Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
"What is she doing here?!" Usopp squeaked anxiously, looking at the dark, intimidating woman smiling calmly at their group. If Robin was offended, she gave no indication of it, only looking them over one by one, eyes unreadable. Sanji spoke up, twirling over to her side and kneeling before her. He ignored Zoro's contemptuous snort, and proceeded to go on about Robin's beauty and marvelous presence.
Luffy chuckled beside her, never ceasing to be amused by Sanji's antics. Looking at the others and giving them a large smile, he answered Usopp's previous question, "She's our friend, right?" At their blank looks and contrary silence, he laughed and corrected himself. "Well, she's my friend."
"But Luffy!" Nami protested. "She works with Crocodile." The orange-haired girl turned to glare venomously at Robin, only to receive a genial smile in return. "She hurt Vivi."
Instantly brightening, Luffy attempted to contradict her accusation. "Actually, Robin—"
"Luffy."
The boy whirled his head around. Robin was looking at him, her eyes practically twinkling in amusement. The two were silent for a few moment, seeming to have a silent conversation. Zoro frowned. Eventually, Luffy sighed and conceded. "Fine, fine." He pouted. "I don't know why you don't want to tell them though." Robin merely shrugged faintly. Luffy turned to the others, a hopeful expression clear on his face. "So….can she stay?"
No one answered. Despite Luffy's blatant trust in the woman, they were still skeptical of her motives. Just days ago, Vivi had left, telling them that Crocodile had at last been apprehended, so Robin couldn't have possibly been trying to befriend them for his sake. Still, Robin had a history with that man. A history that they weren't quite ready to let go. Sanji, for his part, only stayed silent for Nami and due to a small niggling voice that kept reminding him of the despair Vivi had been going through mere days before.
Eventually, Zoro gave an exasperated huff. "I don't mind if she hangs around us," he said. "But I'll be damned if I let her try anything funny." He trusted Luffy's judgment more than he trusted anyone else's, but that didn't stop him from feeling slightly suspicious about the woman. Years of training as a swordsman had made him moderately cynical, and he'd be lying if he said that her constant secretive smile didn't disturb him.
Robin hid a laugh behind her hand looking at the swordsman. She hadn't missed how his eyes had frequently flickered to glance at Luffy during the course of the conversation. Loyal, indeed.
Nami glanced at her suspiciously before catching sight of the bright grin on Luffy's face. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Alright." Damn Luffy and his damn hardheadedness. Soon after Nami's consent, Chopper and Sanji agreed as well, albeit with faint reluctance on the doctor's part.
"Zoro! Nami! Everyone!" Usopp immediately said, looking mildly panicked. "How can you say that? She's dangerous!" Luffy's expression hardened. Robin's hands had vaguely twitched at that comment, nearly unnoticeable. "Usopp," he said firmly. The long-nosed boy winced at the silent reprimand, and hung his head. "Sorry," Usopp replied after a pause, contrite. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's just…you know…" he trailed off.
Luffy's face morphed into a softer, more understanding and slightly sheepish one. "Yeah. I know."
Robin couldn't hold back a small grin, one which went undiscovered by the others. There was still the ever-present doubt in the back of her mind, but she couldn't deny the feeling of happiness spreading frighteningly quickly. She couldn't trust them—no, not yet…maybe never….always never—but she'd stay with them for now.
Yet another day, yet another group therapy session. Zoro groaned internally. These periods, to be honest, weren't actually that bad, but they did get boring after a while. It was the same thing every day. The only interesting thing was when a new patient would introduce themselves, either maintaining an unperturbed disposition or breaking down completely. There was no in between. Then again, he mused, no one ever seemed to do anything halfway in this place. There was a new patient today, he noticed. Zoro wondered which type he'd be.
The man wore flashy patterned pants, which billowed out like how Zoro imagined a genie's would. His light blonde hair was held back by a smooth white bandana. Golden bangles adorned his wrists, and gleaming aurelian earrings dangled from his abnormally long earlobes.
He could feel drowsiness overcoming him, and he forced himself to look back at whoever's turn it was. Usopp was speaking, looking much more comfortable than he did during his first session. He got through with minimal stuttering, and Zoro couldn't help but feel a bit proud. Now it was only a matter of getting him to make eye-contact. Luffy, during his turn, unsurprisingly only grinned and swung his legs without a care, merely stating his ADHD, oblivious to the councilor's nearly desperate prodding.
Next came the new patient.
The man stood confidently, and Zoro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The man was smirking arrogantly, practically oozing superiority. "I am Enel," he introduced. "I have…" His eye twitched. "…grandiose delusions," he spat derisively. "According to your so-called doctors, I have a type of delusional disorder in which I believe myself better than others." At this, he snorted disdainfully. "What they do not seem to have the capacity to comprehend, is that I am better than all of you fools. I am God."
There was a pregnant pause before the room erupted into laughter. Enel seemed dumbfounded at the reaction, but it quickly turned to anger. The man silently fumed, face red, as the others continued to laugh at his expense.
"He thinks he's God!" one chuckled.
"That's a new one," commented another. "Had one who thought she was the queen, but God was unexpected."
