Ch 19 We need a Doctor

(I was struggling to come with anything, that's why this chapter took longer)

After Nami fainted, there was a lot of panic, and she was quickly taken inside.

Luffy, Usopp and Sanji were shouting for her not to die, and Vivi was taking her temperature while explaining that it was probably climate sickness and asked if there was anyone with medical knowledge. That was when Leo stepped in.

Leo - "Vivi, check her for any insect bites or rashes."

She was confused, but did as she was told.

Sanji - "Why would she need to do that?"

Leo answered with irritation evident in his voice.

Leo - "We were just on a prehistoric island, where extinct or endangered species were thriving, there would have been insects that carry all kinds of diseases and poisons plants that nobody even remembers the antidotes for, if she got bitten or poisoned, her condition could be far worse than climate sickness."

They were all more worried for her than before and that became worse when Vivi confirmed that there was in fact an insect bit on her lower abdomen, while also stating Nami had a temperature of 40degrees.

The three idiots then started running around, crying and making a lot of noise.

Nami then sat up.

Nami - "I'm fine, it's just a bug bite... I probably just have heatstroke or something, and that thermometer is probably broken... Besides, we don't have time to waste."

She then directed Vivi to her desk draw, where there was a newspaper that state the current state of Alabasta and how 400,000 royal soldiers had changed sides, making Vivi realise how desperate the situation had become.

She had a tired smile on her face while looking at them.

Nami - "Besides... With Leo here, it doesn't really matter if I die..."

The trio had a look of realization. Vivi was busy staring at the newspaper and wasn't paying attention.

But, Leo couldn't help but to growl.

Leo - "Grr, DON'T TAKE YOUR LIFE FOR GRANTED!!"

Her show of not worrying about dying had caused him to shout at her, surprising them all.

He stared directly into her eyes for a moment, then snorted, turned around and left, slamming the door on the way out.

He was already mad with himself that he let this happen. If he hadn't been so focused on getting more power and forgotten all about her getting sick, he could have stayed next to her and kept her safe, he saw this as being his fault for being greedy.

And now, she was yet again trying to sacrifice herself for someone else, even when the severity of her situation had been made clear by Leo.

Going outside, where Zoro had been 'navigating' the ship using the clouds... He stared at the deck, trying to calm himself down.

Leo - "RAHHH!" (A/N: I don't know how to write it properly. Please tell me.)

With a short shout of frustration, he punched out towards the sea, shooting a stream of Hellfire that immediately caused the sea to evaporate.

Zoro - "What's your problem?"

Looking up at Zoro, who was sitting on the railing with a big dumbbell, he answered.

Leo - "Nothing... Tsk, I'm pissed off. She's treating her life like it doesn't matter."

Zoro - "Hm..."

*Clack*

From behind him, Nami came outside, looking like she could barely stand.

Zoro - "Shouldn't you be resting?"

She looked at him and then at the back of Leo, who didn't look at her, which saddened her.

Nami - "I'm fine, everyone should stop worrying."

She then walked up the stairs and when she saw that the Eternal pose needle had changed, she started complaining and berating him for not following the pose.

She then told him to call everyone and had them turn the ship around, they all listened to her and got to work turning the ship, including Leo.

When Sanji asked why they turned the ship when the sea was calm, she answer that she felt that there was going to be a strong wind ahead.

Luffy then went over to her, put his hand on her head to feel her temperature and felt just how much she was burning up, leading to him exclaiming that she really did need a doctor, but she claimed that that was he normal temperature and he should stop messing around.

Then the others also started saying that they should probably get her help first, but she kept denying it and told them to be quiet.

Then Vivi came out and got their attention.

Vivi - "I have a request to ask all of you. I know that it's not my place make such a demands since you've already let me on this ship and all... But with the emerging crisis of my country, I want to go there as soon as possible. Not even a single moment can be spared anymore! That's why, I ask for this ship to head for Alabasta, at the fastest speed!"

They all continued to stare at her.

