A/N

Okay, so I have a legit reason this time. The day that I planned to finish and edit the chapter turned out to be the day of three tests and a talent show. Other than that...

Enjoy!

Anni's POV

In the morning, Luffy, Sanji, and I set off with Nami to the mountain. I packed my bag with essential things like my dagger, a water bottle, and marshmallows. Luffy carried Nami on his back, while Sanji and I came for protection against the Lapahn. Dalton told us to go on the opposite slope to avoid being attacked by the giant rabbits. I personally thought that we could take on a few bunnies and Luffy and Sanji agreed, so before anyone could complain, we set off in the direction of the mountain.

We were walking for an hour or so when we first caught a glimpse of the first one. It was about knee height, the same as that demon spider that I was going to murder. It growled murderously, and jumped at my knees, but Sanji kicked out at it and sent it flying into a tree. It shook off the snow and leaped again, but this time I shot a fireball at it, knocking it into one of the many snowdrifts.

As we continued up the slope, the over-sized bunny jumped repeatedly at us, but it didn't cause much of a disturbance aside from the inconvenience of knocking it away. It eventually disappeared into the trees, but I felt that it didn't really go away.

The snow flakes started to blow harder, stinging against my skin. I contemplated putting on the jacket that Vivi gave me, but my stubbornness won out and I just pulled it tighter around my waist.

Sanji noticed this and asked, "Hey, Anni, how do you put up with the cold? It makes me cold just to look at you."

"Well then don't look at me. I have fire-style powers, remember? I'm not affected by temperature much." I grumbled.

Luffy chuckled. "You look kinda cold to me. I mean, your hands are turning slightly blue and all..."

Sanji, not breaking his stride, ran over to me and inspected my hands. He looked like he was about to say something mushy and flirty, but a strange, serious look came over his face and he continued running with a, "Don't get frostbite. We still need to get Nami to the doctor, and if you pass out, we won't get there as fast."

Now thoroughly annoyed, I muttered, "Don't worry, love cook. If I pass out, I'll just keep sleep running through muscle memory. I've done it a few times before. I'm a pro."

Sanji mumbled just loud enough for me to hear, "Shitty stubborn pyro."

I rolled my eyes and ignored him, refocusing on the path ahead, where there were... what exactly? A dozen or so bears -no, rabbits, I realized- had blocked the path and were growling ferociously at us. The biggest one in the center had a scar over one eye, and behind it I spotted the bunny that had been constantly bugging us. It looked at me and snarled, but compared to the others it was too cute for me to take seriously.

Despite the menacing sight in front of us, I giggled at the small bunny. Luffy's and Sanji's heads both swiveled in my direction, and even Nami stirred slightly, raising her head a fraction.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

"Y-You..." Luffy stuttered slowly.

"What?!" I questioned more forcefully.

"You don't..." Sanji started.

"I. Don't. What?!" I asked in a very final tone.

"You don't make that kind of noise." He finished.

I scoffed. "So you guys are surprised because I laugh?"

Luffy shook his head. "No, because you just giggled."

Huffing, I rolled my eyes, turning back to the rabbits, who looked kinda pissed off that we were ignoring them.

"So, these are the Lapahn?" I asked, changing the subject.

Luffy shook his head vehemently. "No. They're big and white and furry. They're polar bears, not rabbits." he chuckled, continuing, "I think you're just nervous about them, because rabbits don't look like this."

Without any warning, the lead rabbit leaped at us, clearing a good fifteen feet or so. Skidding backwards, I heard Sanji exclaim, "Shit, it's unnatural. How the hell can it move like that?"

"Idiot, it's a rabbit. Were you expecting it to crawl?" I said sarcastically.

"No, it's a jumping polar bear!" Luffy corrected.

I straightened up and lit my fists on fire, preparing to attack, but Luffy put an arm out.

"Our first priority is to get Nami to the doctor." he said, leaping over the rabbits.

Sanji and I followed suit, only pausing to give the rabbits a warning kick or punch. Unfortunately, the rabbits didn't take kindly to us passing through. They jumped at us all at once and we had to dodge the swinging paws and huge bodies. Luffy stretched an arm back to attack but both Sanji ans I grabbed it and pulled it back carefully.

"Baka! If you attack, Nami will feel the shock!" Sanji scolded, kicking out at the furry attacker.

I whipped around and punched away another Lapahn before it could hit Luffy and Nami.

"Same goes for if you get hit. So just dodge and keep running. We'll catch up in a sec."

I shoved a protesting Luffy in the direction of the mountain, and turned to face the giant... fearsome... ferocious... bunnies.

I don't believe this. Luffy has to retreat because of a bunch of bunnies. My life is...

