(A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and added this story to their alerts. It really means a lot. :) Going back and watching the earlier episodes, I never realized just how many mistakes there were in the subtitiles. Like Alabasta being called Arabasta. xD)
"And I really liked this shirt, too..." Toffee murmured, pouting to herself as she held up her ruined dark green shoulder-less tee. She had left the others, heading into the bathroom and changing into the clothes Nami had given her. The jeans were a little long on her, but they were comfortable along with the simple blue short sleeved shirt.
Considering she had boarded the Straw Hat's ship with nothing but the clothes on her back, she really needed to do some shopping. She couldn't keep borrowing off Nami like this, even if the navigator reassured Toffee it was fine.
There hadn't been much time, but maybe she should have swiped a few items back at Whiskey Peak when she had the chance...
When Toffee was on her own, most of the necessities she needed ended up being left behind whenever she needed to flee or simply felt the urge to move on. Other than her pouch that contained mainly small weapons and her necklace she always wore, Toffee really never had anything to call her own...It had felt too painful to take any of the possessions with her that her brothers and Altair had given her...
"Maybe now I won't have to feel so guilty when I stayed in abandoned houses or stole when I didn't have money on me..." Toffee whispered, playing with her necklace. Remaining with the Straw Hats would give her a place to finally belong and call home again. She just hadn't realized how much she had missed that feeling...
A frantic knock on the door startled Toffee out of her thoughts, and her pink irises widened when she heard Vivi's exclamation of, "Toffee-san! I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's Nami-san! She's become ill!". Quickly coming out, Toffee followed Vivi to the female's quarters where the orange haired girl was laying on her bed, flushed and panting heavily.
"Wh-what happened to her?!" Toffee gasped out, moving to stand by Nami's bedside where the others, except for Zoro-who more than likely had taken to keeping watch-had gathered. It had only been an hour or so since they left Little Garden, and the navigator had seemed fine then.
"N-Nami-san just collapsed with a high fever!" Sanji answered tearfully, chewing on a piece of cloth. "Nami-san's not going to die? Right, Vivi-chan?"
Wringing out a cool washrag, Vivi gently placed it upon Nami's forehead. "It is probably due to the climate. One of the obstacles seafarers invariably face upon entering the Grand Line...is the threat of illness due to the unnatural climate. It's not unusual for fearless pirates, even those with great reputations in other seas, to succumb to the climate and pass away. Even the slightest of symptoms may lead to death if not treated immediately..."
"Nami-saaaan~!" Sanji wailed out, large tears running down his face.
Toffee gently rubbed at the cooks back, only to smile sheepishly when Sanji had taken to sobbing on her shoulder, and she brought up awkwardly, "To make matters worse, I don't think anyone here would know how to help her..."
"Don't worry! She'll get better if she eats some meat! Right, Sanji?" Luffy proclaimed.
Sanji removed his face off of Toffee's now soaked shoulder, saying miserably, "Well, I'm going to prepare her food that will help with her recovery...but all that amounts to is nursing. Just feeding her the right food won't be enough. And besides, while we're at sea, I make Nami-san, Toffee-chan, and Vivi-chan's food with a hundred times more care than yours. I give them all the freshest meats and vegetables. And then all the rotten shit...is what I feed you guys."
"Oi!" Usopp cried out angrily before looking at Luffy like he was mad when he started laughing, saying the food still tasted good.
"In any case, as long as I'm this ship's cook, there will never be a problem with nutrition. But in preparing food for a sick person, you have so much to consider. What her symptoms are and what they require nutritionally...I can't make that kind of diagnosis..."
"Then just feed her all of 'em," Luffy suggested innocently.
"What sick person is gonna have the energy to do that?" Sanji mumbled, looking at Luffy apathetically along with Usopp.
Having just finished taking Nami's temperature, Vivi let out an alarmed cry. "4-40 degrees...Her fever's gone up!"
"There'll be doctors once we get to Alabasta, right?" Luffy voiced, making a good point this time.
"Yeah! How much longer 'till we get there, Vivi?" Usopp asked with a hopeful expression.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think we can possibly get there within a week," Vivi replied somberly, gazing at her knees as she had slumped down onto the floor.
Luffy stuck out his lips, his appearance similar to a fishes, before looking at Usopp and Sanji. "Is being sick really that painful?"
"I dunno. I've never been." Sanji and Usopp said together, crossing their arms and even tilting their heads in a comical manner at the same time.
