-Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Three-
"No, you have to be treated right away!" Chopper scolded as he tried to treat Zoro's injuries.
"My wounds aren't that severe" the swordsman argued, not seeing why the doctor felt the desire to treat him first out of everyone else.
"Bullshit! You got hit by a lightning bolt!" I frowned, quick to shoot down his argument.
"So? You also got hit by lightning!" he quickly counteracted.
"Yeah, but I didn't get hit like a gillion times!"
"It wasn't a gillion times—you're overreacting!"
"It could have been, you don't know!"
"Alright you two, calm down" Usopp quickly interfered as he placed a hand on both of our shoulders.
"Really, I'm fine—that guy over there needs more help than me" Zoro waved, motioning toward Wyper and making it clear that out of everyone the doctor should be looking after, the Shandorian should be a top priority. "Look after him" Chopper looked at the fallen warrior before slowly nodding in understanding as he quickly scampered away. I only huffed, cheeks puffing out into a pout as I dropped to my knees in front of the swordsman with unshed tears while crossing my arms.
"You scared me..." I angrily grumbled before feeling my expression soften a little the longer I stared into his eyes and saw the gentle look he now wore.
"I guess we're even now" he smiled before opening his arms and engulfing me in a tight hug as I huffed—patting and rubbing my back in a comforting manner as I buried my face into the crook of his neck.
"You're such a jerk..." I mumbled, wrapping my arms around him as I grasped the back of his shirt.
"I know" he grinned, hand still rubbing up and down my back.
"It's true! His body's all worn out—he's dying!" Chopper suddenly cried the second he realized just how badly Wyper was hurt.
"Yeah, but he was trying to kill us—we don't owe him anything" Sanji said, not seeing a reason for the reindeer to get all worked up over the Shandorian's injuries.
"I know it doesn't make much sense, but he was going all out just like the rest of us" Zoro defended while watching how quick Aisa was to rush over toward Wyper's side.
"He's actually a pretty good guy" I softly smiled, finding it sweet how much the little girl worried over the safety of the warrior. "Besides, it'd be cruel to just let him die when he has so many people who care about him" I said, certain that the child probably wasn't the only one worried for the Guerrilla's life.
"He's a hero? Seriously?" Sanji raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Who knows?" Zoro shrugged.
Time quickly passed by as we patched each other up while Chopper dedicated his full attention to mainly treating Wyper.
"Help him, raccoon doggy!" Aisa begged.
"I'm a reindeer! Antlers—see?!" Chopper snapped before heaving a tired sigh. "Don't worry, he'll survive" he assured her while offering a gentle smile in the process.
"Thanks, reindeer!" she happily laughed, brightening at the reassurance that the warrior would live.
"I guess anything's possible—speaking of which, what do you think happened to Eneru and the bell?" Sanji curiously asked after he was caught up by the rest of us on all the things that he had missed.
"Don't know, I guess they must have crashed" Usopp shrugged.
"That's the only thing that sounds logical" I nodded while leaning against Zoro. "Knowing Luffy, he probably knocked him back pretty hard—I have my doubts that he'll be able to move anytime soon wherever he is" I hummed.
"So we have a City of Gold, but only in name" Sanji realized.
"Which just means our adventure in poverty continues" Zoro sighed.
"I rather have dials over gold any day, that's something you can't get from the Blue Sea" Usopp admitted, more pleased with our discovery of dials than with the thought of gold.
"I mean, that's a positive way to look at things" I chuckled. "Though I doubt the others feel the same, especially a certain ginger" I said, already knowing the despair Nami was most likely to be in the moment she realized that there was no gold to be found.
"Onto the point where I settle for some concrete news, I hope Nami's alright, and where's Conis?" Sanji asked. "This not knowing is driving me crazy" he heavily sighed.
"So did you have a chance to patch him up?" Zoro asked when Chopper finally got around to bandaging him up due to being the only person whose wounds were still left unattended. There had been attempts, of course, but he kept on refusing to really let any of us help treat him as he made it clear that he wanted to make sure that the rest of us were treated first.
"He's going to be alright I hope" I said, seated beside the two as I held Chopper's medical kit for him.
"Yes, all he needs is rest" Chopper assured us with a nod.
"That's good" I smiled, happy to know that the warrior would be alright and that Aisa would have nothing to worry about. She seemed to care greatly for the man, so knowing he was alright brought me a sense of relief because it meant she was going to be alright in the end as well.
"Hey!" turning our heads in the direction of the familiar voice, we brightened the second we spotted Luffy, Nami, Conis, and Su running toward us.
"Well look who it is" I grinned, watching as the captain shoveled meat into his mouth, his cheeks already puffed out and filled to the brim with food as he wildly waved toward us.
"Luffy!" Usopp happily cheered the second he spotted our captain.
"We're back, I'm so glad you're okay!" Conis cried out in relief the minute she spotted us. "I was afraid I wouldn't see any of you again!" she tearfully hiccupped.
"She was worried!" Sanji swooned, hearts flying all around him as he began to spin around in excitement.
"Oh please..." Usopp grumbled, rolling his eyes.
"I see you're already feeling better, Sanji" I giggled, watching the energetic blond twirl around in spite of his injuries.
"I'm glad you guys grabbed some food, where's it from?" Zoro asked.
"We found the Priests storage locker on our way back through the forest" Nami told us.
