And, another chapter is here. Wow. Whenever I think I am not going to do something, I do, and whenever I think I am going to do something, I dont. How odd. Anyway, on with the chappie.
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Chapter 11: Thank god we found them
Nami and Usopp asked Chopper if they could have three more people stay and the reindeer, after some nervous deliberation, said it was alright. Now, Nami and Usopp were out on the streets, trying to find their three friends. They weren't hard to find. Nami looked down an alleyway and saw two men trying to pick a fight with one another.
"Do you think that's them?" Usopp asked beside her as Nami's eyelids drooped.
"Yep, that's them alright." and she walked forward. "Hey!" she called out when the two began to punch and try and hit each other.
Hang on a minute, Sanji doesn't punch. Usopp thought as he paused behind Nami. That wasn't them.
"Uh, Nami?" Usopp asked timidly.
"Not now Usopp." Nami replied as the two men continued hitting each other, "Come on guys!"
"Nami?" Usopp said again as the two men paused.
"What Usopp?" Nami snapped, spinning around to look at the long nose. Usopp shook his head.
"That's not Sanji, Zoro or Luffy." he stated, pointing toward the two that were now coming toward them. Nami stiffened.
"Are you sure?" she asked, slowly turning back to the men. Usopp nodded.
"What do you want lady?" the first of the men asked. He was burly man, and Usopp cowered behind Nami.
"Uh, sorry about that, honest mistake, I thought you were someone else." and she began to back up, pushing Usopp behind her as she did so. The two men watched her as she pushed Usopp out onto the sidewalk and then both began running as fast as they could in the opposite direction.
"I … told…you." Usopp gasped, hands on his knees as he gasped for air. Nami frowned from where she was gasping beside him.
"You… did… not." she replied.
"I said… that… that wasn't them. I said it." Usopp gasped before standing straight and looking around, his chest still heaving. Nami did the same beside him.
"So, where do we look now?" she asked. Usopp looked around.
"I don't know. You're the one who's good with maps." he replied.
"Well, long nose, if you had cared to notice, I don't have a map to this damn town!" she snapped, getting irritated.
"What about that?" Usopp asked, pointing to a large, plastic board on the side of the street. Nami paused, blinked and then walked over to it.
"Ha, here we go. Okay, so, we're here." she muttered as she pointed to a small red dot on the board, the light over the top of them making shadows flicker and dance across the laminate. "And we came into town…here." and she traced a small line along the top of the board. "So, we must have stopped about…here." she said and tapped her finger on the plastic.
"So, do you know where they went?" Usopp asked.
"I'm working on it." Nami snapped back and Usopp frowned. "Ok, so, we went this way." and she used her other hand to trace a line that led towards the red dot that indicated where they were. "Sanji was on the other side so he must have gone that way." she said, bringing her hand back across to trace another line that led between two buildings. "Luffy and Zoro jumped out the back of the car, so, maybe they went back that way." and she traced another line. "Ok, so, let's go and find Sanji. He should be easy to find."
"How do you figure?" Usopp asked. Nami shrugged.
"As soon as he hears me he'll come hell or high water to find me." she replied and then smiled. Usopp chuckled.
"True."
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"We'll go this way!" Zoro growled, Luffy in his arms. Sanji pointed in the opposite direction to where Zoro had nodded.
"No, we're going this way." he replied.
"Why?" Zoro asked, getting annoyed. Luffy whimpered slightly in his grasp and Zoro paused a moment to look down at the boy.
"Because, the sooner we look around this town, the quicker we can find Nami and get help for Luffy." Sanji replied. Zoro blinked. In a backwards sort of way, that actually made sense.
"And besides, your sense of direction would probably lead us off a cliff." Zoro frowned. It was true, he supposed.
"Fine. But next turn, we go my way." the swordsman replied, disregarding the remark Sanji had made. The chef sighed and shrugged before walking away down the sidewalk.
"Bastard, should just go the other way without him." Zoro grumbled as he followed. There was a weak chuckle from his arms and he saw Luffy looking up at him.
"Then there wouldn't be any more food." the wounded boy said. Zoro blinked and then smiled.
"Even though you're injured, you're still thinking about food." the swordsman replied. Luffy grinned and then his eyes closed and his head fell back, unconscious again. Zoro sighed. They were running out of time.
