Marine Academy
Part 1
Chapter 2
A silence invaded the assembly. Hundreds of men and few women were present in the largest amphitheater of the Academy, in the center of the gardens.
Only one man stood in front of all these new recruits, proud, the director of the Academy. His speech lasted a good half an hour, during which no one dared to move or even breathe too loud. The words of the director resonated deep within the young woman who listened to his words religiously.
All the promotions were mixed: soldiers, technical, administrative and of course health.
The health promotion was made up of only 100 students, future doctors, pharmacists, researchers, renowned professors.
The greatest doctors of the Marine had all passed through this Academy, and the majority now shared their knowledge through lectures in the legendary "Dr. Baroc Amphitheater", which took its name from the greatest doctor of the Marine, who died about ten years ago.
Murphy had read every book he had written, dissected every medical article he had produced, and had always dreamed of standing in this amphitheater. The competition had been tough, the chances of success slim, but she refused to live without at least trying to access the inaccessible.
The atmosphere of this first day was therefore special, and a part of her knew that she would never forget the first day of this new life.
"Your things have been dropped off in dorm 3C!" exclaimed the third year student representative, pointing to a spacious room with three beds. Murphy followed her, thanked her discreetly and rushed into her new home. A woman was already settled in and was busy putting a makeup bag in her closet. Murphy sat down gently on a bed she deemed available and inspected the room before being cut off by the redhead girl.
"Hi, my name is Claire, I'm a second year." She began kindly.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Murphy, first year, I just arrived." The young woman replied warmly, shaking the hand that was extended to her.
"Ouch, first year, that's tough. It feels like a decade since I did my first day. But don't worry, I'll explain everything to you. It's easy to get lost in this mess." The redhead continued, meticulously applying discreet lipstick. She then jumped up and invited the blonde to follow her into the maze of corridors.
"There's the kitchen. We have the best cooks in the Academy since we're mostly girls. A little positive discrimination doesn't hurt much in this brutal world... Here are the showers, over there a big gym, it's often empty, we don't really have time to train and our teachers don't really care to tell the truth. And at the end of the corridor the holly medical library. To tell the truth, it's a communal library, but the other classes never come there, you'll only see girls in medicine. And you better feel comfortable there because believe me, you'll be there much more often than in your bed." She continued her explanations as she rushed down the corridors and hurriedly left the building.
"On your left is the Dr. Baroc amphitheater and the five practice rooms, including the morgue. Behind it, you'll find the medicinal gardens, the relaxation gardens, and then the buildings and training grounds of the other classes. We're quite far away. Maybe because we're mostly women. Or maybe because they're afraid we'll get killed on the training grounds of these brutes who don't seem to have very qualitative neural connections."
Murphy just followed her, nodding in time with the redhead's words. The buildings were impressive and she was looking forward to discovering the large library. The redhead seemed friendly, but had a strong character with very clear convictions.
"One last piece of advice." The second year student finished, turning to the new girl. "Avoid talking to the soldiers. Even if they're hot. It will only bring you trouble."
Murphy nodded one last time. In any case, her goal was very clear: to succeed in her studies, become a brilliant doctor for the Marine and participate in making the world a better place, far from all piracy and barbaric acts.
The evening was pleasant with Claire, discussing studies and life on campus. The young woman had a quick call on Den Den Mushi to briefly tell her parents about her day and fell asleep in a few minutes, eager to begin hostilities the next day.
"Welcome everyone. May this year produce professionals capable of saving lives and advancing science!" The professor said loudly throughout the amphitheater.
Murphy looked at her neighbor on the right, a brunette woman a little older than her. She gave her a look filled with excitement, a discreet smile on the corner of her lips.
The classes began immediately. Anatomy, physics, biology of living organisms, pharmaceuticals, basic emergency care...
The program was dense and created to test the students from the first weeks.
A grueling and monotonous routine invaded Murphy from the first days: classes - revisions in the library - meals - rest.
The best professors of Marineford, some still active within the Grand Hospital of Marineford, paraded each week to teach the students in their respective fields.
It was exciting, but exhausting. Only once a week, the routine of the medical students was broken by the mandatory "fight training" course. It was an opportunity for the students to get their noses out of their books and enjoy the outdoor training grounds a little.
The expected level was particularly low, but a minimum was required to be able to earn their soldier ranks with dignity.
