Chopper sat at a table in the lab. He was working with the strange bandages he found on one of the female patients.

He and the doctor found her with a boy who wore a straw hat. The boy asked for help so they decided to take them in.

The one with bandages was in the worst condition. She was given a warm bath and was put in a warm room. She had severe frostbite, a bullet wound, and several other scars.

The bandages were removed for the treatments, but they were incredibly difficult to remove. They were extremely tight and were wrapped in a complicated manner. It took Doctor Kureha an hour to remove them.

They were incredible bandages. Stretchy enough to cover anything, waterproof, stain-proof, and they somehow wrapped things in a way that they maintain their proper shape. With bandages like those, they wouldn't have to set the bone before using the bandages. Just use them and they'll heal correctly.

Doctor Kureha wanted to replicate them. She gave Chopper the sole responsibility as she tended to the sick girl. But something kept bothering Chopper in the lab.

"Doctor," said Chopper. "Can you open the window? It's too hot in here." He was covered in sweat. It would take hours of brushing to fix his fur.

"No can do," said Doctor Kureha through her cigarette. "Opening a window would make the fireplace useless. I need the heat for my joints." She left the room with a fresh batch of medicine.

"It's not like she's here to feel it anyway," said Chopper as he walked to the window. It was directly to his right, down the long table that lined the wall of the room.

He opened it and let in the cold Winter air. He let out a sigh. "That's so much better." He walked back to the bandages.

He picked them up, but they were caught on a splinter in the table. The bandages stretched a bit and hit him in the face.

The bandages almost had a life of their own. They kept trying to wrap onto Chopper. Every time he pulled a part of it away, another piece took its spot.

Eventually, he had enough, he turned into his human form. The bandages were wrapped around his arms like a rubber band.

They were hard to keep separate. It took all of his concentration. Then his arm started to itch. His matted fur was getting annoying. He moved it a little to quell the feeling.

This was a terrible idea. The bandages rode up his left arm and were slingshotted out the window and into the snowstorm outside.

"I hope those weren't expensive," said Chopper. "Doctorine might get mad."

Chapter 17: Meeting A Monster! Did We Find A New Member?

Dymon D. Ciara

I woke up in a bed covered in large sheets. They made me extremely hot so I pushed them off. Then I got cold so I pulled them on again. I did it twice before realizing I only needed one blanket.

I laid back to go back to sleep before realizing something terrible. I pulled off the blanket and saw my bare skin. I was completely naked but I didn't care about that. My bandages were gone.

This wouldn't be so bad if I had a normal body. I forgot to bring this up before, but my body was barely being held together by stitches, bandages, and more than a few prayers. The bandages did most of the work. Without them, anybody could get a good hit in, and all my organs and limbs would go everywhere. That would be inconvenient.

I was in a big, stone bedroom with a fireplace. It was pretty warm, but the open window also made it a little cold. I didn't get it either. There's not much else in the room but a few desks covered in random things. There was a door across the room in front of me.

Someone walked inside. It was an old crone wearing a tiny shirt and purple pants. She pulled up a chair and sat next to my bed. I looked her over. She had a weirdly white smile for an old lady.

"Are you a dentist? Because I think I have a cavity," I said as I opened my mouth.

"Alright, if you don't want to hear about your friends." She looked in my mouth for almost a full second. "These are all cavities."

"Just how I like it." A tooth lodged itself behind my lip. I took it out and gave it to the witch doctor. It was pitch black. "Do you have a replacement?"

"Will you give money to someone who burns it," she asked sarcastically.

"Only if there's barbecue." I wasn't joking. I stole everything I owned and I did burn a billion berries once after robbing a criminal organization. "But you didn't answer my question."

"I don't have spare teeth."

"Too bad, because I'm great at dental-" More teeth came out. I spit them out. "What's up with that?"

"You grind your teeth in your sleep. The bath didn't help you relax either."