I sighed and turned to Sanji.

"Alright! I'll take the ones on the right, you take the ones on the left, and if either of us is about to die, don't forget to scream."

He smiled dryly at my evaluation of the situation.

"Sounds good, but try not to die, 'cause the others would kill you." He replied sarcastically.

I laughed and sprung into the mass of Lapahn, fists flying everywhere. I pulled out my dagger, but then I felt a stab of regret for slicing up these rabbits, no matter how evil they seemed.

The one with the scar seemed practically indestructible, as I kept hitting it and it just came back. As I was focusing on it, another came up behind me and slashed at my back, ripping through my shirt. I swore, stumbling slightly. I could feel the warm blood soaking through my clothes and dripping onto the snow. It wasn't deep, but it was certainly painful and inconvenient.

Shitshitshit...

I suddenly got an idea to end this in one go.

"Sanji, back off!" I yelled over the noise.

Mustering my energy, I jumped back out of the fight and put my hands together, palms facing the rabbits. I built up resistance, and then let it all go in one giant, destructive fireball. The fireball set most of them on fire, and knocked back the ones that weren't.

I scanned the snow for Sanji. I couldn't find him until...

NO!

I spotted him lying face-down in the snow, with a slowly growing red spot on the back of his head. Running over to him, I lifted his head propped him up. He stirred slightly, and started to mumble. I put my head down to listen.

"D... don't tell people about this..."

I smiled sadly. "Geez. You're nearly dead, and you want me to not tell people?"

He nodded weakly.

"Alright, then. No promises if anyone asks me specifically though."

I draped my jacket around him to keep him warm and lifted him onto my back like Luffy did with Nami, then started to jog gently in the direction that Luffy went.

XxX

On the way there, the small rabbit that had annoyed us at first was crouched over its leg. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the leg was trapped in a hole in some ice. It growled at me as I approached with Sanji, but I couldn't leave it stuck there. I have a secret weakness for certain types of cute animals, and this was definitely one of them. I stumbled through the snow, my back stinging from the cold even though Sanji was shielding me from the worst of it. It tried to wriggle away from me, but I gently melted the ice around its foot, allowing it to run away and hide behind a tree, but it watched me as I continued on my path.

XxX

I finally met up with Luffy at the bottom of the mountain. As I walked up to him, he turned, and, seeing Sanji, proceeded to ask in a worried tone about the events that had happened after he had left. I explained as best I could without it sounding lame. At the end of my story, Luffy said nothing, but started climbing up the side of the cliff.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Hey Luffy, if I fall, catch Sanji first, 'kay?"

He nodded silently. I secured Sanji onto my still bleeding back and got a good handhold on the ice before pulling myself up slowly. I could feel the snowflakes like tiny needles on my bare arms and legs, and the cold of the ice seeping through my gloves. I could only imagine Luffy was feeling the same way, so I tried to send him positive vibes.

About a quarter of the way up the mountain, Sanji suddenly slipped off my shoulder and hung backwards like a doll, pulling my feet off the mountainside. I found myself clinging onto the cliff by just my hands, but they were slowly losing grip too. Just as I was about to drop into the space below me, an arm stretched and pulled me by the collar of my t-shirt back onto the cliff. I regained my footing and looked above me to thank Luffy, but he was already moving up.

Around the halfway point, Luffy's hand slipped off his handhold, leaving a trail of blood on the ice. Without making a sound, he tried again, but the same thing happened. I edged my way along to him and melted a handhold in the ice for him to grab onto. He silently acknowledged my gesture and continued climbing.

We were nearly at the top when I suddenly felt the impact of the change in oxygen levels. My eyes started to droop, and I lost sense of the time that had passed. The only things that kept me awake and sane were Luffy's constant climbing and Sanji's head on my shoulder. I reminded myself that if I didn't get to the top soon, then Sanji would most likely die.

I closed my eyes for a moment just to concentrate on my surroundings, but a moment was all it took for my muscles to relax and my hand immediately lost its grip. I would have fallen to the ground, if not for Luffy grabbing my arm and yanking me back up.

Quietly, I whispered, "I'm not sure what to say when you just saved both our lives, but the closest I can get is thank you."

"It's fine." he replied almost silently.

As we neared the edge of the top of the mountain, my remaining blood rushed to my head. Not making the same mistake, I kept climbing at a steady pace, if not faster. My head pounded to my heartbeat and my vision blurred, but I moved my hands and feet in the same pattern that I had been following the whole way up.

Hand. Foot. Hand. Foot.

