One Piece: Overboard

[The Writing Owl]

It was a calm day for the Straw Hat Pirates. Still on the high of the last adventure, the crew now accepted a new member into its ranks. All was good. At least that's what it seemed. While Usopp was looking out the bird's nest of the Go Merry, he saw quite a troubling sight. "Ah! Another pirate ship! It looks like they're fighting someone! And just pushed that person into the sea!" The sharpshooter shouted, staring at the ship like it was a shipwreck. "Let's turn around before they see us!"

Luffy was quite a different story, watching with curious eyes as the mystery ship started to leave the drowning girl behind. "Zoro, go save her! Then we can find out more about this mystery ship!" The captain called, a grin starting to stretch across his face.

Usopp blanched, obviously disliking the captain's idea. "But, Luffy! I'm all for saving the girl, but we can't go after that ship! It could be dangerous for all we know!" The sharpshooter kept glancing between the ship and his captain, hoping this didn't end up getting them in a lot of trouble.

Nami glared as her captain made no move to budge his opinion. "Luffy, we could get seriously hurt or worse! They could steal all of our treasure! Let's just get the girl and get out of here!" The crew let out a small collective groan as their captain pulled out his trump card.

"Captain's orders!"

On the ship, before the crew had seen the terrible fall, a great battle was taking place. Edme Saxton, a bounty hunter, was currently trying to take down her newest target to no avail. Blood stained her silver hair as she stumbled back. The man swung his sword toward the girl's neck. She dodged, barely ducking into a roll before stabbing out with her trusted spear. The large blond man dodged easily, swinging out again. Each attack pushed Ed toward the edge, one swing at a time. Each she dodged, bringing her spear around to counter attack. The man shoved her spear out of the way. With a mighty swing, he cut across her stomach, pushing her over the edge.

Ed fell into the watery depths below, shock and utter disappointment riddling her system. She could faintly hear the pirates yelling at how their fearless captain didn't have a scratch on himself. Blood clouded around her, though was swept away with the tides. Like an anchor, she sank down to her doom. Ed supposed that she shouldn't have gotten so cocky as it was. Water was filling her lungs quickly, though she really couldn't be bothered to notice. It almost seemed peaceful as she closed her eyes, accepting death.

 

[BlossomStars]

Usually, Kyrin would be listening to the banter of the crew, argument between Luffy, Nami, and Usopp serving as a form of amusement, of sorts. The teen had gotten used to the bickering of the crew, and had actually come to be rather endeared by it. It was constant, but it made even the dullest moments a little livelier, at least. However, right now, Kyrin's focus was elsewhere. Staring intently at the water where the girl had fallen, Kyrin could focus on nothing other than her. As a doctor in training, it was her duty, and she could hardly call herself such if an injured person was not her first concern.

"Oh, calm down Usopp!" Kyrin chided her friend lightly, turning slightly to look at him, the long-nosed young man having taken to hiding behind the nurse, "Everythingll be just fine! Besides, even if they do beat you up, I'll have you fixed in no time~" Kyrin joked. Though she was teasing, neither her words nor her bright smile did anything to put Usopp at ease, just worrying the poor teen more. Had Kyrin not been so worried about the girl in the water, who Zoro still had not returned with, she likely would have giggled at the way Usopp began shaking, teeth chattering and knees knocking together as they always did when he was afraid of something.

****

Zoro nodded at his captain's order, not hesitating before he ran to the edge of the ship and dove into the awaiting blue below, letting the ocean catch him with salty arms. Not needing to resurface, the green haired swordsman began to swim in the direction the girl had fallen. He moved quickly, knowing how precious time was in these situations. Well, that, and he knew that the faster he was able to get whomever it was that had been tossed overboard back to the ship, the faster he would be able to join in on the action that was inevitably to come.

Amazingly managing not to lose his way, Zoro made it to the place he was supposed to be fairly quickly. Honestly, it wasn't difficult to tell where he needed to be as he got closer though, water stained red with what could only be blood. Diving deeper into the salty depths, Zoro eventually spotted a body. The person was distinctly female, short silver hair stained a violent red, much like the water. Zoro quickly noticed the wounds that covered the girl, swelling that was sure to form purple bruises, and deep cuts scarring the girl's pale flesh. She'd been beaten badly, that much was clear.

Zoro was quick to act, not spending too much time examining the female. He didn't have time for that, and his need for oxygen was beginning to press on him. Clearly this girl could use it too, already seeming to have succumbed to the water, eyes closed and body swaying helplessly with the current. Wrapping his arms around her, Zoro brought the silverette to the surface of the water, quickly working to make his way back to his awaiting ship.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Robin helped Zoro up as the crew quickly got to work to try and follow Luffy's latest orders. Luffy himself was watching the new girl, gaining a strange look in his eyes. One who had been on his crew long enough knew exactly what that look meant. The rubber man was interested in the girl, for some reason, and that usually ended up with a new crew member for them all. Nami grumbled as she directed Franky and the rest of the idle crew on where they need to go to follow the ship their captain had declared his latest interest.