"I thought I kicked that habit. What could've happened?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said the old lady. "I'm Dr. Kureha, I saved your life."

"Yeah, cool. But what about my teeth grinding? Do you know how hard it is to get replacements in the right size? I have a really stupid mouth. I refuse to go back to wooden teeth."

"Don't you care about how you ended up here?"

"Luffy climbed the mountain after I passed out. He's strong enough not to die on the way so I knew he got us to a doctor. It's either that or I'm already dead and I can't die." I smiled and shook my head.

"Do you also know the secret to immortality?"

"No, but I have connections in high places. Can you tell me the secret in case my connection is cut?"

"No. It won't be a secret if I tell everyone."

"Alright. Thank you for saving my life. It must've been hard with how old you must be. I assume you're at least a thousand."

"No!" She punched me in the face. "I'm still a young 139-year-old woman."

I decided to forgive her for punching me. It was more like a light breeze anyway. "How do you know you're immortal? I met a guy who was 160 and he died." He was a guest at that wedding. He was the strangest cow farmer I've ever met. "I want to say it was natural causes."

"I assume it wasn't then? Doesn't matter, let's move on. You've made a full recovery. No fever, gangrene, and that hole in your back was between stitches so we just took the bullet out and stitched it again."

"Yeah, who cares." I finally remembered something important. "What about my bandages?"

"My idiot assistant lost it. How much does it cost?" She had another smile. It was mildly annoying.

"How much do you think it's worth?"

"I don't want to undersell it." It was a lie, so I lied back.

"Don't worry. I'll be fair. Just tell me how much money you have."

"Hundred million berries, give or take a dozen." I knew she was lying. Someone who extorted people out of food and money should have at least half a billion.

"You're in luck! The bandages are worth a cool 10 billion berries." It wasn't a lie. I was lucky she was also a liar or I would've felt bad. Ok, I lied, I didn't care either way.

"I don't have that much," said the doctor in mild anger.

"Then we'll trade. You don't have my bandages so how about you wave me and my friends' medical bills? That should be about a billion berries high-balled. How about we go around and see what else could pay off your debt?"

"I could let you see your friend for a couple billion." She thought she had me beat.

"And I could let you live for ten billion." I stand up and wrap a couple of blankets around myself. "Don't try to stop me. Immortality isn't that great, you've seen the scars to prove it." I leave the room.

The rest of the castle was large and cold. I clenched the blankets close.

The middle of the castle was strange. A large pillar in the center with multiple hallways visible on the outer wall. I've been in 4 castles and this was the only one like that. There was snow everywhere and a harsh breeze constantly blowing.

"AHHHH," a reindeer ran past me. "I'm not food!"

"Get back here food!" It was Luffy. I put my hand out and grabbed his hat. He stopped and turned around. "Ciara! You're okay!" He hugged me and grabbed his hat back.

I hugged him back. "Thanks for not leaving me in the snow," I replied. "I know it was a hard decision."

"It wasn't hard to help you. You helped me help Nami." Oh yeah, Luffy was a good person.

"Where's Nami? If she's dead we'll have a better chance swimming to Alabasta."

"She's fine. I just need to find a deer." Luffy looked around. "He's gone. Let's go see Nami." He led me down the hall and through a door.

The room was nice and warm. Nami was on a bed to my right, there were multiple tables with medical supplies, and a table in the middle with a couple of chairs. I sat in one and let the blankets fall.

"AH," yelled Nami. She looked terrified of me. "What happened to you?!"

I looked down and saw the problem. "Yeah, got in a nasty fight and I never found my nipples. I know it's a little weird but you get used to it."

"I'm not talking about your missing nipples! You look like you're gonna fall apart from a light breeze!"

I realized at that moment that Nami wasn't scared of me. She was scared for me. "Do you like me? Even though I tried to steal your desk. Twice."

"Of course, you're my friend. No matter how much you constantly piss me off." It made sense, Nami put up with Sanji and he was a hopeless romantic.