"JUST WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" Vivi shrieked out in both anger and disbelief. "Can't you see how much pain she's in?! Her temperature is a dire matter! That means the sickness may be life-threatening!"
"AAAAAAAAAAH! NAMI'S GOING TO DIE!" Luffy screamed out, running back and forth in a mad panic along with Usopp, Carue, and Heartless. Sanji was once again crying, yet his tears resembled mini waterfalls this time.
Toffee scratched at her cheek while looking sympathetically at her crew mates. "My papa always said idiots never got sick. That's why my brothers' never did," she mentioned. A troubled look soon appeared on her freckled face. "There's something else that worries me...We were on a prehistoric island, with who knows what kind of insects and other small creatures...I just hope that isn't what caused this..."
Vivi covered her mouth. She hadn't even considered this, but Nami had been scratching at a red mark on her skin...If they could find a doctor, what guarantee was there that they could cure her if this infliction was from something that technically wasn't supposed to exist...?
"I'm... alright..." Nami's weakened voice spoke up, the young woman holding the cloth to her forehead as she slowly sat up, surprising her friends.
"Ooh! She's cured!" Luffy cheered, throwing his arms up into the air.
"No she's not!" Usopp scolded, karate chopping the naïve male on top of his head while Heartless proceeded to kick Luffy in his shin, making the captain yelp.
"In my desk drawer...there's a newspaper," Nami informed. She tiredly watched as the princess tentatively took the folded newspaper out, the words upon it causing Vivi's pupils to dilate.
"Did something happen in your home country?" Toffee asked with a frown. It could be the only thing that might make Vivi have such a reaction.
"300,000 Imperial Soldiers have defected to join the Rebel Army. At the outset, there were 600,000 Imperial Soldiers suppressing 400,000 rebels...But in one stroke, the odds have...!"
"Now the rebellion in Alabasta will start to gain momentum," Nami spoke tiredly, sending Vivi an apologetic gaze. "That papers from three days ago. I'm sorry...Even if I had showed you, it wouldn't have changed our ships speed. I thought that it would only cause you more stress, so I hid it. Do you understand, Luffy?"
"I got the impression that things are very bad," Luffy uttered as he crossed his arms.
"Good. You picked up more than I thought you would," Nami said with a faint smile. And when Usopp mentioned finding a doctor once more, she shook her head. "I'm fine. That thermometer's just broken. Nobody can have a body temperature that high. It's probably just a little heatstroke."
Toffee frowned seeing Nami pulling herself out from under the covers and standing up. "Even so, you really need to be resting, not moving around..."
"I'm okay, really. So you don't have to worry about finding me a doctor," Nami claimed with a dismissive wave of her hand, making her way to the small staircase. "Let's just head straight for Alabasta like we planned." Stopping in her pace, Nami turned back to smile softly. "Thanks for worrying about me."
Nami Toffee thought sadly. Just like Usopp had told Luffy, it was obvious Nami was suffering, but she was trying to conceal this fact. The navigator could barely stand, yet her concern was more on Vivi, who was enduring her own pain. It's a difficult situation...I wonder what everyone will decide...?
Picking up Heartless, Toffee decided to follow Nami onto the upper deck, and a bead of sweat ended up trailing down her head since Nami was currently arguing with an irritated Zoro.
"You really shouldn't be straining yourself like that, Nami-chan..." Toffee voiced, reaching out to place a steadying hand on the teens shoulder seeing her swaying where she stood and gripping at her head.
"I wouldn't have to if this idiot knew how to look at a compass," Nami grumbled, her words causing Zoro to merely scoff. Having Toffee help her over to the edge of the ship, Nami's brows furrowed, "The air's changed..."
"The air? It's been sunny all day," Zoro said carelessly while lifting a rather large weight.
"Just call everyone out here!"
Zoro shrugged, but did as Nami instructed. "Oi! Get your asses on deck! We got work to do!"
"What the hell? I ain't gonna take orders from you," Sanji declared when the others came out, clearly confused by what was going on.
"Just shut up and get to work! Pivot the sails to catch the wind from port!" Zoro instructed, leaning over the railing where he could gaze down at his crew mates.
Sanji turned to Nami for clarification. "What's happening, Nami-san? The waves are calm and the weathers fine,"
"The wind...A large wind is going to hit us head on. I think," Nami explained weakly, blinking when Luffy had placed his hand upon her forehead.
"Hot! You're burning up! We need to stop the ship and get you to a doctor!" Luffy shrieked out, holding onto his now red and swollen hand. Toffee figured it must have felt like touching a stove top. But then, she could feel Nami's heat pouring off of her just from being so close. Maybe she should have warned Luffy?
