals again."

"I wasn't trying, Mom! I was reading!" he argued.

"Sakura! You can hardly read, let alone such big words, and you shouldn't stay up so late. Young boys need their rest!" she scolded.

"Sakura, you should listen to your mother." Chopper hopped up onto a chair. The boy stuck his tongue out at him. Chopper mirrored the gesture back.

"Here is your list of appointments for today, Doctor," Mrs. Hulgan said and handed him his cup of tea. "I'll be ministering to the patients in ward B between nine and ten then I'll be ready to help you with the patient in ward A after that."

He looked at the list of things to do and breathed a sigh. "Thank you, Mrs. Hulgan. I can't say it enough. I'm so glad you agreed to be my assistant, and that you were a nurse!"

"It's like destiny," Sakura said with a silly grin on his face.

"Sakura!" she scolded him.

Chopper laughed and finished his tea, ready to start a new day.

To be continued…