Skulls and Cherry Blossoms:

-Chopper's Origin Flashback pt 2-

"Wait, you can talk?" Dr. Hiriluk asked. Three days had passed, Chopper was still staying with the old quack and he had finally revealed that he could talk. "Then why have you kept silent?"

"I thought you'd hate me if I talked," Chopper answered. "When I talked to humans the other day... they shot at me. You see... people think I'm a freak for that."

"So what if you can talk?" Hiriluk retorted, "I can talk too, it's nothing to brag about." Chopper stared at the man in surprise. Suddenly, the beaker that Hiriluk had been tending too started bubbling up and smoke starting coming out the top.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Hiriluk screamed. "RUN CHOPPER!"

KA-BOOOOM! Hiriluk's concoction exploded and Chopper and Hiriluk were sent flying through the door and landed hard in the snow at the bottom of the mountain.

"Aww, I thought for sure that would work," Hiriluk complained, he turned to his companion, "hey Chopper, are you okay?"

Chopper sat up in time to get hit on the head by a flying piece of rock, KONK! Chopper fell backwards and ended up on his back in the snow again.

Hiriluk stared at the reindeer, "Eh? Well at least you're head was bandaged to begin with, right?" Hiriluk offered. "Hah hah hah!" KONK! Another piece of rock hit the quack on the head and knocked him on his back.

"Hey, did you call me 'Chopper'?" Chopper inquired.

"That's your new name," Hiriluk told him. "Tony Tony Chopper. You're a Tonakai Reindeer and those antlers of yours look strong enough to chop down a tree. Cool name, huh? Anyway, that's what I'm gonna call you. Hah hah hah!"

"Chopper..." Choppe repeated, he smiled and then laughed along with Hiriluk, "Teeheehee!"

-x-

"Listen up Chopper," Hiriluk instructed later that day as he and Chopper walked towards a town, "always pay close attention to your patient's symptoms and give them proper treatment. That's the way to save a person's life." Hiriluk and Chopper stood at the top of hill and looked down at the village. "Let's go! There are sick people who need my help!"

"GET YOU OF HERE YOU CRAZY QUACK!" someone shouted about an hour later, Hiriluk and Chopper ran screaming out of the 'patient's' house and frantically dodged the things being thrown at them.

"I thought lizard eyeballs would work!" Hiriluk protested as he and Chopper fled for their lives. The day went on in the same way.

"DON'T EVER COME BACK!"

"GET LOST!"

Hiriluk and Chopper got a lot of exercise while running away that day. "IT'S WAPOL'S GUARDS!" Hiriluk shouted as he looked behind him and noticed that there were now uniformed men after him. "Chopper, it's time to use the decoy plan!"

"The what plan?" Chopper inquired as he ran along beside Hiriluk in his reindeer form.

"GOOD LUCK PAL!" THWAK! Hiriluk ran in front of Chopper, then kicked him, the reindeer went flying backwards into the group of soldiers while Hiriluk ran away.

-x-

"YOU ALMOST GOT ME KILLED, YOU MANIAC!" Chopper shouted when he had finally made it back to the cave. He and Hiriluk were in the middle of a comedic dust-ball brawl.

"SO WHAT!" Hiriluk snapped. "YOU ALREADY CHEATED DEATH ONCE, YOU CLUMSY BLUE-NOSED CARIBOU!"

"THAT'S REINDEER! AND DON'T CALL ME BLUE-NOSED!"

The dust-ball brawl continued with Chopper or Hiriluk stopping to take a momentary break, before jumping back into the fray with their opponent who for some reason hadn't stopped fighting. Eventually, Hiriluk was left slumped in a chair while Chopper laid on the ground.

"Doctor..." Chopper called out as he and Hiriluk fought to catch their breath. "That's the first time I've ever fought... with anyone."

"Hah hah hah!" Hiriluk laughed, "I can believe that. You have to have an opponent to fight." He got up and walked over to his work bench. "I guess this is a first for you too..." Hiriluk picked up a pink top hat with a white 'x' on the front and tossed it to Chopper.

Chopper stared at the pink hat in surprise. "Huh?"

"That's for you," Hiriluk told him. "A gift. As a memento of our making up."

"Gift?" Chopper repeated, "Making up?" Chopper sat up and put the hat on his head like Hiriluk wore his. Chopper's antlers poked a hole in the sides of the hat and stuck out along with his ears.

"You know Chopper, it sometimes feels as though things may be pretty rough," Hiriluk commented while he tinkered with some vials on his work bench. Chopper walked over so he could listen better.

"But try not to hold a grudge against us humans, okay?" Hiriluk requested, "This country is sick right now. The people and the king both suffer from a terrible sickness of the heart. Conventional wisdom says there is no way to cure a sick country, but that's wrong." Hiriluk turned around and smiled at Chopper, "Once my invention has been perfected this country will be as good as saved!"

Chopper stared at the bubbling beaker that Hiriluk was holding as he continued, "You see, there used to be a Master Thief who lived in a country in the far west. He had a serious heart condition. He went to the greatest doctors he could find to receive treatment but no one was able to cure him. They told him he was going to die. Frustrated and depressed, he passed by a certain mountain, there he saw something he had never seen before... BLOSSOMS! HE SAW CHERRY BLOSSOMS ALL OVER THE MOUNTAIN-SIDE!"

