Smokeless War - One Piece

(36)

At the sound of fabric and her uneven steps, many heads turned and stayed staring for a moment. But she didn't dare pay them any mind, only focusing on if not gracefully walking, not falling face down.

"You're offering me a gift?"

"I just thought you'd appreciate a change of clothes. I'd be honored if you allowed it."

"The honor is all mine, I hope you don't mind if I take a little while longer to get cleaned up then." I mused, tugging on my lip with a thoughtful hum.

So I stood clothed in only a robe as Izui selected what colors he'd thought would best suit me. I showered to the best of my ability, mildly horrified I'd walked around for so long with that much dirt on my face and with hair so messy I barely tamed it into submission.

"I think this green, and a hint of perhaps white will suffice. How do you like it?" Brushing over the silky fabric I was in awe at the quality, beams of sunlight making the fabric's threads glisten like gems. "Maybe red as well.."

"It's...beautiful. I have no words to describe it, how can I accept this?" I gave a low hum, watching Izui's expression as for the first time he had smiled lightly.

"It's fine, I have a feeling you're well suited to be in possession of it." He replied after a pause, my eyes resting on his wooden shoes as curiosity ate at me.

"Ah, your sandals. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are they called?"

"Geta. And this robe is known as a kimono, specifically a yukata, so it should be perfectly suitable even though it's a humid day." I smiled at his words, he must have guessed my thoughts already. That I'd be left drenched in sweat again but only because of the fabric. "It's usually used for everyday wear, so it's a thinner material than other types."

"Okay, and how do I put it on?" I inquired, squinting as I scrutinized the fabric, expecting some sort of directions to tell me what to do.

"I have a helper for exactly that," He opened the door to usher in a blonde nurse, the same woman who tended to my wound with the other nurses. "This is Tate, she is familiar with this garments and she should be able to do it without aggravating your wound too much."

After he left the room, she smiled warmly and walked forward to examine me again as she did a when I first walked into the infirmary.

"Pleasure to meet you. Nasty burn you got miss, but it should be fine with me to look after it." After I allowed her to check the bandages, she got to work on helping me with the garment.

"I might not be around for long." I confessed, wincing at a small movement I made as I slid the robe over my undergarments and lifted my arms lightly to make way for the wide strip of separate fabric.

"Ah, so I've heard. That's an interesting deal you got there." Tate gently tied the obi in a bow at my back. "You'd be a nice crewmate to have though."

At her words I felt myself unconsciously reach to play with my lip but I lifted my injured left arm and ended up biting back a groan instead to which she noticed immediately and quirked up an eyebrow.

"Alright I'm all done. You look very classy, miss." I looked through a floor length mirror and turned all around. I felt nice, the fabric was more breathable than I thought it'd be but its bright, emerald, white and ruby red pattern would probably cause more attention than I'd like. "And Izou has sandals for you to borrow if you'd like."