30:: Save Me

I put my soaked hoodie over Rhythm to protect her from the worst of the rain. Hoisting her up onto my back, I used her sword to hold her bottom up while her arms were wrapped around my neck. I had taken out the Kunais from her and set them in my haramaki, in case Chopper needed them to get the poison. Her warm blood oozed from her wounds and soaked into my shirt.

“Fuck Rhythm, you better not die or Luffy’ll have my head,” I hissed as I took off running. Maybe he’ll have the rest of me for dinner . . .

The rain pounded relentlessly against us and the wind pushed and shoved, as though trying to make us go the opposite way (AN: is it that the wind is trying to push Zoro the right way? That his sense of direction is so bad that freaking Mother Nature has to help him? Or is She just being a Bitch. .  .?). Rhythm’s limp head rested on my shoulder, the wind drowning out most of her labored breathing.

I found myself in the same alley four times, by the same store nine times, and the same tree six times. This was getting me nowhere. I bit my lip and spat into a puddle angrily. The rain came down in thick curtains, blurring my eyesight and making the ground hard to stand on properly.

Finally, we found the ship. I stumbled through some bushes outside of the town and saw the Going Merry rocking dangerously in the turmoiling waves. I ran towards the ship, going through the trees and somehow found myself at the edge of town again. I yelled out and started back into the clump of trees. I made my way to the shore, coming out a good ten yards from the ship. I somehow found myself, yet again at the outskirts of the village. After many attempts I finally climbed aboard the ship, the deck slippery with water as the ship rocked dangerously, threatening to throw anyone unlucky enough over.

“Oi! Chopper! Help!” I yelled out. Everyone was inside sleeping (or trying to), away from the storm. I kicked open the trap door to the boys quarters, water instantly pouring in. “CHOPPER!” I yelled, water in my eyes and the wind trying to push me down.

“Z-Zoro! There you are! Wait-“ Chopper’s fuzzy head peaked out from his bunk, seeing me drenched.

“Oi shitty marimo! Close the damn thing already, you’re letting all the water in!” Sanji bellowed sleepily.

“Blood!” Chopper squeaked, just as a salty wave crashed onto the deck and brought more water into the boys’ room.

“Oi Zoro what’s going on?” Usopp grumbled, peeking out under his own pile of blankets.

“Zoro are you hurt?! I smell blood!” Chopper scrambled up the latter.

“No, I’m fine. But Rhythm isn’t. She’s poisoned and bleeding.”

That sprung everyone to action. Chopper screamed then dragged us to the galley, followed by Usopp and Luffy whilst Sanji was panicking.

The wooden walls barely managed to snuffle out the storm, but the floor still rocked dangerously. Chopper lit a lamp and scrambled around, getting out medical supplies and ordering Usopp to help.

I lay Rhythm down on the table and Sanji practically fell over at the sight of one of his ladies.

In the light, her wounds looked much worst. Her blue-ish lips were parted slightly with streams of blood and spit going down her chin, mixing with the blood from her upper face. The water had plastered her hair to her face, somehow still covering her eyes. The small holes where the Kunais where were now a dark purple at least five inches radius of the wound, emitting an acidic odor. Her white vest was stained with crimson and her black top was ripped at her stomach, blood soaked into the soft material. Every inch of bare skin was bleeding or bruised, paling flesh beaten and soaked.

“Did you guys get into a fight?!” Usopp jumped.

“No I found her like this!” I raised my blood-soaked hands in defense.

“I need to know what poison this is before I can properly treat her,” Chopper was panicking now, eyes wide as he started working on her.

“Do these help?” I pulled out the Kunais from my haramaki, now noticing the pale greenish substance it was soaked in.

“Thank you Zoro!”

“What’s all the ruckus?” Nami barged into the galley, hair rumbled from rough sleep and decked in an umbrella and matching raincoat over her pajamas. Robin followed her in.

“Rhythm’s hurt!” Luffy explained. He was sitting quietly, fidgeting with something in his hand. Throughout the panic, Luffy remained in that corner, silently watching with wide, worried eyes.

“Jesus Christ what happened?! Is there anything I can help with?” I don’t know if she was honestly worried or just using this situation to make her look good.

“Nami-swan’s so helpful and beautiful! Like an angel!” Sanji swirled around.