"Just mind your own business!" Nami yelled, gently pushing Toffee to the side to show she didn't need support. "This is my normal temperature! Quit fooling around and man the ropes!"
"Nami-san, I know this is for Vivi-chan's sake and everything, but...You don't have to push yourself so hard," Sanji remarked with a troubled frown.
"I told you I'm fine!" Nami snapped, gripping onto the railing. And only after she had also dismissed Usopp's concerns did the Straw Hats start frantically running around the vessel, preparing to avoid whatever it was that had their navigator so worried.
"Whatever is coming at us must be pretty dangerous to have you so spooked..." Toffee said softly, hugging her shadow closer against her.
"I just wish I knew exactly what it was...It doesn't seem like a storm." Nami admitted, gazing down at the Eternal Pose as the little needle spun just as the ship shifted in it's course.
Hearing the door opening, Toffee and Nami turned when Vivi emerged, saying she had an announcement to make.
"I realize this is a lot to ask after being allowed to ride on your ship, but...Right now, my country is falling to a terrible fate. Therefore, I want us to hurry forward! I cannot afford the slightest delay! I need the ship to continue on to Alabasta at it's maximum speed!"
"Vivi that's-" Toffee started to say, only to pause when Nami smiled and gripped at her hand.
"Of course. We promised you, didn't we?"
Vivi was quiet for a moment, a smile breaking out onto her face where she took back the crew by saying, "Well then, let's go find an island with a doctor! We must get Nami-san cured as quickly as possible, and then head to Alabasta! That's the ship's 'maximum speed', isn't it?"
Luffy's mouth stretched out into a grin while he gazed up at the princess. "Of course! Doesn't go any faster than that!"
"You sure about this?" Usopp questioned, closing one eye. "As the princess, you have 1,000,000 people to worry about, right?"
"That's right! That's exactly why we must get Nami-san well as soon as possible!"
Sanji smirked. "Well said, Vivi-chan! I'm in love all over again!"
"She's got guts," Zoro said genuinely with his own smirk.
"I'm sorry about this," Nami whispered. She stumbled making her way over toward Vivi, but the princess managed to steady her, and Toffee couldn't help but smile seeing Vivi gently holding Nami in her arms when the orange haired female's fatigue had caught up to her.
"WHOA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Luffy bellowed, catching everyone's attention.
An enormous and deadly looking cyclone was exactly in the direction where they had previously been headed. If not for Nami's amazing intuition and skills when it came to the weather, they would have been sucked into the whirlwind or struck by the fearsome bolts of lightning that crackled near it. She had saved them from a close death.
"Come on. We should take Nami back to her bed where she can rest." Toffee told an awed looking Vivi with a grin, helping the blue haired woman lift the now unconscious girl where they supported her back to the bedroom.
A new day had risen, and a gentle snow fall greeted everyone. They had taken turns watching over Nami during the night. Her condition wasn't improving, but Vivi said the fact that Nami's fever wasn't rising was a good thing. Still, Toffee found it sweet how Vivi was the one to stay by their navigator's side the most, being extremely diligent in taking care of her.
For a princess and a noble, whom Toffee was always led to believe were pampered and stuck up, Vivi was incredibly caring and nurturing. That was why they had all grown so fond of her in such a short amount of time.
"What's the point of scooping off the snow, Toffee?" Usopp voiced suddenly. The gray haired woman had taken to shoveling up the slightly large piles that formed and tossing them off the ship.
"With Sanji, Heartless-kun, and Carue running in a panic all over the ship at times, I don't want them tripping and getting hurt," Toffee answered with a small hum, only to yelp when she ended up doing that herself.
"I'm pretty sure your the only one that'll happen to," Zoro muttered with an indifferent expression. He was sitting up on the crow's nest with nothing more than a blanket wrapped around him, a pair of binoculars in his hand while he watched for any islands.
Luffy giggled and yanked the dizzy eyed girl up before picking up some of the snow and shaping it into a ball. "And you shouldn't get rid of all of the snow, Toffee. We can have a snow ball fight!"
"Isn't that freezing your hands, though?" Toffee asked while rubbing at her slightly throbbing head. For some reason, Luffy wasn't wearing gloves or a coat, even though he should be uncomfortable in the shorts and vest that he donned.
"Ack! Cold!" Luffy squawked, dropping the snow ball and wrapping his arms around his shivering figure.
