You and Nami held hands as you snuck through the massive castle that Kureha had moved into, regardless of the previous owner's consent. Hand holding was mandatory when you were walking through the massive castle. What if one of you got lost? That's why you were holding hands.
...
No other reason
After Sanji pushed you back into your room in a flustered frenzy, you and Nami took it upon yourselves to explore after a while. You already knew that the Wapol fight was happening once Luffy rushed in looking for a jacket– and Nami graciously sacrificed her own, since you would rather die than part with yours.
You couldn't not do anything while waiting around. Nami thought the same thing. Why would you two sit around when you had a perfectly good chance to escape? You weren't about to waste three days sitting on top of a mountain when you could be sailing instead. You needed to see Crocodile as soon as you possibly could.
(Note: you never told Nami about the fight outside. You might get beat later, but it was okay since you didn't want to worry her.)
"Maybe because you'd be into it?"
Shut the hell up Kosai, I'm not a masochist.
"You are, and you admitted it."
Did not. You know you did. This is some wholesome hand holding anyways.
You peeked through a door before pulling Nami with you. You must've been in the main hall by now– considering the column in the very center of the room. Nami had her blanket pulled over her shoulders and she was comfortably wrapped up. You still had your Marine jacket which kept you toasty and nicely warm.
You were calm until you heard laughter from down below
Ew, Wapol. Why does he look like that?
"Don't ask me."
I'm going to ask him.
"He's going to try and kill you."
"Who are you?" Nami asked, stepping closer to the railings and looking down at him. You and Nami hadn't been seen by Wapol, so it makes sense that Nami didn't know who Wapol was in the first place. You were both sleeping when the encounter happened.
Wapol grinned evilly. "You must be friends with that Straw Hat boy."
"No, no. Not at all." Nami waved her free hand around to brush off his accusation. "We don't even know him."
"Oh. Really?"
"Really." He doesn't believe us. I can see it in his eyes.
"We're just some navigators passing by."
"We just needed some medicine, you see," You added casually.
"Goodbye, then," Nami said, pulling you along. She stopped for a moment when she saw Wapol start climbing up one of the pillars. You tensed up and your grip on her hand tightened. You didn't remember this happening at all. "Eh?"
"LIAR!"
You and Nami bolted, Wapol hot on your tails
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!"
"WHY?!"
"I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE–" His eyes went from Nami, until they were locked on you. You shrieked and started pushing Nami ahead of you when you ran down a flight of stairs. "--GET BACK HERE– YOU'RE CROONER'S BRAT, AREN'T YOU?!"
You screamed even louder, even when Wapol slammed into the stairway entrance, since he was too fat to get through. You were trying to put as much distance between you and him as you could– and you couldn't use Soru because your legs were too sore and you just got treated that day.
"OH FUCK HE KNOWS!!"
"I'm stuck! I've been eating too much!" Wapol grunted out, before getting an idea. "Then, how about this? Baku-Baku Factory!!"
You and Nami skidded to a stop when you saw the guy start to eat himself. Why were you always tortured with these cursed visions? This must have been your punishment for treating Sanji well a while back. Goddamn it. Can't have shit in One Piece.
"I'M EATING MYSELF!!"
"FUCKING STOP!!" You were dragging Nami back, even as she watched, so utterly confused about what was going on. "THAT'S SCARY!"
"What a weirdo... What is he?"
She watched owlishly as Wapol, who resembled a small garbage can, albeit one made of flesh, tumbled down the stairs. "That will do..."
"Nami– Nami I don't remember what happens after this." You shook her shoulders as Wapol the trash can started to tremble and vibrate like it was possessed. "We have to go."
"Now, I will rearrange my bones and muscles."
You blanched, along with Nami. "He's gonna do what now?"
"SLIM UP– WAPOL!!"
"AAAAAAAAH WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THAT!?"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!"
"YOU LOOK LIKE DOCTOR DOOFENSHMIRTZ!!"
