Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
Luffy threw his arms out excitedly as he explained to Robin exactly how he'd been trapped by the man-eating wall when he was younger. Robin was a spectacular listener, nodding and laughing and saying "Oh my" at all the right times. The young adult couldn't comprehend why the others seemed cautious of this woman. He liked her. She was kind enough, and—as Luffy discovered in an incident involving Zoro's lack of sense of direction—had a surprisingly morbid sense of humor.
Zoro had warned him against getting too close to Robin, Vivi was constantly sending her wary glances, and the others—sans Sanji—always looked uncomfortable around her. So, in true Luffy fashion, he ignored them all and befriended the woman. He'd bound over to her during social hour, and she'd read him stories. Luffy's favorites were the adventurous ones—the ones full of heroes and epic journeys, of crooked villains and hilarious henchmen, of freedom and friendship.
Of course, the others weren't all too happy with this arrangement, but they didn't attempt to contradict him. Luffy was much too stubborn.
With loud exclamations and extravagant gestures aplenty, Luffy told Robin a story for once. As he did, he couldn't help but feel some bit of satisfaction. The woman was full of empty smiles and dull laughter. Now though, those smiles were just a bit more genuine and those laughs the tiniest amount happier. Not a whole lot—she wasn't radiating bona fide joy—but it was there, and it was enough for now. It had taken him quite a while just to get to this point. Robin had been here for over a month now, and she was just barely beginning to open up around Luffy despite his constant pestering.
He could tell that Robin was slightly less jumpy around him as well. She hid it amazingly, but Luffy could detect just the slightest hint of tension around her shoulders when she was in the presence of other people. The woman seemed terrified and anxious inside, hiding a constant suspicion. Robin seemed to relax, even just marginally, during their little sessions. Luffy briefly wondered what had happened to make Robin act that way, so wary and reclusive, but quickly destroyed that train of thought. The past didn't matter.
As he got to a particularly hilarious part in his story, evoking a small chuckle from Robin, he couldn't help but compare her to Ace once again. He grinned. Ace had faced his demons and won. So would Robin.
Chopper angled himself behind the wall so that the others wouldn't be able to see him. After leading him around the facility, the kind blonde man had left him at the entrance of the lounge so Chopper could socialize with the other patients and make friends. However, Chopper was not good at meeting new people. He was alarmingly small for his age—a whopping fifteen years old—with wild brown hair, and he had something called a hemosiderin stain adorning the majority of his nose. A large, purplish-blue bruise covered the skin, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. Also, he couldn't forget that everyone in the town knew of his disorder—yet another thing to set him apart from everybody else.
Overall, he wasn't exactly what one would call normal, and the people back home didn't like it. They didn't show their wariness explicitly, though. No, they would put on a polite front, but Chopper could tell that they all felt uncomfortable around him. The other children called him names like 'monster,' 'freak,' and even 'Rudolph,' if they were feeling particularly nasty. The adults would scold their children for being rude, but it was clear that they secretly agreed with the kids.
The people back home didn't like things that were different—even if being different only involved a few strange physical features—and the people here could be the same. They'd take one look at his nose and…
"Hey there," a voice interrupted.
Chopper jumped back. His chest heaved from the suddenness of the scare, and his heart was pounding against his rib cage. He regained his breath and looked at the one who had spoken. It was a woman. She had bright orange hair, and she was blinking at him curiously. Chopper couldn't bring himself to respond. He stood there, staring open-mouthed at the woman before him, still trembling slightly.
The woman took a step closer and kneeled to be eye level with the boy. "It's okay. I don't bite, promise. What were you doing just standing in the doorway?"
The boy blinked. Standing in the doorway? Chopper could have sworn that he was behind the doorframe. He stood there for a few seconds before realizing that the woman was still looking at him expectantly. "I, err…." He coughed, trying to clear the sudden lump in his throat. "I'm new here," he answered timidly.
"What's your name?" She asked.
"…Tony Tony Chopper." With a nod, the woman stood and turned away, gesturing at him. She began walking, and Chopper couldn't help but feel disappointed. For a second, he had believed that she would want to be his friend. She probably just wanted to sate her curiosity.
Suddenly, the woman turned and looked at him, looking at him oddly. "Well? Are you coming or what?"
