One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.

-Chapter Six-

"Yeah" I said, nodding as I peered down at my chest before looking back up at the two men. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm a woman" I continued nodding before my lips twitched upwards as I straightened my back and gave a slight bow with some difficulties. "Here, let me reintroduce myself—I'm Skylar Strife, and it's a pleasure to meet you all" I said, mentally cursing myself for letting that dreadful last name of mine slip through my lips.

"When exactly did you plan on telling us this?" Nami asked as she crossed her arms.

"Someday" I shrugged.

"Why were you dressing up like a guy?" Luffy questioned with the tilt his head and I couldn't blame him for being confused seeing how I didn't really have any real reasons to keep up the charade as long as I did.

"Reasons."

"Do you plan on telling us these reasons?" Nami butted in, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Someday, but not right now" I shrugged with a dismissive wave of my hand as if I really didn't want to bother explaining myself.

"Alright" Luffy smiled, seemingly just accepting my answer as Nami only gave a quiet huff in response.

"Oh right, here" she soon said as if suddenly remembering something important as she tossed something towards me without too much of a warning. Catching it, I discovered that it was only my chest binder that she had given me.

"Thanks, but I don't really need it anymore now that the cat's out of the bag" I said, setting the article of clothing down on a table nearby before owlishly blinking when I suddenly felt one of my hands being taken in a gentle grip as Sanji now kneeled before me.

"I do sincerely apologize for my rude behavior towards you during your stay with us, mademoiselle" he apologized, now wearing that same charming smile that he always wore for Nami as his cheeks soon flushed the moment he looked up at me, his eye already nothing more than a mere heart by this point as a dribble of blood leaked from his nose...

Oh...that's right...I forgot I wasn't wearing a shirt...

"Here, cover yourself up, it isn't proper for a lady to be exposed when men present" the old woman suddenly said just as something soft hit the side of my head. Pulling my hand away from Sanji's grip, I pulled the shirt and jacket that had been thrown at me off my head and saw that it was the same ones I had been wearing earlier on the ship. Looking towards the old woman, I sweat dropped the moment I took notice of the belly shirt she was currently wearing.

"Look who's talking..." I mumbled as I slipped the shirt on over my head, deciding to just leave the jacket off for now.

"What was that, girlie?" she asked, an underlying warning to her tone as she crossed his arms.

"Nothing" I chirped out before finally directing my attention toward the strange reindeer. "So—" I didn't even get the chance to utter out a single word before Luffy's stomach growled, the sound loud enough to echo throughout the room and catch everyone's attention. Slowly did both his and Sanji's attention go straight back towards the reindeer as said animal didn't waste any time in turning on his hoofs and running out of the room through another door, the two men quick to follow after him.

"Can you tell me more about the talking reindeer?" Nami suddenly asked as I crossed the room over to the bed she was laying on, taking a seat at the end near the edge.

"Talking reindeer?" I raised an eyebrow as I gave her a strange look.

"Yes, his name is Chopper—he's a reindeer with a blue nose" the old woman said.

"Yeah, but normal reindeer don't talk" Nami pointed out.

"They don't run on two legs or wear clothes either" I butted in, leaning back against my arms as my hands sunk into the mattress of the bed. "And, not trying to change the subject here, but I don't think I ever got your name, ma'am" I said.

"The name's Dr. Kureha" the old woman responded as I nodded.

"I'm not food!" a muffled, high pitched yell was soon heard from somewhere deep within the building.

"If he's different from other reindeer..." Kureha said as she simply ignored the shout and got right back on topic.

"If he's different?" Nami and I questioned.

"It's because he ate the Human Human Fruit" she finished.

"A Devil Fruit?" Nami asked.

"I didn't think Devil Fruits could apply to animals" I remarked.

"It gave him the ability to talk, he's also a doctor—I taught him everything I know" Kureha seemed to boast as she puffed her chest out with a look of pride.

"Hm...a talking reindeer that's also a doctor..." I mumbled in thought, quietly echoing her words. "Sounds kind of bizarre once you say it out loud" I mused aloud as I looked upwards in thought.

"Yeah, you're telling me..." Nami muttered.

-Later-

"You should join our crew, please, old lady" Luffy begged once the small meal we had been offered was done and over with.

"You really are such a smooth talker, Luffy" I sarcastically said with the roll my eyes, boredly swirling whatever was left of my tea around in my cup as I mindlessly slumped forward in my chair.

"Luffy—that's your name, right?" Kureha asked as she held her hand up as if to halt the rubber man from saying anything more. Eagerly did he nod, leaning forward with a wide smile as he waited in utter anticipation for the woman's answer. "And did you just call me old lady?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's what I said, old lady" I winced at the harsh kick he received from the elderly woman the second he opened his mouth.

"If I were you, I'd be a little more careful with what I say!" she venomously spat.

"You're not much on hearing that word, are you?" I asked, silently shrinking back into my seat just a little when she suddenly turned her sneer onto me. "I'll take that as a yes..." I muttered while bringing my cup up to my lips and began to drink whatever was left of my tea.

