One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Nest Egg ❯ Clearing the Way ( Chapter 10 )

     Marin es charged out of their bunks, grabbing their swords and not bothering to change out of their boxers in the rush of the situation. There was a lot of noise above decks and alarms were ringing out. The boat was under attack, the crew didn’t have time to think about niceties like clothing. One pair of luckless marines opened the door to their quarters and ran out into hallway to discover, of all things, a reindeer charging at them. The beast head butted them and sent them flying into the ship’s hull. The last thing one Marine saw before losing consciousness was the reindeer changing shape to a little creature on two legs.

     “Chopper!” Sanji called out behind the deer, “Do you smell little Kohato or anybody else?”

     “I’m catching some scents.” Chopper replied, sniffing the air. He was mostly smelling gunpowder and blood due to the fighting above them. Fortunately,the scents of individuals were still plenty strong. Every so often he’d catch a whiff of a smell that was similar to Robin’s but not exact. Instinct told Chopper that this meant somebody with a blood relation to Robin was the source. Kohato was definitely near.

     Chopper led Sanji to the ship’s brig. It consisted of a moderately sized hallway with doors lining both sides. Chopper began walking down, sniffing tentatively, catching a hint of Kohato’s scent nearby. Oddly enough, though, it wasn’t in any of these cells. And yet…

     “K-Kohato… 221; a voice muttered weakly. Sanji stopped immediately. The voice was female. He and Chopper easily found the cell the voice came from. It came from a woman who Sanji had seen in town. Robin had told the crew that she was Kohato’s adopted mother. In her cell was a middle aged man Sanji figured had to be the adopted father. Looking through a small hole in the cell door, it was clear the woman wasn’t doing well.

     “Hey, Chopper, get this door.” with a nod Chopper transformed again, this time to his muscular human form. In that shape he easily pulled the door off its hinges, to the total shock of the couple inside. Chopper transformed to his little form again and ran over to the woman. She was sweating and yet shivering.

     “She’s been hurt. Beaten.” Chopper reported.

     “Those Navy dogs.” the man in the cell muttered. His shock momentarily forgotten.

     “Hello, sir,” Sanji said as he walked over, “We’re here on the behalf of a mutual friend.”

     “Robin.” Tosa said, understanding. Sanji nodded.

     “Kohato…” the woman muttered.

     “Kasa. It’s okay.” the man told her, “Friends of Robin’s are here. They’ll save Kohato.”

     “Her cuts are infected.” Chopper informed everyone. I have some medicine that can help.” Chopper rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a jar of ointment. Tosa looked uncertain, though allowed Chopper to work when Sanji informed the man, much to Chopper’s “dismay”, that the reindeer was a highly trained and skilled doctor. Chopper applied the medicine to the older woman’s wounds before pulling out a bottle from his bag and having her drink from it.

     “That should help bring the infection down. It's the best I can do on such short notice with my field pack.” Chopper explained.

     “Then you’re done here. Get Kohato!” Tosa ordered them.

     “But she-”

     “Kohato…R 21; the woman moaned.

     “Can she be moved?” Tosa asked. Chopper nodded.

     “I’ll take her away from here then. Get her to the village doctor. You two… just save our girl.”

     “Right, then.” Sanji said, “Come on, Chopper.” He stopped short of the cell door and looked back at the man, who was hefting his wife onto his back to carry.

     “By the way, be careful up top.” Sanji warned, “Our crewmates are causing a bit of a ruckus up there.”

     “So that’s why the guards left in such a hurry.” Tosa said with a smile.

     When the two were on their Sanji and Chopper resumed doing what they had come here for. Chopper was sniffing at the end of the hallway.

     “Sanji. I smell her! She’s behind this wall.”

     “Move out of the way, then!” Sanji demanded as he took his turn at destroying a piece of the navy ship. He let out a kick fierce enough to cause a big hole in the wooden barrier before them. Behind the wall was what seemed to be a viewing room. The door was to the duo’s left. To the right was a table and chair with a lot of notes scribbled across it. In front of them was what seemed to be a darkened window. Upon closer inspection, it was a one-way glass. Tempered so that they could look in but someone on the other side couldn’t look out. Sanji walked up and looked through the glass.

