Another Friday, another update! I want to send another thanks out to everyone whi has followed and favorited! Did not expect such a response on this story!
Enjoy!
The next day or so the Going Merry was in complete disarray. Nami and Yosaku being sick meant that their navigation was weak at best, and horrific at worst. Yosaku being down meant that they had lost a body to man the sails or rudder should they need him, which made things a little harder. Not only that, but Luffy had tasked Nojiko with keeping an eye on both of their sick members, as she was the only one with really any medical experience. This meant that for the past 24 hours their Quartermaster was down below too, so the operation topside was weak. They needed to find a doctor, or else they would be in serious trouble. Luffy didn't know how serious the fevers were, but from what Nojiko had said it was really bad that the fevers were so high. He'd never really been sick before, so he'd have to take her word on that. Even so, he could see that Nami and Yosaku were suffering.
"How're we doing?" He asked as the Merry sailed through the quiet sea.
"We're fine," Usopp replied, eyes glued to the ocean ahead of them. "Should I keep an eye on the Eternal Pose?" Luffy frowned at this. Forcing Nami and Yosaku to wait until they got to Alabasta wasn't a good idea, but they had no Log saved for any other island nearby.
"I guess," he finally replied as he turned to enter the cabin. "I'll see how those two are doing."
"Okay." Leaving the sniper to his impromptu orders, Luffy entered the Merry's cabin and made his way for the female quarters, which had been turned into a makeshift sick ward due to not wanting to move either of their crew members. He'd forced Nojiko to sleep somewhere else last night as well, not wanting to expose her to both's sickness so much. They didn't know if she could catch it, but the last thing they needed was for her to get sick too. Reaching the door he was looking for, he knocked to signal his entrance, opening the door. Looking in, he could see Nojiko sitting next to Nami, looking down at her sister.
"How are they?" He asked as they walked in. Nojiko didn't reply to this, still looking at Nami. "Nojiko? Are they okay?" There was more silence, but the Quartermaster sighed.
"Change the cloth on Yosaku's head," she said. Luffy turned to his side to see the suffering swordsman, noting the cloth looked dry. He did as he was told, wetting the cloth and reapplying it to his head. The man didn't respond, just kind of weakly groaning and making a face.
"Okay, done." he said. "Now could you answer my question?"
"...They're bad." Was the response he got. "At this point I don't think either of them can even respond to us if we asked them something. I've been doing my best to keep their fevers down, but it's barely helping."
"What could have caused this?" He asked. "Why're only these two sick? Any ideas?"
"No. If it was something airborne we likely would have been infected too. But it seems not to be, because I feel fine." Luffy made a face at this, trying to remember what his Grandpa had told him about avoiding diseases.
"Did something bite them?" He asked. "I remember when I was young my Grandpa told me to make sure the wolves didn't break my skin, cause they might give me radio or something."
"Rabies, Captain." Nojiko clarified. "And I'm not really sure if they were bitten but-" Nojiko's eyes widened before she could finish her sentence. Without waiting she lifted up Nami's blankets, and then her shirt. There, on her abdomen, was a dark red mark. The area looked more swollen and sickly then the rest of Nami, which was odd. Nojiko's frown deepened.
"What's that?" Luffy asked.
"A bug bite," Nojiko replied. "Nami was bitten by something on Little Garden, and I'm willing to bet that Yosaku was too. Judging by where the bite is, it's because Usopp's fire burned through their clothes. Don't tell him that though." Luffy had no intention of sharing that anyway. "This is still bad, but now I might be able to help some more. Get me some alcohol." Doing as he was instructed, Luffy quickly returned with a bottle he'd pilfered from the kitchen. Watching intently, Nojiko wet another piece of cloth with the alcohol, before rubbing it into Nami's wound. The redhead flinched in her sleep, but didn't move much.
"What's that do?" Luffy asked, curious.
"Alcohol can kill bacteria," Nojiko replied. "It's better to apply it sooner, but at the very least this might help them feel a little better." Moving, the de facto medic applied the alcohol to Yosaku's infected area as well, which they had to search before before finding it on his back.
"Is that all we can do?" Luffy asked, hoping they could've helped more. Nojiko nodded.
"Yes, for now. Until we find an actual Doctor, they'll likely stay this way or worse. So we need to hurry." Luffy nodded, turning to return to the upper deck and see how things were going. "Luffy." He paused as the Quartermaster said his name. She was watching him warily, looking very serious.
"What?" He asked.
"Whenever we reach the next island...We need to find a permanent Doctor. A real one, that'll come with us. We can't have another situation like this again. I'm already worried they won't make it, but next time it might be worse. So we need to find a real Doctor. If we can't...I don't know how safe I feel continuing this journey."