"GET OVER HERE YOU BRAT!"
You couldn't fight now– Though you were feeling better, you wouldn't be able to hold Annan back from actually killing someone. You had to have a tight grip on him at all times whenever he was drawn out near enemies. Now you had some asshole chasing you and your girlfriend down because, oh, you didn't know– HE WAS INSANE?!
"NAMI RUN– RUN HE'S GOING TO KILL US!!"
"YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME!!"
"HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT!!"
Nami could barely run faster than you, and you were actively trying to shove her forward to keep her safe. "YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"
It was like you had spider senses by this point. Even without looking, you could already tell that Skinny-Wapol had jumped and was planning to flatten you and Nami like pancakes.
"I'll throw you out of the way–"
Don't you DARE! He's targeting me because of Crooner! If I dodge, he'll just hurt Nami!
"--And if you don't– He'll hurt both of you!"
The pain will be halved! I think he just takes us to the ground! You braced yourself when you heard Wapol's yells grow closer. I really hate him!
Exactly like you suspected, you and Nami were slammed into the ground. It wasn't that painful, or, not as painful as you thought, but it elicited gasps from the both of you. "Hahaha! You'll both be the first to die!"
You wouldn't go down until you verbally abused your enemies. Hopefully, if they were weak willed, they'd start crying and you'd be able to either escape or beat the shit out of them yourself. You started yelling– even when you heard that familiar sound of Luffy's sandals slapping against the ground.
You started thrashing around like a fish out of water– you were still at a disadvantage because you were lying on your stomach. Didn't matter to you, as long as you could still kick and scream. If you were able to be an inconvenience for a bit longer, you could buy Luffy more time. "SUCK MY DICK! FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN YOU BITCH! YOUR HAIR LOOKS LIKE SHIT!!"
SLAM
"I FOUND YOU!"
"UGH!"
Luffy skidded to a halt right next to you two– as Wapol was thrown into the wall and off of you two. You winced and rubbed your back– The way Wapol just landed on it like that made it sting with pain. "Hey, how come he's so skinny now?"
"Ah! Luffy!" Nami glared, eyes raking over the ripped sleeve of her winter coat. She whacked the boy over the head. Luffy yelped– before screaming silently when Nami grabbed him by the shoulders. "Luffy... What have you done to my jacket?"
"U-Ummm..."
"Haven't you realized how expensive this jacket is?! It costs 28,800 beri! You ruined it and it won't have any resale value!"
"S-Sorry, but that guy threw a bomb at me..."
She huffed out a sigh, a smile on her face. "It's... It's okay. I knew that if I lent my jacket to you, I wouldn't be getting it back in one piece. So, I'll just charge you three times the original price. You owe me 100,000 beri, okay?"
Luffy shrieked, "WHAT?! SO THIS WAS YOUR PLAN AFTER ALL?!"
You pat Nami on the shoulder to calm her. Whenever she started panicking, she needed to steal something– you noticed that. "Nami– I'll just buy you a new one. Please don't put Luffy into debt."
"STOP SCREWING AROUND!"
The three of you jolted, turning back to Wapol, who had miraculously recovered. Luffy frowned.
"He's really strong... and annoying."
"BEHIND ME IS A WEAPON ROOM, AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY!" Wapol cackled, and you mentally compared him to another cartoon villain. Yeah, he was stupidly strong and stupidly annoying. "INSIDE THIS ROOM– THERE ARE SO MANY WEAPONS YOU CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE!"
You shot him a flat stare. "Who asked?"
"SHUT UP!" He kept his smile, but you saw his eye twitch. You loved getting under people's skin. It was a special talent of yours. "If I eat those weapons, they'll become a part of my body. Be prepared for the ultimate human weapon– the scariest weapon in the world! I'll open it now!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"AAAAAAAAAH!! WHERE'S MY KEY!? WHERE'D IT GO!?"
