"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Mayando screamed as Kureha applied ointment to a massive gash on his leg.
"Shut up kid, it's going to get infected if I don't rub this in deep," Kureha said in a scolding tone as began squeezing even more of the liquid from its bottle into her hand.
On the other side of the cabin sat Rocks and Zeff, the captain wiping a tear from his eye at the navigator's high pitched screams. Zeff shook his head with a small smile on his face, the knowledge that their mission in Drum was accomplished being enough of a load off of his mind that he could finally relax a bit.
"So did she cast a spell on you yet? Are you back to full strength?" Zeff asked.
"Ugh," Rocks said as he pulled a flash from his jacket pocket and started to unscrew it. "She said that I'll be back to the way I was within the year, but there isn't a safe way to speed it up. She said that I would just need to be patient and wait for my body to naturally recover. Then she threatened me with violence if I didn't, some doctor," he said with a roll of his eyes before taking a sip from his flask while dodging the jar of cue tips that Kureha chucked at him.
"Well, I suppose that there could be worse news. Did she agree to join us?" Zeff asked, though with a bit of trepidation as he witnessed their new potential doctor's lack of bedside manner.
"She did. I filled her in on what the World Government and Imu have been planning, and that Harald being his pawn might speed up the plan by too much for anyone to be sitting back and doing nothing. She said that she had been looking to go out to sea for awhile anyways, and especially with how medically advanced Drum is getting, there isn't a citizen here who will be hurting for a doctor anytime soon," Rocks said as he continued to sip. "How did your mission go?" He asked.
"I don't know where you get this information from, but it was just like you said. The chamber buried underneath that mountain was a bit difficult to get to, but I looted it and left what I took on the table in the meeting room," Zeff said as he attempted to stretch out the shoulder that was still sore from the awkward angles that he had been forced to crouch into.
"Good, keep an eye on the kid for a second, will you?" Rocks asked as he stood up from his seat. "Kureha, come with me for a second," he said as he waved toward himself while he walked toward the ship's meeting room.
"I'm with a difficult patient, Rocks. Can't it wait for a second?" She asked as she violently tightened the wrap on Mayando's leg, eliciting another shriek from the teenager.
"It's the captain's orders, doctor. I think you should go with him, like right now!" Mayando shouted with tears in his eyes.
Kureha shook her head before acquiescing and standing to her feet. She followed rocks through the narrow hallway before he opened a door to a room with only a simple table as its decor. Already sitting in the room was Sakazuki, his injuries having been less extensive and easier to patch up.
"You called me, captain?" He asked with a grimace as the injury to his back was clearly still bothering him, though he attempted to sit up straight nonetheless.
"Kid, this is Kureha. I know you guys already met, but she's going to be joining the crew as our doctor so I thought a little dork like you would appreciate a proper introduction," he said sarcastically as he approached the center of the table where the bag that Zeff had dropped still lay. "But the main reason that you're both here is for what's in here," he said as he grabbed the cloth sack and undid the string holding it together.
"Ooh, do pirates always get gifts when they first join?" Kureha asked with sarcastic excitement.
"Only the most obnoxious ones," he said as he placed the opened bag back on the counter. "Anyways, I heard a rumor about these years ago, and luckily, Zeff was able to find exactly where they were. Bottoms up!" He shouted as he grabbed an object from the bag in each hand and tossed one each to his crew members.
Upon catching the objects and inspecting them, both Sakazuki and Kureha's eyes widened in surprise, and they both wordlessly looked toward Rocks, his smile as wide and toothy as ever.
"The Barrier Barrier Fruit," Rocks said as he pointed to the fruit that Sakazuki held, the turquoise colored fruit with a bright green crescent shaped stem coming out of the top. "And the Chop Chop Fruit," Rocks followed as he turned and pointed to pineapple shaped fruit, though the red swirls that made up its skin differentiated it quite obviously.
"Captain, are you sure?" Sakazuki asked as he looked down at the tempting fruit that he now held in his hands.
"I don't know, I sure do like going for a nice dip," Kureha said sarcastically, though her eyes were clearly alight with curiosity at her own fruit.
"Ultimately, it's your decision. Part of joining my crew is that I'm giving you both ownership over these fruits to sell, eat, or you can give them back. I gave the same offer to Zeff, and I have to say that his fruit seems to be treating him quite well," Xebec said with a shit eating grin as he casually walked toward the doorway. "Do whatever you will with them, we're shoving off toward Water 7 within the hour either way," he said as he closed the door behind him, leaving his two crew mates to exchange confused stares as they contemplated their decision.