This was not something Luffy wanted to hear. Although he knew he wasn't bright, he knew enough to know Nojiko was threatening to leave. Perhaps not threatening, but warning him. Saying that she wouldn't be comfortable continuing on with him if things went this way again. The last thing he wanted was to lose one of his crew, even more so Nojiko, who had been incredibly reliable in the two or so weeks she'd been with them. After all, he hadn't the faintest clue up until three minutes ago that alcohol could help with wounds.
"I understand," he said. "Don't worry, we'll find a Doctor, and both of them will recover. I promise you that." His words didn't seem to soothe her much, but she nodded anyway. Turning, he left the room and made his way topside again, snow hitting his face as he did so. It had been getting cold recently, and snow had also been hitting the deck.
'Ah, there you are Luffy." Usopp said. "Can you tell Zoro he's insane?"
"Zoro your insane," Luffy said with a smile as he looked up towards the swordsman in the crows nest.
"Shut up Luffy." The man replied irritably. "I'm telling you guys, there's someone standing on the water!"
"That makes no sense, crazy man." Usopp replied. "How can someone stand on the water? And why would they be out here in the middle of nowh-!"
"Big Bro Zoro's right!" Johnny shouted from the bow of the ship, wrapped up in a blue jacket to protect himself from the cold. "There's a man standing on the water!" Confused, the man ran forth to see it for themselves. Sure enough, there was a man standing on the water i front of them. He just watched them quietly, making Luffy frown.
"Uh, hi." He said.
"Hi," the man replied. "Looks like it's cold today."
"Uh...Huh," Luffy replied, unsure of what to say. "It sure is."
Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the water in front of the Merry exploded, which sent every member of the crew to the deck in surprise. Gathering himself quickly, Luffy looked up to find that a ship of all things had burst out of the water in front of them, with the man that had been standing on the water actually in the crows nest.
"What just happened?" Johnny asked weakly.
"I don't know," Luffy replied. "That ship is so cool though!"
"Shut up Luffy, we're being boarded!" Usopp cried in a panic.
"What the hell are those morons doing?" Nojiko hissed as the ship settled back into the water. Whatever the rest of the crew had just done had nearly capsized them, but they were okay now. Quickly making sure both Nami and Yosaku were okay, the girl grabbed her jacket and threw it on as she went for the door, looking to see what was happening.
What she got was Luffy being consumed by some dude with a huge mouth and everyone else watching in confusion. Sanji had a gun at his head, Johnny was locking swords with someone, and Zoro was just watching while Vivi and Karoo did the same from beside her.
"What am I missing here?" She asked weakly.
"We got boarded by some idiots looking for a Pose to somewhere." Zoro replied, sounding uninterested. "Now Luffy's being chewed." That did seem to be the case. Luffy was currently being chewed by big mouth, who made a face as he tried to eat her Captain.
"This guy is really rubbery," he said. "Not a good taste at all."
"Get the hell..." Luffy's voice came from inside his mouth. "Off of my ship!"
Luffy's outstretched arms rocketed back towards the man chewing on him, which sent the man flying right off of the broken side of the Merry and way away from the fight. The mans crew watched him in shock, as if they couldn't believe they just saw that.
"Lord Wapol!" One shouted. "He can't swim!"
"Retreat!" Another, this one with an afro, shouted. "We need to save Lord Wapol!" The entire crew aboard the Merry immediately began to retreat, but no one gave them an easy time doing so. Luffy and the others harassed them the entire time, sending a few more flying and hurting them as they retreated and quickly sailed away, right in the direction of their 'Lord'. Soon enough, despite the utter chaos, the Merry once again grew silent.
"Can someone please explain what I missed being downstairs playing nurse?" Nojiko demanded.
"It was so weird, Big Sis Nojiko!" Johnny shouted. "This guy was standing on the water, at least we thought he was! He was actually on his submerged ship, which came up and attacked us!"
"That prick ate Merry!" Luffy shouted angrily, standing over to the side. Nojiko turned to see that a massive chunk of the side missing. She really had missed a lot. "I'll never forgive him!"
"Ignore it," Sanji replied as he lit a cigarette. "You sent him flying, so we'll probably never see him again."
"He said he was trying to get to Drum Island," Vivi said as she joined the conversation.
"Heard of it?" Zoro asked her, the Princess nodding.
"I have," she said. "It's a winter island, and judging from the stabilising weather it has to be nearby. They'll definitely have a Doctor for Nami and Yosaku."
"So we have to find Drum, then." Luffy said. "Sounds like a plan. Usopp! Keep your eyes out for an island. Everyone else, man the sails or whatever!"
"Have someone else tell us what to do, Captain." Zoro said with a smirk. "Nojiko is way better at it then you are."
"Then tell us what to do Nojiko!" Luffy replied with a laugh. Nojiko couldn't help but smile a bit at this, her Captain's attitude getting to her.
"May as well just promote me," she replied. "I do most of the work anyway. Regardless, he's right. Keep an eye out for Drum. I've got my hands full."
"You should take a break Nojiko," Vivi said as she smiled at her. "I can look after them for a bit, it's no big deal."