He patted himself down before looking at Luffy. Luffy stared back with a deadpan. Wapol also had a deadpan. A beat of silence passed. Wapol turned around and bolted.
"I STILL HAVE ONE LAST TRICK ANYWAY!"
"HE'S RUNNING AWAY!" Luffy took off after him. "STOP!"
"Nami-swan. (Name)-swan. Are you okay?"
You jumped and glanced down and to the side, where the voice came from. Your brows furrowed. "Sa-Sanji? Why are you crawling?"
Kosai curtly informed you, sounding rather pleased. "His spine got dislocated."
Oh. You know what that means. You get to help him later.
"I'd rather let him die."
Do it or you're sleeping outside tonight.
"Key to the weapon room?" Nami spun around a key on her finger, appearing to be a bit disappointed. No treasure for today, she guessed. "I thought it was a treasure room that this key was for. That's too bad."
"Hold on, Sanji."
You switched your focus to Luffy– who was almost out of the room.
"LUFFY! BEAT HIS ASS!"
"I don't want to help that pervert that you like." What, did Kosai refuse to say Sanji's name because he hated him? Weird.
"Sanji, Kosai's going to help relieve some of that pain, okay?" You glanced at Nami, "Use that for ransom, by the way. Kureha's going to rob us blind if you don't."
Kosai was crawling towards Sanji with a menacing aura. "If you talk to (Name) while I'm healing you, say goodbye to your bones."
"Stop threatening everyone, Kosai."
"Never."
"This is why I love Annan more than you."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY–"
"HEAL SANJI GODDAMN IT!!"
~ . . . ~
You'd have to admit it– watching Luffy send Wapol flying was satisfying
So as the rubble from the top of the castle began to fall, and the sky started to darken, you clasped your hands behind your back. You hadn't fought at all– unless screaming counted– and your back was acting up yet again. At least the sight of the Doofenshmirtz look-alike being shot off into another dimension comforted you. You wouldn't see him again for the foreseeable future.
Your back pain– It wasn't as bad as before, but still. It was just a passing thought and a fleeting feeling. Hopefully, that will stop soon enough. You had a few more things to do. Kidnap Chopper, make sure that everything was okay, and then, you would have to pretend you were having fun riding on Chopper's sleigh. That was a ticket to death itself– but you couldn't just take the lift down.
Alabasta was your next stop– Oh, but you guessed that Bon Clay was first. You wanted to meet Mr. 2, maybe flirt with him, and then you arrived at Alabasta. You remembered the main points of this arc– that was Luffy's fight, and Nami stealing the weapon room key.
What you didn't remember:
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
"Ah? Zoro and Usopp?"
"LUFFY!!"
WHAM
"AUGHH!!"
Luffy attacking Usopp and Zoro because they had stolen the clothes of Wapol's soldiers
Zoro barked from his crumpled position on the floor. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
You were eighty percent sure that Usopp was unconscious
Luffy laughed at Zoro's anger. He literally didn't care– to him, it was a simple mistake. That kind of attitude was going to warrant a punch from Zoro later on, you were sure. If he was going to be imprisoned for something aside from being a pirate, it would be assault and battery. "I thought you were one of Wapol's guys since you were wearing their clothes. So you climbed up here to see us?"
"I can't believe you...!" The green haired man's eye twitched in annoyance, as he stood up and brushed all of the snow off of him.
"Didn't you say that you don't know how to hike, Usopp?"
Usopp, who was somehow okay, stood up. His back let out an audible crack (yay, crunchy spines!) when he turned in Luffy's direction. "Are you kidding? A man like me can't be stopped by a tiny mountain. Speaking of which... this was actually a tough adventure."
Vivi waved at Luffy, happy to see him again. The thirty-minute wait for the lift to be fixed was agonizingly long. "We used the lift to get here. By the way, are Nami, (Name), and Sanji doing okay?"
"Yep! They're fine."
"That's good to hear."
