The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 11: Bitter Celebrations

Chirping of birds, that was the first thing she heard, followed by the creaking of wooden floors in the distance, and the soothing tune of the sea. She opened her eyes, slowly, not sure if she was going to find herself in the same realm she had fallen unconscious in. The bandages covering her hands and torso gave it away though; she was most certainly alive, and the pain that accompanied her movements confirmed it. She sat on the bed with difficulty, and just when she was wondering where she was, in a more specific way, a reindeer opened the door and turned on the lights.

"You're awake!" he chirped as he turned on the lights.

The sudden blaze of light made her hiss at first, but she greeted the doctor with a smile. Chopper revised her wounds and made a thousand medical questions while doing so, to which Iris answered with nods, mostly, since her mouth was dry, and she still felt quite dizzy.

When he had finished the check-up, he shouted, "I'll go call the others!"

Iris didn't have time to answer before Chopper run off and brought almost every straw hat to the room. Robin, Luffy, Nami, Franky, Chopper, Sanji and Usopp were suddenly packing the place, each talking about the good news, the fight, and other things Iris' mind was still too foggy to get. Still, she made her best to keep up with the cheerfulness of the bunch.

With Nami's help, her memories about what had happened came together, piece by piece, and Iris felt an enormous weight off her shoulders. Franky and Robin assured her that all the slaves had been released and were now in the village, resting before they travelled to their own islands. For the first time in what seemed ages, Iris felt the lightness of freedom; No more debts, no more commands from her father or the slavists. She could choose her own path now, and the people in front of her had made that possible.

"Guys," she cleared her throat, "This...I can see now that I could've never done this without your help and..."

As she talked, she found that words could hardly convey how grateful she really was, so she redoubled them: "From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you, each and every one of you".

Everyone continued to celebrate their victory. Luffy cheered with his fist in the air and pestered Sanji to prepare a meal to continue the festivities, while Nami scolded him for being too noisy in the infirmary. Robin just laughed in a corner listening to Usopp, who was describing to an astonished Chopper how he had single-handedly defeated one hundred and fifty-two guards on that fateful day in the slaver's tower.

Iris took a moment to appreciate the scene. Oddly enough, she felt very much at ease with these people, more so than she had ever felt in years, if she was honest, despite only recently meeting them. They were a noisy bunch, but full of life, and they seemed to support each other unconditionally. Probably the closest thing to an affectionate family she's ever experienced. Iris could see why the swordman liked them so much.

Zoro... He's not here, she acknowledged. She hoped he was fine, but if he wasn't, he should have been with her in the infirmary, and his crew wouldn't be so happy and relaxed. So, she concluded, it's likely that Zoro just didn't want to visit or was busy with something else, which...is fine, whatever. Iris tried to shrug it off, but a heavy stone settled on her stomach with the thought, and it was evident it wouldn't leave.

Luffy pulled her out from her reflection.

"Iris!" he beamed, "Will you join my crew now?"

The question took her by surprise; He's asking me again? Oh, right. So Zoro must've agreed then. At least he doesn't hate me that much.

All the happy faces waited for her to answer; all the people she had shown the worst of her and who still welcomed her, still considered her a friend. It had been a long time since she—d had so many people to call friends. Before, she'd been reluctant to openly think of them as such, fearing they were only acting in their own self-interest to save the navigator, or that they were only showing her decent human kindness and she was misinterpreting it. But now they were here, laughing with her, genuinely hoping she would say yes.