“I can’t work in these conditions!” Chopper yelped as a rather large wave hit the ship, sending everyone to the ground. Robin managed to manifest some arms to keep Rhythm from falling off the table.

“I’ll run to town and get some rooms for us at a hotel. Luffy come with me!” Nami threw the door open and rushed outside, followed closely by Luffy

“Robin, do you think you can help identify the poison?” Chopper asked.

“My pleasure, Doctor-san,” she took the Kunais and sat down at the table, examining the poison with a book in her hand.

“Usopp put pressure on the wound on her stomach,” Chopper ordered, stemming the flow of blood from the poisoned wounds.

“What can I do, Chopper?” Sanji asked.

“Start gathering supplies for when we leave. We need to go as soon as Nami and Luffy come back.”

“Yes sir!” Sanji saluted him and turned to the pantry.

~~

$Nami$

“Please, this is an emergency!” I begged.

“I’m sorry but we can’t give you a room. No vacancy, my dear.” The plump lady receptionist answered.

“Then but it on your sign then! Please you have to! We have money!”

“Then go to another place. We can’t accept you,” she frowned.

“Our friend is hurt! We need a place to stay for the night!”

“I’m sorry, my dear but we can’t let you. This is a four star hotel, next time make reservations before your friend is hurt,” she sighed and went back to her book.

“Make reservations?!” I yelled. I was about ready to climb over the marble counter and slap her when Luffy tugged on my wrist. I looked over and met his worried eyes.

“We’ll find someplace else,” he said sternly. I nodded and we left out into the rain.

We ran through the street, umbrella forgotten. We reached yet another hotel. Rejected.

Soaked to the bone, Luffy and I finally found a place.

“Three rooms for only 4,000 Beli. I say that’s a good deal,” I put my money bag back into my pocket. I started biting my lip, “Oh I hope she’s alright.”

“She’ll be fine. She’s strong,” Luffy said, pulling me into a hug, “Thank you Nami.”

Blushing, I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. I admit it, I have had feelings for Luffy for a while now, but since its Luffy, I don’t really expect to have my feelings returned. A lost cause really.

~~

“Guys we got a place! Hurry!” Luffy yelled out as we approached the Going Merry.

“I can’t leave Merry,” Usopp pouted, “What if something happened to her?”

“She’ll be fine. Right now we have Rhythm-dono to worry about,” Sanji sucked on a cigarette, umbrella shielding him from most of the rain.

“Did you manage to stop the poison from spreading?” I asked.

“Yeah. It was a close call. We found out it was a rare scorpion poison, designed to kill in an hour. We had barely ten minutes left,” Usopp explained. “Chopper was freaking out because it was almost to her heart.”

“Would’ve been bad. The poison would’ve been pumped throughout her entire body,” Sanji said sadly.

“She’s good now. We just have to worry about the stomach and eye wounds.”

“Eye wounds?” I asked.

Chopper came out of the galley in Heavy Point, Rhythm cradled in his large arms. She had thick blankets on her, shielding her from the worst.  Zoro followed, caring Chopper’s medical bag.

“Let’s roll!” Luffy yelled.

~~

%Narrator%

Waiting. That’s what the remaining Mugiwara did in the warm, and thankfully dry, hotel rooms. Chopper, Nami and Robin were operating on Rhythm, for hours now. Usopp was fidgeting with some stuff in his bag, curly black hair dry now and puffing up. Sanji and Zoro weren’t fighting, not even talking. Instead Sanji sat in an armchair looking out the clouded window, so much rain that he couldn’t see two feet out the wet window. Zoro sat cross-legged against a wall, eyes close, and his shoulder’s to tense to actually be asleep. Luffy sat on the bed, fidgeting with something in his hand again.

There was a beep and the sound of the automatic lock unlocking and the clock of the turning handle. They four boys looked up to see Robin step in. There were a small splotches of blood on her turquoise top and black leggings.

“She’s okay,” she said with a relieved smile. The tension in the room inflated, Luffy falling back against the bed with a sigh.

“What’s her condition, Robin-chan?” Sanji asked, dead cigarette between his lips.

