Double or Nothing: Chapter 4 (Patreon)

To Find Peace

Sleep for Kuina would prove illusive as things took a turn for the worse. Sweat poured down her forehead even as her teeth chattered against each other, threatening to shatter them while her body was shaking itself to pieces. Tossing and turning under cover, she couldn't decided if it was better to freeze to death or burn to ash as she felt her sickness ravage her form.

Even as the world became a blur of sounds and shapes, blending together in an incoherent mass, she still had enough sense to know how terribly things were going. She could feel her body cooking from the inside out, the cold clinging to her like a deathly chill. Not even the roaring fire of her camp could give her feeling back to her aching fingers and toes.

Clutching on to her blanket and pulling at it as tightly as she could against her shaking form, she then scooted closer to the heat, enough that anymore and she'd burn but she'd find no relief. Cough wracked her form as she laid there, delirious and unknowing of the world around her while the night stretched on and on without end.

Every movement felt sluggish, her form drained of energy. Even the very motion of breathing was a labor all on its own. Not even her thoughts were safe as her mind grew fuzzier, memories blending in together as she saw a green blob dominate her view.

"Kuina? Kuina!" She heard a voice call out but she couldn't quite remember who it was, "Damn it your burning up. You stupid girl, I told you it's a bad idea," The voice shouted as their voice clearer and the world came back to focus. Holding on a warm wet ragged, she saw the teen trending to her.

"Heyyy Zoro, have you met this guy named Luffy yet?" She giggled as she reached out to him only to stumble as her body gave out to her. Oh silly her, her hands slipped. Turning over to her back, she raised her fist up in the air and shouted, "Funny guy that one, he's going to shake the world! Believe it!"

"Shit, she's starting to spout more nonsense the usual," the silly old seaweed muttered as he dipped some rags on a bucket before pulling it up and squeezing it dry. She tried to fight him off from making Onigiri out of her but the monster was too strong. He probably thinks she was going insane! She was only warning her friend.

"I have you know I'm perfectly sane my good sir! In fact, I know a lot of things that you don't know! Things that will scare the crap out of you!" She slurred out with a frown. Why does speaking hard? Speaking easy! Should be yes?

As much as she wanted to warn him, Zoro refused to listen to her words. Instead, he lifted her off her feet and urging him to stand up, "Come on, up you go," Why did he looked so concerned? She was perfectly fine! "Fuck, you're burning up. We need you get to the village now!"

"Thank you, I know I'm hot" She preened at the complement before batting at the boys face as he helped wrap her up, "But silly Zoro. Don't you remember? I like girls~ They're soft, warm and so beautiful!" She would know cause she's a girl! Her boobs were amazing!

Her words however would soon get drowned out as Zoro stepped out of the cave and out into the forest. She scrunched her eyes shut as the wind whipped around her, the snow trying to get up her nose. "Zoro!" She whined but her words would get lost in the wind.

They staggered a bit before a gust of wind sent her tumbling with Zoro crashing beside her. They were back inside their cave once more, as Goda intended. "Are we fighting that Snow Bitch? God I want to fuck her so bad…" She slurred out as memories of a lime haired beauty filled her mind. Isn't it a bit to early for that though?

"Shit, wind's too strong," Zoro muttered as he got up and once more ignore her. Pouting, she wondered what she could say to make him listen. Maybe she'd love to hear about his future swords! Men love swords~

"Kuina, can you hear me?" The boy tapped her on the cheeks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Loud and clear Zoro-chan~" She replied happily. Finally, he was talking to her again! "Wanna hear the name of your third sword? It's long, purple and incredibly strong!" She teased him, wanting to surprise him on the detail about Oden's sword.

Unfortunately, her celebration was a bit to early as Zoro replied, "I need you to stay here while I go get a doctor, got it?" She was a pretty annoyed but if Zoro wanted her to do something, it must be pretty necessary, "I'll be back, I promise!" He told her as he got up and walked outside.

"Zoro?" She called out, trying to reach him yet but his form was quickly disappearing into the snow, leaving her behind, "Zoro!" She shouted as a fear tinged her voice. Why was he leaving her? He can't leave, not when she's still hasn't made sure he'd keep smiling. Not when she was still so weak.