Hiriluk was now sporting a huge smile, "And then he went to see another doctor and got the shock of his life! He was told "you're perfectly healthy!" He was cured! It was a miracle! But it also makes sense medically speaking! A powerful emotion had triggered a change in the man's body, his emotional state affected his physical state. He'd been told his disease was incurable, yet he'd been cured!"

"And if that's true," Hiriluk continued, "then there's no disease in this world that can't be cured! Let them laugh at me! My medical skills will save his country yet!"

Hiriluk turned and motioned to a large black pirate flag that hung on his wall, it was the same design on his briefcase, a smiling skull and crossbones with FOUR cherry blossoms fluttering around it. "And that's why I raise the skull and crossbones, as a challenge to all the diseases of the world! This symbolizes my belief: THAT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! I will save this country with my doctor skills! By raising this flag, I vow to fight just like the pirates do!"

"Doctor... what are pirates?" Chopper asked Hiriluk.

"Pirates?" Hiriluk repeated, "They're dashing swashbucklers of the sea! With great strength, and the eye sight of eagles! Their voices echo like rolling thunder!"

Hiriluk took Chopper out to cliff and they stared off at the sea together. "It's great to be a pirate," Hiriluk told Chopper, who was holding onto the back of the man's head for better view of the sea. "The most amazing people sail the seas! Chopper, some day you've got to go to sea, if you do, you'll realize just how small your problems really are. The island you were born on is like this compare to the whole world," Hiriluk held out his hand with two fingers less than an inch apart.

"Really?" asked Chopper as he stared over Hiriluk's head at his fingers.

"No, it's smaller," Hiriluk corrected himself, he closed the distance between his fingers so there was none. "Like this, really, it's just a speck! Hah hah hah hah! Chopper, your destiny lies beyond that shining sea."

-End Chopper's Flashback pt 2-

"The good times passed in the twinkling of an eye," Dr. Kureha continued as Y/N, Nami, Sanji, and Ms. Valentine continued to listen to the witch's version of Chopper's story. "And then... it finally came time to say farewell. As it always does in the end..."

-Chopper's Flashback pt 3-

"It's taken a year, but your treatment is finally complete," Hiriluk told nine-year-old Chopper six years ago. "Your injuries are healed Chopper."

"Yeah, thank you doctor!" Chopper replied with a smile.

"Well then, take care," Hiriluk said dismissively. Chopper was taken by surprise when his father figure pushed him out of his cave house. "On your way! Have a nice life! I'm busy with my research!" THUD! The door slammed shut and Chopper was left standing on the ledge staring at the closed door in shock. "HIT THE BRICKS! I'M NO LONGER UNDER ANY OBLIGATION TO CARE FOR YOU!"

"DOCTOR! I SWEAR! I WON'T CAUSE YOU ANY TROUBLE IF YOU JUST LET ME STAY WITH YOU!" Chopper cried as he started pounding on the closed door, THUNK! THUNK! "I'll rub your shoulders every day! I'll make you tea and clean the house! Please let me stay!"

On the other side of the door, tears welled up in Hiriluk's eyes as he remembered the passed year with the reindeer that was still pounding on the other side of the door.

THUNK! THUNK! "I don't have any friends! I don't have anywhere to go! Doctor, PLEASE! CAN YOU HEAR ME? DOCTOR!" THUNK! THUNK! THOOOOOM! The pounding on the door stopped and was replaced by an even louder sound.

"Chopper..." Hiriluk pulled the door opened and saw Chopper down on the ground, the reindeer had jumped off of the landing and had slammed head-first into the ground hundreds of feet below.

"I hurt my head!" Chopper called up to Hiriluk as he stood up and held the bloody wound. "I... fell. I'm injured!"

BANG! A gun fired and a bullet whizzed passed Chopper's face. A thin gash opened on Chopper's cheek and blood dripped out of it. "Why... doctor?" Chopper meekly asked.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Hirluk fired his shotgun over and over again at the reindeer, missing every time. "GO!" Hiriluk hollered. "GO TO SEA IF YOU LIKE! GO ANYWHERE YOU LIKE! JUST DON'T COME BACK!"

"WAAAAAAAHHHH!" Chopper ran off crying.

With Chopper gone, Hiriluk dropped his shotgun and openly cried, "BWAAA HAAA HAAA! FORGIVE ME CHOPPER!"

-x-

Snow Tale

-x-

"I'm dying," Hiriluk stated as he stared at his blood-covered hand.

"Heeheehee," Dr. Kureha cackled, Hiriluk had come to her seeing medical attention. They were currently in Dr. Kureha's home, which was inside a hollowed out tree. "Yes, you are."

"Tell me the truth," Hiriluk requested, "how many days do I have left?"

"Excuse me, this isn't charity ward," Dr. Kureha told him. "You don't have the money to pay my fee."

Clik! Hiriluk held out his gun and pointed it at Dr. Kureha's back. "TELL ME!" he ordered.