"Dolt." Usopp muttered, both Heartless and him staring at the so called captain with unreadable expressions.
"Hey, you guys...You think people can stand on the ocean?" Zoro questioned out of the blue.
"You wanna know if people can stand on the ocean?" Luffy repeated, blinking up at the swordsman.
"Zoro, what are you talking about?" Usopp inquired, wondering if the cold had gotten to Zoro's brain?
"Well then, what's that." Zoro uttered, staring straight ahead through his binoculars.
Toffee, Usopp, and Luffy turned their attention on what Zoro was observing, and much to their shock, a rather odd looking man was indeed standing in the middle of the ocean. Usopp and Luffy even had to rub at their eyes just to make sure they weren't playing tricks on them.
"My, it's cold today," the man, who looked similar to a jester, mentioned casually.
"It's very cold today," Luffy agreed, turning to look at Usopp who nodded in agreement.
"Erm, did you get separated from your crew out here?" Toffee asked sheepishly, rubbing at the back of her neck.
Not getting an answer, Toffee's eyes widened when hearing a voice shout out, "Increase buoyancy!", and a massive ship coated with metal plating arose out of the water. It caused the Merry to violently lurch, and Toffee probably would have went crashing backwards like poor Usopp if Heartless hadn't transformed and held her in place, his clawed hands gripping tightly onto the railing.
"Could that thing be...a ship?" Zoro murmured, not even fazed by all the rocking.
"O-oh crap! It's a pirate ship!" Usopp gulped once he had shakily gotten up. The metal had lowered to reveal the jolly roger of a skull with a crown and its tongue stuck out, along with an odd figure head that resembled a hippo. What was worse, there was a large number of men on board, and from the almost insane sounding laughter, Toffee got the feeling these pirates weren't the friendly type.
"Surprised, aren't you?" a male voice boomed. "This is my giant diving ambush ship: The Bliking!"
Before the Straw Hat's could react, their ship was being swarmed with men wearing similar winter jackets, hats, and pants. Every single pirate, though they looked more like military officers, wielded rifles, and they pointed them at Luffy and the others. Some of the men had even climbed up the crows nest just to aim their weapons at Zoro, too.
The commotion had caused Sanji to leave Vivi and Nami's side. Seeing the state his crew were in, he lit the cigarette in his mouth, unleashing a slow puff from it. "Well? You gonna inform me about what's going on?"
"We're being attacked. Our ship that is," Luffy said nonchalantly despite the multiple guns being directed at him.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Sanji said, not even perturbed when weapons were being pointed at him now as well. Letting out another drag, Sanji continued, "There is one thing...HOW DARE YOU POINT YOUR WEAPONS AT A LADY?!"
"You could show some concern for us too, ya know!" Usopp exclaimed angrily.
Toffee gave Usopp an apologetic expression, turning her gaze on the overweight and violet haired male. He was currently munching on a large piece of meat, and had been eating ever since boarding the Going Merry. No doubt he was the captain of these men.
"Are you lowlifes really pirates?" he questioned skeptically. "You're just a bunch of weirdos. Looks like there's five of you." Chomping at not only the meat that was on his knife, but the blade itself, the much weirder male continued, "No matter how you look at it...that's just not enough for a pirate crew."
"What's this guys problem?" Luffy said, recoiling from the man's rather gross display. "He's eating a knife!"
"Blech! It hurts just watching him!" Usopp cried in disgust, sticking out his tongue.
"There really are some strange pirates out there..." Toffee murmured, flinching. She had watched Deimos break swords and knives with his teeth, but he had at least spit the iron back out!
"Ah well...might as well ask. We're headed to the Drum Kingdom. Would you happen by chance to have a Eternal Pose or even a Log Pose on you?"
"Ain't got one," Sanji bluntly told the purple haired intruder. "Ain't never heard of any place called that either."
"There! That's all, right?" Luffy huffed, annoyed by these pirates disrupting them. "Now get outta here already! We're in a hurry!"
"Ah, don't rush your life so much. If you don't have one, that's that. However, I'll be taking your treasure and your ship. But before I do...I'm feeling a mite peckish." Leaning over, the pirate captain angered or startled everyone when his jaw seemed to enlarge, and he actually bit off a piece of the ship.
"What the hell is he?!" Usopp shrieked out.
"Don't eat our ship!" Luffy yelled, clenching his teeth when two pirates moved their guns nozzles closer to his face, and he ended up clobbering them both on top of their heads.
"That little twerp! Now he's done it! Fire!"