Murphy took advantage of these moments to chat with her roommate and new friend Emma, the brunette she had met during the first class. A solid and sincere friendship had quickly developed between them. They now spent a good part of their days together revising or relaxing.
"Which department are you doing your first internship in?" Emma asked nonchalantly as she jogged around the field as ordered by their trainer of the day.
"Training" Murphy replied as she tried to keep her breathing regular during her run.
"Oh boy, the blonde is so lucky!" The brunette sneered. "A whole week with the soldiers who think they're the future admiral-in-chief! You're lucky. I much prefer my internship at the lab!
Murphy sighed. She knew her roommate was right. This internship was known to be interesting from a medical point of view: emergency care and traumatology mainly. But having to put up with soldiers full of testosterone was exhausting just thinking about it.
[...]
"Well Murphy, I'm sick of it!" Emma burst into the medical training office where Murphy was sitting behind the desk, a book about psychopathology in her hands.
The blonde didn't even seem surprised to see the brunette storm burst into the office. She closed her book gently and looked at her with a thin smile, her eyes tired.
"If anyone sends me again their urine or worse, I'll smash all the glass jars in this lab hell."
Murphy smiled at her, trying to hold back a laugh at her friend's expression.
"You look awful, Murphy."
"Well, just this morning, three soldiers came to my office for a so-called penis fracture... A penis fracture, Emma!"
Emma burst out laughing without discretion. The soldiers' stupidity was therefore not just a vague legend.
"Listen, Murph, either we finish these last five hours of training and become brilliant doctors..." The brunette began.
"Or else?"
"Or, plan B, we find a guy who has the potential to become at least a rear admiral in all this mess, we get married, have kids and retire at thirty."
"Emma..." Murphy sighed, laughing.
"Yes, I'm a feminist, ma'am, but think about it for two seconds! These women who stay at home all day while Mister goes off to kill pirates, their only worries are to make an appointment with the best hairdresser in town and be present at the winter sales! I sincerely think that they're the ones who have understood everything Murph'! We've been on the wrong track Murph', from the beginning!" The brunette added, transported by her speech.
The blonde didn't have time to answer when a knock sounded on the door. Emma had barely had time to get up to slip away discreetly from behind when a man entered the office.
"Hello, can I help you?" the student politely asked the young man with the already impressive build who had just entered the room. He was at least two heads taller than her and his face was tense.
Murphy noticed that his features were hard, as if he didn't want to be there either.
"I'm here to collect the health pass that will allow me to return to training."
Murphy understood that this was the pass that only she could issue at the end of the medical examination and that made the soldier fit or unfit to continue his physical training.
"I'm sorry, but in order to give you this pass, I must do at least one clinical examination first," the student replied as she headed towards the box of single-use gloves.
It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to come forward and ask for this pass so that they could return to work, negotiating not to do this examination that they considered completely useless. Of course, this judgment was based on all the medical skills they had accumulated over the years…
But the man in front of her didn't try to negotiate and settled silently on the medical bed. He let Murphy approach without making a fuss, which the student particularly appreciated.
"What is your name and the reason for your visit please ?" she asked, already writting information on a blank health note.
"Sakazuki, first year soldier class 4, burn on the right hand."
Murphy put down the document and looked at the man's hand, which was indeed burned on a good part of the palm and three fingers.
"How did you do that?" she asked as she went to get her bandage kit.
She heard the man grumble before answering her "I burned myself with my devil fruit. It still happens to me from time to time when I reach a certain temperature".
The blonde was surprised for a few seconds "What is your devil fruit to give you a burn like that?" she asked without letting an ounce of judgment show in her voice.
"Magma". The man simply replied while the woman began to disinfect the wound.
"Wonderful power you have there, I must say!"
The student only took a few minutes to make a bandage on the burn. The man hadn't complained once during the treatment, which must have been painful, but he had refused the usual painkiller pills.
"I have to put you out of action for at least five days. Sorry. Don't hesitate to come back to redo the bandage during the weekend, my colleague will be on duty if necessary." She handed him the health pass.
Sakazuki didn't answer, but the blonde understood very quickly that he wasn't the type to come back for treatment or even to accept a training ban so easily.
He stood up slowly. Their eyes met for a second before the soldier's face closed again. He left the room without saying another word, taking away the burning atmosphere with him.