THWAK! A few seconds later, Hiriluk had a lump on his head and Dr. Kureha was holding the gun. "You can't kill a person with a tranquilizer gun, ya know," Dr. Kureha lectured him as she tossed the gun at him. "All right, I'll tell you... ten days from now, you'll die. Now you know." Dr. Kureha was seemingly oblivious as Chopper lowered himself down so he could see and listen through the window behind her.

"Ten, that'll be enough," Hiriluk resolved. "In two days my research will be done. Now completed after failing for thirty years, I will make cherry blossoms bloom in this country."

"You mean you've wasted thirty years researching freaking cherry blossoms?" questioned Dr. Kureha. "That's what your big project has been? The same cherry blossoms you think saved your life back when you were a master thief?"

"That's right," Hiriluk replied.

"..." Chopper stared through the window in surprise. Hiriluk had been the thief in the story he'd told Chopper about the miracle cherry blossoms.

"Damn, you idiot," Dr. Kureha scolded him. "This is a winter island where it's cold year round. No cherry blossom will ever bloom here."

"NO!" Hiriluk objected. "I was nothing but a worthless criminal on the very brink of death, but those flowers saved my life and transformed my existence! Every human being in the world can be saved! And I'm going to prove it right here in Drum, the land where I was born!"

"You do realize what you're saying has no basis on medical science," Dr. Kureha pointed out, "or any other field of science. And if you do get them to bloom, there's no medicinal use!"

KREK! The door was pulled opened and Dr. Kureha stared in surprise as Hiriluk walked out into the cold snow outside. "Hmph," Dr. Kureha grunted.

"Chopper," Hiriluk thought to himself as he fought through the freezing winds, "you and I are alike. So before I die, I'll at least teach you that nothing is impossible in this world, and that you can do anything if you try. I'll show you the miraculous cherry blossoms!"

-End Chopper's Flashback pt 3-

"HEY! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Luffy shouted as he held the bars of a dungeon cell that Chopper had managed to trap him in. "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?"

"Now you can't pester me!" Chopper told him as he leaned back against the wall on the other side of the hall and held the key to the cell door.

"I just want you to join us," Luffy replied.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN BY 'PESTERING'!" Chopper snapped.

"Come on! It's fun to be a pirate!" Luffy called out.

"SHUT UP!" Chopper shouted, "Now you stay right there! You were injured too ya know! So just settle down!" Chopper turned to walk away but he suddenly realized that he was missing something.

Chopper stiffened as he stared at his empty hoof, KREEEEK! Luffy's cell door swung opened and the rubber pirate emerged. "SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed as he held up the key he'd taken from Chopper with the help of his rubber powers.

"GET AWAY FROM MEEEE!" Chopper shrieked as Luffy chased him down yet another hallway in Drum Castle.

"COME BACK!" Luffy hollered.

"What's with this guy?" Chopper wondered. "And how did he steal the key?"

SKIIIIISH! Chopper's blue nose twitched and he suddenly skidded to a stop, Luffy went running passed him, and slammed into a wall, KRASH!

Chopper looked up and his nose twitched again, "That scent... Wapol!"

MAAAA HAAHAAAHAAAHAAA!" Wapol laughed as Robson climbed up the side of Drum Rock. Chopper sensitive blue nose could smell him even when he was only half way up the mountain.

-x-

Dr. Kureha sat in her chair and continued to tell the other Straw Hats and Ms. Valentine's story.

"When he found out that Hiriluk only had ten days left to live..." Dr. Kureha continued, "Chopper got very upset, as you might imagine. It was only natural. But then he decided to take action, the only way he knew how."

-Chopper's Flashback pt 4-

TMP! TMP! TMP! Chopper ran through the snow back to Hiriluk's cave hideout.

"I'm... dying..." Hiriluk's voice echoed in his head. "I promise you! I will make cherry blossoms bloom!" THUD! Chopper was caught up in his thoughts and ran right into a tree. "This symbolizes my belief: THAT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! I'll fight just like the pirates do!" Choppers mind wandered and he remembered hearing something in a town while he was on rounds with Hiriluk.

-Flashback within the Flashback-

"Tell me, why have so many guards been missing lately?" Dalton, the Captain of Drum Island's Security asked a band of Wapol's men.

"Well, that Twenty MD's have them out picking mushrooms," one of the guards explained, Chopper peeked over the railing he'd been walking behind to listen.

"Mushrooms?" Dalton repeated.

"Yes sir," the lead guard answered, "The doctors think there's some kind of mushroom that can cure anything. So they've got the other guards out looking for it."

"Mushroom?" Chopper thought to himself. YOINK! Hiriluk grabbed him and pulled him down behind the railing.

"You idiot,"Hiriluk scolded him. "They'll spot us!"

"Doctor... did you hear what the said?" Chopper asked.

-End Flashback within the Flashback-

In Hiriluk's cave-house, Chopper was rapidly going through the quack's shelf of books. Now he had a plan. He was going to find the mushroom that could cure anything and give it to Hiriluk so he wouldn't die. The room was left a mess, but Chopper eventually found what he was looking for in a purple book and snapped it closed. He slipped the book into a blue backpack and set off in search of the mushroom.

