The Dragon, the Reindeer, and the Cherry Blossoms(Drum Island Rewrite)

Nine: The Strong Will After the Storm

Luffy and Mirai continued to sit in the storage room as Chopper still cuddled himself up against Mirai. His fur was still warm to the touch, and Mirai stroked his back. "My mentor has been through a lot just like me. Scars on our hearts that remain from the pains, sufferings, heartbreaks, and sadness we've been through before we met each other," the hybrid explained to him.

Luffy looked at her and then at Chopper. He actually understood this and nodded. "I can see why after that last line you said. I bet your friend really does want to join the team, but he just doesn't have the will to express it," the rubber boy said, shocking Mirai. She sighed and said, "You're right. It's just that even when I joined you back in the East Blue, I felt as if I wasn't whole. It was fun to go see the world when my mistress let me go, but I still missed Chopper ever so often. He's like the the missing piece of the puzzle. When we're together, we can accomplish so many things.

Then she flinched, a familiar presence in the air. "No...it can't be..." she said in shock as Chopper also smelled the air. Luffy wondered what was going on as the three rushed outside, reindeer still in Mirai's hands. They both recgonized the presence as they both gasped. "Wapol," both said with a tad hit of rage in their voiced and faces. If they had to fight for their home, they weren't afraid to do so. Trouble had already started to boil!

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"As you might of guessed, Chopper got very upset when he found out that Hiriluk only had ten more days to live. It was only natural, but Chopper decided to take some things into his own hands in the only way he knew how," Kureah then told Nami and Sanji with a sigh. She lowered her head, still remembering that tragic moment in life. The day that Chopper still failed in the end.

Begin Flashback

Running through the woods as fast as his legs could carry him, Chopper was already taking action into his own two hooves, remembering everything that his mentor had told him and even when his own mentor said that he was slowly fading away from existence. The young reindeer banged his head against a tree, rubbing it afterwards. He remembered hearing about a mushroom that could cure anything. That's what he was after.

He had returned home and found the mushroom in one of the books, so after strapping up in his backpack, he left home and began his perilous journey across Drum Island to find this special mushroom. He would do anything for his precious Hiriluk and make him feel better. That's how much Chopper really cared for his mentor.

Reindeer went to do his quest, Hiriluk did his on trying to make the cherry blossoms for real. Both had their set goals in mind and they wouldn't give up. Not once or twice. They had their hardships, but even with all of that in their sights, they would keep going. Hiriluk didn't have much time. He had to make his experiment work. Chopper experienced the family who abandoned him, and in a rage, fought the alpha of the herd who casted him out.

Eventually, with everything Chopper had gone through on his quest, he eventually found the Amiudake mushroom. The very mushroom that he and Hiriluk overheard Wapol's men ramble about. Chopper sighed happily when he spotted it in the distance. Victory was in his grasp for sure! Yet...he didn't know how to get across. That was when he heard a whine behind him. He saw the alpha of his old and rotten family behind him. If he had to get beaten up to get across....so be it.

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No matter how many times he tried, Hiriluk couldn't get the cherry blossoms right. It all changed when his front door opened, Chopper stepping inside of the mad quack's home. "I'm sorry...doctor. I might of lost one of your precious books..." he said in a sad tone. Hiriluk gasped in terror at how beaten up Chopper was. He was covered in blood, sores, scratches, a bruised eye, and even had a twisted ankle and a broken antler.