"Ah, Vivi! I'm over here!" You called out to the girl, waving with all of your hands while grinning. You weren't hiding from Kureha like Sanji and Nami were. "I'm right as rain! Nami and Sanji are doing well too!"
"(Name)!"
"Hi Usopp!" You waved to him, and your gaze switched to Zoro. "How was your dip in the frozen lake?"
"Of course you know about that."
You laughed, "Ah, I just have a knack for knowing about dumb things people have done."
He raised his voice– angered by your slander. "I WAS TRAINING!"
"I know. You're just really stupid with how you train. Just don't go catching hypothermia. We don't need any more sick people right now."
Zoro grit his teeth and turned away from you. He was having a better time just existing when you were sick and sleeping– meaning that you didn't have the chance to annoy him at all. Now you were back to pestering him– as per usual. You were already picking back up on your usual shenanigans. He should've cherished the days that you were sick.
"Ah, you're ignoring me?" You threw yourself onto Zoro's back the moment he turned away. "I don't think so, you rat bastard."
"GET OFF OF ME!"
"NO!"
"NOW!! GET OFF!!"
"FUCK NO!"
"GODDAMN IT!!"
You held on tighter, arms securely around his neck and chest. Holy shit he's got some honkers. I should work out with him if I want tits that big.
Kosai's mood worsened. "I'm killing him next."
What a waste of fat ass.
Zoro had multiple irk marks on his head the longer you were on him, and he couldn't believe that he was actually worried about you. He tried to pry your hands off of him and regretted ever meeting you in the first place. He should've said no when you asked for his help all those years ago.
"What were you doing on the top of the castle, anyways?" He asked– barely making your hands budge from around his neck. You were holding on pretty tight– even more aggravating. Luffy proudly put his hands on his hips.
"I sent Wapol flying."
Dalton, who had been coughing up blood earlier, gaped incredulously at Luffy. "So that thing that just flew away was WAPOL?! What about the other two?!"
"Oh, the reindeer took care of them. Hey, listen up, everyone. We got a new crew member."
"What?"
"The... The reindeer?" Dalton glanced to the side. His jaw dropped when he saw Chopper "hiding". Okay, that was cute, but he needed to drop that habit if he wanted to be stealthy. "Blue nose... Wait."
Dalton remembered
In an instant, he was on his hands and knees, bowing deeply. Dalton's head pressed against the cold and snow-covered ground. His blood stained the white snow a bright red. "Thank you very much. I'm sure that from here on out, the Drum Empire will become a better country."
"AAAAH!!"
"LOOK!"
"WHAT'S THAT WEIRD CREATURE?!"
"REINDEER?! NO– IT'S A MONSTER!"
You leaned over Zoro's shoulder, barking at the villagers who were shouting at Chopper. How dare they treat him like that. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Zoro's ears rang and he didn't hesitate to reach up and grab your face. "DON'T YELL IN MY EAR LIKE THAT!"
"GET YOUR SWEATY HAND OUTTA MY FACE!"
"SHUT UP!"
"DON'T MAKE ME BITE YOU!"
Dalton shared your sentiments. "Wait! Don't do anything to him–!!"
Usopp's eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he saw Chopper. "EVIL?!!!"
Chopper reacted as though he had been slapped. He turned around and took off running, and Luffy screamed before he punched Usopp in the head. "YOU IDIOT!! THAT'S THE NEW CREWMATE I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU ABOUT!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAT?!"
"YOU MADE HIM RUN AWAY!!"
"AAAAAAAAH!!"
Luffy gave chase
Chopper ran faster
"WAIT FOR ME!!"
"I'm going too!"
You detached yourself from Zoro, who slapped the back of your head the moment you were off (you, in turn, punched him in the stomach) before you started running again. Oh, if Zoro had his swords with him, it'd be over for you. You were lucky (god, that word was becoming annoying to him) that he had left them in favour of training his body instead.
So he watched, his brows twitching, as you ran off alongside Luffy. You were cured, but at what cost?
"Everyone!"