"You big meanie…" She breathed out as she felt her mind slipping, her thoughts flowing like water down to the land of dreams, "I didn't even get to tell you about Enma…"

She laid there as the world around her kept spinning. She fought on, refusing to slip into the night but eventually her body started to give out. She… she didn't want to go back into the dark. Not when she wasn't finish yet. As the last of her strength slipped away and her eyes started to close, the last thing she saw were a pair of glinting eyes as a lone figure slipped inside her cave.

-x-x-x-

Looking down at her small vulnerable form of her daughter, Koushirou couldn't help but look back at the time she approached deaths door. Shrugging off his winter coat, he knelt down beside his daughter and placed down the bag he carried. "She over exerted herself again," He whispered as he opened the bag and went into the motion, just as Madam Kureha thought him.

First, get the patient into a more comfortable position. Lifting her up, he strained a bit as he got her to laid down flat on her back. "She's eating well," He noted, feeling a ghost of a smile stretch across his lips.

With the patient secured, he then reached inside the small bag and pulled out some vials as well as a glass thermometer. Shaking the thermometer, he lifted up the vials to check its label. Willow Extract, one's he prepared just for such an occasion, as well something that the good Doctorine called; Antipyretics; Such medicine were expensive but well worth the price.

Slipping the thermometer into her lips, he pulled out a small book and read the Doctorine's neatly written notes while he prepared his daughter's medicine. Despite years of reading these notes, he had yet to memorize it all. To think that the woman just sat down one afternoon and filled this book with enough knowledge so he could treat his daughter.

"Look, you clearly don't have the money to keep calling me and it'd be a shame to have this girl die from something as mundane as a fever so let me do you a favor and give you this," He remembered her words as he looked up to her in shook.

Keeping her in his house was becoming untenable with the high price the Drum Kingdom ask. He even had to resort to selling some of his fathers "failed" swords, ones he retouched based on the half remembered teachings of his father. He felt bitter having to give up such sword but for Kuina, anything was worth the price.

If not for the good Doctorine's mercy, he wouldn't have the skills to tend to such sickness. In fact, he could still hear the woman's laugh as she walked away with her payment in hand, "Besides, I feel like I'm cheating you after you gave me these. They'll definitely fetch a high price once I sell them!"

Shaking his head from his musing, he turned back to his daughter as he checked on her temperature; a high fever as he feared. "But manageable," he whispered as he had her sitting up before coaxing her mouth open. She'd cough as it hits her tongue, grimacing as she pushed away at his hands but slowly, he had her down the medicine he prepared.

After she swallowed the extract and laid down, the strained look over her face passed away as her breathing steadier. Still, his daughters trial was not yet over. It was not really a cure but more of a way to manage the pain. It will be up to her to heal herself.

He could only silently thank Zoro for the warning that he was here. He had to force the boy to stay in the village for his own sake especially since this wasn't his mess to fix. This was a mess, Kuina's own father, made. He had to this alone.

As the night wore on and the winter storm grew harsher, he found himself unable to leave. He had only planned to be here for a few hours yet here he was, sitting by his daughter side with only the flickering light of the camp fire to keep them warm.

Tossing in another log, he found his eyes wondering, observing what his daughter had made. Crates upon crates of food products were neatly arranged by the back of the cave along with her various belongings. The stone floor was dry and her bed, while disheveled from her tossing and turning, was free of holes. The entrance to the cave extended with a sturdy wooden roof extending the cave by a few more feet. From a humble cave, Kuina had turned it into a sturdy home, protected from the elements.

Pride filled his chest at the work that his daughter had made. She had grown up so much, having overcome challenges that would have broken any lesser man… challenges he wrought upon her by his own hand. His smile fell as sadness took over, filling his heart with shame as he whispered, "Why did it all go wrong."