Chopper paused, then pushed down his shock and scurried to catch up with her. Nami—as he learned the woman's name was—lead him over to a group of loud people laughing and talking at a far corner of the lounge. She sat next to a blue-haired woman, and one of the men immediately went over to her and began swooning over "his two beautiful ladies."
Nami promptly waved him off, looking far too accustomed to the blonde man's behavior. "Sit down, Sanji," she ordered. She turned to Chopper and gave him a smile before introducing him. "Guys, this is Chopper." There was an assortment of hellos and nice to meet yous following Nami's announcement. The blue-haired woman smiled kindly at him and said, "Hello, Chopper. Welcome to the Going Merry. I'm Vivi." She stuck her hand out to him, and he stared at it for a moment before taking hold of it. Despite having small, womanly hands, Vivi's grip completely engulfed his own fist.
"Hi…" he replied nervously. The others introduced themselves as well. He met Sanji, the blonde man who had been previously fawning over Nami, and greeted Usopp. Chopper decided that he liked Usopp. The man seemed awkward around him, fumbling over his words. It comforted him to know that he wasn't the only one who had trouble with people.
Suddenly, a voice rang out across the room. "Cool!" it shouted.
They all looked over, and Chopper only caught sight of a straw hat and bright red before he was swept up into someone's embrace. A man was tightly squeezing him, and the small boy struggled to free himself from the suffocating grip. The male eventually released his hold on Chopper and held him out in front of his face, almost like he was inspecting a new doll. The offender had wild black hair, and a scar ran across his left cheek. Chopper's mind promptly wandered to ponder how the boy had received it. The scar was directly under his eye, and looking closely at it, he could tell that it had probably been a very deep cut.
The male was looking at him intensely, and after a few moments of tense silence and resigned sighs from the group, a grin spread swiftly across the man's face. It nearly stretched to the very corners of his face, and Chopper was curious as to how that was humanly possible.
The boy spoke. "Wow, your nose is all blue! And you're tiny!" Chopper let his head fall. He knew it. The people here would be just as prejudiced as those from his hometown. He vaguely felt the teen holding him turn, and soon found himself looking at a surly man with short green locks. The man had his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow at Chopper. "Look!" the boy—whom still had a firm grip of Chopper's torso—exclaimed to his friend. "Doesn't he look cool?"
Chopper drew back. Cool? Many words had been used to describe him, but never before had he been called cool. He felt himself start squirming and blushing. "Don't say that, bastard! That doesn't make me happy!"
Everyone immediately turned to him, giving him identical looks of skepticism. "You look pretty damn happy to me," Sanji muttered.
Soon after, the two newcomers introduced themselves as Luffy and Zoro. A conversation ensued, full of laughter and banter. Chopper allowed himself to join in occasionally, albeit not as comfortably and naturally as the others. He liked these people, he really did, but he still wasn't entirely relaxed around them. It was a bit strange how quickly they accepted a complete stranger into their little circle. They didn't seem to mind his oddities, but he was just so used to people disliking him for his abnormality. Of course, his disorder didn't help. He could only watch them, always feeling out of place. He could never feel completely immersed and contended with anyone, never fully in control of everything he did and thought.
Luffy called out to him, asking Chopper whether or not he thought it was possible to have hair made of moss and to have a dartboard for an eyebrow. Apparently, Zoro and Sanji were arguing with each other, and Luffy had taken their insults literally. Chopper felt his mouth stretch into a grin, and he responded that, no, it wasn't possible. Luffy seemed disappointed at that.
Sorry that I updated a little late. I had such terrible writer's block while trying to write this. I spent hours agonizing over this chapter, and it's still a bit shorter than usual. I really could not think of what words to write. My apologies.
How many of you think you know what Robin and Chopper's disorders are? :)
The 'hemosiderin stain' that Chopper has is just what it sounds like—a stain. It is a sort of purplish-blue stain on your skin, sort of like a bruise. One of these can last for years, and for Chopper (the poor kid) it's permanent.
Next week is spring break for me, so I should be able to update soon enough, as long as no last minute plans come up. A whole week of no classes. Finally, some relief. The week after, however, will probably be very busy for me.
To my guest reviewer, Bell, thanks again! It makes me happy to know that you look forward to my chapters. ^^
Once again, thank you everyone for all of your support. :D
-Spoons