Zoro smirked and closed his eyes, removing the blanket around him. "We should've done this from the beginning,"
"Oh, I can kick 'em now?" Sanji mused with a grin, tugging off his blue scarf.
Toffee had followed a panicked Usopp behind the mast for the time being, not wanting to get in the way of Luffy who was punching the various men, Sanji who was kicking them, or Zoro who was slicing them up. She held three senbon in-between her fingers, waiting till the enemy got closer to strike.
"Oi, you! Since your transformed, why don't you get out there and defend us!" Usopp ranted, noticing Neoshadow just scratching behind his head like a dog. And the shadow blinked his yellow eyes when Usopp actually punted him directly into the middle of the enemy.
"Neoshadow-kun!" Toffee squealed out, seeing her shadow being poked at by the pirates weapons. She probably should have been more concerned for the enemy. Their prodding and comments about 'the ugliest animal they had ever seen' caused her shadow to narrow his eyes and he started kicking and slicing at any person close by.
"Did he just motion that he's going to do me in?!" Usopp screeched when Neoshadow turned to him, moving his thumb across his neck with a scary gleam in his right eye that was staring directly at the sniper.
"You did kick him at the enemy without warning..." Toffee expressed sheepishly, lightly patting at the freaked out males shoulder.
Seeing some men trying to sneak up on her companion, Toffee came out of her hiding spot and unleashed her needles upon them. She smiled at Neoshadow, and he nodded in confirmation, slinking into the ground where Toffee cried out, "Shadow Intercept: Strangulation!".
Before any bullets could be shot at her, Toffee's shadow rushed at the nearest four men, looking eerily similar to black tentacles, that started to wrap around the terrified pirates' bodies until eventually coiling around their necks. There hands desperately clawed at the black substance, but she focused on keeping her grip and increasing her force; being careful not to kill as she continued to squeeze until they finally lost consciousness.
"I didn't know you could do that, Toffee!" Luffy exclaimed with a large grin after having bashed two men's heads together, knocking them unconscious himself.
"I've never had the chance to," Toffee replied with a shy smile. She honestly preferred using her little needles, but she was starting to run low. Normally Toffee took them back from the people she used them upon, but she hadn't really been able to do so during her previous fights.
Moving over to one of the pirates she had struck, Toffee watched as his body lightly jerked when she removed the senbon needles, and she let out a small "sorry", turning her attention back on Luffy who had made his way over to the captain, who seemed to go by Wapol, and she couldn't help but squeak when seeing the large man chomp down on Luffy's head.
Luffy's arms however, that had stretched out, came shooting back, not only freeing the straw hat wearing male, but he sent Wapol flying off into the horizon, much to the immense alarm of Wapol's men.
"Remember this well!" the jester man threatened as those still conscious hurriedly boarded their ship, all while carrying their fallen men. "We shall return for retribution!"
"Remember...us!" a man with an afro and oddly two little afro's on his mustache bellowed. "Remember well! Please!"
"J-just who the hell was that...?" Usopp murmured as the two odd men continued to shout for the Straw Hats to remember them as their vessel sailed further and further away. "It sounded like they called him 'Wapol' or something."
"Who cares what his name is? Forget him," Sanji scoffed, extending out his arms and shaking his head. "Just your run of the mill idiot. Nothing to bother yourself about."
Toffee frowned, peering around at the ship. "They certainly did a number on Merry..."
"I won't be able to repair her perfectly, but I'll get started on patching her up now!" Usopp declared, running off to get his tools.
"Then I think I'll go make a nice broth for Nami-san," Sanji decided with a smile, heading off for the kitchen.
Luffy chose to head into Nami's room with Vivi to check up on her while Zoro was about to head back for the crows nest to keep watch, but he rose a brow when feeling a light tap against his shoulder.
"You should go inside and get warmed up. My shadow and I will keep watch," Toffee offered, smiling over at her little companion who was picking up any stray bullets and tossing them overboard.
"Ya sure?" Zoro asked, shrugging with Toffee simply nodded, and he handed her the binoculars and blanket he had been using before heading into the cabin.
Hopping up onto the crow's nest, the air was lot more chilly at this height, but Toffee thought it felt nice against her skin. She had always disliked the humidity of her home island, finding that she preferred cooler weather like this. Sitting down in the small space, she placed the blanket to the side for now and moved the binoculars toward her eyes.
There was nothing but open seas all around, but she couldn't help but wonder. That Drum Kingdom Wapol mentioned, I wonder if it's nearby...Maybe we can find a doctor for Nami there...