The Logia Brothers Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of The Logia Brothers! Bad news! The Straw Hats have to change course! A member of the crew isn’t doing so well! A doctor is needed!

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So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 24 – Sickness, Sailing for Drum

In a darkened room a man sat alone. The only light was provided by the setting sun, pouring in through a few small windows. The man in question had slicked-back, dark hair and was wearing luxurious clothes. He sat in an expensive, high-backed chair. His left arm rested on the arm-rest, though the hand was replaced by a large, golden hook. His most notable feature, aside from his hook, was a long stitched scar at the bridge of his nose that stretched across his face horizontally. This was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, ‘Desert King’ Sir Crocodile. His tight hand was currently tapping on a splendidly-made mahogany desk.

“What’s taking so long?” Crocodile growled lowly as he stared at a Transponder Snail in front of him. The snail was currently asleep, but Crocodile had been expecting a call for several hours now. “Where is Mr. Three?”

In the last week his organization, Baroque Works, had started to fall apart. The Unluckies had vanished, Whiskey Peak had gone dark in terms of communication, and now multiple Frontier Agents and Officer Agents were missing in action. Crocodile clenched his teeth so hard he nearly bit through his cigar. Miss All Sunday was due back soon; perhaps she could shed some light on this breakdown of communication. If not, then Crocodile would have to rearrange his plans depending on how many of his Agents showed up for the taking of the Palace.

“You had best return soon, Nico Robin.” Crocodile took his cigar and smashed the burning end into an ashtray with force. His plans to find Pluton required her to read the Poneglyph hidden in the Royal Tombs. He’d spent years secretly spreading dissent in Alabasta. Destabilizing the Kingdom bit by bit until Civil War had broken out. Supplying the rebels with weapons discreetly hadn’t been too hard. Framing the King had worked wonderfully as well. But now, nearing the culmination of his plans, this breakdown in his organization was unacceptable.

-Going Merry-

Mikita opened her eyes as much as she was able, and waited for her vision to clear up. She was hot, too hot, even with the rag on her forehead to help her cool down. She’d been found gasping for breath in her bed when Nami had come to wake her for breakfast. She was running a fever that seemed to continuously climb higher and higher. Whatever this was, it clearly wasn’t the common Climate Sickness of the Grand Line. She blearily looked around at her crew, most of which were gathered around her bed.

“What is it at now?” Mikita rasped out, looking at the thermometer in Nami’s hand. “Ugh… I still feel like shit.”

“It’s gone up again. You’re at one-hundred-four now.” Nami grimaced as she looked at the thermometer. “We need to get you to a Doctor as soon as possible.”

“We’ve changed course from Alabasta to Drum Island.” Vivi informed the blonde with a gentle smile. “Drum has some of the best Doctors in the world; they’ll be able to take care of you.”

“Are you hungry, Mikita?’ Sanji stepped forward with a tray in hand. On the tray was a bowl of light soup. The Chef had put his all into making a gentle soup that packed as much nutrition into it as possible.

“I could eat…” Mikita groaned as Nami and Vivi helped her sit up in bed. The platinum-blonde sipped some water for a bit, and then slowly ate the soup until it was gone. Nami re-wet the towel with cool water as Vivi helped Mikita lay down again. Once the cool rag was placed on her forehead again the woman was out like a light.

“She’s falling asleep faster each time.” Luffy noted with a worried tone in his voice and his fists clenched at his sides. He couldn’t do anything in this situation and it was driving him mad.

“The good news is we’re on the fastest course to Drum Island. The weather cooled down considerably yesterday and it started snowing today. We’re definitely in a Winter Island’s stable climate now.” Nami place her hand on Luffy’s shoulder to reassure him.

“Once we get to Drum, we can get professional medical help to treat Mikita.” Vivi looked at the flushed, sweaty blonde as she slept. The other woman’s breathing was still rough. “The faster we get her there the better her chances of survival. A temperature like hers is already approaching fatal levels.”

“Damn it, I feel useless.” Sanji grit his teeth as he took the tray and the empty dishware out of the Women’s Quarters. He refused to smoke inside with Mikita in her condition. The entire crew had noticed the increase in his overall number of cigarettes per day though. The Chef was clearly worried about their nakama.

“We’ll stay with her, Luffy,” Nami assured her lover. “Can you go check with Zoro and Usopp that we’re still on the right course?”