As Zoro got on the deck, Chopper ran around the deck in fear and worry. "Ah! Somebody call a doctor!" Usopp hit the doctor over the head, declaring that he was the doctor. "Oh, right!" Immediately the young reindeer got to work, checking over the young girl that was lying half-unconscious in Zoro's arms. "She's bleeding profusely, we need to staunch the blood flow. We may have to give her a transfusion if things keep going like this. Kyrin! Try to slow the bleeding while I get the necessary tools in the infirmary!" The reindeer shot off, cutting the cook off who had been preparing the crew's lunch when he heard all of the commotion.

"Oi, what's with all the noi-" He stopped short and sobered up at the sight of the bloodied girl in Zoro's arms. The cook's mind jumped to conclusions from how the blood covered the swordsman's hands. "Bloody marimo, if you hurt one hair on that sweet woman's head, I'll kick the shit out of you!" It was a weaker stab, but the cook was focused more on the fact that someone was possibly bleeding out on their deck and possibly even dying as blood started to drip onto the wooden floors.

All while the crew argued, Ed had been drifting between black and faint images. The silverette had coughed up a fair amount of water when Zoro dragged her out of the ocean, now breathing in ragged and uneven breaths. She didn't know where she was, nor how she got into the warm, strong arms that were holding her. Blood slicked anything that tried to touch her. An overwhelmingly sticky feeling left Ed with a faint feeling of discomfort. Everything seemed to be slowed down, movements and feelings coming lazily past Ed's conscious mind. Green. Ed knew her rescuer either was green or wore something green. The suffocating feeling of not having enough air was replaced by the stabs and burning pain that purged her stomach, cutting over a recently healed scar. Voices barely registered in the young woman's mind. Other people were there, and her target got away. Disappointment weighed heavily on the woman, made sharper with the pain that wracked her body.

 

[BlossomStars]

Kyrin had rushed to the bleeding girl's side as soon as she had been set on the deck, lying still and nearly lifeless. Though Kyrin tried her best to focus solely on surveying the damage and figuring out what was going on from there, she couldn't help but notice how young this girl appeared to be. She couldn't have been too much older than the nurse herself, perhaps around Zoro and Sanji's age.

"On it." Kyrin nodded at Chopper's command, having already figured that that would be a top priority. Setting to try and work quickly, blocking out the petty arguments and shouting of others on the deck, Kyrin looked over the various, severe cuts that covered this girls body. There were so many, and at this point she seemed to be more blood than skin.

"Can you hear me? You're going to be OK, alright. We're going to take care of you." Kyrin hadn't any idea if this girl was still conscious or not, but if by any chance the silverette could hear her she wanted to try to be reassuring. So, the young nurse continued to speak to the girl before her as she treated her wounds, elevating the wounds as best she could and tearing away at the fabric of her already ripped jeans, tying the strips over the more serious wounds, using them to keep pressure on them and hopefully slow the bleeding until Chopper returned. Kyrin hadn't any cloth or other fabric with her at the moment, as everything was in the infirmary, but this girl's life was surly more important than an old pair of jeans.

"Chopper is the best doctor I've ever met. You're in excellent hands, I promise." Kyrin continued, finding one of the worse wounds, one that sliced through the otherwise unblemished skin of the girl's abdomen. Tearing one last strip of fabric from her jeans, Kyrin pressed her hands, already red and slippery with blood, to the wound, placing pressure to slow the blood that flowed freely from the wound.

****

"Hey, don't blame everything on me! She was like this when I got there, damn euro-cook!" Zoro fired back at Sanji, irritation suddenly overcoming his previously thoughtful features. However, despite the sudden rage that had just filled the green haired swordsman, he quickly returned to a more quiet state, much like the cook he was about to argue with. Both men were acutely aware of the potential outcome of the situation before them. No matter how hard Kyrin and Chopper tried, no mater how much the two did, this girl may not survive. It was hard to tell just how much blood this girl had lost already - of course, Zoro knew that it must have been quite a bit. Not only had it already begun to stain the wooded beams of their deck, but it covered his shirt, staining the white fabric in splotches of red and pink in the areas the creeping substance had begun to spread to. It had also filled the water where he had retrieved her, staining what should have been clear blue ocean to a violent and unforgiving red.