Nami gave a forced, tired smile.

Nami - "Of course! just like we promised!"

Vivi - "Thus, we need to find an island with a doctor immediately! We need to see to it that Nami gets better as fast as possible, and then head for Alabasta! That'll be the only way this ship can sail at the fastest speed, right?"

It was agreed that they would find a doctor for Nami and then go to Alabasta, her decision had made them happy.

Then Luffy started screaming while pointing at a cyclone that appeared where they were previously heading.

Vivi took Nami back inside as she had fainted again.

Leo then brought out the Eternal pose to 'Drum island' and started steering the ship.

Luffy - "Hey, Leo, what's that?"

Leo - "It's an Eternal pose to an island that, from what I read, should have a lot of doctors."

Sanji - "How do you have that?"

Leo - "I got it Logue town. I was going to suggest going there if we didn't pick up a doctor."

With questions answered and destination set, they all started to do their own thing, help out or take breaks.

...

Soon night came and Leo switched out from steering with Usopp.

He decide to go to Nami's room to look after her and give Vivi a break, they were the only two who knew how to look after a sick person after all.

He walked into the room as Vivi was tiredly changing Nami's cold towel with a fresh one.

Leo - "You go get some rest, I'll look after her."

Vivi - "No... It's okay, you've been fighting and then steering the ship all day. This is the least I can do."

Leo - "I don't need any rest and you are barely keeping your eyes open. So just go get some sleep."

She was about to refuse again, but stopped and sighed, nodded and tiredly left for her room.

Now that it was just him and Nami, he walked over and sat down beside her bed.

He looked over at her, with her laboured breathing.

Leo - "Haah. Why the hell are you always trying to sacrifice yourself...?"

He looked up to the ceiling and muttered to himself.

Leo - "This wouldn't have happened if I didn't run off and leave you by yourself..."

Nami - "It's not your fault."

He looked back to her, and saw that she was awake and staring at him.

Leo - "Sorry, did I wake you?"

She slowly shook her head.

Nami - "You shouldn't blame yourself, there's no way you could have know this would happen..."

Leo - "If only you knew..."

He mumbled to himself and then got some water for her.

Leo - "You seriously need to start thinking of yourself."

She took a drink and he moved the glass away.

Nami - "Why do you care so much? And why'd you get so mad before? *Cough* *Cough*"

He gave her another drink and started stroking her head.

Leo - "Because you're my 'friend'... Probably only you and Zoro actually, not that I don't like the others, I just don't relate as much..."

She started to hum contentedly, while he continued.

Leo - "And I got mad because you act like dying doesn't matter."

She was somewhat confused.

Nami - "But you could revive me if I did die, so what's the problem...? And it's not like I'm actively throwing my life away, it's just that Vivi needs our help."

Leo - "Dying isn't that simple... I feel like something is missing. I can't really remember my parents faces, and when I try, it's all blurry. And I was revived by someone far stronger than I can hope to be, so there could be more problems than I know of. It shouldn't be more than losing a few of memories or having them become blurred, but there's no guarantee."

She looked at him and realised that he was mad for her sake.

Nami - "I'm sorry..."

He shook his head.

Leo - "There is nothing for you to apologise for, I shouldn't have gotten so mad."

They went silent for a moment, with Leo still stroking her head.

Leo - "You know, I probably would have left if you didn't help me... Become some psycho that's started killing everyone."

She held his free hand and looked at him with concern.

Nami - "You would have been fine, one way or another, you would have gotten through it."

He took his hand off of her head and awkwardly rubbed the back of his own.

Leo - "I'm not so sure about that, don't know if you realized, but I was just about to go off the deep end, haha..."

She weakly chuckled at him and he went back to stroking her head.

With a comfortable silence between them, Nami fell asleep once more, Leo continued to stroke her head and hold her hand.

...

With an Eternal pose to Drum island, they made better time getting to the island than they would have in canon.

During the night, it had gotten colder and Leo had started acting like a heater in Nami's room.

