Kureha cursed internally but kept her face neutral. She knew Chopper's longing for companionship better than anyone. The little guy had always been so lonely. If Kai intended to take Chopper away, she wouldn't stop him, but she certainly wouldn't help either.
Are you kidding? She liked that little, bashful reindeer too! Not stopping him was already her biggest concession. If Kai couldn't win Chopper over, well, that was his problem.
"Be your... crewmate?" Chopper asked, pointing to himself in disbelief.
"Of course! Who else here is named Chopper?" Kai chuckled.
"No, no, no!" Chopper shook his head frantically, then began listing all the reasons he thought he wasn't worthy.
Kai rubbed his forehead, a little exasperated. Chopper's self-esteem is way too low right now.
"You don't have to decide right away," Kai said gently. "I'll be around for a few days, and my crewmates are on this island too. Why don't you meet them first, see what the vibe on our ship is like? Then you can decide."
Kai wasn't about to rush Chopper into making a decision. After all, Chopper's long-standing insecurities couldn't be fixed overnight. This would take time.
"Your crewmates? There are others on your ship?" Chopper asked.
"Of course! A pirate crew with just two people would be way too boring!"
"That's true!" Chopper nodded, but suddenly froze as the realization hit him. "Wait... you're a pirate?!"
"Yes, is there a problem with that?"
Chopper didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood there, lost in thought, remembering his adoptive father, Doctor Hiriluk. Since Hiriluk had always considered himself a pirate, Chopper had grown up with a positive view of pirates. Now, hearing that Kai was also a pirate, his desire to join was growing. Yet, doubts still gnawed at him.
Seeing Chopper's hesitation, Kai grinned and said, "How about I take you to meet my crew at the base of the mountain?"
"Can I?" Chopper's voice was a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
"Of course! Let's go! No need to overthink it!" With that, Kai grabbed Chopper's arm and headed for the door. Before leaving, he turned back to Kureha. "Sister Kureha, my friends will be at your place for a while. Could you keep an eye on them while I take Chopper out for a bit?"
"Sure, go ahead. You're saving me the trouble of looking after that bunch!" Kureha waved him off, pretending to be annoyed.
"Thanks! We'll be back before evening!" Kai shouted as they left.
Once outside the castle, Chopper looked at Kai and said, "I'll transform to get us down faster."
With that, he turned into a regular reindeer.
"Wow, Chopper! You're amazing!" Kai praised him, knowing exactly how to stroke his ego.
Chopper's cheeks immediately flushed with embarrassment. "J-Just because you said that doesn't mean I'm happy, you jerk!"
Kai laughed and pointed to the cable car. "I'll take the ride down, you can transform back when we get to the bottom."
"Huh? Can't you just ride on me?" Chopper asked.
"I could, but wouldn't you throw me off?"
"No way!" Chopper assured him.
With a quick leap, Kai jumped onto Chopper's back. "Alright, Lord Chopper, let's go!"
(^ω^)!
Chopper happily shouted, "Yo~!" and dashed down the mountain, skipping the ropeway altogether. The wind whistled past, and Kai couldn't help but feel exhilarated by the snowy landscape beneath them.
Suddenly, Chopper asked, "By the way, Kai, how did you get up to such a high mountain?"
"Oh, I flew up here."
"You… flew?!" Chopper stopped dead in his tracks, looking up in shock.
"Yeah, no big deal. I used Geppo to walk on air," Kai shrugged casually.
"Geppo?! Even my reindeer legs can't do that!" Chopper's eyes sparkled with amazement. "Can you take me flying too?"
Kai grinned. "Sure!"
Without hesitation, Kai used Geppo, stepping into the air like climbing invisible stairs. Σ(゚∀゚ノ)ノ!
"Come on, I'll take you down!" Kai said with a smile.
Chopper quickly shifted back into his tiny form and jumped onto Kai's head.
"Oi, I didn't say you could ride me!"
"What's the big deal~? Let's go!" Chopper replied with a wide grin.
...
A little while later, Kai and Chopper strolled into the village at the base of the mountain. Chopper, now in his reindeer form, stayed close to Kai, still wary of being seen in his hybrid form. Even as a reindeer, the townsfolk stared at them, making Chopper anxious.
Kai gently patted Chopper's back. "Don't worry about what others think. In this world, all that matters is being true to yourself."
Chopper didn't respond, but he gave a small nod, feeling a bit more reassured.
They soon arrived at a house, and Kai knocked on the door. From his observation, Luffy and the others were inside.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing a tall, muscular man in green. He looked at Kai, confused.
"Who are you?"
"I'm with those guys behind you," Kai said, pointing to Luffy and the crew.
Luffy spotted him and waved enthusiastically. "Yo, Kai!"
The green-clad man nodded and stepped aside. "Come on in. It's freezing out there."
Once inside, Kai noticed someone was missing. "Where's Zoro?"
"He's watching the ship," Sanji replied.
"And Nami?"
"She's being treated. She's resting now, but she'll be fine."
"Good." Kai nodded. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. But just as the tension eased, Sanji's eyes lit up when he saw Chopper standing behind Kai.
"Kai, you're amazing! You even brought back a reindeer for us to eat! Venison stew, here we come!"
Before anyone could stop him, Sanji leaped to his feet and made a beeline for Chopper.
=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●0ꈊ0● |||)
Chopper, now trembling in fear, hid behind Kai in an instant, his body shaking uncontrollably as he eyed Sanji like he was staring at a monster.
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.