     “Chopper! There she is!”

     Chopper ran to the glass and saw Kohato. She was curled up in a fetal position on the floor of a strange room made of an odd stone. Chopper’s expression suddenly became very grim.

     “She’s shivering!”

     “What?!̶ 1; Sanji exclaimed. He hadn’t noticed it initially, but Chopper was right. Kohato was shaking badly. He immediately grabbed the chair in the room and tossed it at the window, not waiting for the glass to fall before jumping inside. Upon landing in the room, Sanji thought the material in the room was very familiar. It took him a moment to make the connection.

     “Chopper! Don’t follow me!” Sanji said as he realized what it was about the lower room. The floor and walls were made of the substance he had seen before. He remembered it being used as a cage for Luffy and the others way back in Alabasta. It drained Devil Fruit eaters of their powers. Chopper would feel very weak if he came in.

     Sanji went over to Kohato and kneeled at her side. Her skin was a pale shade of blue. He put his hand to her cheek. Her body felt freezing cold. She was barely breathing. Sanji immediately picked up her (he noticed her clothes were soaking wet) and, with a running start, jumped back up through the window he’d just broken through. He set the girl down next to Chopper who already had his backpack open and some medicines laid out.

     “Sanji, I need your jacket!” Chopper demanded. Sanji took off his black coat and handed it to the doctor. Chopper took a small pair of scissors (normally for cutting bandages) and used them to cut off Kohato’s soaked clothing, wrapping her in Sanji’s jacket for warmth.

     “Hypothermia. Early stages.” Chopper diagnosed as he lifted Kohato‘s eyelid, her pupils were dilated, “She was soaked in water and not given anything to dry off with.”

     “Bastards!” Sanji cursed. Chopper changed himself to Heavy Point and took Kohato in his arms. Sanji couldn’t help but think the ill child, bundled up like she was, resembled an infant in blankets. Chopper held Kohato tightly, hugging her close to his own body. Sanji thought it was likely he was using his body to keep the little girl warm. The two pirates left, their mission accomplished.

     Owlshiki was in a panic. What the hell were pirates doing attacking here?! What crew would be so brazen to not only attack a town with a navy ship in port, but actually attack the boat itself! He ran at full tilt out of his office, hoping to find a ranking marine and form a plan. Just as he was about to step on the deck, he caught sight of something out of a port hole. Seeing what he did answered all of Owlshiki's questions.

     On the deck in front of the porthole stood Nico Robin, hair dyed blonde just as the Adoyoshi girl had said. Recognizable only if you took a good look. She stood straight, her eyes were locked on the door to the deck. She appeared to be waiting for something. Some of the marines fighting on deck approached her, only to suddenly find themselves sprouting extra arms which would put them into submission holds or toss them overboard. All without Nico Robin’s real body making a single move. Owlshiki was about to try to run away, not daring to even consider facing her wrath.

     It wouldn‘t have worked even if he‘d had the chance to move.

     Owlshiki suddenly felt something on his back. Those somethings were two slender arms which grabbed the scientist’s wrists and pulled them behind his back in a painful hold. Another arm, out of the scientist’s sight, appeared from a wall behind him and shoved the man forward. While yet another grabbed the doorknob and opened it, sending Owlshiki right out into the fighting. When he regained his balance, he saw he was standing next to Nico Robin. She didn’t look at him. Her gaze was fixed on the door Owlshiki had just been pushed through. It seemed as if she was waiting for something.

     Less than a minute later, Owlshiki realized what she was watching for. Two men ran out of the same door, one of them carrying a bundle wrapped in black. That bundle was moving slightly, part of it expanding and retracting with irregularity. With a terrified gulp, Owlshiki realized what, or rather who, the man had to be holding. For that moving bundle was indeed a person. A small person, who was having difficulty breathing correctly. The two men didn’t even acknowledge Nico Robin’s or his presence as they ran and leapt off the ship. Taking Adoyoshi Kohato with them away into the night.

     Only now, with what she was waiting for having come, did Nico Robin turn her attention to the Akumanominologist.

     “Well, Professor,” she said to him, “shall we settle things?”