They managed to avoid any interaction with Wapol, so that was nice.

It was in the afternoon of the next day that they arrived at the island, meaning they arrived a day earlier.

The island, being a 'winter island', was obviously covered in snow, there were several huge mountains, one of which had a castle built atop it.

When they got there, the same event as canon happened. The islanders surrounded the boat and shouted for them to leave, fired their weapons a couple of times, then Luffy told Leo that they were going to a town and to bring Nami.

So, Leo put a coat on Nami, picked her up in a princess carry and went outside, while still acting as a heater, which caused snow in his area to melt.

They quickly left for the town, leaving Zoro to stay on the ship as lookout.

They followed the chief guard of the island, 'Dalton', to his house, where he explained about where they could find the only doctor on the island.

Directing their attention to the mountains, the 'Drum Rockies', specifically the one in the centre with a castle on top.

Dalton - "Dr. Kureha, the lone doctor in the whole country whome the people call a witch, lives in that very castle situated on the mountaintop."

Sanji - "Of all the places she could be, she just has to be there... Well, we better go call her right away then! This is an emergency!"

Dalton - "As much as I'd like to, there is no way to contact her."

He then explained that she was undeniably a brilliant doctor, was 140 years old! And that she apparently likes pickled plums... Why that was important to the situation is anyones guess...

Vivi asked what people do when they're sick or injured, to which, Dalton explained that Kureha comes down from the mountain whenever she wants, finds patients and treats them, then takes whatever she wants, then leaves.

Then came the question of how she gets down from the mountain, which lead to an explanation of why she is called a witch. She apparently rides down on a sleigh on moonlit nights, and also has a bizarre creature that travels with her.

Dalton - "In any case, I'm afraid the only thing you can do is wait until she comes down..."

Leo - "Not exactly."

Hearing Leo, they looked at him questioningly, so he continued.

Leo - "I can get us up there easily. There'll be no problems, even with the weather."

They were still looking at him questioningly, Vivi looked like she was about to argue, but he continued.

Leo - "Just follow me outside."

He got up, picked Nami up and went outside, with the others following close behind.

When they got outside, Leo held a hand out, facing the ground, and then Hellfire started smoothly flowing out and formed into a car.

A black Mustang gt500, with flame detailing on the side. (I'm not much of a car guy, so I'm bad with descriptions, but I do like Mustangs.)

When he was done, he turn to look at them, and saw them with their eyes popping out and jaws dropped.

Luffy's eyes were once more sparkling, and he started jumping around the car.

Luffy - "Awesome! What is this? How did you make this."

Leo - "This is my 'ride'. I made it with fire. Now, can we get going?"

He opened the passenger door, moved the seat forward and directed them in.

Usopp and Vivi decided that they would stay behind.

Luffy excitedly jumped in while hopping in his seat, then Sanji got in, Leo moved the seat back in place, buckled Nami in and then got behind the wheel.

He looked in the rearview mirror and told them to put their seatbelts on, then stepped on the gas.

Kicking up the snow and leaving a trail of tire tracks, he sped out of the town, towards the mountains, leaving a bunch of stunned residents behind.

...

They were driving through the snow covered forest, knocking snow up into the air. Fortunately, Leo could heat up the windshield and melt the snow, so he could still see where he was going.

Sanji - "Just a thought, but how are we going to get up the mountain in this thing?"

Leo - "You'll see."

Without giving anything away, Leo continued driving peacefully.

That was, until a herd of giant, bear sized bunnies appeared up ahead.

The bunnies all started to charge at the car and tried to slam into it, to which, Leo simply drove into them, knocking them flying all over the place in a rather comedic fashion.

Leo - 'Well, that was easy...'

This didn't deter the bunnies however, and, instead, made them angry and start chasing after them.

In response, Leo drove even faster, causing his passengers to jolt back into their seats, not that Luffy seemed to care, considering his laughter.

With the added speed, they quickly closed in on the mountain, and seeing this, once more made Sanji ask him HOW they were gonna get up there, but he got no reply.