"I'D NEVER SHOOT YOU!" Hiriluk shouted as he stood naked out in the snow in a desperate attempt to get Chopper to trust him.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Hirluk fired his shotgun over and over again at the reindeer, missing every time. "GO!" Hiriluk hollered. "GO TO SEA IF YOU LIKE! GO ANYWHERE YOU LIKE! JUST DON'T COME BACK!"

Hiriluk had shot at him, but only because he was very desperate and knew he was going to die soon. He didn't want Chopper to stick around when he had less than two weeks left to live. He wanted to spare Chopper the heartbreak of dying on him.

Chopper was now determined, Hiriluk's worries were all going to be for nothing! He was going to find the mushroom and cure him!

-x-

Hiriluk finally returned to his home and found most of his books on a pile in the floor.

"I did a terrible thing to you," Hiriluk thought to himself as he quickly got to work on his experiment to make cherry blossoms bloom on a winter island. "But at least you'll see my cherry blossoms. They'll be my last great work."

Hiriluk added three vials of liquid to a simmering beaker of green liquid while he stared at his notes. FZZZZZZ! The beaker bubbled pink and smoke came out the top, then it exploded, KA-BOOOOM!

Hiriluk once again had to flee his house to avoid an explosion, but he quickly went back and continued, he had a deadline to make.

"Okay, ONE MORE TIME!" Hiriluk decided as he added another ingredient to his concoction. KA-BOOOOOM! Once again, it exploded. It's said that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is a sign of insanity, but Hiriluk was just insane enough to make this work so he just kept on trying.

-x-

Chopper continued on his adventure through Drum Island in search of the mushroom, he stopped to bow to a hiking bear, he leapt across a deep ravine in his reindeer form, he stopped to drink from a stream of running water. He must've walked halfway across the island when he came upon a familiar herd of reindeer.

This was his herd, the same herd that had scorned him because of his blue nose, and then kicked him out when he'd eaten the Human Human Fruit. Chopper transformed into his reindeer form and walked silently through the herd of reindeer. Now he had someone to care about, someone that cared about him. He didn't care about the herd of reindeer that saw him as a freak, he only cared about his precious person.

-x-

"HUFF! HUFF!" Hiriluk panted as he laid in the snow after another failed attempt. "Damn it! I'm running out of time! I've gotta hurry!""

-x-

Chopper kept walking and had almost made it out of the herd, he walked passed a familiar reindeer with a scar on its head. Chopper remembered this reindeer as the alpha, this was the reindeer that had kicked him out of the herd. Chopper lowered his head and ignored the alpha reindeer, back when he was just a reindeer with a blue nose, Chopper would've done anything to get the alpha reindeer's approval, but now he couldn't care less, he had someone else he cared about more.

THWAM! The alpha reindeer charged at Chopper and slammed into him antlers-first. The smaller blue-nosed reindeer was sent tumbling through the snow and landed hard on his side.

VREEEEEN! The alpha reindeer growled as he stood at the head of the herd and glared at Chopper, then charged at the blue-nosed reindeer when he started to get up. KLOMP! KLOMP!

Chopper saw a skull and cherry blossoms and surged back up to his feet, he met the alpha reindeer's attack head on, THWAM!

KRUSH! Chopper fell into the snow while the alpha reindeer reeled back with a gash on his scarred forehead. Blood was running down the reindeer's face as he charged at Chopper and rammed into him, sending the blue-nosed reindeer flying, WHAM! KUSH! Chopper ended up down in the snow again.

-x-

"Nothing is impossible for the man who raises the pirate flag!" Dr. Hiriluk exclaimed as he continued his work. "I'LL KEEP ON FIGHTING! JUST LIKE THE PIRATES!"

-x-

Chopper staggered back up, he was coated in blood from the fight, but he wasn't going to give up, even if his opponent was stronger and full grown, Chopper was going to keep on fighting, just like a pirate.

"RRAAAAAAAHHH!" Chopper roared as he raced to meet the alpha reindeer, he wouldn't give up, especially when Hiriluk was counting on him.

-x-

"I've found it!" Chopper exclaimed some time later as he stared through a telescope at a mushroom he recognized from the book. "The Amiudake Mushroom! That's it!" Chopper's brown fur was still stained with blood as he stared at the mushroom he was after.

"But... how do I get across?" Chopper looked down and saw that he was at the ends of a cliff, the mushroom was on top of another cliff that was across an extremely deep ravine. He couldn't jump across this one. Chopper's goal was so close, but at the same time, so far away.

SNORT! Chopper stiffened then turned around and faced the blood-covered alpha reindeer. The other reindeer from the herd was standing behind it. The damn thing just didn't give up.

-x-

A week later, Hiriluk was in his home, still unsuccessful in his experiment. KOFF! KOFF! The man coughed as he slumped against his work bench. "DAMN IT!" he cursed. "I'm close... I'm so very close!"

Knock... Knock... There was a timid knock on the door, Hiriluk turned in time to see it swing opened. KREEEEK! Hiriluk stared in surprise as Chopper limped into the room, one of his legs was limp and bent awkwardly, it might've been broken. "Doctor... I'm sorry," Chopper apologized. "I lost one of your precious books..."

