Recap:

Meanwhile, not that far from everyone else, Sanji and Nami were hiding, not wanting to be caught by Kureha. "Nami-swan.." Sanji whispers. "You'd better go back and get treated."

"Shh!" she whispers back. "If I go back, we'll have to wait another two days! I don't want to make Vivi anymore worried than she is!"

"You two....GET BACK TO THE INFIRMARY!" Kureha shatters their hiding wall with a kick, making the two scream in fear. 

The screams of Sanji could be heard echoing throughout the castle, along with the sound of bones breaking that sent a shiver down the villager's spine.

In the room where the horrors took place, Sanji was shirtless, stomach down on the cold, metal bed, strapped down and sweating from the pain. Kureha walks out, drinking a bottle of alcohol. "Kak kak kak, you definitely made your back worse." she says.

Once finished with Sanji, she walks over to Dalton, who was laid in bed and wrapped in bandages all over his chest. "Dalton," she grins to the male. "Do you know where the key to the weapon's room is?" she asks, taking another swig of her drink.

Dalton sits up. "Weapons room? What are you going to do with it?" he asks.

"That's my business." she says, hands on her hips.

"Well, Wapol always kept it on himself, so if that still is true, then it went flying away with him."

Kureha's expression falls at this. "Is that so...Well that's definitely a problem if that's the case." You were in the bed next to Nami, who smirks at this, making you raise an eyebrow. Vivi was also sat on a small wooden stool in between the two of you, with Mist standing next to her.

"Doctorine~ How about getting rid of that treatment fee, and letting us all go today?" she says with a confident smile. Kureha narrows her eyes at the tangerine headed female.

"Huh? What a silly thought." she scoffs. "I'll be taking all of the cargo and money on your ship as payment. And you're going to stay here and rest for two more days."

"She's right Nami-san, Water Bearer-san!" Vivi interjects, "Both of you were injured right? You should finish your treatment!"

"We're fine, Vivi." you say with a smile. "I don't feel like an ice cube, and Nami doesn't feeling like she's dying."

"That's not a very strong argument..." Mist mutters, arms crossed over his chest. Then, to everyone's surprise, Nami pulls out the metal key from before, as she swings it round her finger. "This is the key you want right?"

Dalton's eyes widen. "How do you have that key?!" he exclaims in shock. Even Kureha was surprised at this.

"That's really the one?" she asks, "How did you get it?"

"I stole it." the female replies, making Kureha narrow her eyes at the female.

"You've got serious guts, trying to bargain with me like this. Clever girl." hearing this, Nami can't help but giggle. "Fine, you'll be waived of your fee, but you're still staying here for two days." she says snatching the key from Nami.

"Hey! Give me back the key then!" Nami demands, watching as Kureha throws on her purple jacket. The old woman points a finger to Nami.

"Listen girl!" she says sharply, "I'm going to leave this room for a while. My coat is in the back room in the drawer. I don't have any guards posted, and that young man's broken back and that girl's wound and frostbite treatments are complete. However, don't you dare try to escape!"

She looks to the villagers. "The rest of you come with me. I have some heavy lifting for you to do."

"Y-Yes ma'am!" they stutter, following the woman out the room. Once she leaves, Mist sweat drops, looking at the three of you.

"Sooo...She basically told us to grab her coat, and sneak out?" he asks, making sure that he was hearing things right. Nami nods, while you and Dalton just remain silent, not sure what to make of this.

Later that day, once the moon was out, Chopper sat on the roof of the castle, panting as he was tired from running from Luffy. 'I sure ran a lot....' he looks up, noticing the bright full moon. 

"HEY! REINDEER!"

Chopper visibly flinches hearing Luffy's voice again, as he jumps up. "LET'S BE PIRATES!" he shouts, unsure of where the small blue nosed reindeer was hiding. Chopper looks down sadly. 

"Give it up, Luffy." Zoro says, sitting in the snow next to the male, while Usopp was making another snowman. "He doesn't want to be a pirate."

"No!" Luffy shouts, "I'm bringing him with us!"