They knew that voice
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"DOCTOR KUREHA!"
The woman smiled, her shades back on. "Is everyone okay? Take the wounded inside. That means everyone, okay?"
"YES MA'AM!"
From behind one of the castle's walls, Nami and Sanji resided. Sanji was crouched down next to Nami, and they were sharing hushed whispers.
"Nami, should we just let her cure us?"
"Quiet. We have to go now– we've wasted too much time here and we still need to go to Alabasta. Do you really wanna see Vivi that bad?"
WHAM
Kureha's foot came sailing through the brick wall, shattering it like it was made of glass. Nami and Sanji screamed in pure horror as Kureha broke down the wall. "YOU TWO HAVE TO GO BACK INSIDE TOO!"
"AAAAAAHH!!!!"
You broke out into a cold sweat, refusing to look over your shoulder. It sounded like Nami and Sanji had most definitely been caught. Good thing that you had decided to run after Chopper with Luffy. If you hadn't, you would've been suffering with them. You wouldn't be able to run for too long, with your condition and all, and you knew that you should stop soon.
You wanted to find Chopper, though
You wouldn't go inside until you found him
...
...
...
"HEEEEEY!! REINDEER!!!"
"CHOOOOPERRRR!!!"
"JUST COME AND BE A PIRATE WITH US!!!!"
"Give it up, you two. We've been looking for him forever. The moon's already out and we haven't found him. He's probably still running away," Usopp said, looking at you and Luffy. You coughed lightly, rubbing your throat. You had done a lot of screaming today, and your throat was a bit sore from running around and gasping for breath.
Zoro's brow quirked upwards at your coughing. He was seated on the ground, unbothered by the snow, and also watched your and Luffy's antics. "Maybe he doesn't even want to become a pirate."
Luffy gasped. "How could you say that?! I want to take him with us!"
"THAT'S ONLY YOUR DECISION!!"
"SHUT UP, ZORO!" You regretted this choice, as you started coughing again. Stupid sore throat, always getting in the ways of your verbal beration. Kosai, help me. It's physical.
The little bastard hadn't talked to you since you forced him to help Sanji, but you did feel your throat pain lessen.
"YOU SHUT UP, (NAME)!"
Luffy went back to yelling
"REINDEEEEEER!! REINDEEEEEEEERRRR!!"
You gasped, pointing ahead. "THERE HE IS!"
"AH! REINDEER!" Luffy whooped, arms open as he grinned widely at Chopper. "Hey!! You wanna become a pirate with me, right?!"
"That's impossible."
"Why is it impossible? A pirate's life is really fun, you know."
Usopp sweatdropped. "...You're missing the point, Luffy."
Chopper's head tilted down. It was hard to meet Luffy's eyes. (It was also at this point where Vivi and Nami came out of Kureha's castle, dragging Sanji behind them. The poor guy was unconscious.) "I really want to thank you. But I am a reindeer. I have hooves and horns. I also have a blue nose! I... I really want to be a pirate!"
You sadly smiled. "Oh, Chopper..."
"But I'm not human! I'm a monster! I can't be friends with humans! That's why I came here just to thank you! Thank you for asking me. But I'll stay here... If you're ever bored, you can always visit..."
"Are you kidding?" You sighed, shaking your head. "We're not leaving without you!"
"JUST SHUT UP AND COME WITH US!"
Zoro rubbed his ears, agitated. "What a noisy persuasion..."
Chopper's eyes were teary. You almost started to tear up yourself. "Chopper, come on!"
"OKAY!!"
Though it was a heartfelt moment, and Chopper smiled at all of you before he dashed inside, you put your hands on your hips as you got ready for everything coming. You were fairly certain that all of your other things were still on the ship, and you had taken Annan and one of your other swords with you. Speaking of swords– you also had one of Zoro's. You'd give it back once you neared the ship, since you'd be rocketing down there anyways.