"Hmph." Zoro sighed as he flopped down on the deck, setting his swords beside him as he began to lean up against the mast of the ship. Placing his arms behind his head, he settled into a comfortable position. He was pretty tired, and there was nothing he could do but wait now. He didn't know anything about medical care, so he would be no use in helping this girl any further than he had. He would just have to leave it in the hands of the ship's doctor and his assistant and wait to see what happened. Though the swordsman would admit that something about this girl did catch his interest. She certainly seemed reckless, but a little familiar too. He doubted he'd ever met her, but...

"Are you serious? You're going to take a nap right now?!" Zoro's thoughts were suddenly pierced by a sharp shout, clearly aimed at him, accompanied by an unorgiving smack to the back of his green head. The voice was familiar, scolding coming from none other than their treasure loving navigator, Nami. She sounded near incredulous that Zoro was going to sleep at a time like this, with someone possibly dying just a few feet away on the deck of their ship.

"Well what else do you want me to do? It's not like I'm a doctor you know!" Zoro snapped, rubbing the back of his head where a goose egg seemed to be forming.

 

[The Writing Owl]

Chopper came running back, transforming into his larger state and quickly carrying the girl to the now ready infirmary. The blood had stopped pouring out of the wound, so that was a good sign. Knowing Kyrin was following behind, the reindeer got the young girl onto the operating table and started his work. Ed barely could recognize the shapes above her, her eyes half-lidded and foggy. Hands, or were they hooves?, started to stab into her stomach, seemingly stitching something together. Whimpers and small groans of pain filled the room before Edme was given an anesthetic. Her senses dulled and time became nonexistent.

The young reindeer wiped his forehead as he finished tying in the last stitch. This had been his most stressful operation yet. The patient was breathing, clearly unconscious. "She's stable... For now at least. We'll have to keep a steady eye on her, or else the injuries will get worse." He didn't bother stating what could happen after that. Washing his hands and letting Kyrin wash her hands, Chopper moved the silverette to an infirmary bed. Careful not to jostle any wounds, the reindeer doctor made the woman comfortable before sighing. This was going to be a long process, but she'd live.

Giving a long sigh, Chopper started toward the rest of the crew. As soon as he stepped onto the deck, the others almost immediately shot up. "Well? How is she?" Nami asked, frustrated. Usopp had stopped pacing, while Sanji gave the young his full attention, a lit cigarette tightly clenched between his teeth. The only two that seemed even relatively calm were Zoro and Robin as both didn't react as strongly to the doctor walking up onto the deck.

"She'll live." A collective breath seemed to be let out all at once. The good mood didn't last long. "But, we need to be careful with her. She's stable right now, but anything that could aggravate her could disturb the wounds and stitches. So, all of you be careful with her. She needs her rest. That means Sanji, no wooing, and Zoro, no... well just be careful around her. We barely saved her from death this time. I don't think we could do it again." With his speech well done and over with, the reindeer realized someone was missing from their merry band. "Wait... Where's Luffy?!"

****

Edme felt groggy. The world around her was sluggish. Colors muted themselves, the soft swaying threatened to lull her back to sleep, and it felt like there was a very uncomfortable and heavy weight on her stomach. The silverette blinked, trying to make sense of where she was. The room around her was wood, the bed underneath her softer than most medical beds she was used to. Everything slowly rocked, so that meant she had to be at least on a boat or really out of touch. The weight on her stomach shifted, surprising Ed. She tried to sit up, hoping to see what the damage was. Rubbery arms wrapped themselves around her own, pinning her to the bed. Panic filled her veins. She struggled, trying to find her spear. Where was her damn spear?!

"Sh... Chopper said you're not suppose to aggravate your wounds." Brown eyes met blue, and Ed immediately glared. Straw hat, scar under the eye, and a goofy smile meant that this was none other than Straw Hat Luffy. "I'm Luffy!" The boy introduced himself, though the bounty hunter had already identified the man currently sitting on her stomach. "Who are you, mystery woman?"

Ready to try and throw the man off of her, Edme growled. "None of your business. Now, if you could get the hell off of me, then I can grab my spear and leave before I decide it's worth it to collect your bounty." Her head swam, leaving her disoriented. She struggled as much as she could possibly with the rubbery limbs entrapping her to the bed.

"Nope! Chopper said you need to rest so you can't leave." The shaggy haired boy kept on smiling like he was telling the most hilarious joke in the world. He just kept smiling as Ed tried to get up and out of bed. "You were on that mystery boat. You must be a mystery woman then! How about joining my crew?" That was a surprise, even for Luffy. He watched the girl, as she her face seemed to become a myriad of emotions.

"What the hell? I'm not joining your crew, and I'm sure as hell not becoming a damn dirty pirate!" Ed breathed heavily, still not completely there. "Now, will you get the hell off of me!" She screamed, struggling only for the rubbery limbs to tighten their hold, keeping their captive nearly immobile. "Give me back my spear you damn pirate! Get off of me before I cut your damn limbs off!"