"Against his will!" the male retorts.

'It's not that I don't want to go.....' Chopper thought to himself.

"REINDEER!" Luffy yells yet again, making Chopper shake his head back and forth fiercely. 'I can't go! I can't go!' Finally, Chopper stands up, walking out from his hiding spot and appearing a few feet away from Luffy, Zoro and Usopp.

"Oh! Reindeer!" Luffy says grinning. "Let's go be pirates!" he says.

"It's impossible...." he mutters, looking down. 

"No it's not! It's fun!" Luffy responds cheerfully making Usopp sweat drop.

"That makes no sense!" he exclaims. At the same time, you, Mist, Nami, Vivi and Sanji all walked out of the palace, with you and Nami dragging Sanji by his legs out. You were all bundled up in your jackets, Nami wearing a dark black coat from Kureha. You all look up and see Chopper standing there. "Chopper...." Nami mutters, recalling his past.

"I'm really grateful...To all of you," he says looking down at the snow. "But I'm a reindeer!" he shouts. "I have antlers, and hooves and a blue nose! Of course I want to be a pirate! But I'm not a human like you guys! I'm a monster! I can't ever join you! That's why, I just came to say thank you!"

'Can you people heal his heart?' Kureha's words echoed through your mind, and hearing Chopper call himself a monster, reminded you of your own past. The fact you were a Navy weapon. That's all you were considered to be after all. Luffy, hearing this, has a pouty frowning face. 

"I'm going to stay here, but..." Chopper closes his eyes tightly, trying to keep himself from crying, as he looks to Luffy with a smile. "If you ever want to come back again, I'd be hap-"

"SHUT UP! LET'S GO!!!" Luffy shouts, pumping his fists in the air, his voice echoing throughout the snowy mountain, his hat flying off. Chopper chokes back a sob, his eyes watering up. Nami just smiles, expecting this to happen and even you had to admit, you knew that in the end Luffy'd convince Chopper.

Chopper lets out a wail, feeling overjoyed to have such new friends. "You don't convince someone to join, by telling them to shut up." Zoro was happy as well, but instead replies with a smart remark since he was Zoro. 

With that settled, Luffy plops down onto a large snowball Usopp had been preparing. "Let's go say goodbye to that old lady and Dalton." he says, making Nami shake her head. 

"We should let Chopper go by himself." she begins, "It'll probably be hard for both of them. They've been living together for six years after all. Despite how she acts, Doctorine is a softie too."

"So we're really after then?" Usopp asks, finishing his princess Snow V. 

"Yeah, when Chopper comes back we'll descend the mountain, and set sail immediately to Alabasta."

You look over to Vivi who was sat in the snow next to Sanji, who was still very much in pain with his back. "Sound good, Vivi?" you say with a small smile, making the blue haired female nod with a smile.

"Of course. Especially if we're having a doctor come with us."

"Doctor?" Luffy repeats in confusion, rolling around on the snowball playfully. Usopp gets up.

"Well I'll get the rope way ready then." he says, "Luffy, you come help too."

Luffy nods, rolling after the male on his snowball. You let out a small sigh, looking up at the snowy sky. You remember how Kure- er, Doctorine had told you and Nami about Hiriluk's dream with the cherry blossoms. Mist from afar, sees you by yourself and sits down in the snow next to you.

"What're you thinking?" he asks, pulling his knees up to his chest, making you smile.

"I'm thinking...About Chopper." you say after a small pause. "He had a friend named Hiriluk, that inspired him to be a doctor. Apparently, he was a thief first, but encouraged Chopper to be a pirate. And I'm wondering, if Doctorine will just up and let him leave like this."

Mist shrugs, brushing his loose pink locks back. "I'm sure that it'll be a bit hard-"

Your conversation with Mist was cut short when the sounds of the men screaming from inside the palace can be heard. "Damn...They sure are noisy..." Zoro grumbles.