With them getting even closer to the mountain, and Leo showing no signs of slowing down, Sanji and Luffy started to panic.

Sanji - "Hey! Seriously, what is the plan!? We're getting way too close!"

They were almost there.

Luffy - "We're going to hit the mountain!"

Just a few 10's of metres.

At this point, Luffy and Sanji had started to hug each other and closed their eyes.

Luffy/Sanji - "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

At less than 10 metres, Leo formed a ramp that smoothly let the car begin travelling vertically up the side of the mountain.

The two babies continued screaming for a moment before realizing that they didn't crash, opened their eyes and looked around, seeing that they were now going up the side of the mountain.

They heard Leo chuckle and looked at him, then started grumbling about how he 'shouldn't have done that', but he ignored them and focused on driving.

Quickly arriving at the top, he made another ramp that went into a loop, this was so the car didn't go flying into the air and could make a smooth transition to the plateau.

Leo - 'It kinda reminds me of Hot Wheelz...'

Now at the top, he parked and got out, moved his seat forward for the other two to get out, and then went to the other side to get Nami.

Sanji - "I'm never getting in that thing again...!"

Sanji was on his hand and knees, practically kissing the ground.

Luffy - "Hahaha, I think it was fun!"

Luffy was sitting next to Sanji.

With Nami in his arms, Leo started walking towards the castle.

Leo - "Well, I'm gonna take Nami inside. You two following?"

They both nodded and stood up, following behind him.

When they got to the castle doors, they were open, so the group walked right in and just as Sanji was about to close the doors, a reindeer or otherwise known as Tony Tony Chopper, shouted at him.

Chopper - "Wait! There's a nest on top of that door, dont close it!"

They looked at the reindeer that just shouted them, and the idiot duo shouted about cooking it, which made the reindeer run and they started to chase after it.

Leo just watched as they disappeared around a corner.

Leo - "Haah... I'm surrounded by idiots... So, Dr. Kureha I presume?"

At his calling of her name, a woman came from around a corner. She was wrinkled, clearly showing she was old, but still not to the degree of her actual age. She was wearing a shirt that shows her stomach, a purple leather jacket and matching pants. She also had two pairs of glasses, one of which were sunglasses, she wore the pair she wasn't using on the top of her head.

Kureha - "Didn't expect for you to know I was there. So, I assume your came all the way here for a reason, what is it?"

He could help but think it was obvious and so answer with sarcasm.

Leo - "I'm standing here with a sick person in my arms, why do you think I'm here?"

She grinned at him and replied.

Kureha - "I dunno, thought you might have come for a therapy session or something. Hahaha!"

He couldn't help but frown and accidentally released a bit of killing intent, before quickly reigning it in. He didn't like being reminded of his problem.

Kureha didn't seem to care and still had a grin on her face.

Kureha - "Now, now. There's no need to get so upset, I was just joking. Follow me and I'll look at the girl."

She turned and started walking, Leo followed close behind.

Leo - "Sorry... And, thank you."

She paused for a moment, clearly she didn't expect an apology, but she quickly got over it.

Kureha - "Well, I don't know what's wrong, but you should talk to somebody about it."

She turned head as she was walking.

Leo - "I have been, and it's helped a lot. It still takes time though."

He was looking at Nami as he talked and slightly pulled her into his chest, which was noticed by Kureha, making her grin more.

Kureha - "Hmph."

She turned her head back and continued walking.

(Okay, I know that some of you probably don't like the drama and the talks between Leo and Nami, but I want to create an actual relationship based on developed feelings between him and Nami. I'm trying to do this quickly, while also not make it too rushed, which is difficult.

Right now, Leo is in a state of not realizing how much he has started to like her and also just isn't ready yet, while Nami realizes that she has started to have feeling for him, but doesn't know what to do, not because she is too shy(she doesn't strike me as being that type of girl), but because she knows his story and how he probably wouldn't be ready to start anything yet. Plus, they have barely know each other 2 weeks.)