“The Kunai wounds are stitched up, but they still need special treatment. The poison hardened the flesh around them so she’ll have to have some physical therapy to get better. The stomach wound was actually shallower than it looked. She got twenty-one stitches on it. Her right wrist had hit an artery, causing more blood loss. Only four stitches. She has a minor concussion and three stitches on her forehead. Also it appears as though someone tried to slit her throat, but failed. No stitches were needed. A gash on her left thigh required eighteen stitches. Most of her body is just small scrapes and bruises. Lastly,” she took a deep breath. “Her eyes. I’m afraid she’s at least temporarily blind.”

That received a reaction. Luffy sat up so abruptly he fell off the bed and landed head first. Usopp squeaked in surprise whilst Sanji cried out and yanked a handkerchief between his teeth, eyes welling up as he blubbered on saying, “Rhy~thm-dwooonooo~! No! This is terrible! I will give you my eyes if I have too!”

Zoro just stared at a spot on the floor.

“What? How? She’ll be okay, right?” Luffy asked alarmed.

“Doctor-san said she’ll be able to see eventually, but her eyesight won’t be as clear as before. It’ll take a long time to heal before she could see anything. And for how, a sword slash horizontally across her eyes. At the time her eyes were closed, a natural reflex, Doctor-san said. If her eyes had been open at the time she would have been permanently blinded.”

“Reflex saves the day,” Usopp sighed.

“The real question, is how she got in this state in the first place.” Everyone turned to Zoro.

“I found her like that. I couldn’t get the exact story since she was half-unconscious at the time,” he sighed, looking up to meet his nakama’s eyes.

“Then tell us the basic, we’ll get the rest from her later,” Usopp pushed.

“I want to know who did this so I can kill them myself,” Sanji exclaimed, flames of rage emanating off of him.

“You can’t, chit cook. He’s already dead,” Zoro said, “I found his body with a detached arm in the middle of the street. I followed the trail of blood and found Rhythm half-dead in the middle of the road. She . . . she said Sano betrayed her. He tried killing her. They fought, and Rhythm won.”

Silence met those words. Luffy had pulled his hat down, hands shaking. Usopp sat down and Sanji gaped slightly, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

“A kill or be killed situation,” Robin broke the silence, “That’s hard to avoid.”

“Sano . . .” Usopp said, “He was here?”

“Yes Rhythm-san was at his place the other night. If my sources are correct, I believe they did it. Twice.”

“Robin, I didn’t need to know that!” Usopp waved his arms, as though trying to bat the last words away from him.

Luffy turned sharply and left the room, passing Nami as she came in. her hair was damp from a shower.

“Luffy!” she called out. He didn’t answer.

“Leave him be. He’s probably still trying to make sense the information. Probably off to go knock down a few buildings in the process,” Zoro said, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes.

Robin told Nami the information they gathered. At that, she sat down, her legs unable to hold her.

“He was such a sweet guy, for a Marine even!” she said eyes wide and face pale.

“Nami-san, I’ll hold you,” Sanji opened his arms, as though expecting her to jump into them.

“Is Doctor-san still with Rhythm?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, he’s making sure she’s okay. A last minute checkup,” Nami said, ignoring Sanji’s proclamation.

A while later, Nami forced them all to go to bed. She and Robin wen to their room two doors down, Chopper stayed with Rhythm in the middle room, and the four remaining- er, three- decided to get to bed. Usopp and Sanji got the two double beds while Zoro just shrugged and threw himself on the couch, his snores filling the room before his head hit the pillow. Luffy didn’t return. And no one worried.

Chopper fell asleep in a chair next to Rhythm’s bed, head rested next to her stitched waist.

Sleep came swiftly for the Straw Hats, thankfully, except for Luffy who roamed around the rain-drenched island.

~~

Luffy returned the next day, wet and hungry. Things went by without a problem. The usual keep-away with Luffy at breakfast continued, even when Usopp snuck hot sauce in Luffy’s eggs or when Chopper screamed at them to shut up.

Rhythm remained comatose throughout the rest of their stay. They stayed at the hotel for one more night, the storm clearing the day before they had to set sail.

Chopper announced that Rhythm could travel, just to be careful with her.

“Shouldn’t she have woken up by now?” Nami asked Chopper as they were loading the ship, the watery sun peeked through the pale grey clouds. The air was cold, but the sun warmed them up a bit.

“Yes, she should have. But I think it’s her mind that still needs to heal.” Chopper said, using Heavy Point to load a crate onto the deck.