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Nami paused a moment, looking around carefully at the area where the car had been stopped in the middle of the road. The car was long gone, and so were the people who had obviously taken it. Usopp peered out from beside her.
"Hey, you see that?" Usopp asked and then hurried forward.
"Usopp!" Nami hissed. "Hey, they're probably watching us. Usopp…!"
"Nami. This… it's blood." Usopp said, kneeling down in the middle of the street and peering at a small red spot. Nami looked around for a minute and then ran out and kneeled beside him. "And look, that's a piece of straw."
"What would a piece of straw being doing out in the middle of the street?" she asked, still glancing over her shoulder a little nervously. Usopp thought a moment and then his eyes widened at the same time Nami's did.
"Luffy's hat." they said together.
"You don't think…?" Usopp asked. Nami blinked.
"No. Luffy must have just hurt someone here. Made them bleed when he was escaping." she replied but she looked unconvinced by her own deduction.
"Yeah. He's fine." Usopp said.
"You idiot! I knew you would lead us back here!" a familiar voice called. Nami looked around, eyes narrowed as two people walked out from the entrance to an alleyway.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" the second growled back. Nami smiled.
"Sanji!" she called, standing up. The two men stopped fighting and turned to look over at them.
"Ah, Nami! My gorgeous Nami!" Sanji called and danced over to her. Nami watched as Zoro followed and the smile on her face fell when she saw what the swordsman was holding.
"Wh-what happened?" she asked as she hurried past Sanji and over to the unconscious Luffy. Zoro shook his head.
"He was shot. We need to find a doctor, but, we don't know where to look." he replied. Usopp hurried up beside her.
"Hey, hey hey hey, we just met this… uh, guy. He's a doctor!" the marksman cried. Zoro instantly brightened.
"Are you serious?" he asked and Nami and Usopp nodded, "Then let's go! Luffy's getting worse by the minute."
Nami led them as quickly as she could back to Chopper's house.
"How much further is this place?" Zoro asked.
"Not far." Nami replied.
"Do you want me to carry Luffy for a while?" Usopp asked beside the swordsman. Zoro's arms clenched momentarily and he shook his head.
"No, it's alright." he replied. Nami paused beside the door to Chopper's house and knocked on the door. There was a short shuffle and then the door cracked open, revealing a small black eye.
"Nami?" a small voice asked.
"Let us in Chopper. We really need your help." Nami replied. The door opened completely revealing the little reindeer. Zoro's eyes widened, and Sanji took his cigarette from his mouth in shock.
"He's… a doctor?" Zoro asked, leaning in close to Usopp. The long nose nodded.
"Come on Zoro, do you want to help Luffy or not?" Nami snapped, walking in. Zoro blinked and then followed her in, turning sideways so he wouldn't hit Luffy's head on the door frame. Chopper watched as Zoro came in, his face expressionless.
"So, what do you need my help with?" the little doctor asked after he had shut the door behind Sanji, the last to enter. Zoro twisted so he could show the bullet wound on Luffy's shoulder.
Chopper gasped and then hurried over to the little table in the centre of the room. He cleared off the books and papers and then wiped a cloth over the table before running over to a little cupboard in the corner and opening it. He pulled out a sterile looking white sheet and laid it over the table, making sure the table was properly covered.
"Lay him down on the table. Expose the wound." Chopper ordered. Zoro did as he was told, gently laying Luffy down on the table and beginning to take off Luffy's shirt.
This would look a little suspicious if Luffy wasn't wounded. Zoro thought as he unbuttoned Luffy's shirt and then pulled it off. He gently turned Luffy over onto his stomach and he got a clear look at the wound.
The wound had begun to congeal and the area around the initial entry spot of the bullet was raised and red. The rest of Luffy's back was smooth and he looked even skinnier without his shirt on. Chopper raced back over to the table, a small leather bag in his… hooves. Hang on…
"Hey, how are you going to help Luffy with hooves?" Zoro asked, suddenly realising the difficulty of the situation. Chopper paused.
"I have special tools. Now, I'm going to remove the bullet. It's not too far in from what I can see." Chopper said. Zoro looked down at the wound.
"How do you know?" he asked. Chopper blinked and then putting his hoof close to Luffy's shoulder he replied,
"You can see the dark spot, under the blood? That's the bottom of the bullet. Someone is going to have to hold him down." Chopper instructed as he got up on a chair and then pulled on a pair of special gloves that fit his hooves.