"Jeez...How inconsiderate. They could be quieter to two people who are saying goodbye." Nami huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"He's coming!" Zoro says, before noticing someone behind him chasing the reindeer. "Who's chasing him?!" Upon closer look, everyone sees it's Doctorine, but she's swinging around a heavy ball with spikes attached to the chain, yelling at Chopper as he pulls a red and white sled behind him.

From the entrance to the rope way Usopp and Luffy pop out. "Oi, the rope way's ready to- Eh?"

"EVERYONE! GET ON THE SLEIGH!" Chopper yells, running towards you and the crew. "WE'LL GO DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!!"

The ball and chain are thrown, making you all scream in a panic, climbing into the sleigh. Chopper proceeds to run down the mountain, until the sleigh is soaring in the sky, past the full moon where the villagers below panic seeing the "Witch's Sleigh."

This was merely from afar however, as in actuality, Chopper was running across the ropeway that Usopp had set up earlier. Luffy, was unfortunately borderline close to flying out of the sleigh, with you and Mist having to tightly grab the male's wrists. 

Once you reach the end of the rope, Chopper continues to trot through the snow, leaving the confused villagers wide eyed. Luffy laughs as the two of you finally manage to pull him in the sleigh. "That was fun! Let's do it again!"

"No you idiot!" Nami hisses, smacking him on the head, "We have to set sail for Alabasta!!"

"I thought I was gonna die...." Usopp says weakly, feeling like his life just flashed before his eyes again. 

Meanwhile, back at the top of the snowy mountain, stands Doctorine, arms crossed over her chest. Dalton stood next to her, bundled up in his coat. "Are you really sure this is the way you want to say goodbye?" he asks.

"Yeah....He was just a stray I adopted." she says, tears streaming down her cheeks, but her voice not wavering in the slightest. "I don't like tearful goodbyes."

Dalton smiles at this, before Doctorine pulls him along. "Come on. We need to give them and Chopper a proper farewell." she says, leading the male down the castle. On the ground, all of the canons are pointed up. "Are we ready?!" she yells.

"Yes ma'am!" The men say in unison.

"Fire!"

And with that, the canons fire up into the sky. "What is this, Dr. Kureha?" Dalton asks, making Doctorine smile as she looks up.

"Just wait and see."

Once you had reached the Merry, Chopper shifted back to his usual self. You were all going to board, when the sounds of the canons firing could be heard. "Whoa! Look at that!" Nami says in awe.

"It's so pretty....." Mist mutters, his eyes lighting up at the sight. Chopper finally turns around, and he lets out a gasp, feeling a sob in his throat, before he lets out a wail, tears streaming down his furry cheeks.

In the distance, were the bright glowing cherry blossoms trees, that Hiriluk talked about. Back at the palace, Doctorine found herself tearing up again. "Go....My stupid son..." she mutters softly.

In celebration of Chopper joining, the crew begins to party. Luffy dances around, with chopsticks up his nose and the ends in his mouth, making all of you excluding Nami and Vivi crack up. Zoro and Sanji were both drinking, getting along much to your surprise.

Usopp calls out to Chopper, who was sitting on the railing by himself. "Hey Chopper! How long are you just gonna sit like that?! Come party with us!" Usopp brings the small reindeer over to the group.

"E-eh?" he stutters.

"Sing and dance with us!" You exclaim.

"E-eh?!"

"Stick these up your nose!" Luffy interjects, holding out a pair of chopsticks.

"EEH?!"

"Those were some pretty cool cherry blossoms." Sanji says, pouring himself another cup.

"Yeah, this calls for a drink!" Zoro says, chugging down another bottle. Chopper flinches when he feels someone grab his shoulders from behind, and turns to see it's Nami.

"You surprised? You made friends with some pretty goofy guys." she says with a smile.

"Friends..?" Chopper repeats, looking over at your crazy group. You and Zoro were both trying to get Mist to drink, who repeatedly refused, even after you got Sanji to try and hold him down. 

"They're pretty over the top. But you'll get used to it, since you're part of the crew." Hearing Nami's words of encouragement, Chopper gave her a genuine smile, his little blue nose twitching.