Zoro sighed. Enel didn't seem to understand that everyone's exclamations were all in good humor. The patients here had been here long enough that they were at the point where they would make fun of their own and each other's conditions, already so accustomed to having them, forgetting that not everyone was so comfortable with their disorders…forgetting that some disorders made the affected people genuinely believe the nonsense they said.
Eventually, Enel had had enough. "STOP IT!" he roared, quickly reducing everyone to absolute silence. His fury was palpable, and Zoro vaguely entertained the image of steam coming out of his ears and nose, like a bull.
A small chuckle resounded in the quiet room, and Enel's head whipped around to face the source. Luffy's eyes were wide—although filled with humor—and his hands covered his mouth sheepishly. As Enel launched himself at the teen, fully intent to teach the little brat a lesson, the room exploded into chaos, and Zoro merely leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head, and closed his eyes. It was time for some much needed rest.
"Dr. Trafalgar?"
Law jumped slightly at the sudden voice, and turned to see the young aspiring doctor fidgeting nervously in the doorway. Chopper was nervous, that much was obvious, but a fierce determination shone in his eyes, eliciting an amused chuckle from Law.
"Didn't I tell you to call me Law?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, sorry. Law," Chopper corrected himself. "I want to talk to you about Luffy."
Now that was interesting. He had been wondering how long it would take the young boy to figure it out. It took longer than he expected, honestly, but he pushed down his feelings of disappointment.
"I wanted to talk to you earlier, but Luffy kept following me. He likes visiting you."
Oh, good. Maybe the kid was as talented as he'd thought after all.
"What do you want to talk about?" Law feigned ignorance.
"What happened to Ace and Sabo?" Chopper blurted. At the doctor's raised eyebrow, a blush spread across the child's cheeks and he hastened to elaborate. "I mean, I know Luffy only imagines them, but…" He hesitated. "I think they were alive, at one point."
Law smirked. "And what makes you think that?" he asked.
"Well…" Chopper trailed off, trying to find a way to phrase his thoughts. "I don't know, really. Luffy seems too close to his 'brothers' for them to be entirely made up. I know people with his condition imagine detailed personalities for the people they think up, so detailed that they seem real, but… Ace and Sabo seem different."
Law shook his head. "Well, I'll tell you this. They were real. But what happened to them isn't my story to tell." Chopper nodded, already expecting this response. He was actually a bit relieved. He'd have felt guilty. "Anyway," Law continued. "I suppose this means that you managed to identify Luffy-ya's disorder?"
Slumping, Chopper made a noise of confirmation. "I did." He clenched his small fists. "I just wish I could do something to help. Luffy…it hurts to see him talk to them. It hurts to think that he needs to."
"It's not an easy one to overcome," Law agreed.
"Schizoaffective disorder…" Chopper sighed. "I don't know how to help. I don't…I just can't…What kind of doctor am I if I can't even help my friend?"
Suddenly, Chopper's vision went dark, and he felt an itchy, yet mildly soft weight on his head. He lifted the object to see Law smirking at him and holding his signature spotted hat on the younger's head. The man straightened, then turned so that his back was facing Chopper, walking to the door. "If you're going to be a doctor, then you're going to need to realize that you can't cure everyone." Chopper gritted his teeth. He didn't need to hear that again. Dr. Kureha had told him that so many times that it was practically engraved into his skull. "But…" Law continued, surprising Chopper. The doctor turned his head to face the boy once more. He grinned. "Luffy-ya isn't everyone." With that, Law walked out the door, leaving a stunned Chopper sitting on the counter, clenching the spotted hat on his head, unable to resist his newfound feeling of hope.
...soo…
…
...now you know Luffy's disorder! I know a lot of you guys have been waiting to find out what it was, and here it is.
Schizoaffective disorder is basically a combination of schizophrenia and manic depression. Someone with this disorder will have hallucinations (either seen, felt, heard, etc. or a combination), and in Luffy's case, he has delusions that Ace and Sabo are still with him. Also, this disorder causes the affected person to experience sudden depressed moods and sudden energetic, hyper moods, which I thought suited Luffy because he's always so bubbly, but can go from cheerful to angry or upset in the blink of an eye, and back again before you know it. The reason that he never states his disorder during therapy sessions is that he doesn't believe he has it. Law told him once, but….well, it didn't turn out well. No one tried to convince him since.
Also, grandiose delusions is a bit more complex that what Enel described it as, but it's the basic premise. The patient will believe they have extreme power and talents, and the disorder is sometimes so serious as to where the person will believe that they have close relations to a divine figure, or are a divine figure themselves.
Anyway, I hope that little revelation of Luffy's condition didn't overshadow the rest of the events in the chapter. I quite enjoyed writing Enel's scene there…mostly because of Zoro's thoughts on it, but whatever. And now Robin is officially a part of the group, hooray! :)
Announcement time! I will sadly be going on a two-week hiatus starting in about a week, probably from the twelfth to the twenty-third. I have EOC exams from the 12th to the 16th, and finals during the next week. My state enjoys giving us tests, the bastards. So, with testing, on top of three orchestra performances that'll take place in the next three weeks, I'm going to have a lot on my plate, and I'd like to focus on my studies during that time. Sorry everyone, but life likes to get in the way. I'll have lots of time to write during the summer, though (I hope), so I guess that's a consolation?
Thank you all for being such supportive, wonderful readers.
-Spoons