Most, if not all, of what you needed to do (or what you thought you needed to do) was already taken care of. Not to mention, the entire crew, minus Chopper, was already outside.
Luffy had taken to rolling up a ball of snow, which he now sat on. He needed something to do to kill time. "Hey... Why don't we say goodbye to that Dalton guy and Granny?"
"Chopper should go by himself."
"It's probably going to be a sad goodbye."
No, actually, it'd be terrifying for Chopper, as he was currently running away from Kureha– the crazy doctor who was throwing knives around wildly. "Even though Doc's really scary and mean, she's pretty nice. Too bad I couldn't find out about her secret about youth," you said with a shrug.
"You actually wanted to know that?"
"Yeah? Nobody else seemed interested, so that's why I wanted to know."
"You're gullible," Zoro said.
"Uh, don't talk to me if you jumped into a freezing ocean and got flattened under an avalanche."
"Do you want to fight?"
"Also don't talk to me if you almost cut your feet off after being stuck in Mr. 3's candle service."
"YOU'RE STILL HUNG UP ON THAT!?"
"OF FUCKING COURSE I AM, ZORO! WHO TRIES CUTTING OFF THEIR OWN DAMN FEET TO FIGHT AN ENEMY, HUH!??"
"THAT'S IT–"
"YOU'RE TRYING TO FIGHT!? SQUARE UP MOSS HEAD!"
"There they go again," Nami muttered, watching as you and Zoro started butting heads while yelling at each other. It wasn't even long before you broke out into a fistfight– and Sanji was unconscious, so he couldn't even stop the two of you. (Not to mention, this was just a play fight– Zoro would surely be pissed later, since you would fight him with your fists but not with your swords until he was "fully healed". Whatever that meant.)
"We're leaving without saying goodbye?" Usopp asked aloud, walked up to Nami. Luffy rolled around on a giant snowball he made, screwing around until Chopper was done bidding Kurea adieu.
"Yeah. Right when Chopper gets back, we're getting onto the ship and heading to Alabasta. I hope this is fine with you, Vivi," Nami said, looking at the girl in question.
She smiled, standing next to Sanji's body. They just dragged the chef out there with him. Dr. Kureha didn't give them a stretcher or anything. "Of course I'm okay with it. As long as we have a doctor, it's alright.
Usopp hummed, "Ah! I should prepare the lift," Little did Usopp know, they wouldn't be needing it, "Luffy, come give me a hand."
"They have a lift? That's so cool!"
You were biting Zoro's arm when you heard screaming. The sudden noise caused you and Zoro to cease your merciless barrage of punches, jabs, and kicks. Didn't change the fact that you had attached yourself to him like a leech. You stopped biting him and looked at the castle. Zoro grunted.
"Why can't they just have a quiet goodbye?"
Now that you were much calmer, you detached yourself from Zoro for the second time that night and stood up from the ground– brushing yourself off. "I think we should get ready to go. We can fight later."
"What's going on in there?"
"Ah, he's coming," Zoro commented, standing up and dusting the snow off of him.
"What's going on?" Nami asked, looking at Chopper, in his mostly reindeer form. You withered as your eyes locked onto the sled.
Welp, here we go.
"I'M BEING CHASED!!"
Usopp called out the group, Luffy standing right next to him. The curly haired boy cupped his hands over his mouth to amplify his voice. "We just finished preparing the lift!!"
"EVERYONE!! HOP ON– WE'RE GOING DOWN!"
Kureha was sprinting to try and catch up, throwing as many knives as she could. Anybody in the crew who was misfortunate enough to be treated by her was starting to get war flashbacks at her appearance. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
"WHAT THE FUCK?!!!"
"I hope you had fun, (Name)," Kosai said, sounding murderous. "If you pull any shit like you did today ever again, I'm killing the next guy you're interested in."
He would have a monumental kill count if he actually decided to go through with it. You felt yourself cry on the inside as you looked at the sleigh. Guess it was time to go flying down the mountain, regardless of if you wanted to or not. Bummer. You really wanted to experience the lift in all of its glory.