“Her mind? Can’t you heal that for her too?” Luffy asked as he bounced around on the deck.

Chopper shook his head, “Time is the only thing she needs to heal it. It’s up to her, really, when she wants to wake up.”

“She should wake up,” Luffy said.

~~

The galley would be too loud to put her, Nami refused to give up her bed and the room was crowded as it was. They finally decided to put her in the store room, clear a corner for her by the single porthole and place her on a mattress.  Chopper’s medical equipment laid sprawled next to the mattress as she slept deeply, her skin paler that usual and lips parted, a thin line of drool descending her face and poolong on her pillow.

“Come on we need to go!” Nami yelled at Luffy.

“Hold on!” Luffy disappeared into the forest.

“Sanji-kun! Go get him!” Nami ordered.

“Hai nami-swan <3!” He said happily and jumped overboard and started running after Luffy. Before he reached the forest, Luffy came running out with a plant in his hands.

“Oh gross Luffy! What did you do, uproot the poor thing?” Nami wrinkled her nose daintily.

“It’s for Rhythm. Makino once told me you should give someone sick or injured flowers,” Luffy grinned, dirt smeared on his cheek.

“Oh sweetie, that’s so sweet of you,” Nami wiped the dirt from his cheek.

They were two pale purple amaryllis flowers. Luffy had uprooted them, leaving their dirty roots dangling and dropping muck all over the floor.

“Here, I’ll clip off the roots and put them in a vase for her,” she reached out for the flowers.

“No I want to give them to her!” he yanked the plant from her reach.

“I’ll make them presentable; you can give them to her, okay?”

Luffy complied. She clipped off the roots and arranged them in a tall glass Sanji found for her and filled it with clean water. They really were pretty. When she was done, Luffy took them and brought them down to where Rhythm slept.

“Hey Rhythm, I know these are your favorites so I picked them for you. I know when you wake up you won’t be able to see them, but you can smell them, right?” he placed the flowers next to her head on the floor. The pale sunlight came in, making a golden streak across her pale face and hitting the pretty flowers. The light smell wafted in the air around them, not strong enough to take over the room.

She didn’t move. She gave no sign of life to his words.

He sat down next to her, and pulled something from the band of his hat.

“You gave this to me before you left. I still have it,” he opened his palm to reveal a small, cushion cut aquamarine.

“It was your treasure and you trusted me with it. Like what you did with Sano. You gave him your love and trusted him with it. But he broke that trust and got what he deserved. Well, I promise to never turn on you. I will keep your trust like I did with this rock. You trust me too, okay? I don’t want this incident to cause you to lose your trust with everyone.”

~~

 Days passed by on the Going Merry. Things went back to normal, or as normal as it could. Chaos was ensued, followed closely by those peaceful moments. The sea was a beautiful shade of blue, the waves calming and even, with the golden rays shining down on us, shielded by the occasional pure white, cotton candy cloud in odd shapes.

“It’s a crocodile wearing a top hat and shooting an elephant with Usopp’s slingshot!” Chopper jumped up and down.

“No, it’s a meat firing lasers at a bigger piece of meat,” Luffy retorted.

“What are you talking about? That’s me defeating the strongest man in the world,” Usopp countered.

“Pandaman?” Chopper asked.

“Who?” They said together.

“You guys are being stupid,” Zoro said, “It’s clearly a dinosaur eating Mihawk’s head and me laughing at him, see? And there’s the bastard curlicue being eaten as well. Those smaller clouds you thought were lasers are actually their blood.”

“ Zoro, there’s something wrong with you,” Usopp shook his head.

“I see the Marimo-head take advantage of by a giant grasshopper and Nami-san and Robin-chan in my arms,” Sanji sighed, hearts for eyes.

“It looks like decapitation to me,” Robin said, putting down her book and looking up at the clump of clouds they were looking at.

“Hey Robin! Please don’t say that!” Usopp and Chopper said.

She shrugged, “But it does.”

~~

It’s been four days at sea now. Rhythm hasn’t even stirred, didn’t even move. Chopper was starting to worry.

“Maybe the poison got to a certain part of her brain,” Robin said as she sat with Chopper and Rhythm, whom was looking over her.

“No I already checked. I ran some tests and it may really just be her mind that’s still healing. We should just leave her alone,” he brushed a small hoof over her bandaged forehead. “All we can do is wait.”