Out of my limited eyesight, I saw Luffy disappear over the edge. I desperately pulled myself up the remaining five feet and collapsed in the snow at the top. Mustering my remaining strength, I untied Sanji from my back, but didn't move him because I knew that if he got too cold, he would die for sure. Also, my back wound would hurt like freaking hell if the snow hit it.

I lay in the snow without moving, but I knew that Luffy was feeling the same way. Exhausted. Satisfied. Helpless. All we could do was wait for the witch to come save us.

XxX

I woke up in a soft white bed. The walls of the room were made of stone, and it was surprisingly cold. Across the room, there were some bookshelves and a table with medicinal supplies. In front of the desk, there was a chair, and in it was... what, exactly?

It was a furry creature with a red hat and darker red shorts. He (I assumed it was a he) was grinding some kind of leaf berry mixture. He jumped off the chair and padded across the floor to my bed, jumping up on a stool that was positioned next to my head.

I still felt slightly delirious, and the first thought that came to my mind was that he was adorably cute, so I stretched out one of my arms to grab him. I managed to capture one of his arms so that he couldn't get away, and hugged him tightly.

Aww... he's so soft!

Apparently, he did not take kindly to being squished. He wriggled out of my hug and ran across the room to hide part of his face behind the door frame.

"No... Come back..." I slurred, not fully awake yet.

He shivered, then yelled, "Shut up, human! You nearly died! How do you feel?"

Not quite sure whether that last comment had been a challenge or a legitimate question, I replied with a tired grin, "I feel just perfect! How about you? I guess you always feel good, 'cause you're so soft and furry and all... By the way, are you the one that took care of me and my nakama?"

He poked his small blue nose out from behind the door frame and whispered, "Yes, but I'm a blue nosed reindeer that can talk. Don't you hate me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"No! You're adorable and fluffy and cute and smart and talented and kind and amazing for helping us out. And personally, I think you're just about the cutest little thing I've ever seen."

An ecstatic expression appeared on his face and he did an adorable little happy dance.

"Shut up, human! Even if you say that, it doesn't make me happy at all!"

I smiled. "Okay, well if you're not happy, then you should do something that cheers you up! I have a perfect idea. Can you grab my bag for me?"

He ran off to get it as I puzzled about his attitude towards humans. What could have happened to him? And why him? He seemed too sweet and innocent to have a terrible past.

Whatever it is, I'm sure that I can help, even slightly.

He returned a few minutes later with my bag in his hands (Paws? Hooves?). I set it down on my knees and opened it, searching for a particular item.

"Aha!" I exclaimed, pulling out the bag of puffy, sugary, goodness and offered him one. "Eat one of these if you're not happy!"

He poked at it tentatively, testing for explosions or something. When all seemed fine, he grabbed it and popped it into his mouth. Immediately, his eyes lit up and he reached for another one. He jumped up onto the side of my bed, and we ate in a comfortable silence, until I decided to ask a few questions.

"Hey, so, I don't actually know your name. What is it?"

"Thony Thony Cthoppah." he replied with a mouthful of marshmallow.

Fortunately, I was experienced with people who talk with their mouths full so I could translate.

"Tony Tony Chopper?"

"Mm."

My face scrunched up in a smile.

"Aww! That's such a wonderful name! So, Chopper, are you the witch doctor that the people in the village talk about?"

He looked down glumly.

"No, that's Dr. Kureha. I'm just an assistant."

I nudged him.

"Well you must be pretty good to take care of patients like me. See, I'm all fixed!"

A shadow fell across the bed where we were sitting. I looked up and saw an old lady, but she must not have been any older than sixty. She was in good shape, with a crop top and a pierced bellybutton. In her hand was a bottle of sake, and she wore small, dark, sunglasses.

"What have you been eating, Chopper? You're not supposed to eat thing while on duty, and especially not if the patients give it to you."

I smiled cheerfully.

"Don't worry, uh, Dr. Kureha. They're just marshmallows. Not poisonous."

Ignoring me, she flipped me over onto my stomach, and pulled up the back of my shirt. It was then that I noticed the bandages around me, holding my wound together. She inspected them, and then made a slight sound of approval. As she let me go, I flushed slightly and pulled my shirt down. I had never been very good with 'inspections'.

The witch looked at me and said, "You can call me Doctorine. And by the way, your friends are alive and kicking."

I sighed with relief. They had all made it.

A/N

Ehh... that was an abrupt ending. I'll try to make the next one longer. Oh, a little insight into Anni's character. She loves sugar and cute animals, even though she's tough and slightly violent. Just if you hadn't noticed. ;) Ugh, I'm so tired. But spring break is coming up! Yay! There's gonna be another 'Anni loses control' moment, because I haven't included one for a while.

Special thanks to my constant reviewer, pizzafan123. Thank you!

See ya!