“Yeah, sure.” Luffy agreed sullenly as he turned to leave the Women’s Quarters. He closed the door gently, quietly behind himself so as not to disturb Mikita. No matter how much agitation he was feeling, he would keep it to himself to make the trip as fast as possible.

“Are you seeing that?” Usopp called down to Zoro from the crow’s nest.

“I haven’t had a drop of booze since Mikita got sick, but I still think I’m drunk.” Zoro called back, looking through a short telescope at something.

“What’s going on?” Luffy questioned as he walked over to Zoro. The swordsman didn’t say a word, simply passing the telescope over to Luffy and pointing.

“How’s he doing that? It’s kinda cool.” Luffy wondered as he looked at what appeared to be a man standing on the ocean.

The man in question wore a checkered, jester-like green-blue costume with purple lining at the end of the sleeves. His pants were dark green. He also had a white winter cape with purple lining tied against his chest, and a light-brown bow and an arrow quiver slung on his back. He seemed to have a perpetually-sad expression on his face, made near-comical by the wavy shape of his lips.

“You think it’s a Devil Fruit of some kind?” Usopp asked as they sailed closer to the odd man.

“No,” Luffy shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “He’s standing on something. There are a lot of ‘Voices’ underneath the water.”

“Boy… sure is cold huh?” The man spoke once the Going Merry was close enough for them to hear each other.

“It’s snowing, no shit it’s cold.” Zoro responded with a flat expression.

“I think he was trying to start a conversation, Zoro.” Usopp called down exasperatedly.

“I don’t really feel hot and cold like most people do.” Luffy shrugged his shoulders at the comment.

“Really?” The man cut across their talk, looking surprised at Luffy’s response. The straw-hatted young man was only in a vest, shorts, and sandals.

A split second later and the ocean moved.

The sea water exploded upwards off the starboard side of the large caravel. The Going Merry rocked violently from the sudden waves. A slew of cursing coming from the kitchen alerted everyone that Sanji wasn’t happy with what that might have done to Mikita in her weakened state. The object that caused the eruption of water was clearly some manner of ship, with a gourd-like appearance and a giant mast sticking out of the top. As the Straw Hats watched, Sanji included as he kicked open the kitchen door in a rage to find out what was going on. With multiple clanking and clanging sounds the weird ship’s metal ‘shell’ opened to reveal a round, wooden body. Dozens of men stared down at them from the other ship, all of them decked out in the same outfit.

“Alright, what the hell is going on…?” Nami’s angry tirade stopped as the sounds of guns cocking reached her ears. She exhaled with a hiss before staring dully at the man checking her out with lustful eyes. “You better take that out of my face before you get hurt.”

“Ha, don't get all eager, you foolish peasants.” The man that spoke had an annoying voice. Just the sound of it had eyes twitching among the Straw Hats, and that wasn't even counting the content of his statement. He was an overweight man with an unusual appearance. He had dark-violet hair and a cylinder-shaped jaw made up of tin plates. He was dressed in tin-plate armor and a hooded cape made from what looked like some kind of furry hippo. The rotund man was also wearing thick, brown gloves. On his lower half he wore a pair of purple and orange woolen shorts and a brown belt around his waist and his feet were covered by a pair of thick short boots.

He was also happened to be eating a large hunk of meat off a sword. That he then bit in half and ate as well!

“My mouth hurts just watching that.” Usopp winced with every crunching sound that came from the weird man’s mouth.

“Five of you, huh?” The man continued; he clearly hadn’t listened to a thing anyone else had said. “Can't be just five of you on a ship this size though.” He shrugged as he threw the hilt into his gaping mouth and crunched on it too. “Oh well, doesn't really matter. I have a question; do any of you have a Log Pose or an Eternal Pose to Drum Island? We've been searching for it for a while now.”

“No.” Nami lied to the man as easily as she breathed.

“Get off my ship.” Luffy was glaring at the fat man and his voice was starting to rumble. “We're in a hurry and you're in the way.”

“I told you there wasn't a need to rush, right? If you don't have what we need we'll just take your treasure and your ship instead.” He eyed Nami up and down, making the orangette gain an eye twitch. “You know what? I'll take that woman too. If they have any others hiding on the ship, bring them as well. Get to it, men!”

