3 [3] Proud of You, Sis!
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Chapter 3: Proud of You, Sis!
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King Cobra was frightened, scared that his wife and Queen may not pull through this time.
Titi was a strong woman, she had been that way since the first day he met her. So to see her like this, sweating while gasping for air with a pained expression, Cobra felt his heart clutch.
The worst thing was, she had suggested they not go on this trip, that she had a bad feeling about it, but Cobra had insisted on going. Vivi was growing up, she was 5 years old now, so she needed to start getting familiar with the nearby Kingdoms. The trip itself had gone very well, they had visited three nearby Kingdoms and spent some time in their Royal abode before taking their leave. The problem only arose while they were on their way home, his wife had caught a sickness that the ship's doctor couldn't identify.
At least, the doctor could keep Titi's condition in check, but he just happened to get shot and killed in the small skirmish the ship had with a Pirate Ship.
Now, just a single day away from Alabasta, Titi's condition was in a state that Cobra feared she might not make it. She needed serious help and he was willing to pay anything for it. He swore to himself that, if someone does save his wife, he will change their life.
* * *
Upon reaching the ship, Hashirama saw more people whom he had only seen behind a screen in his previous life.
The King of Alabasta, Cobra, was much younger than he remembered, and much worried too. Then there was a young Nefertari Vivi who was crying beside her mother's bed. Finally, the Queen of Alabasta, Nefertari Titi, an almost carbon copy of older Vivi, who probably died on this ship in the canon timeline. She was gently grabbing her daughter's hands and telling her to not cry, that everything was fine.
Hashirama wasn't a medic expert, but he could tell symptoms when he saw one, thanks to his sister taking it on herself to teach him the basics. Nefertari Titi was not fine.
"Igaram, did you find the doctor?! Who are these two?" Cobra rushed to Igaram, looking at his eyes in hope.
"Yo," Hashirama waved a hand before Igaram could say anything. "We are the doctors."
"...Igaram, this-" Cobra turned to Igaram who nodded. "Alright, I am trusting you on this…" His eyes shone in a strange, helpless light that explained his whole emotion on this matter.
Tsunade put Hashirama down, quickly rushing to the patient to grab her wrist and feel her pulse.
She frowned a moment later. "Four Clover Poison." She said, "Oh God, it's unbelievable how she's holding so strong."
Cobra flinched. "F-Four Clover what? Wait, she's been poisoned? But how-"
"Sir, I am sorry, but I don't think it's a very good idea to interrupt the doctor when she's working." Hashirama interrupted the King, again talking beyond his age but it did make the King shut up. "Thank you. Let her handle it, she's kinda pretty good at this."
"Shira," Tsunade turned to him, looking genuinely worried for her patient. "Run home and fetch some Five Clover petals. Be careful, pick only the Five Clovers, any other and it may as well worsen her condition."
"Alright," Hashirama nodded, making way to the door. "I will be back right away."
Then he kicked the edge of the ship and made a huge leap toward the island, making Cobra blink and Vivi's eyes wide.
—-
Cobra soon turned back to Tsunade, and now that the interruption was gone, he asked, "Doctor, will she be fine?"
"She will be, if my brother finds his way back with the petals in time." The girl said, slipping her hands inside her admittedly large breasts and taking out… a small bag. From there she took out two hand gloves that she started to put the globes on. She spoke without looking at him. "Please focus on your wife, instead."
Cobra flinched and did as asked. This just now was instinctive, he would never cheat on his love. Never.
The girl then pressed her finger on several spots of Titi's body, making her pause as her eyes widened— before she released a big gasp and started to cough.
Cobra didn't react negatively though, he knew such was common in emergency treatments. He rather waited patiently, doing whatever was asked by the doctor such as bringing a bowl to allow Titi to vomit out dark blood.
He was getting worried since he wasn't sure how long the boy will take though— however, his worry was pointless as the boy jumped back up in the ship not three minutes since he had left and then quickly handed a poly bag to the doctor, the bag was filled with a bunch of five clover leaves.
Then the process was smooth as the doctor made a paste out of the leaves before mixing it with water to make a drink. Cobra helped Titi raise her head as the doctor fed her the medicine water, watching Titi frown at the taste of the thing, but the effect could be seen on her face, even few seconds after she took the medicine.
"Ah…" Cobra gasped, his lips slowly widening as he smiled. "Titi! How are you feeling?" Then he hugged his wife, his arms trembling as he hugged her tightly.
"I understand you are emotional, but," the boy spoke in his careless, somewhat disrespectful tone once more. "Not suggested to hug the patient so tightly. Not that I am complaining. If she starts choking, we have another paying job to do. You will pay extra, right?"
Cobra quickly let Titi go, making the woman cough but still manage a small laugh at the exchange. "Th… thank you very much, both of you. I am grateful." Then she closed her eyes to fall back on her bed, sleeping soundly, and far more peacefully compared to the past few days.
"Haaah," Cobra sighed in extreme relief, feeling his adrenaline wear off. "Should we leave her alone, doctor? Or do you need to do something more?"
"No, it's fine," the doctor said, putting her hand gloves back in the bag before burying it between her peeks. "We should leave her alone now."
—-
"You won't believe just how grateful I am for this. I will reward you plenty for this fine job." King Cobra said with a grateful smile on his face. He had seemingly become 10 years younger compared to a few minutes ago, that's how relieved he was now. "Thank you very much."
He was sitting on a sofa with Vivi, while Hashirama and Tsunade sat opposite them. Hashirama watched the man in his late 30s speak once more.
"If you need anything specific— gold, jewellery, diamond, anything really, just speak your mind."