"Good lord, what happened to you?" Hiriluk asked as he stared at his son. Chopper was covered in blood and had numerous injuries on his left side, his leg looked broken, his left antler was broken, his left eye was swollen shut, there were purple bruises all over the left side of his face. Chopper's pink hat looked ruffled but there was no mistaking the smile on the reindeer's face as he held out a mushroom.

"Mushroom," Chopper answered as he held up the Amiudake Mushroom that had taken a week to get. "Medicine..."

"Is that... for me?" Hiriluk asked. "An Amiudake Mushroom?" Hiriluk stood up and walked over to Chopper.

"Please live, please doctor," Chopper pleaded. "I wanna help people like you. Please teach me to be a doctor." Hiriluk fought back tears as he knelt in front of Chopper.

"I'll fight and I won't give up!" the reindeer vowed, "just like pirates."

"Chopper... I..." Hiriluk stammered.

"Do you think a reindeer can?" questioned Chopper.

Hiriluk reached out and hugged his son to him. "Of course!" He told him. "You'll be a wonderful doctor. You've got the most important qualification... a kind heart."

-x-

"CHESS! KUROMARIMO!" Wapol called out as he sat on his throne in his castle. "Is hunting the doctors proceeding according to my plan?"

"Um... yes, nearly all the doctors have been exiled sir," Chess reported as he and Kuromarimo bowed before King Wapol. Dalton stood leaning against a wall behind them.

"Nearly all?" Wapol repeated.

"There are two that elude us sir," Kuromarimo supplied. "That old crone Dr. Kureha, and that crazy quack Hiriluk."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Wapol roared, but then his anger faded. "I just had a great idea!" Chess and Kuromarimo looked up and awaited Wapol's orders, "Send a notice to the people... tell them that the Twenty MD's... have all fallen gravely ill."

Dalton glared at Wapol, "I don't like it," he voiced his opinion. "Why stoop so low just to catch a quack?"

"NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION DALTON!" Wapol snapped. "THIS IS A MATTER OF GOVERNANCE! Hiriluk's no doctor, he's a criminal! HE MUST BE EXECUTED! NOW CARRY OUT THE COMMAND OF YOUR KING!"

-x-

"The mushroom soup, is it good?" Chopper asked, Hiriluk had tended to his injuries and now Chopper was covered in bandages.

"BLAH!" Hiriluk spat. "THIS REEKS! No living creature could eat this soup!"

"Sorry," Chopper apologized as he stared down at his feet, after all he'd gone through to get that mushroom, it was horrible.

"Don't worry about it," Hiriluk reassured him. "Good medicine never tastes good, ya know! That just means it's working!" Hiriluk smiled, "Thanks for the soup, Chopper! Hah! Hah! Hah!"

Chopper smiled, happy that he had helped his precious person, but something suddenly caught his attention. "Doctor look!" Chopper exclaimed as he stared at Hiriluk's round beaker, it was filled with pink, and DIDN'T explode! "I've never seen it do that before!"

"I've done it!" Hiriluk gasped as he stared at the pink-filled beaker, he got up and walked over to it, "I've finally done it! This is it! This reaction... I've been waiting thirty years for this!"

Hiriluk spun around and faced Chopper, "I'VE DONE IT CHOPPER!" he announced. "MY RESEARCH IS A SUCCESS! I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG! SEE THAT!"

Hiriluk ran out the door and stood on the ledge overlooking the snowy wilderness, "YEAAAHHH!" he cheered. "I CAN DO IT! I CAN MAKE CHERRY BLOSSOMS BLOOM ON THIS WINTER ISLAND!" Chopper smiled, happy that the doctor's research had finally paid off.

-x-

Ten minutes later, Chopper was in bed and Hiriluk was standing at the opened door with his briefcase in his hand. "I'm going out," he told Chopper, "but you stay put and rest. See ya later!" THUD! The door closed behind him.

Chopper grinned to himself, "Doctor was happy! Wow! I cured a human's disease!" "Teeheehee!" Chopper laughed, happy that his first medical pursuit and worked.

KREEEK! The door opened again and Hiriluk stood there beaming at Chopper, "Chopper, you're going to become a great doctor!" he assured him. "I'll make sure of it!" THUD! The door closed again and Hiriluk left, for good this time.

-x-

"You realize this entire country is a madhouse right now," Hiriluk told Dr. Kureha as he stood inside her tree-house.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Dr. Kureha replied as she sat on her bed which was designed to sit up like a doctor's bed. "Have you heard about the Twenty MD's falling ill? What a crock! Just ignore it and it'll die down. What brings you here today?"

"I have a favor to ask," Hiriluk stated.

"I refuse," Dr. Kureha answered almost before he finished asking.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS YET!" Hiriluk snapped.

"So what is this dust supposed to be?" Dr. Kureha asked as she stared at a fine pink powder that she'd poured out of a small sack Hiriluk had given her.

"That dust is thirty years of my life," Hiriluk explained. "It's the discovery I've been searching for. It'll cure this country's sickness!"