“I said you’re in the way. Now you threaten my nakama and my ship?!” Luffy’s voice was like thunder rumbling across the heavens. “We don’t have time for this!” In a spark, Luffy vanished from sight, only to reappear with his hand throughthe fat man’s chest! A veritable blaze of lighting had surrounded Luffy’s hand and speared through the rotund man, armor and all.

“Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!” The other Captain screamed as tremendous heat swelled within his body and electricity fried his nerves as his entire body spasmed.

“King Wapol!” Every non-Straw Hat screamed in shock and terror.

“Your Majesty?!” The weirdo who had been standing on the water, along with another one who had a massive black afro screamed in shock. “KILL THEM ALL!” All of the soldiers aimed their weapons and prepared to fire, only to find out just how outclassed they were.

“The Captain told you to get the hell off our ship.” Zoro stated darkly. The swordsman almost seemed to flow through the soldiers in a continuous movement. When he came to a stop, dozens of the soldiers went down with blood flying from their bodies. Both Zoro and his cursed Kitetsu sword seemed to be emitting a deathly aura.

“Don’t. Disturb. The. Ladies!” Sanji lashed out with a kick at every word. Men went rag-dolling off the ship and into the cold ocean. Others hit the side of their own ship with sickening thuds and fell into the sea. It didn’t matter where they ended up, as long as they were off the Merry. Those were the Captain’s orders!

Soldiers from the larger ship tried to run across the gang plank to overwhelm the Straw Hats. There was gunfire and twenty-four men dropped like sacks of rocks into the waves. Usopp pulled his Repeating Rifle and proceeded to unload on the rest as well. No more enemies would set foot on the Going Merry!

The man that had been eyeing Nami up at gunpoint suddenly found his rifle knocked out of his hands, and then a powerful blow from Nami’s staff broke his jaw. The orangette cracked another soldier across the back of the head, pivoted on her heel, and then thrust her shock staff forward into the chest of another man. Her staff lashed out again and again, head, arm, leg, ribs, it didn’t matter. Anyone she hit dropped, whether they were unconscious or screaming in pain depended on their own fortune or misfortune.

Luffy became lightning and launched himself over to the other ship as a bolt. The impact blasted apart a portion of the deck of the much larger ship, and then the screaming began. Luffy’s lightning body emerged and disappeared through the ship’s hull and deck, over and over again. Fires started and any soldier that got close to the Lightning Man was electrocuted. Smoke rose from the ship as Luffy tore it apart in his rage at the threats that Wapol had made against his nakama, as well as the hold up of getting Mikita to a Doctor.

“We surrender!”

“We’re not soldiers!”

“We’re just Doctors, please!”

The cries of multiple men in scrubs rang out and the final one snapped Luffy from his anger. He landed and reformed in front of the trembling group of twenty men. All of them stared up at the Pirate as if he was a God of Death made flesh. Luffy listened to their terrified ‘Voices’ and was able to determine that they were telling the truth. With a stone-cold look at the twenty Doctors, Luffy spoke.

“I have a job for you, if you refuse, I’ll leave you on this sinking boat, do you understand?” Luffy gave them an ultimatum and waited for their panicked cries to die down. “Follow me and don’t do anything stupid, or it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

“Y-Yes.” The oldest of the twenty Doctors nodded even as he trembled in fear. After they gathered as much medical equipment as they could carry in their packs, the Doctors were escorted off the burning, sinking ship single-file. They walked across the gang plank fully aware of the rifle trained on them from the crow’s nest. Once the Doctors were on board, the other ship’s gang plank was kicked off the Merry by Sanji. The Going Merry continued to sail onwards as the Ship of Wapol sank behind them.

The weird archer guy and the guy with the large afro were both down too. The afro man’s neck was at an odd angle, probably from one of Sanji’s kicks if the other injuries covering the man’s body were any indication. The archer’s bow had been sliced into thirds, and the man was missing his right arm below the shoulder. He’d probably bled out in short order. Luffy felt nothing for them, however. They had attacked them, threatened his nakama, and his lover. They were Pirates attacking Pirates. This outcome should have been in the back of their minds at all times.