"I want to ask how old your daughter is." Hashirama asked, turning to Vivi who flinched while Cobra smiled awkwardly. Even Tsunade turned to give him a raised eyebrow. "What?"
It seemed they misunderstood his intentions. But the truth was, he wasn't interested in Vivi's little loli self. Maybe when he grew up… Anyway, the point behind that question was that knowing her age will give him a solid idea of how long remained until Canon will begin.
"She is five," Cobra said after a while. "I doubt you two will get along though, you may be a bit too mature for her-"
"Is that a try on keeping me away from your daughter? Don't worry, I am not interested in her anyway. Though if she grows up to look like your wife…" Hashirama said, once more making Cobra smile awkwardly.
Hashirama was sure that- if he wasn't an 8-year-old, and also because he had technically just saved his wife's life, Cobra would have gotten mad. But he didn't, and Hashi had expected that and had chosen to joke about the subject that's why— which would lighten the mood between them and may open a path to a bond beyond "employer and employee". There were lots of benefits one could get by befriending the King of a Kingdom, after all. Moreover, Alabasta had a rich history and had a pretty decent reputation amongst all the other kingdoms.
In any case, given Vivi was 5 years old, it meant there were 11 years until canon. He actually wasn't planning to meddle with the plot or anything before yesterday, as his ambitions were limited due to being locked in a room for so long. But now that he was finally out, more so now that he had drawn blood again and was even interacting with some of the major side characters, his ambitions were returning.
Funny how that ambition was what got him killed last time, yet he just couldn't give up on that addicting feeling of extreme satisfaction that one felt when their ambitions grow into reality.
-Tak!
"Aww!" Hashirama covered his head after getting knocked there by Tsunade. "What was that for? I was just joking— he isn't even mad either, is he? Hey, are you, Mr King?"
"Hahaha!" Cobra laughed a hearty laugh. "It's fine, doctor, it's fine. He's still a young lad, he may not mean his words. But if he did mean it, well, he just became more likeable with that humour of his. In any case, back to the topic. Do you guys want anything specific for a reward?"
"Sir, first of all I am not a doctor. I am a nurse. I just know some tricks that normal nurses and doctors don't." Tsunade said, shaking her head. "As for a particular reward… I wish I could say I just did it out of goodwill, but no, I do have something in mind. As I said, I am not a doctor, but my skills and experience make me better than most doctors out there."
Korba nodded. "Indeed. After all, the doctor who was previously accompanying me was one of the best in my country, yet couldn't do the same thing you did— heck, you even identified the illness with a touch, yet he couldn't do the same after countless tests."
Tsunade smiled proudly, before quickly hiding it. "A-ahem. Well, anyway, what I mean is despite my skills, I don't have a government-issued certificate due to me not having enough book knowledge to pass the exam, which in turn is due to the fact that I don't have enough money to buy books. So… I was hoping you'd allow me the best medical books you can get your hands on. Though, frankly, those would be pretty expensive."
"I am sorry," Cobra shook his head. "That is too little for what you did. How about this— I grant you all the equipment and books the previous doctor of this ship owned. It legally belongs to the Kingdom due to his death, so it's free for me to give to anyone I wish. On top of that, I am going to give you a bit of money and gold. Besides that, I also want to make an offer—" he interlocked his fingers, looking at Hashirama once before turning to Tsunade. "How about you come and work as the Alabasta Royal Family's family doctor?"
Tsunade frowned in contemplation, putting a hand under her chin as she started to think. After a moment, she turned to Hashirama. "Shira, you wanna move out of here? Or are you too attached to the place? My choice depends on that."
"I mean, I don't mind moving. It'd allow me more freedom, too, I think. But… a personal family exclusive doctor is a bit too much. Sure it will pay, but would that be fun? To work for only one person? You wanna do that?" The boy replied.
Cobra's eyes grew anxious as Tsunade blinked, tilting her head and humming. "True. You got a point there…"
"H-how about this, then?" Cobra quickly spoke, unwilling to let her slip away. "How about I get you a job in the hospital in the capital city of Alabasta? I will even help you get the doctorate certificate without taking the yearly exam, and that'd save lots of your time since the next exam is a few months ahead. My only condition for this would be that the Royal Family will be your most prioritised patient."
Hashirama raised an eyebrow. That was… generous. Too generous. If not for the fact that this man was honest in the anime, and also because Hashirama could confirm that he was honest in this world as well— he would have thought something was fishy. But then again, they did save his wife, the Queen. So maybe not that outrageously generous.
"You like it?" Tsunade asked, turning to him with a smile. From her smile alone, he knew she had accepted the offer in her head already. He was surprised why was even asking him though. Maybe to make up for the lockdown he had to go through for the last 8 years? "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He shrugged, nodding. "Then, we will be in your care from now on, Your Highness."
Cobra smiled proudly, almost as if he had won a war.
"...The little Princess too." Hashirama finished, looking at Vivi just as Cobra's smile froze, his headgear spinning for a moment before he realised something.
Since the boy was coming to Alabasta, then he will be there to see if Vivi will grow up like her mother or not.
'Shit.'
Cobra couldn't help but curse and realise what he had just done.
—-
Around half an hour after that, Chaka returned with the help he found, Doctor Dan, who froze when he saw Tsunade packing a deal with the King of Alabasta.
Something Hashirama didn't think he would see in this world happened right in front of his eyes— as the gold digger Dan tried to apologise to Tsunade, telling her that they should grab dinner to break the ice between them.
Unfortunately, and something that made Hashirama proud, Tsunade acted as if the femboy doctor didn't exist and simply walked away from there.
Really, he was proud.
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