"You just wasted thirty years of your life, nicely done," Dr. Kureha congratulated him. "Anyway... why are you showing it to me?"

"I wasn't able to make enough dust," Hiriluk explained. "There was no time. I want you to make cherry blossoms bloom for me."

"Nonsense, why should I waste my—" Dr. Kureha attempted to refuse.

"I'm not finished," Hiriluk interrupted as he stood right in front of the one hundred thirty-four year old doctor. "I want you to teach Chopper about medicine. He wants to be a doctor more than anything."

"Are you mad?" questioned Dr. Kureha. "Why would I—"

"He may be a reindeer and a freak," Hiriluk cut her off again as he dropped to his knees and out-right begged her. "But I know he'll make a great doctor! He's a good person with a kind heart! He risked his life to make medicine for me! Please! Help him become a doctor!"

"YOU'VE SURE GOT A LOT OF NERVE YOU QUACK!" Dr. Kureha shouted at him. "Why should I take care of your half-baked research and your weird pet? You know me, I'm not the type of person to get sentimental because someone has a short time to live! NOW GET OUT OF MY TREE!"

WHUMP! Hiriluk was literally kicked out of Dr. Kureha's house and landed on his back in the snow. Dr. Kureha tossed his briefcase out after him and shut the door. THUD!

"Yeah, I know," Hiriluk admitted now that Dr. Kureha couldn't hear him. "We've known each other a long time. Hah hah hah!" Hiriluk stopped laughing and smiled at the closed door. "Goodbye."

-x-

Carrying on His Will:

-x-

"This doesn't seem like you Hiriluk," Dr. Kureha commented as she sat on her doctor bed and stared at the sack of pink dust in her hand. "It's not like you to give up so easily."

"I'm almost out of time," Hiriluk told her.

"NO! HE COULDN'T MEAN..." Dr. Kureha gasped.

-x-

The civilians were all in a panic and were confronting King Wapol's guards.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"THE TWENTY MD'S ARE ILL?"

"WHO'LL TREAT THE COUNTRY'S SICK PEOPLE?"

"AT LEAST GIVE US MEDICINE!"

"It's no good talking to us!" one of Wapol's guards exclaimed as he and a bunch of other guards stood in a lift that carted people up a rope way to Drum Castle. "We're just telling you..."

"EVERYBODY GET OUT OF MY WAY!" came a loud shout from Hiriluk. Everyone turned and went wide-eyed when they saw the quack sprinting towards then, he was hugging his briefcase to his chest and was holding two bombs with lit fuses in his hands. KA-BOOOOOM! Hiriluk threw the bombs and blew Wapol's soldiers out of the way.

Koff! Koff! "That guy's insane!" one of Wapol's guards grunted as he stood in the smoke from the explosion. KLIK! The nozzle of a gun suddenly poked the soldier in the face.

"Take me up the rope way to the castle!" Hiriluk ordered his new hostage. He was going to save the Twenty MD's... and was falling right into Wapol's trap.

-x-

WHAM! Hiriluk's door burst opened and Dr. Kureha stood in the doorway. Chopper dove out of bed, "WHERE'S THAT DAMN FOOL HIRILUK?" Dr. Kureha demanded as Chopper limped for cover. "For crying out loud! You don't have to hide, I know all about you! Now where'd that quack run off to? Damn it, talk! I know you can!"

"D-doctor got better so he went into town," Chopper stammered as he 'peeked' around the other side of Hiriluk's work bench. "That's all."

"Better?" Dr. Kureha repeated as she walked over to Chopper. "He can't get better. His condition can't be cured by any treatment known to modern medical science."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Chopper argued, he held up the remaining half of the Amiudake Mushroom, "Look at this, he's all better now! I gave him this to eat!"

Dr. Kureha saw the mushroom and gasped, '"It can't be..."

"This is a miracle cure," Chopper explained, "so he's fine now. He said he felt like he was full of energy. Doctor said he was going to teach me to be a..." POW! Dr. Kureha lashed out her fist and punched Chopper in the face, the reindeer was sent flying across the room, Dr. Kureha's sunglasses landed on the ground next to him, revealing her angry expression.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Chopper demanded. Whap! Dr. Kureha grabbed him and pulled him up, then socked him in the face again, POW! Chopper slammed into the bookcase and went crashing down to the ground, THUD!

"YOU STUPID FOOL!" Dr. Kureha hollered at him. "Don't you know... that mushroom..." Kureha trailed off, she wasn't seething any more, she was crying, "it's poison. Once you eat it, you're dead in half a day." Dr. Kureha dropped to her knees and sobbed, "That's why that idiot came to me..."

Chopper sat up and stared in surprise, "That can't be true!" he exclaimed. "I checked in one of doctor's books! It can defeat all diseases..." Chopper pointed to Hiriluk's skull and crossbones hanging on the wall, "There was a skull next to the picture of the Amiudake Mushroom! And doctor said he got better! THERE'S NO WAY HE'LL DIE! YOU'RE LYING TO ME!"

-x-

Hiriluk's hijacked cart was racing up the rope way to Wapol's castle, "STOP DAWDLING!" Hiriluk shouted at the guard that was peddling the cart. "HURRY IT UP! I HAVEN'T GOT ANY TIME LEFT TO WASTE!"