"I was only trying to protect you, I only wanted to keep you safe," He told her, no, he told himself yet it rang hollow in ear, "But maybe it was not for you that I did all this, but for myself," clenching his fist, he admitted, "I thought I was casting you out to show you the harsh reality of the world but that's not the truth is it?" he asked as a wry smile stretched across his lips, "It was my own selfish wants and useless pride, to break you so that you'd come back to me and admit that you were wrong," He told her as he bit back bitter tears, "But you did not return, you thrived and grew while I remained stubborn, keeping you out."

"All the good it ever did was push as apart while you learned to spread your wings," He whispered as wetness dropped down his clenched fist, "It was my job to guide you, to teach you but I abandoned you when you needed me most,"

"I am a failure of a father," He admitted as a he bowed before his daughter, "I shouldn't have been your father," She deserved better. Gathering himself, he sat back up as he continued his vigil over her. He might not deserve her as his daughter but he could at least be with her for once more, even if it was only for tonight.

Silenced soon reigned in the cave as he sat there, feeling the weight of his failure upon his shoulder. "Kuina, do you remember when you first told me your dream?" He asked as he reminisced on times gone by, "I thought it was impossible, that it couldn't be reached"

"But your not one to give up, are you Kuina?" He whispered as he pushed aside as stray hair from her forehead, feeling his heart ache as he sat there helpless to do anything else but watch her, "You kept on walking forward despite everything that had happened."

"Whenever you get knocked down, you stand up," And never once had he seen her complain, Despite the harsh condition, despite the world being intent on keeping her down. He had seen her train, he had felt her blows and how she made him swing upon empty air, "And despite my own objection, you kept on fighting for what you believed in."

"To be the strongest," He shook his head as a wry smile stretched across his lips, "A foolish dream for a foolish girl I called it," He remembered as bitter memories of their first true fight resurfaced. He could still remember that faithful fight in that cove and how strongly he wished to see her mistake, "But maybe the foolish one is myself."
"If only I had listened to you back then. If wasn't so afraid of losing you…" he told her as the bitter taste of regret filled his heart, "If only I had just been a little bit wiser, things wouldn't have been this way," If only he had been so blinded by his own fears, he would have seen how he was driving her away.

"I thought I was protecting you Kuina. I thought that by forbidding you from pursuing your dream, from taking away everything that could hurt you that you would no longer in danger," The sword lessons she dearly love in exchange for housekeeping, the freedom of the outdoors for the safety of the indoors, her freedom for her safety, "But all it did was show you why you must achieve your dreams as the people try taking it away from you," That even love can be twisted to perform horrible deeds as even those would noble intentions can take it so far.

"I… I made mistakes Kuina, so many terrible mistakes," He told her as he reached out to hold her cold hands and felt the calluses on them, "Mistakes that broke the once beautiful bond we had. Mistakes that pushed as so far apart,"

He wanted her back so much, he wanted things to go back but he knew things will never be the same. The moment he had casted her out was the moment that there paths would part, that she would become something more than he could have hoped for or dream off. All he could do now was watch from a distance as she become the best version of herself all without him by her side, "I'm sorry Kuina, please forgive me," He begged her as he pressed his forehead against her hands.

His words would not go unheard as his daughter steered, struggling against his hold. "No…" She groaned out as he let go, feeling his heart sank as she whispered, "Go away…" Hearing those words, he felt his world shatter around him but he understood. He knew well enough when his presence was unwanted.

Checking on her temperature one more time, he found that it had went down significantly in just a few hours, enough that he could leave her be. Truly, Kuina doesn't need him anymore.

"I'll… I'll be on my way," He whispered as he sat up and gathered his things. As he packed his bags, he reflected upon her words. She hated him… but how could she not when he was so much of coward that he could only speak to her when she was asleep? Maybe it was for the best for his failures shouldn't taint his daughters achievements, that he should no longer burden her.

As he donned his coat and prepared himself for the long trek home, he heard the shuffling of clothes which have him turn just in time to see Kuina with sword in hand and on her feet before she collapsed. Panic overwhelmed him as he dropped his bag and rushed to grab her and stop her from falling and hurting herself, "Kuina!"

