Making the Rounds

(A/N: Until webnovel fixes the current issues, I'm going to be posting most of my content for free on patreon or my website. That includes chapter 73 of OP:WH, so hop on over to libraryofakasha if you want to check it out!)

As Benienma was aware of the location of everyone within the Enma-tei, she guided Thomas directly to Vivi's location. Unfortunately, she and most of the other girls were relaxing in a hot spring on the ground floor. It was a communal facility with a mixed-bathing policy, but Thomas decided to wait outside, relaxing with his eyes closed as Benienma voluntarily gave him a foot massage.

Around twenty minutes after Thomas began waiting, Vivi, Nami, Chloe, Illya, and Ruby emerged from the bath wearing yukatas provided by the Enma-tei. When they spotted him waiting nearby, Chloe immediately adopted a teasing smile, asking, "How long have you been waiting out here? You know it's a mixed facility, right?"

Before Thomas could respond, Nami furrowed her brows and answered, "Because, even if he's a pervert, he isn't a complete idiot."

"..."

Resisting the urge to argue, Thomas asked, "How was the bath? And have you used any of the other facilities...?"

Adopting a radiant smile, Vivi happily replied, "This place is amazing! The design of the rooms is a little odd, but I haven't felt this relaxed in years."

Nodding her head, Nami added, "Before we took a bath, we had our nails done and hit up a massage parlor on the second floor. Now, we're about to grab a late lunch before checking out some of the other facilities listed on the map."

"Then that's perfect," replied Thomas, adding, "The Tenno(Imperial) Suite on the top floor has a banquet hall, a gallery, and several guest rooms. I had Beni assign each of you 'exalted' status, so feel free to claim one of the rooms as a permanent residence if you want. When we establish other Enma-tei in the future, you'll be able to access the suite and your private rooms from any of them."

Though Thomas's words sounded nonsensical to Vivi and Nami, Chloe, Illya, and Ruby took them in stride, the latter eagerly questioning, "Does that include me? If so, I'll finally have a private atelier to mix and brew potions~!"

Smiling wryly, Thomas replied, "I originally had you staying with Illya, but I don't mind you claiming another room. Just don't blow anything up..."

Puffing up pridefully, Ruby asserted, "Nonsense! Despite my appearance, I happen to be one of the greatest alchemists in the world! You've nothing to worry about~!"

Resisting the urge to comment, Thomas returned to the original topic, suggesting, "Why don't the five of you make your way up to the suite and get settled? After that, Beni can introduce you to Koharu before explaining some of the unwritten rules not listed on the bulletin board out front. As impressive as the Enma-tei and its facilities are, it's still linked to Hell. Not everything is as pleasant as it appears on the surface..."

Crossing her arms, Nami remarked, "Way to kill the mood..." with half-lidded eyes.

Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas justified his actions, stating, "As much as you annoy me, I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Without waiting for Nami's retort/response, Thomas directed his gaze to Benienma, stating, "Look after them for me," as he extended his hand to caress the petite sparrow's head. His actions earned him a mischievous leer from Chloe, but he ultimately ignored her, parting from the group to meet up with Caenis and Atalanta before leaving the Enma-tei to explain the situation to Usopp and locate the remaining Straw Hats...

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With Atalanta choosing to remain indoors due to the heavy snowfall, Thomas and Caenis bounded over to the Going Merry to find Usopp shivering within the galley/lounge. He had the stove turned on, but the interior temperature was still freezing since it was close to -70 degrees outside, and the Merry wasn't particularly well-insulated.

Seeing Thomas enter the lounge, Usopp stammered, "W-w-w-welcome back, Tom. Did you come here to help me watch over the M-m-m-merry?"

Smiling wryly, Thomas replied, "Not exactly. I wanted to tell you that the Merry would be fine and convince you to come and rest at the Enma-tei. I know you feel obligated to protect this ship, as it was a gift from Kaya, but she wouldn't want to see you like this."

Hearing the first half of Thomas's words, Usopp opened his mouth as if to argue. When he heard the latter half, however, he found himself at a loss for words, easily able to imagine Kaya chastizing him for putting himself in danger.

While Usopp was at a loss, Thomas spread his Magical Energy out like a warm pulse, bringing the interior of the cabin up to a cool but comparably balmy 4 degrees. Afterward, he took a seat across from Usopp, revealing, "You remind me of my past self, albeit a lot more...animated."

Raising his brows, Usopp asked, "Where's this coming from? Is it because you're about to leave the crew...?"

Shaking his head, Thomas asserted, "I'm not leaving. Not in the truest sense. I'm just going to be following a different path for a while. Meeting Vivi changed my perspective on a lot of things. Manifesting the Enma-tei affected them even further. Now, I just want to gather information, enjoy my life, and help as many people as possible..."

Regaining a wry smile, Thomas added, "No offense, but sharing a cabin with other guys and sleeping in a hammock aren't exactly my idea of fun. Especially when I have several people who would like to share a bed with me..."

Exhaling through his inordinately long nose, Usopp remarked, "That's one of the things I'll never understand about you, Tom. Haven't you heard the saying that a real man only needs one good woman?"

Though he was tempted to retort that there weren't a lot of good women, Thomas shrugged his shoulders and replied, "You're right. If someone like Vivi were to ask me to settle down, I would consider it. Until then, I intend to live my life freely and satisfy my curiosity."

Rising to his feet, Thomas added, "If you haven't noticed it yet, a massive bathhouse popped up on the shore. If you mention it to the staff, they will check you into a room with a balcony overlooking Merry. Sitting inside like this isn't going to prevent the Merry from freezing over or getting stuck in the ice."

