The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 14: Life's Short

"Nami!" I scream, dashing to their sides, "Usopp!"

They don't move nor respond so, instinctively, I shook them like rag dolls, "Please, don't be dead. I can't remember how to do RCP."

Usopp's body seems to be covered in rubble, and Nami is lying on her side, her hair all dirty with dust. I know how the aftermarh of an explosion looks like when I see it. A memory flashes in front of my eyes; right, Kuma attacked us with some kind of blast. My chest begins pounding faster; they were closer to Kuma when it happened.

"Wake up, Usopp, Nami!" The increasing panic evident in my voice.

It was only when I stopped for a second that I realised their chests rising and falling. The loudest sigh escapes my lungs; I almost went into cardiac arrest, damn it.

With renewed calm, I try to wake them up. Usopp gets up eventually, but Nami seems too far gone. After a few tries, I'm already getting impatient.

"Why don't you kiss her?" I address the sniper.

Usopp turns to face me, completely baffled.

"It worked last time," I shrug.

"Wh-are you crazy?" I could've said that pink elephants are flying above us; his face twisted so fast into the very image of outrage I almost let out a giggle, "I'd probably owe her beries for the rest of my life!"

"Yeah, I can see that happening," I chuckle. "Then what?"

"I...got an idea," Usopp starts rummaging through his bag.

Throwing tea in her face indeed proved to be effective, to be fair, though the consequences were dire: the big nose and I share two fat lumps on our heads. My poor head.

Lola, the girl who was talking to me before, helped us wake the others, who were laying around the place. Everyone was okay, which was a relief, though there was a certain patch of green hair that still was missing. And with that, the bad feeling returned to claw itself on my chest.

Helping Franky up, I look around once more, "I can't see Zoro anywhere."

"He couldn't have gotten lost while unconscious, right?" Usopp jokes.

The reindeer seems to understand the source of my worry, "He was fighting Kuma when I passed out..."

Sanji's voice comes from somewhere deep in the rubble, startling us all: "Chopper, come quick, I've found the moss head!"

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As Chopper speeds through the examination, I stare at the battered body of the swordsman, now lying on a makeshift stretcher. He must have gone through a real ordeal to be like this. What happened to you? Even saying that it looks like a train ran over him would be an understatement. And yet, when Sanji found him, he was still conscious.

Sometimes I forget that he's not invincible. He's always training, pushing himself to the limit, never once I saw him throwing in the towel in a session, or complaining. And even though he always says it's to become the best swordsman in the world, he clearly puts his friends first, every time. Even if it kills him.

No one notices when I squeeze his hand, after helping Chopper sanitize and bandage his wounds. No one notices how I try hard not to shed tears when the doctor assures us that all is well. I didn't notice the weight I was carrying until Chopper gave the all clear.

A victory party started around the small stretcher at the hand of a refreshed Luffy not long after that. That boy must be built different; he doesn't seem to feel even a bit of pain despite all that I saw him suffer during the battle with Moria. It's kind of eerie, but at least he's returned to his bubbly happy self.