“Toss them overboard and wash off the deck before the blood stains it.” Luffy gave the order as Nami sidled up to him and took his left hand in her right. They entwined their fingers and Luffy felt his anger cool quickly. “You all follow me; I have a patient for you to see.” With that Luffy and Nami led the twenty Doctors into the Women’s Quarters and to Mikita. Vivi was looking at Luffy in shock, it was after a moment of thought that Luffy realized that Vivi could see out of the porthole. She’d seen what he’d done to Wapol’s crew and ship for their attack on the Straw Hats.

“Luffy…” Vivi’s eyes locked with Luffy’s and the bluenette looked like she was searching for something within his eyes. Luffy exhaled, letting his anger fade away and Vivi’s eyes brightened in return. The Princess saw the warmth return to Luffy’s gaze and he looked like the Luffy she knew again. She gave him a small smile, one which Luffy returned.

“This is my nakama, Mikita.” Luffy informed the Doctors. “She started getting sick after we left Little Garden. The only thing we found on her was a bug bite that had swelled up and turned a dark red. Her fever has been steadily climbing and now she’s barely able to stay awake long enough to take care of her daily necessities. I need to know what she has and if you can treat her.”

“Yes sir, right away, we’ll begin the diagnosis and provide whatever treatment we can.” The lead Doctor bowed, followed by all of his compatriots. Luffy, Nami, and Vivi watched the Doctors like hawks as they examined the unconscious Mikita. Her temperature was checked, her eyes were opened and examined, and her pulse was taken and counted as well. The Doctors prepped their equipment and soon had Mikita on an IV drip to provide hydration and nutrients.

There was much discussion among the Doctors as they tried to diagnose Mikita’s sickness. Luffy didn’t understand half of it, but he hoped the Doctors he’d basically stolen could treat Mikita. The discussions among the Doctors continued, some proposed sicknesses only to be shot down immediately. Some suggestions seemed to be being considered, but as the talks went on fewer and fewer of them became possible as the sickness Mikita had.

“C-Captain, sir, I’m afraid we can’t pin down your crewmate’s sickness. The symptoms are fairly common, but the bug bite, length of time, and rapid development of the symptoms don’t fit with any of our hypotheses. We’d need an expert on rare diseases to look at the young lady.” The Head Doctor informed Luffy with a bowed head. The other nineteen Doctors all lowered their heads as well, hoping to avoid seeing the young man’s rage again.

“Can you keep her from getting worse?” Nami questioned as she noticed Luffy’s face going stone-cold.

“Yes, yes, of course.” The Head Doctor’s head shot up as he rapidly nodded. “We can treat the symptoms, keep her stable, but the disease will still progress. All we’ll really be doing is buying the young woman more time.”

“That’s enough; we’re heading for Drum Island anyway.” Nami informed the Doctors.

“You’re heading for Drum Island?” The Head Doctor blinked at them. “That’s our homeland, in fact, up until he abandoned the throne to escape a group of terrifying Pirates, Wapol was the King.”

“I knew it; that was Wapol.” Vivi muttered as she thought back to her only interaction with the man. It was back when she’d been just a little girl, but the cruel man had not left a good impression on her.

“He was, not a good King.” The Head Doctor admitted, all nineteen other Doctors nodded in agreement. “If you are heading for Drum Island though; as long as she is still alive, Dr. Kureha may very well be able to correctly diagnose and treat the young lady. She’s an expert in all sorts of diseases, from common to even extinct sicknesses.”

“Really?!” Luffy’s eye lit up with hope for Mikita’s recovery.

“Yes, Dr. Kureha was studying Medicine when even I was just a child.” The Head Doctor nodded. “If anyone can diagnose and treat your crewmate it would be her.”

“It would be good to be able to return home…” One of the other Doctors spoke up.

“The people of Drum Kingdom have every right to be furious with us though.” Another sighed heavily. “We worked under Wapol exclusively to save our own skins. I have no doubt that we won’t receive a kind welcome.”

“We can at least try to make up for our wrongs! Every Kingdom needs Doctors, and Drum Kingdom is known for our Medical Knowledge! I refuse to let that die!” A different Doctor spoke up fiercely.

“You can do as you like once we actually get to Drum Island.” Luffy’s voice cut through the chatter. “But only after my nakama receives treatment, understand?”

“Of course, sir.” The Doctors chorused.

