Devilish

The Easy Way

Leila awoke in a small room, resting on a white bed with a cold compress against her forehead. She groaned as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, every muscle in her body was screaming at her and her throat felt tight.

She glanced around the small clinical room and recognized it immediately. She was on the Strawhats ship. As she took a moment, the memories of the events before rushed back to her. She felt sick to her stomach, yet at the same time, she felt peaceful. She didn't feel like crying and she didn't feel like celebrating. It had just happened, and it was finished, and she was at peace with that.

The door creaked open and Leila looked but didn't see anyone. She heard a throat clear and she looked down to see Chopper trotting in with his medical bag. She smiled warmly.

"How are you feeling?" His little eyes shone up at her, jumping onto the chair beside her and taking off her damp cloth to change it with another.

"I'm okay. Overwhelmed" She confesses, glancing at the skilled doctor who was observing her worriedly.

"I heard all about it..." He mentioned quietly. "You passed out due to loss of blood"

"How long have I been out?"

"A couple days"

"...And Law?" She asked Chopper quietly, making him smile.

"He's on board – as soon as I tell everyone you're awake you're going to be bombarded. I thought I'd give you a moment to wake up..."

Leila stayed silent as Chopper concentrated on patching her up. The door creaked open once more and she saw Nami peek her head around. As soon as she saw Leila sitting upright her eyes welled up with tears and she rushed towards her friend, pulling her into a hug as she cried.

"Oh thank god you're awaaake" She cried, burying her head into the crook of her neck.

"Hey, Nami! Be careful she's still injured" Chopper scolded her. Soon, everyone was in the small clinic.

Franky sobbed in the corner, wiping his tears. "You were so braaaaveee". Robin stood beside him and smiled, rubbing him on the shoulder. Soon, Luffy bounced onto the end of her bed.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked her, with a surprisingly serious expression on his face. Leila smiled, feeling emotional from her friends display of love and care.

"Thanks to all of you, of course" Leila wiped her eyes. Looking around the room Law was nowhere to be seen – nor was Zoro. She turned to Chopper with hopeful eyes. "Can I walk around the ship for a bit? My legs are stiff"

Chopper thought about it pensively but nodded. "Not for long – you're in really bad shape"

As Leila pushed through the pain to stand up she crept slowly out of the clinic – disguising her pain in order to find Law. As soon as she left the room and shut the door behind her she noticed Zoro leaning against the wall, a complicated expression on his face.

"O-oh..." Leila murmured, slightly surprised to see him. "I was wondering where you were..."

He stayed silent for a moment but met her eyes with a careful gaze. "Is that why you come out here?"

"...No."

"Thought so" He smirked. "Leila...I think you should stay with us"

"What are you talking about" She sighed, somewhat frazzled.

"You know you're safe with us – right? We're all your friends; we'd take care of you"

"I don't need you to take care of me" She snapped, her golden eyes warning him silently.