"You shouldn't be up right now," He scolded her as he forced her back to bed and pry the wooden sword out of her hand, a feat much harder with how much stronger she was. Still, he managed to wrestle her back into bed and tucked her her in, "What do you have to say for yourself young lady," He hissed out of habit before he caught himself. He almost forgotten that she was still sick.

Despite just barely recovering form from her fever, his daughter managed to reply "Get away from Papa!" He found himself taken aback as he sat there, at a loss for words. After all this time, after everything that he did, she still cared about him? No, that was just wishful thinking.

"It's time for you to sleep," He whispered as he grabbed the towel she tossed aside from all her flailing only to freeze as he found his daughters large doe eyes staring up to him.
"Papa…?" She asked, prompting him to drop the towel as he shot up, not wanting to confront her daughter especially when she was so sick. He was about to bolt if not for his daughters hands reaching up and holding onto the hem of his pants. "Please… don't go,"

Slowly, he breathed in before kneeling back down beside her. He sat there, holding on to her hands and he finally apologized, "I'm sorry Kuina, I'm so sorry," Emotions threatened to overwhelm him as he sat there as the veritable floodgates were opened. All the sorrow, self loathing and hate came bubbling out now that he faced his daughter.

As he drowned in self loathing, he would pause as he felt his daughters shaky fingers wipe away his tears, "Silly papa, I'm not angry," She told him, her vision half seeing as if she smiled at him, "I just want you to be happy. I didn't want to disappoint you," She whispered before she tipped forward and collapsed onto him, "But It's a shame this is just a dream. I wish I could have said that to papa…"

"It's alright Kuina, I know," He replied as a shaky smile stretched across his face, "I'm proud of you Kuina, so very proud of you," He told her as he pulled her in for a tight hug, "You've always been strong Kuina, far stronger than you ever think, far stronger than myself…" He whispered as he let go and guided her back to bed, "Maybe that's why I fear you leaving me."

"Now go to sleep, you don't want your friend to be worried sick when he comes back," He told her as he tucked her back in. Just as he was about to stand up, he paused. Maybe… just maybe he could stay a few more hours. Being with his daughter just a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

-x-x-x-

"Papa!" Kuina screamed as she bolted out of her bed and looked around frantically but found no one in her cave. It was just her and the burnt out embers of her campfire. She stood there, confused and dumbfounded as the morning sunlight filtered through the cave.

"Kuina!" Zoro shouted as he barged into the cave before he grabbed her by the collar, "Damn it, get back to bed!" He scolded her as he forced her back to bed, "No training today! Do you want to get sick again you stupid girl?!"

"But, he! Was…" She protested from the rough handling but soon enough she relented. Sighing, she apologized, "Alright, sorry about that Zoro," Had she been dreaming all along? Looking up to the ceiling, she was left to wonder while she recovered until it was pushed to the back of her mind.

Days would pass by and she would once more train but the question still lingered. "Was it all just a dream?" She asked. She had so many things to ask, so many things to say to her father. How she wish for him to be proud of her just once in her life but… how could she say it when he hated her? When she had yet to beat him.

As she returned back to her cave, she'd find a sheathed wakizashi laid on her bed. "Zoro?" She asked, confused on why Zoro would give her something so short up until she held it, "No way…" She whispered excitedly as she pulled it out of its scabbard.

The naked still glinting in the sunlight almost had her squealing in joy. So lost was she in celebration that she almost missed the letter tied to the scabbard. Pulling it away, she read,

Dear Kuina

I know that we had our difference, that we had fought bitterly for so long that I fear that you might never forgive me, but know that I've always loved you my dear beloved daughter. No matter what happens, no matter how much things might have changed, no matter how things have gone so terribly wrong, please don't ever change. I will always be proud of you. Forgive me my little snowflake

Your Father

She stood there reading the letter over and over again and she would have done so a few more times if not for her eyes betraying her. Wiping away at the tears spilling down from her eyes, she pulled both the sword and letter close to he chest as she whispered, "You do care," Their relationship might never be the same but at least now she knew, he still loved her as his daughter.

A/N:

Next up, the winner of the polls :V Hopefully I could squeeze a chapter out before Sunday Rolls around lol...