"Ah, I can never catch a break..."
"You might want to hang on."
"Shut up, Zoro. Stupid idiot." Couldn't he see your nails were sinking into the wood on the side of the sleigh? This was such bullshit. You wish you could fly. Why couldn't you be one of those cool people in Skypiea, who literally had wings? They were awesome.
"They can't fly, (Name)."
Still doesn't change the fact that they're cool. So freakin' cool.
"Language."
You're right. You tensed as the sleigh jolted forward. This was why you liked dark roller coasters instead of ones out in broad daylight. You could see less and you felt safer. I meant that their wings are so fucking cool.
Usopp had a death grip on your arm as the sleigh shot towards the edge of the mountain. "H-Holy shit! I'm not scared! AAAAUHHH!!!"
You let out a panicked cry. "ASSHOLE! IF YOU SCREAM THAT MAKES ME WANNA SCREAM TOO!"
You thought everyone got a hold on the sleigh– and you realised that you actually didn't– because once you were airborne, you screamed when you saw that Luffy was hanging off of the end of it while cackling.
Your stomach was light and your ass left the seat for a second, which made you screech even louder and hook your leg under the seat in front of you. It was pure chaos. Nami and Vivi were also screaming- Luffy was belly laughing as you all streaked across the sky, Usopp was close to tears as he held onto you –Not to mention, Sanji was just unconscious– and Zoro kept his arms crossed with a neutral expression.
"YAAHOOOOO!!!"
"THIS ISN'T THE TIME, LUFFY!"
"WE'RE FLYING AGAIN!!" He laughed heartily as his legs flailed around in the air. "WHEEE!!!"
It felt like ages when you finally landed, miraculously didn't die, and you had to take a breather while leaning on the side of the sleigh. Chopper was still running, to where Nami and Vivi directed him to go, and Usopp let you have your arms back. Great, just when they had started to go numb, too.
"THAT'S SO COOL!! CAN WE GO AGAIN!??"
"ARE YOU NUTS?!"
"WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!"
"I thought I was gonna die..."
"HEY! WHERE AM I!?"
"Oh! Sanji! You're conscious!"
Thankfully, Chopper came to a halt a few minutes later, when you were far enough from the castle
Your legs were not so subtly shaking as you crossed your arms and looked at the castle. If I'm remembering things correctly, then it should happen soon.
"It'll take a minute."
I'll wait, then.
"Oi. (Name), we're leaving now."
You waved off Zoro as Chopper looked back at the castle, just like you were doing. Not even a minute later, large cannons fired in the distance. The initial firing lit the sky up subtly with white. Your eyes followed the path upwards as the cannonballs streaked into the sky.
The sky burst the next moment, pink overtaking the white snow as it covered the castle, hiding it from view. A beautiful "Sakura tree" bloomed in full force, its petals showering over the mountains as it glowed in the moonlight. The winds blew in just the right way, and it truly looked like the mountains had blossomed petals of pure pink instead of white.
"WOOOOOOAAAHHH!!"
"That's so cool..." "So cool" was one of the only other phrases in Luffy's vocabulary. The others were "feed me" and "I'm gonna be the King of Pirates".
"Yeah..."
Nami smiled, the light in her eyes a soft pink hue as it illuminated her face. "It's beautiful."
"Aah..."
You glanced at the reindeer. "Chopper? You okay?"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Chopper started full-on sobbing as the cherry blossoms fell. Your heart ached, but you stood off to the side with the rest of the crew. If you were going to comfort him, then you'd better do it later. Loud cries came from the reindeer, his small shoulders shaking as his mouth hung open. The tears poured freely on his end, the flow never relenting for a second.
He was thinking about Hilruk. The first person who ever showed him kindness. He was such a sad reindeer, wasn't he?
"WAAAAAAAH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
A smile came to your face
You could almost hear Kureha's words now
"Take care, stupid son!"