"No need," Nojiko said. "I can look after two sick morons. It's not that hard."
"Nojiko take a break," Luffy said, surprising her. She turned to him, and he was watching her warily. "You've done a lot. We need you up here too."
"And they also don't need me," Vivi said with a smirk as she went for the cabin. "So I'll take my turn looking after them. After all, it can't be that hard!"
Another day or so passed by without much happening. Nojiko had finally accepted a break from looking after their sick crew mates, allowing Vivi to substitute in for her. This freed up the Quartermaster to command the men around the deck, allowing them to gain some real distance instead of loitering around like they had been before. When night came Luffy trudged down to where Nami and Yosaku where, intending on sleeping there. Johnny had followed him, still worried about Yosaku. The two slept soundly, despite their worry for their friends. After morning came the crew continued operating as best they could without a real Navigator, and it didn't take long before things changed.
"Island!" Usopp shouted, making everyone perk up. "I see an island!"
"Really?!" Luffy asked as he felt his face break into a grin. "Yes! Finally! What do you see Usopp?"
"Looks pretty mountainous!" He replied from the crows nest. "Really big weird mountains, but it's definitely a snow island!"
"Let's hope they have a Doctor," Nojiko said. "Nami and Yosaku aren't doing any better than they were before." This brought Luffy's mood down a bit, knowing his friends weren't feeling any better than before.
"They must, it's a whole island." Zoro said. "There's no way that there's no Doctors."
"That would be our kind of luck," Usopp hissed as he joined them on the deck, making Sanji punch his shoulder.
"Don't jinx us," he said. The ship soon made landfall, and the crew directed into a small cove to dock and go inland.
As soon as they got close, they were ambushed.
"Get out of here, pirates!" one of the people said. "We don't need your kind here!"
"Huh?" Luffy asked, confused. They hadn't even done anything.
"There's nothing here for you!" Another man shouted. "Get out of here or we'll kill you!"
"Please hear us out!" Nojiko shouted. "We have sick crew members and we don't have a Doctor!"
"Sucks for you!" Another person said. "Hopefully they die! Less pirates in this world the better!" Something inside Luffy snapped as he heard this, and he turned to face the man who'd spoken out angrily.
"What did you say?" He demanded in a low tone. "Say it again. I dare you."
"Easy Captain," Zoro said, holding him back. "Don't start something."
"Say it again!" Luffy shouted. "Nami and Yosaku didn't do anything to you people! Help us!"
"Screw your people!" Another man said, taking aim at Luffy with his rifle. "We won't say it again! Get going!"
Vivi had been down below tending to Nami and Yosaku when she heard a shot ring out above her. Jumping to her feet, she burst onto the deck and looked around wildly, finding that they'd reached an island. Over towards the front of the Merry Luffy was lying spread eagle on the deck, his hat lying next to him. The crew seemed stunned to say the least, and she also saw people had surrounded them and were aiming guns at them.
"What the hell is going on?!" She demanded.
"Natives aren't very welcoming," Zoro said as he turned to her. "Luffy got shot in the face." Vivi was relatively worried by this until the Captain of the ship sat back up and took a deep breath, scratching his nose. The natives of what she presumed was Drum Island began to gasp as Luffy picked his hat up and put it on again.
"Is he a demon?! He took that shot to his face!"
"How did that not kill him?!" Luffy ignored there confused cries as he got back to his feet, eyeing them from under his hat.
"Usopp," He said. That was all it took for the sniper to aim his own gun up, aiming it at the man who'd presumably shot Luffy.
"D-Do it again!" The sniper threatened. "I'll have you know I have 8,000 subordinates! Attack again and we'll converge on this island!" This sent the natives into a scramble, but Vivi wasn't having this. She walked up to Luffy and pulled him aside, glaring at him.
"Don't play this like a tough guy," She said. "We need to be on their good side, because Nami and Yosaku won't make it to Alabasta!"
"They said they didn't care if they died," Luffy replied with a pout. "It made me mad."
"Stow your anger! We need their help. You're better than that Luffy! I know you are." Luffy watched her quietly for a moment before he smiled and clapped her on the back.
"You're right Vivi. I was being dumb. Watch this! I got it." Vivi watched in confusion as the Captain strolled back over in between the crew of the Merry and the natives, and turned to the people. He dropped to his knees and practically drove his head into the deck, bowing deeply to them.
"Luffy?" Usopp asked, dropping his rifle a bit.
"Please help my friends!" He shouted into the deck. "We can all stay on the ship if that makes you feel more comfortable, but please help my friends! They won't make it to another island, we need you! All we need is a Doctor's help! Please!"
Luffy's cries for help silenced the natives of Drum, who looked among themselves curiously. After what felt like an eternity of silence, a man sighed.
"You may come inland," he said to them. "Bring your friends. We'll do what we can."
This chapter is a little shorter than I would have wanted, but this was the most viable place for me to leave it for now. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review!