Without waiting for Usopp to respond, Thomas stepped outside to rejoin Caenis. The moment he opened the door, a rush of cold wind entered the cabin, replacing the warmth that had pervaded it in his presence. Shortly after that, albeit after he and Caenis left, Usopp reluctantly left the Merry to warm his body within the Enma-tei...

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Though the blizzard was getting progressively worse over time, Thomas found the whistling wind and tempestuous snow strangely 'beautiful.' He would probably have a different opinion if not for the warm barrier veiling both himself and Caenis, but being able to walk casually through a storm without feeling its effects made him feel...powerful.

After passing through several snowed-in towns and villages, Thomas and Caenis found themselves in a village called Gyasta. Most of the buildings had been buried beneath the ever-deepening snow, but, as such blizzards were fairly common in the area, spire-like chutes could be seen poking up through the snow like the tops of evergreen trees. It was a peculiar sight to behold, but it was also a testament to how 'adaptive' the people of the Grand Line could be.

Passing through Gyasta, Thomas and Caenis eventually found themselves at the base of a massive tree. Unlike the evergreens in the surroundings, it resembled a giant ash tree, a deciduous tree typically only found in cool to moderate climates. Such trees weren't suited to snowy climates, but, as if to spite this notion, this particular tree grew taller and broader than every other tree in the area. Large enough to hollow out and construct a three-story house within its trunk...

Before Thomas could begin to melt the snow around the tree's base, a snowy eruption occurred as Lucy burst out of the snow, shouting, "It's Tom and Caenis~!"

Darting past Lucy, Astolfo, as usual, leaped at Thomas, burying her face into his chest. At the same time, a woman with a remarkably curvaceous body but the face of an old crone appeared from the clearing Lucy had created, shouting, "Get back inside before you idiots freeze to death...!"

Spotting Thomas and Caenis, the old woman's brows perked up as she remarked, "Oh, great. Two more idiots have appeared..."

As Caenis was wearing an outfit more suited to sunbathing than walking through the snow, she stood out like a sore thumb. Thomas at least had on a thick winter coat, giving him an almost bear-like appearance due to his height and the breadth of his shoulders.

Responding to the old woman's words, Lucy firmly asserted, "Tom isn't an idiot! He and Caenis are my friends...!"

Though she had on sunglasses, the old woman gave the impression she had rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms and said, "Yeah, yeah. Now, stop blathering, get inside, and close the door. This blizzard is only going to get worse before sunrise."

As he was curious to see what Chopper looked like in his current setting, Thomas picked up Astolfo in a princess carry, encouraging the others to follow him inside as he made his way into the surprisingly warm abode. It didn't have a hearth or any visible heat sources, but the tree's interior was at least 20 degrees.

Instead of focusing on the temperature, Thomas's eyes zeroed in on the tiny fur-covered creature 'hiding' behind a desk. It was around 90cm tall and had antlers that looked like the individual branches had been fused, making a u-shape. It also had large circular eyes, a distinctly blue nose, and two-pronged hooves for its hands and feet. More notably, it had on a pair of maroon shorts and a fuzzy pink top hat with a tilted medical cross on its front, resembling an x.

Though Thomas was 'really' curious to know how the little furball was able to get its antlers through the hat it was wearing, the first thing he said was, "If you're going to hide, you should focus on concealing your body..."

Like in the anime/manga, the tiny furball, Tony Tony Chopper, was lacking in common sense and terrible at concealment. When Lucy burst out of the tree above, he immediately attempted to hide. However, instead of hiding properly, he hid just a small part of his face behind the desk while the rest of his body stuck out, effectively drawing attention rather than avoiding it.

Demonstrating he hadn't fully opened up to Lucy and Astolfo, Chopper shouted, "I-I wasn't hiding! I just thought I saw a termite on the desk and wanted to get a closer look at it...!"

Smiling wryly, Thomas set Astolfo on her own two feet, patting her head as he stated, "My name is Thomas, though you can just call me Tom. It's nice to meet you."

"Eh...?"

Tilting his head to the side, Chopper asked, "You don't think I'm weird or some kind of evil monster...?"

While the elderly woman, Dr. Kureha, stared at him with narrowed eyes, Thomas shook his head and replied, "Not really. You look more like a stuffed animal than an evil creature in your current form. Besides, once you reach the second half of the Grand Line, you'll find plenty of people with animalistic traits. There is even an entire tribe of anthropomorphic animals known as the Mink. If I didn't know your appearance was the result of eating a Devil Fruit, I would have assumed you originated from the country of Zou."

Opening his already round eyes even further, Chopper exclaimed, "Is that true!? Is there really a whole tribe of people that look like me...!?"

Answering in Thomas's stead, Kureha replied, "Indeed. The real question is, how did this brat learn about them? While Minks aren't uncommon, the existence of Zou borders on mythical. Most people don't even consider it to be a real place..."

Inserting herself into the dialogue, Lucy adopted a massive grin as she said, "See! What did I tell you? If you come with us, you're guaranteed to meet lots of interesting people and have a ton of fun!"

Though he had been refusing until now, Chopper's expression revealed his internal conflict as he looked between Lucy and Dr. Kureha. His dream was to become a Pirate and cure every disease, but he had never set sail because of his deep mistrust of humans. He assumed he would be treated like a monster everywhere he went, but if there were others like him in the second half of the Grand Line, he 'really' wanted to meet them...

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(A/N: Thomas just needs to show Chopper a picture of a Reindeer Mink...)