Nami slowly opened her eyes, her blurred vision gradually clearing as an unfamiliar ceiling came into view.
She tilted her head slightly and noticed Giyu sitting on a wooden chair beside the bed. He wasn't looking at her, but rather gazing quietly out the window, his profile appearing particularly serene in the flickering firelight.
"Where is... this?"
Nami spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse and dry: "I remember... I seemed to have been running a fever..."
Hearing the movement, Giyu turned to look at her, his tone as flat as ever: "You're awake. We're in the mountain castle."
"Have we arrived already?" Nami struggled to sit up, her body still somewhat weak.
Giyu nodded, then stood up and poured her a glass of water. Nami took it and drank, feeling much better than she had on the Merry.
She also noticed that Giyu's complexion looked much better than it had back in Little Garden, and his breathing had steadied considerably.
"And you... how are you?" Nami asked with concern.
"Much better than before."
Just then, the door creaked open a crack, and a furry deer head cautiously peeked inside again, just like before, scanning the room.
Giyu's gaze shifted to the small figure at the door, calmly telling Nami: "His name is Chopper. He's one of the doctors here."
Startled at being addressed, Chopper froze in the doorway, unsure whether to come in or retreat.
Nami looked at the little creature who resembled a reindeer but could stand on two legs, her face showing surprise:
"Eh? He's a doctor? That's amazing! Thank you for treating me, Chopper... doctor?" she said, trying to sound friendly.
"My name is Nami."
Hearing Nami's words, Chopper shuffled in awkwardly, covering his face: "Even if you call me a doctor~~ I won't be happy~~"
Then, as if remembering something, he came over and placed his small hoof on Nami's forehead, sighing in relief before saying: "Um... like him, you were bitten by a bug called Kaisuki, which caused your high fever."
He pointed at Nami, then at Giyu, trying to make his voice sound more reliable: "Dr. Kureha already gave you special antibiotics. You're feeling better now because the medicine is working."
"But!"
Chopper suddenly emphasized his tone, patting Nami's bed with his small hoof: "But you need at least three more days to recover! During this time, you must rest properly and can't leave here to run around!"
He hesitated for a moment, looking at Nami, then asked that familiar question: "Are... are you a pirate too?"
"Yes." Nami nodded with a smile, looking at Chopper while already scheming something in her mind.
"No!! You can talk!!"
Chopper instantly panicked, beginning to run around the room like a headless fly.
Just as he was about to crash into a nearby cabinet, Giyu spoke up to stop him: "Chopper, don't be afraid."
Those simple words made Chopper screech to a halt. He stopped, panting, but his emotions calmed somewhat. He looked at Nami's harmless smile, then at Giyu's calm expression beside her.
After an internal struggle, he lowered his head again and asked the deepest, most familiar question that troubled him: "You... you're not afraid of me? I... I'm a monster..."
Hearing this, Nami was momentarily stunned, then burst into clear, ringing laughter as if she'd heard something hilarious.
"Hahahahahahaha, what are you talking about?"
Her gaze swept past the silent but reliable Giyu beside her, then glanced toward the straw-hatted figure rushing in through the doorway. Smiling, she said, "Monster? Everyone on our ship might be monsters~ The guy sitting next to you, when he gets serious, is pretty much like a monster too."
Chopper froze, staring blankly at Nami before murmuring to himself, "All... monsters?"
Just then, Luffy suddenly burst in!!
"Nami! You're awake! Great! Is there meat to eat?!" Luffy shouted energetically as he charged in, but his attention was instantly captured by the furry figure in the room.
"Wahahaha!!!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with the excitement of discovering new land as he pointed at Chopper, jumping up and down with excitement: "What's this?! Meat?! So cool!!!"
Chopper was terrified by this sudden outburst and screamed: "Don't come closer! I'm not meat!!"
Instinctively looking for somewhere to hide, he thought this straw-hatted captain seemed even more unreliable than the pirates from earlier.
Luffy paid no attention to this - he found it even more fascinating that the reindeer could talk, excitedly spreading his arms as he chased after it: "It can even talk!!!!"
"Stop chasing me!!!"
Chopper was scared out of his wits by Luffy and immediately bolted out the door, starting a chase through the corridors while dodging around the castle decorations.
Watching this chaotic pursuit, Nami helplessly held her forehead: "Really... so noisy right after waking up."
Giyu remained seated in his chair, watching Luffy and Chopper's antics with an expressionless face - he was already accustomed to this particular brand of chaos that only appeared when Luffy was around.
Amid the commotion, Sanji walked in with a cigarette in his mouth. Frowning at the scene outside, he said: "Hey, Luffy! What are you doing, you idiot? Can't you see Miss Nami needs rest?!"
Though he said this, his concerned gaze first went to Nami: "Miss Nami, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere you're still uncomfortable?"
"I'm much better, Sanji, thank you."
Nami smiled, then looked toward the silent Giyu with a trace of worry, "By the way, where are Vivi and Usopp? How did we get to this castle?"
When asked, Giyu spoke up, thinking back to their earlier separate actions: "Vivi and Usopp are still in the village below the mountain. Zoro and I met a doctor, so we came here."
He paused before adding, "Luffy carried you up from under the cliff."
Though Giyu's description was brief, Nami could already imagine what a difficult task that must have been.
She looked toward Luffy, who was still playing with Chopper in the corridor, her eyes showing both warmth and helplessness: "Really... always acting so recklessly..."
She sighed softly and was about to ask for more details when suddenly!!
BOOM!
A dull cannon roar echoed from outside the castle, followed by a more intense volley of gunfire!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The relaxed atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
Luffy stopped examining Chopper, tilted his head, and began listening to what was happening outside.
Sanji's expression changed abruptly. He immediately strode to the window, trying to see the situation outside, but the snow piled against the glass only showed a vast expanse of white.
Chopper, still held by Luffy, stopped struggling and gauged the distance of the gunfire. "It's outside! Right outside the castle!!"
Luffy released Chopper, pressed down on his straw hat, and broke into that brilliant smile he always wore when adventure was near. He announced to everyone:
"Let's go! Let's check it out together!"
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