-x-

"He was touched by the kindness in your heart," Dr. Kureha explained, "that skull in that book means poison, understand."

"LIAR!" Chopper objected.

"No, remember it!" Dr. Kureha ordered. "There's no known medicine in this world that can work for all diseases. That's why doctors exist."

"But I..." Chopper started to say.

"Listen!" Dr. Kureha interrupted. "You can't save people with just kindness! If you really want to save them, you need medical skills and the training to use them! Without that, you can't save anyone!"

"WWWAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Chopper broke down and cried. HE'D JUST KILLED HIRILUK!

"You poor fool," Dr. Kureha muttered as she picked up her sunglasses and put them back on. Chopper's cries were carried by the winter wind and could be heard all across Drum Island.

-x-

"King Wapol, Hiriluk is heading towards the castle," one of Wapol's guards reported as he knelt in front of the King's throne.

"IT WORKED!" Wapol exclaimed. "MAAA HAHAHAHAHA! THAT FOOL!"

"Is he serious?" Dalton thought to himself as he stood next to Wapol's throne. "Why? What for?"

-x-

Dr. Kureha grabbed a bottle of rum off of Hiriluk's work bench, "He'll never return to this house," she somberly told Chopper. "I guess he chose the castle to be his tomb."

-x-

"I DEMAND THAT YOU TAKE ME TO THE PATIENT!" Hiriluk shouted as he stood at the top of Drum Rock. "I'VE COME TO SAVE THE TWENTY MD'S!" Hiriluk suddenly realized that the twenty men were that he had come to treat were all standing out in front of the castle, all perfectly healthy. "WHAT?"

"MAAA HAHAHAHAHA!" Wapol laughed as he sat on top of Robson, he wasn't alone, he had nearly a hundred of his men as well as Dalton waiting outside the castle for the quack. "YOU IDIOT! Don't you get it yet? IT WAS A TRAP! The Twenty MD's are fine, as you can see! MAAA HAHAHAHA! The only life in danger here is yours, Hiriluk! MAAAA HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Why did he come here?" Dalton wondered. Hiriluk just stared wide-eyed at Wapol and his men.

-x-

KLOMP! KLOMP! KLOMP! Chopper raced through the snow as fast as his four reindeer legs could take him, he had to see Hiriluk, he had to do something.

-x-

"GUARDS! READY!" Wapol ordered. CLA-CLICK! Wapol's men all loaded and aimed their guns.

"So that was it," Hiriluk remarked. "Good, then none of them are sick." Dalton stared at the crazy quack in surprise. He knew it was a trap, but he came anyway. Tears leaked out of Hiriluk's eyes as he knelt down in the snow, "I was afraid... this was a national crisis! But no, luckily it was just a trick!" The Twenty MD's stared at Hiriluk in surprise. The man was relieved that it was just a trap for him, he'd willingly walked into the trap just to make sure he could save his country.

"HAAA!" Wapol laughed, "Even if the Twenty MD's were sick, I wouldn't want someone like you! IGNORE HIS BABBLING! EXECUTE HIM!"

"Save your bullets!" Hiriluk replied as he held up his hand and made himself comfortable in the snow. "You don't have what it takes to kill someone like me."

"Huh?" was Wapol's intelligent reply.

"When does a man die?" Hiriluk asked rhetorically.

-x-

Chopper raced into town and jumped onto a rope leading up to a castle, the reindeer quickly ran up it towards the top of Drum Rock.

-x-

Hiriluk continued his speech, "When a bullet from a pistol pierces his heart? No. When he's attacked by an incurable disease? No. When he eats a soup of deadly poisonous mushroom? NO! A man dies when people forget him." Dalton fought back tears as Hiriluk casually poured something from his briefcase into a vial. "Even if I should disappear right now, my dream will come true. And when it does, the citizen's sickness of the heart will be cured as well." Hiriluk looked up from his concoction, "You're crying... why Dalton?"

The Captain of Drum Island's Security had tears streaking down his face, "Is that... true for our country?" Dalton asked.

Hiriluk smiled, "Yeah, if the will to do it is passed on," he replied.

"COME ON DALTON!" Wapol shouted, "WHY ARE YOU CRYING? MAA HAHAHAHA!"

"Very shortly a monster will be coming," Hiriluk informed Dalton, "he's my son. Please, don't hurt him." Blood leaked out of Hiriluk's mouth and he had purple rings around his eyes, his time was nearly over. "Don't worry Chopper," Hiriluk thought to his son, who was nearly at the top of the rope. "Your mushroom won't kill me."

"I'VE HAD A MARVELOUS LIFE!" Hiriluk shouted as he held his glass up over his head, he tilted his head back and downed his mixed concoction.

At the same time, Dr. Kureha drank from the bottle of rum down in Hiriluk's cave, "Good bye, Quack," she thought somberly.

"THANK YOU CHOPPER!" Hiriluk yelled, then he did what he did best, KA-BOOOOOOM! The explosion shook the island and the huge cloud of black smoke covered the entire peak of Drum Rock and could be seen all around the island. Chopper's poisonous mushroom hadn't killed Hiriluk, he'd gone out with a bang. And since Chopper, Kureha, and Dalton still fondly remembered him, he'd never truly be gone.