Zoro gently placed a hand on Luffy's closest shoulder, and then halfway down Luffy's back under the bullet wound on the other shoulder. Chopper flicked a small syringe and then injected a clear liquid into Luffy's back.
"What's that for?" Zoro asked. Chopper looked up at him for a moment and then looked back down at Luffy.
"Anaesthetic. He'll still feel something but, it won't be as painful. Nowhere near as painful." the little doctor muttered as he reached into his bag and pulled out a little sharp instrument. Zoro turned his head away.
He wasn't a squeamish person by nature, but seeing Luffy get cut open was a little too much for him to bear.
Luffy never screamed, never moaned, never made a single sound all through the small operation but Zoro could feel the muscles tense in the boy's shoulders and he willed Luffy to just bear with him.
"There," Chopper said as he pulled out a blunt nosed bullet and he dropped it onto the table before grabbing a small cloth and some cleaning alcohol from the bag. "This is going to hurt, no matter how much anaesthetic I put into his system." and pouring a little of the alcohol onto the cloth, he gently pressed it down on the wound.
Luffy jumped under Zoro's hands and the swordsman tightened his grip.
Sorry about this buddy, but it'll help. He silently thought towards Luffy. His hands must have conveyed what he was feeling, for Luffy's back relaxed a little as Chopper continued cleaning the wound. When that was done, the little doctor grabbed some more sterile white cloth, folded it into a small pad and then placed it over the wound.
He pulled out what looked like some sort of tape. Pulling off a strip, he cut it with a pair of scissors and then taped the cloth down on Luffy's back. Last of all, Chopper asked Zoro if he could lift Luffy up a little so the doctor could wind a small gauze bandage around Luffy's shoulder and then tying it into a knot. Chopper sighed as he pulled off the little gloves.
"Alright. He's going to need to keep still for a while. A few days. You're invited to stay here." Chopper said turning to the rest of the group, who looked up from their little whispered conversation they had been having.
"Thankyou Chopper." Nami said with a smile. "Uh, Zoro? Could I talk to you outside for a minute?" Zoro blinked and then looked down at Luffy, who had fallen into a more comfortable looking sleep than he had recently been in.
"I guess." he responded, not really wanting to leave Luffy, but, Nami looked like she needed to talk to him. Before he went though, he moved Luffy to the bed Chopper directed him at and made sure the kid was well covered and lying comfortably before walking after Nami.
The orange haired woman stood outside on the sidewalk, hands clasped in front of her. Zoro shut the door behind him and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"What do you want?" he asked. Nami turned.
"Zolo, I think, I think we need to figure out what's going on here." she said. Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he responded. Nami sighed.
"We need to solve the reason of why you're a fugitive. We can't keep running. It's pointless. All we're doing is fooling ourselves into thinking that we are going to a safe place, not to mention that Tashigi girl keeps following us everywhere. She beat us here Zoro." the woman explained. Zoro frowned.
"So?"
"So? Look what happened. Luffy was shot! Because we tried to escape. Zoro, they could have killed-"
"I know what they could have done." Zoro said, cutting her off. He crossed his arms over his chest. "So, you're suggesting we go back to the 'scene of the crime' and try to fix a problem that I have spent the last two years running from?" he asked. Nami nodded, a light breeze making her hair blow across her face. Zoro sighed.
"Nami, I can't. There's noting I can do." he said in a defeated tone. Nami frowned.
"You can't, or you won't?" she asked in a slightly impatient voice. Zoro looked up, his eyes dark.
"Why would I not want to? Kind of stupid don't you think?"
"I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who won't tell me how this even started."
"Why should you know? It's none of your business!"
"It is my business! It's Luffy's business, Sanji's business, even Usopp's! We have been pulled into this mess, because we were associated with you! So, don't go telling me it's none of my business!" Nami snapped in return. Zoro paused, and then sighed. She was right. He knew she was right.
"Fine. I'll tell you. But, I want to go inside. It's cold out here." he said, walking in the door. Nami blinked and then followed. He had given in so easily. Maybe she was beginning to make him think.
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I think I may have made Chopper a little out of character here. Sorry about that. Reviews will keep Zoro out of jail! he he .