"You're a tough old hag, aren't you?" Sanji asked as I could only wince once again when the blond was suddenly kicked back into the wall.

"So, are you boys asking me to become a pirate?" Kureha sighed, leaning back in her seat as if she hadn't just wrecked two young men in under a minute. "Because that would be ridiculous and a waste of my precious time, also, I have no interest in having a life out at sea" she finished.

"Those are lame excuses" Luffy huffed as he waved them off before widely smiling. "Life out on the sea is about adventure, old woman!" he proclaimed.

"This one's a slow learner—and didn't I tell you to watch what you say?" Kureha asked, not really angry this time, but instead amused by what the rubber man had said.

"Hm?" my attention was quickly drawn away from Kureha and Luffy and towards the open door of the room instead. A quiet giggle escaped past my lips the moment I spied Chopper who seemed to be acting as if he was trying to hide, but his posture was all wrong as he was only hiding half his face which allowed for his whole body to be exposed. "You're doing in wrong, you know?" I laughed as I leaned back into my chair and sweetly smiled at him. My question was quick in catching Luffy and Sanji's attention as they instantly started staring at the reindeer that stared right back at them.

All three of their jaws dropped to the floor simultaneously at upon finally noticing one another and it wasn't long before Chopper screamed in fright and ran away the minute he realized that he had been spotted by the two.

"Wait, food! Come back!" Luffy frantically called out after the animal as he and the blond were quick to chase after him.

"Slow down!" Sanji shouted.

"Are you sure you should be letting them do that?" I asked, sitting my teacup down and tilting my head to the side.

"They're not going to hurt him" was all I got as a response from the old woman. "Now that everything's calmed down a bit, I have a few things I need to go over with you" she said, now leaning forward on the table and resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Okay" I nodded, silently listening as she began to go over some important things that I had to do during my healing process. "So basically, exercise occasionally and just apply this ointment to the burn marks daily" I repeated her instructions right back to her while looking down at the ointment tube she had given me.

"That's right" she nodded.

"And I shouldn't worry when the flesh around the burn marks starts to peel because that's natural?"

"Yep."

"Alright, sounds easy enough" I nodded, ears now perking up at the loud commotion the three were currently making deep within the castle. Slowly did Dr. Kureha's face morph into a look of irritation upon hearing the commotion as well as she suddenly shot up from her chair and raced out of the room without a second thought.

"That's enough of that, idiots!" she hissed, leaving just as Chopper started to fearfully scream once again.

"Well, that certainly was something" I said, mindlessly leaning forward as I began to boredly mess around with the empty cup in front of me. "How are you feeling, Nami?" I suddenly asked.

"At the current moment? I'm feeling just fine" she responded.

"That's good to know" I pleasantly hummed.

"Yeah, tell me about it...now if only I can convince that old woman to let us leave early..." she muttered underneath her breath, practically sounding lost in thought as she began to mull over what to do. "What about you? How are you feeling?" she curiously asked after a moment's silence.

"Fine, just a few aches here and there" I said with a small shrug as I now leaned back into my chair, stretching my limbs out in the process. "Even if you're feeling fine, I feel you should still get some rest—your fever was quite bad from what I could tell the few times I was awake to witness it back on the ship" I suggested, watching as she opened her mouth to argue before thinking better of it and instead nodding as she silently snuggled back down into the covers. Not even a moment later did one of the other doors in the room suddenly burst open as Chopper rushed inside with Luffy and Sanji hot on his trail.

"In a minute, I'll be cooking you two some reindeer soup" Sanji cooed as he stopped and ran in place to look between Nami and me.

"I don't think so, I'll eat you two before that can happen!" Kureha cut in as she suddenly dropped down from somewhere with a grin plastered on her face, now wielding two swords in her hands which caused Luffy and Sanji to scream in fear of the older woman as they started to run once again with her now chasing after them.

"She's coming! She's coming!" Luffy cried out as they all quickly left the room, voicing growing faint the further away they got. Curiously did I peer up towards the ceiling, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion as I did so.

"How did she drop down from up there when I'm sure I saw her leave the room earlier?" I questioned, growing more and more confused the longer I thought about it.

"I don't care about food or strange reappearing acts, I just want some peace and quiet..." Nami grumbled, irritably rubbing at her eyes as she sat up and glared at the open door the rambunctious group had fled from.

"With those two? I doubt that'll ever be possible...well...maybe with Sanji, but not with Luffy" I said after a moment's thought, knowing that the blond would gladly give the ginger the silence she needed if she just asked him. "Hm? What is it?" I soon asked the second I saw the face she was making.

"There shouldn't be any snow in a castle, right?" she suddenly asked.

"No, I wouldn't think so" I answered, now confused myself as I curiously looked towards the open door only to finally notice the small piles of snow that were building up out in the hall.

"It's freezing, I should probably shut that door..." Nami shivered as she started to rub her arms in an attempt to warm herself up before making an attempt to stand from the bed.

"I'll do—"

"No, you should stay in bed and you should stay seated—I'll close it" Chopper interrupted just as he reentered the room.

A/N: Enjoy

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