Hiriluk's black top hat blew away and landed on the ground in front of Chopper as he stood at the top of Drum Rock. Chopper stared at the hat, memories of his father flooded his mind. Dalton stared at the spot where Hiriluk had once sat in shock.

"MAAAAA HAHAHAHAHA!" Wapol laughed. "HE BLEW HIMSELF UP! WHAT AN IDIOT!"

Chopper glared angrily at the bastard who dared mock Hiriluk's memory, "RRAAAAAAAHHHH!" Chopper let out a loud roar, his eyes glowed red and his bandages tore as he transformed into his monstrous eight-foot tall Human Form. Overcome with rage, Chopper charged across the clearing at Wapol and his men.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?" one of the guards shrieked.

"IT'S A MONSTER!" another screamed. "SHOOT HIM!"

"STOP!" Dalton commanded as he ran out and met Chopper head on. Dalton had transformed into his human-bison hybrid form, and managed to overpower Chopper's monstrous strength with strength of his own. WHAM! Dalton shoved Chopper backwards and slammed the monster reindeer down onto his back in the snow.

"Leave! Leave here at once!" Dalton instructed Chopper. "If you can't even defeat me, you can't possibly defeat them! I apologize for those who had the nerve to laugh at Hiriluk's death, but without enough strength you'd only die in vain." Chopper's anger faded when he realized that the man he was fighting was crying. He was truly sorry for what had happened and was trying to protect Chopper as Hiriluk had instructed.

"You have to live!" Dalton urged Chopper, "Live for the sake of this country! Please!"

Dalton released Chopper and watched as he walked back down the rope he'd come up, safe from harm.

"YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!" Wapol shouted.

"JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Dalton snapped. "The only man who cared enough to try and cure this sick country just blew himself up! Even while everyone else just gave up in despair, this kind doctor tried to save us all and died for it!"

"SO WHAT IF SOMEONE LIKE THAT DIES?" Wapol retorted.

"I've seen the path this country is on," Dalton said as he turned to face the King. "It's the path of destruction! As long as we stay here it can't be rebuilt! Even if medical care progresses, even if medical research goes on, THERE IS NO MEDICINE THAT CAN CURE STUPIDITY!"

"That's the thanks I get for being lenient with you," Wapol growled, "You're a fool as well! ALL YOU'VE DONE IS MAKE ME ANGRY!"

-x-

"PLEASE! Please teach me how to be a doctor!" Chopper begged Dr. Kureha, she stood on the ledge of Hiriluk's house and stared down at the crying reindeer as he waved Hiriluk's jolly roger over his head. Hiriluk's black top hat was on a branch behind him. "You've got to teach me to be a doctor! You've got to! I'LL BECOME THE MIRACLE CURE! I'LL BECOME A DOCTOR WHO CAN CURE ANYTHING! You'll see, I'll even cure a country! I'll do anything you ask me, but I've got to become a doctor... BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S NO DISEASE, NO ILLNESS IN THIS WORLD THAT CAN'T BE CURED!"

"Call me... doctorine," Dr. Kureha instructed.

-x-

KLANK! A metal door with bars was slammed shut and Dalton was left lying on his side in a cell for speaking out against Wapol's rule. "I won't die," Dalton silently vowed. "I'll carry on his will."

He remained in that cell for five years, until one day the kingdom was attacked by the Blackbeard Pirates. Wapol and his men fled like rats from a sinking ship without even attempting to fight the pirates. When they finally left, the villagers freed Dalton from his cell, the rope-ways were all removed and Dalton worked with the citizens to rebuild their country after all the tragedies that had befallen it.

During that time, Chopper studied medicine under Dr. Kureha. With the King and his men gone, Chopper and Dr. Kureha took it upon themselves to relocate to the abandoned castle.

-End Chopper Origin Flashback-

"So since then, Chopper's been studying medicine under you," Nami concluded as she sat in her bed, back in the room in Drum Castle. Y/N and Sanji were sitting silently at the table and Ms. Valentine was wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Yeah, I taught him everything I know," Dr. Kureha replied. "He's been a good student."

"Well we've got to take him now," Y/N resolved. "A doctor with Hiriluk's heart and your medical expertise is bound to be the greatest doctor in the world."

"Only the best for our crew," Nami chirped.

-x-

"It's him!" Luffy realized as he stared out one of the front windows of Drum Castle. "IT'S THE GUY WITH THE ANNOYING MOUTH!"

"MAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Wapol laughed as he stood on top of Drum Rock with Chess, Kuromarimo, and Robson all behind him and looked upon his old castle. "AT LAST! I'VE RETURNED! NOW WE SHALL RESTORE DRUM KINGDOM!"

-x-

WHAM! Chopper came charging into the room, "DOCTORINE! DOCTORINE!" he shouted. "THERE'S TROUBLE! WAPOL IS BACK!"

Y/N stood up, "Well that's convenient," he remarked, he turned and glanced at Sanji, "Shall we?"

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!