One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Forty Nine [Rewritten]

-Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Nine-

"Then why are you here?" I asked, brows furrowed in confusion. "Not to be rude, but this clearly is far out of your expertise" I said, aware that the work of a military doctor was far different from the work of a pediatrician.

"All the other doctors were called away on business, you see—I was the only one left in charge as a temporary substitute" the woman explained as I owlishly blinked.

"But..." I muttered, still not quite following along with how the Marines thought it wise to assign a pediatrician as a temporary doctor for their military base. Surely they could have just asked a nearby base for a temporary replacement.

"Temporary?" Nami questioned.

"Substitute or not, you're still in charge of the infirmary right now, aren't you?" Chopper asked.

"Uh...yeah, seems so..." the woman weakly nodded.

"It seems so?" Chopper frowned.

"You don't sound too sure of yourself" I said, though I didn't really blame her. Dying men with such serious wounds were far different from a child with a high fever or minor injury.

"Hey, Chopper, don't you think it's time we got out of here?" Nami suddenly asked, already looking ready to go as if she no longer wished to keep hanging around here and get caught up in anything serious. No doubt afraid that we'd inevitably get caught if we were to keep hanging around.

"Yeah, but..." Chopper trailed off as he worriedly looked back at the doctor who looked like she was once again on the verge of another breakdown.

"I think we're overstaying our welcome here—perhaps Nami's right, we should start leaving" I said, although I didn't fully like the idea of leaving this poor woman to stew in the problems her superiors have clearly pushed her into, I realized that we were running on thin ice here the longer we stayed. It was only a matter of time before someone realized that something wasn't quite right.

"Right! I found out this isn't a lake, it's connected to the ocean" Nami nodded, revealing information she hadn't yet shared with me. "We just have to find the Going Merry and escape this stupid fortress" she said.

"I can't go yet" Chopper shook his head, taking the ginger aback. "You're a doctor—it's your duty to preserve life, isn't it?" he asked as he turned back to the woman.

"That is what I was sworn to do, but still...I have limits..." she sadly confessed as if ashamed by her inability to adapt to this new environment. "Even the best doctors have things they just can't do" she sighed, causing the reindeer to frown.

"The man who taught me medicine used to tell me a story" Chopper suddenly said. "There once was a man who was told by his doctors that he would soon be dead, in despair, he wandered the wilderness in search of a place to die" he began. "Then when he walked through the mountain paths, he saw something extraordinary—the entire mountain was covered in brilliant cherry blossoms. After seeing this, he went to visit the doctors again, where they were astounded to report that the man was now completely healthy" he finished. "You are the only doctor for those patients in there, you alone can save them from a terrible death.

"A healer must never give up, there's no illness that can't be cured—don't ever let your fear limit you" he urged, trying his hardest to encourage the woman and bring her out of the slump she was currently putting herself in. "There are no patients that we doctors can't try and cure—as doctors, we have the power to make miracles happen. We have to always believe that."

"Will I...I be able to see the cherry blossoms too?" she hesitantly asked after a moment of silence. "No—I will show them the cherry blossoms! All of those suffering people in the operating room!" she boldly proclaimed as she was hit by a wave of confidence that hadn't been there before.