"There were lots more" Luffy spoke through a mouthful, his words just barely legible enough to understand.
"We've been over this before—swallow before you speak, you'll choke" I scolded.
"Sorry" he apologized as he quickly swallowed everything in his mouth in one go, not caring how it stretched out his rubber throat in an unnatural way as it all went down somewhat easily.
"You know that's not what I meant..." I grumbled, causing him to laugh as he widely grinned.
"But...um...how did you manage to find your way back through the forest?" Usopp suddenly asked.
"My Gum Gum Balloon" Luffy simply answered, giving a peace sign to the sharpshooter who only sweat dropped in response.
"Conis, where's your old man?" Zoro curiously asked.
"Well, yeah...well he...he protected me..." Conis mumbled as she trailed off, gaze now downcast as if it hurt for her to recall what had happened. "And then Eneru..." already were tears starting to well up in her eyes the longer she thought about what had happened.
"Don't tell me..." Chopper gasped.
"I'm sorry" Sanji tried his best to comfort the young angel who was now close to tears.
"Yeah, me too" Pagaya nodded, having appeared out of nowhere without any of us noticing.
"Me three" Luffy sadly sniffed.
"What?" I owlishly blink, having to do a double-take as if to make sure I was seeing things correctly.
"You're supposed to be dead!" we snapped at the old man, startled by his sudden and nonchalant appearance.
"Sorry, I'm alive" he apologized.
"You don't have to apologize for that!" I exclaimed.
"Father!" Conis brightened as she rushed over to her father and wrapped him up in a tight hug.
"You were on the lower level of the White Sea?" Nami questioned after the old man explained to us how he had survived Eneru's attack.
"I found myself there after being blasted from the ledge" Pagaya nodded. "And I wasn't alone, countless others ended up in the same spot by making their way toward Clouds End—yet, as we speak, they too are now on the journey back by the restored Milky Road" he revealed. "Of course, given that there's no longer an Angel Island, a new destination was chosen—Upper Yard."
-Later-
"Boy! I stuffed myself!" Usopp laughed—his and Luffy's stomachs now inflated thanks to the large amounts of food they had both consumed throughout the day. Since reuniting, the two acted as if they were starved animals and that the food that had been given to them had been their first meal in ages.
"It's getting pretty late, you guys" Zoro remarked as I attempted to stifle a yawn—not really succeeding as it still slipped out in the end.
"It's not that late" I dismissively waved.
"You just yawned!" Nami frowned. "Anyways, it's time to hit the ship" she clapped as she motioned for us to stand and get going.
"Whoa! You're not talking about leaving, are you?" Luffy asked.
"Relax, all I meant was it would be a nice change of pace to go back to the ship and sleep in a warm bed" Nami clarified.
"Usopp, can you believe what she just said?" Luffy asked, causing me to giggle.
"Hardly, it's sick—I mean, the thought doesn't even cross her mind to go out and look for gold, and she calls herself a pirate" Usopp huffed.
"You can't be serious?" Nami irritably glared. "How'd you two like fat lips to go with your fat bellies!" she threatened the second she spotted the look they were giving her.
-Later-
"We did it!" Luffy happily cheered as we celebrated alongside the Skypieans and Shandorians.
I wasn't entirely sure how the celebration had started nor how the rest of us had gotten dragged into it. We hadn't even made it that far before we were stopped by the two races after reaching our ship, both of them joyfully inviting us to join them in their celebration. Gently coaxing us to come and celebrate with them with the offer of food and drinks as thanks for helping in saving their homeland from near destruction. Despite how tired some of us were, we couldn't refuse such an offer as their excitement seemed almost contagious in the way it instantly took hold...
That, and Luffy was rather insistent we join—eager to stuff his face with even more food as if he hadn't just finished digesting all that food he had eaten earlier.
Humming to myself, I leaned against Zoro and listened as he clinked cups with the Shandorian he had fought earlier. Quietly watching as the others had fun, I soon tilted my head back and closed my eyes. Still humming, I smiled as I listened to the joyful sounds of those around me as they basked in the celebration they were having. Enjoying each other's company as any past grievances seemed to almost be forgiven in an instant.
-Days Later-
The fire and party had long since died out by this point with people now scattered around and softly sleeping after days of countless partying. Unlike the rest, I found myself wide awake this night with dark whispers in the back of my mind quietly begging me to close my eyes and let them envelope me in their gentle grasp. Beside me, I could hear Zoro snore—completely unaware of anything else. Staring at the night sky, I barely looked when the sounds of light footsteps suddenly broke the silence and revealed that there were still people awake other than myself. Luffy's hushed whispers were soon intermingled with another, and before long, both his and Nami's voices were soon starting to rise in volume as the two broke out into an argument.
"Would you two shut up—I'm trying to sleep over here!" Usopp snapped, seemingly frustrated with the two as he threw his arms up into the air in defeat before bringing them back down where he then accidentally hit the sleeping reindeer beside him in the face. My body automatically rolled onto its stomach, hand snatching up a nearby pebble that I angrily threw at the sharpshooter.
"Don't hit Chopper, he's just trying to sleep!" I hissed through clenched teeth before watching as the others slowly started to stir thanks to the commotion. Already were the voices in my head starting to die out as they were now drowned out by Nami and Luffy's continuous fighting as well as Sanji's compliments as the blond started to coo over the ginger.