"Wow, that makes me feel slightly better."

Nami gave me a blank look. "Do you want people to get mad at you?"

"I'm just being honest."

"Yeah, Nami," said Luffy, who sat at the table next to me. "What's the problem?"

"He's an idiot," said Nami. "You don't have an excuse for being rude."

"It's not my fault you're annoying," I said. "The most money I've had all to myself was the coin I threw in the ocean and you've put me into debt up to my neck almost immediately after."

"I earned that money fair and square by gambling."

"You thought I'd lose. I saw it in your eyes. I'm so much stronger than Luffy."

"That fight ended in a tie."

"Only because I was tired."

"That's no excuse."

"I'd fight him again if I got the chance, but your punches hurt." At that moment I wondered why Luffy hadn't said anything. I looked over at him.

He was looking at the door. I also looked and saw a little deer creature looking into the room. He was trying to hide but he was backwards. Most of his body was visible.

"Luffy," I whispered to him. "Don't blink. Their movement is based on eyesight." I thought for a moment. "Wait, I think that's backwards."

"Food," Luffy yelled as he jumped to the door. The little monster ran away and he followed.

I went to close the door, but Dr. Kureha came in and closed it for me. "Sit down," she said. I did. She sat across from me. She had a bottle of scotch. "You want a drink?"

"I'm good," I reply. "I try not to drink before surgery."

"You don't need a surgery." She had a smug look.

"That's what you think."

"Care to explain." Dr. Kureha took a long drink.

"Who's that deer thing? If it's smart enough to talk would eating it be cannibalism?" I immediately changed the subject. I wanted to build suspense for the audience.

"His name is Chopper," said Nami.

"The adults are talking," I said to Nami. I turn to Dr. Kureha. "So, is Chopper your assistant?"

"I don't have to tell you that," said the old lady with a smug grin. "I could be talking about a completely different person."

"Let me guess, you'll tell me for a billion berries?"

"Multiply it by ten and you might have enough." I tried using my fingers to find the solution. It was like 4 carry the ten.

"Ten Billion," said Nami, cutting off my thoughts. "Do you not know that?"

"I don't know. What I know is a bit touch and go. It's very inconsistent. I forgot how to use a spoon once, or was it a fork?"

"Ha! You're an idiot, aren't you? What's your name," asked Dr. Kureha.

"Diamond Tiara/Dymon D. Ciara," Nami and I said the same thing.

"Which is it?"

"We said the same thing," I said.

"Dymon D. Ciara," said Nami.

I pointed at her. "Yeah, Diamond Tiara's my name."

Dr. Kureha nodded her head. "Yeah, I get it now. Did you have a brain injury at some point?"

"More like 'When haven't I had a brain injury?'" I tried to play it off as a joke but I sometimes found bits of it up my nose.

"Brain damage is no laughing matter," said Dr. Kureha. "You could stop being yourself altogether."

I shrugged it off. "Eh, I'll be fine. What can you do about it anyway?"

"Nothing that wouldn't kill you. Or with a hundred practice brains, and I'm not that crazy yet."

The door exploded and the little monster and Luffy ran in. Dr. Kureha kicked Luffy into the wall. "Cut it out," she yelled. The monster hid under the table.

I went under the table. I recognized the monster as a mix between a human and some animal with antlers. He had red shorts and a matching hat, his nose was blue as well. He looked at me and was shivering in pure fear. "Hey," I whispered. "Are you that doctor's only assistant?"

"Ok, it was me," he yelled. "My name is Tony Tony Chopper and I lost your bandages! I had trouble with them and they fell out the window!"

"Well," I said, having trouble organizing my thoughts. "Thanks for being honest, I guess. What are you gonna do to make up for it?"

"I'll do whatever it ta-"

"Found you," Luffy yelled. Chopper ran as Luffy gave chase and Dr. Kureha followed. They left the door open on the way out.

"Wow, rude," I said dismissively.

TO BE CONTINUED...