Over the next two days the Straw Hats sailed as fast as they could towards Drum Island. Mikita was being assisted with daily necessities by Nami, Vivi, and the Doctors. The platinum-blonde’s condition hadn’t gotten any worse, thanks to the treatment provided by the Isshi Twenty, as the crew learned the twenty Doctors were called. Unfortunately, the sickness was still there, just as the Head Doctor had warned them. The crew of Pirates only hoped that they’d reach Drum Island soon, so that they could find this Dr. Kureha and get Mikita cured of whatever sickness she’d gotten back on Little Garden.

“Hey Captain…” Mikita gave a tiny smile up at Luffy as she awoke and was able to at least see and think clearly. Her head still hurt a bit, but it was a lot better than it had been before Luffy had secured Doctors to help her. She still felt weak, so bed was her only option without help. Luffy had taken to sitting at her bedside fairly often.

“Feeling any better, Mikita?” Luffy asked the platinum-blonde gently.

“Not any worse, at least.” Mikita gave off a pale imitation of her normal laugh. “Sorry that I caused us to have to take a detour.”

“Don’t be, ever, I’d order it every time if it meant you’d get better.” Luffy shook his head. The Lightning Man gently took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand.

“Thank you, Captain.” Mikita was actually glad for the flushed cheeks her persistent fever caused right now. How embarrassing would it be for her if Luffy found out how much she enjoyed him doing this? Maybe it was said fever, or the sickness as a whole, but she found a great amount of comfort from having Luffy so close to her.

“I’ll be right here for the rest of the day, don’t worry about it.” Luffy smiled at her and Mikita returned it as best she could. She enjoyed his hand on hers and the gentle caress of his thumb on the back of her hand. She relaxed to the gentle swaying of the ship as it sailed, it was no surprise that she was quickly asleep again.

The next day, around noon, Usopp spotted something on the horizon. Looking through his telescope he saw tall structures with flat tops. As the Going Merry sailed closer, Usopp was able to make out more details. The structures weren’t structures at all. They were tall, cylindrical looking mountains. That was what the Doctors had said Drum Island looked like!

“Land ho!” Usopp called from the crow’s nest loudly.

“Nami?” Luffy questioned his lover as the orangette lined up the Eternal Pose with the island.

“That’s it! The Pose is pointing directly at it with no deviations! That’s Drum Island!” Nami smiled brightly as she beheld the island and her nakama’s chance of getting cured.

“It’s really home…” The Head Doctor mumbled as he beheld the Drum Rockies in the distance. “We really made it back.” The rest of the Isshi Twenty all began to express their joy and relief at finally getting back to their homeland.

“Hey! Doctors! We have a patient to prep for transport!” Nami barked at the men and all twenty Doctors snapped to attention. They’d learned over the journey that Nami wielded a lot of power on the Going Merry, second only to Luffy. Some found it odd that the First Mate, the green-haired swordsman, didn’t have the most authority after the Captain. Of course not a single one of them would speak up about it either.

As Drum Island got closer and closer, Luffy stared at the approaching island seriously. No matter what it took, Mikita would get the treatment she needed. If they had to spend every Beri in the holds, so be it. If Luffy had to strike a deal with this Dr. Kureha, he’d do so. But they weren’t leaving Drum Island without a healthy Mikita, no if ands or buts. A tension had been building up in Luffy ever since Mikita had fallen ill. It was a feeling of powerlessness that felt like cold lead in his stomach. Maybe this Dr. Kureha would be willing to come with them? His crew needed a Doctor, this incident had shown him that in the most terrifying of ways. With all this built up tension, Luffy knew one thing for sure.

“I’m going to destroy this Croc bastard and save Vivi’s country.” Luffy promised himself.

He didn’t know that Vivi was in ear shot, nor did he see the way her eyes lit up, even as tears appeared at the corners. The bluenette quickly wiped them away, even as a warm smile appeared on her face.

‘Thank you, Luffy. Thank you so much.’ Vivi thought to herself before she quickly went to help with Mikita’s transport.

-End Chapter-

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Get the FUCK outta the way, Wapol! You DON’T piss off Luffy when the lives of his nakama are at stake!

The Isshi Twenty have been ‘captured’ and have been treating Mikita to stabilize her condition! Now they’ll be returned to Drum Kingdom without Wapol’s interference. How will that go down?

Will Luffy get a Doctor for his crew?

How badly is Luffy going to destroy Crocodile when they meet?

Will things be different as the changes continue to spread?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!