Free Heart

Ch 48 - I am Here to Ensure Peace and Quiet.

Emmy was on a roll. She finished cleaning Nami's room, down to clearing the mess Chopper had left behind in the storage room adjacent to it. Since she had her apron back on and managed to find all the necessary cleaning equipment, she figured why stop there? She had moved on to the other rooms and was busy tidying up whatever room was opened and showed signs of use by Doctorine and Chopper.

She had just finished straightening up an office area and was walking down the hallway, when she passed by Luffy and Chopper in another room. Chopper was doing a tremendous balancing act as he struggled to stand on one leg while beakers were stacked on his antlers and he held plates of delicate lab equipment in each hand. What made this feat even more amazing was that he was holding firm while Luffy was tickling his sides.

"Shishishishishi," Luffy roared with laughter, "So funny!"

"Shut up! Go away!" Chopper screamed.

"Ah! Luffy. Stop it! You're going to make a mess," Emmy said as she leaned her broom and dustbin against the wall and hurriedly took Chopper's burdens off his hands. She set them all carefully down on one of the three wooden desks lined up against the window.

"Th-thank you," Chopper sighed with relief.

"Won't you become my nakama? I really like you!" Luffy said excitedly, not taking his eyes of his prize, "Be a pirate!"

"I-I-I'm not interested in pirates at all!" Chopper insisted, "I never wanted a friend either!"

"If you become my nakama, my other nakama will all be happy," Luffy said, "Right, Emmy?"

Emmy smiled and nodded at the reindeer, "It would be a pleasure to have you with us, Dr. Chopper."

"S-S-Stop it! Just leave me alone!" Chopper said as he brushed past Luffy and stormed out of the room.

"Come oooonnnn," Luffy whined and followed the reindeer.

Emmy giggled and started to wipe each beaker with a rag when she heard the distinct sounds of a plate being broken. She sighed and made a mental note to go back to Nami's room to clean up whatever mess was made. The cause of it could either be Luffy and Chopper's chasing game or it could just be a sudden blow from the volatile Doctorine. At this point, Emmy was used to either occurrences and it was a toss up of who was doing the most damage.

"DON'T WORRY, EMMY-CHAN! I'LL CLEAN IT UP!" the cook cried in the distance.

"Thank you, Sanji!" Emmy called back.

Emmy finished up organizing and dusting the room and then moved on. She went down the grand spiral, stone stairwell that led to the foyer of the castle. She found her brother standing in the middle of the floor with his hands cupped around his lips.

"Oy! Reindeer! Come out! Join us and become our friend!" he yelled.

"Did you lose him?" Emmy asked.

"Yeah," Luffy dropped his hands and pouted for a moment. Then his eyes met Emmy's and it gleamed instantly with an idea, "Ooh! Emmy! I'm glad you're here!"

He grabbed her and put her in front of him. "Reindeer! I have a tasty snack for you!"

Emmy blinked. "I don't think Dr. Chopper eats humans so our usual bait tactic wouldn't work in this case."

She felt a flash of confusion from a room in the corner but she decided to keep it to herself. If Chopper didn't want to be found by her brother, Emmy would respect his wishes. Fortunately, she didn't need to get involved as Luffy started to head in Chopper's direction on his own. Of course, it wasn't because he spotted the reindeer. It was because something else had caught his eye.