"Karoo! What were you doing frozen in the lake?!" Vivi exclaims, away from the group as she was holding a pale blue looking Karoo. The bird squawks, making Zoro laugh.

"He probably just slipped or something. Seems like he's the clumsy type." he says, earning a laugh from Sanji as well.

"Quiet Mr. Bushido!"

Chopper comes over, listening to Karoo as he squawks. "Yeah...Yeah..." finally the reindeer looks up. "He says some guy named Zoro was swimming in the water, and when the other dolphin Mist went to save him, they disappeared. So he dove in to save them."

"So it WAS YOUR FAULT!" Nami yells, smacking him in the back of the head. Vivi looks at Chopper in surprise. "Tony-kun, you can understand what Karoo's saying?"

Seeing that he was free, Mist took the chance to run away over to Vivi, shuddering from the horrendous memories of the alcohol. "Of course!" he says. "We're both originally animals, so it's only logical we can understand them!"

"Wow!" You say in awe, temporarily forgetting about trying to force Mist to drink. "So medicine isn't your only cool talent!"

"S-Shut up you idiot~!" Chopper says giddily, doing a small dance. "Praising me like that doesn't make me feel happy! You jerk!"

"He sure looks happy." Luffy and Usopp say in unison. 

"By the way, Y/n-chan. Did you say something about medicine?" Sanji asks. You nod, going over to Chopper and hugging the furry creature tightly.

"Yeah~! He's an amazing doctor with all of Doctorine's medical skills pounded into him!" Chopper felt the heat in his cheeks rise, but then again, he totally hated a hug. And praise.

"WHAAT?!" All of the boys exclaim.

"Chopper, you're really a doctor?!" Zoro exclaims.

"Incredible!" Luffy adds.

"You didn't know?" Nami grumbles in annoyance. "Good grief, just what made you want to have him join the crew?"

"He's a seven form transforming cool reindeer." Luffy says, looking down at Chopper who you were still hugging.

"Emergency food supply." Sanji says, making Chopper flinch and hug onto you tighter. Chopper then lets out a gasp.

"Oh no! Since we were in such a hurry, I left my medical bag!" he exclaims, making Mist frown, as he shows off the tiny blue bag with a white "x".

"This isn't it right here?" he asks. "It was in the sleigh."

"Eh..? But how?"

Nami shrugs. "Maybe you put it there without remembering? You did pack after all didn't you?" It then dawns on the two what the reason was. Mist lets out a dry chuckle, sitting down and leaning against the side of the ship.

"She knew what you were thinking all along huh?" he says with a small smile. "Looks like she was a really good person huh?"

Chopper feels his eyes begin to water up, clutching the bag closely to him. However, before the water works can start again, Luffy and Usopp hand the reindeer boy a pair of chopsticks, each of them already wearing a pair on their face. "You try it too Chopper!" Luffy laughs.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Nami hisses. "Jeez...And just when you're reminiscing..."

It's too late however, when he has the chopsticks in his nostrils, making an adorable confused face. "Don't join in with them!" she yells. Usopp, being as drunk as he was, stands up, trying to get everyone's attention. 

"I'd like your attention everyone!" he yells, mug with alcohol in hand.

Zoro and Sanji were fighting yet again, while Vivi is treating Karoo. You were drunk and walking along the railing, singing small tunes. Mist, was in between the Zoro and Sanji Battle: Part Four, and trying to stop the two of them. 

"I'd like to welcome our new friend and doctor on the ship!"

"Damn Ero cook...Cook better food!"

"Hah?! I don't take orders from you!"

"I swear if either of you hit with me with a bottle of sake or a bowl of rice again I'll have Y/n drown you both!"

"Ohhh~ Who lives *hic* in a goat *hic* ship on the sea~?"

"Go Sanji! You can beat him!"

"So let's give him a warm welcome!"

"This...." Chopper begins. "Is the most fun I've ever had!" He laughs, making Nami smile. 

"Cheers!" Usopp yells. "To Chopper!"

To Be Continued........