Moving Forward

"Careful, careful!" 

The Kuja burst through the hospital doors carrying the Supreme Five. They were met with people cowering in fear. They all looked on in shock when they saw the Supreme Five members in horrible states. 

"Where are the doctors?!" 

Hancock shouted. 

"W-We don't know. A lot of them suddenly vanished into thin air, the others hid to avoid the mayhem." 

A woman answered while trembling in fear. 

"Y-You're the Warlord Boa Hancock, right?" 

"That's not important. Tell me where-" 

"So even the Warlords are here to kill us?" 

"This is a catastrophe!" 

"They already too-" 

A blast of conqueror's haki hit those inside and knocked them unconscious. 

"We don't have time to waste on hysteria." 

Hancock said. 

"Carry them to the emergency rooms and start working on them." 

"Yes, Snake Princess!" 

The Kuja girls put the Supreme Five on stretchers and pushed them deeper into the hospital. They followed the signs to quickly find the Emergency Room. 

"What are-Ekk?!" 

Luffy and Hancock grabbed any doctor they could find on their way there. They explained to the doctors what happened to Caria and the boys before pushing them into the Emergency Room. 

"Wait, aren't you guys pirates? This day is just getting-" 

Hancock slapped a doctor who was starting to panic. She pulled the doctor by the collar. 

"Get rid of all unnecessary thoughts and focus on saving your island's leaders." 

She looked all the doctors in the eyes. 

"If any of these five die, you better pray the devil will be willing to welcome you to hell after I'm done with you." 

She released the doctor. 

"Get to work!" 

"Yes Ma'am!" 

The doctors immediately started moving. 

"Blue Fan and Ran, you two assist them to the best of your abilities. The rest of you stand guard and make sure no one interrupts them." 

"Yes, Snake Princess!" 

With that, the treatment to save the Supreme Five had begun. 

"You were so cool, Hancock!" 

Luffy patted her on the back. She looked at him for a bit and showed a weak smile. 

"To be honest, I've reached my limit both mentally and physically." 

She stumbled out of the Emergency Room with Luffy and Elder Nyon behind her. Once outside, she slouched on the walls and sat on the floor. 

"I know the feeling." 

Luffy slouched on the wall and sat next to her. 

"Hancock." 

"Yes, Luffy." 

"I'm glad you're alive." 

"Me too. I'm glad we both survived." 

The two of them closed their eyes with a smile. They passed out then and there. 

"Seriously." 

Elder Nyon stood in front of them. 

"Despite being in pretty bad shape themselves, they pushed to ensure they saved others first. Did you two really bond with those on this island?" 

She looked at Hancock's sleeping face. 

"Luffy is one thing, but I never thought I would see you try so hard for other people....I guess you're starting to change." 

As if responding to Elder Nyon, Hancock's head slid against the wall and landed on Luffy's shoulder. His head also slid down and landed on Hancock's head. The two slept peacefully with their heads together. Elder Nyon smiled. 

"You two really make a great couple." 

She turned her back to them to check on those in the Emergency Room. As she did so, a smile appeared on Luffy and Hancock's face. 

The aftermath of the battle against Emilio and his clones was disastrous, to say the least. The number of those who were killed in the riots was nearly 500. The number of those who died by the clones exploding exceeded 1000. The number of those with major injuries was nearly 300. If you included those who died in the recent pirate attack and Emilio's clones, the island population was cut by nearly 20,000. In other words, in less than a week, the island had lost two-thirds of its inhabitants. Despite this, time on the island couldn't afford to standstill. Everything had to keep moving forward. 

The next day. 

"Hmm...." 

Hancock opened her eyes with a low groan. She sat up and realized she was lying in a bed. 

"Good morning." 

She turned her head and saw Elder Nyon sitting in a chair peeling an apple. She got up and gave Hancock the apple. Hancock looked at the apple with a frown. 

"Did you wash your hands?" 

Elder Nyon looked at her for a few seconds before biting the apple herself. 

"Hey!" 

Hancock grabbed her face. 

"How dare you eat your queen's food?!" 

"Shut up! I peeled it out of the kindness of my heart and the first thing you do is ridicule me?!" 

Elder Nyon started fighting to take another bite. Hancock held onto her arms and two started to wrestle. 

"You insolent hag!" 

"You ungrateful brat! I should've stabbed you in your sleep!" 

"Try it now, you old bit-" 

"Hancock?" 

"?!" 

Hancock froze when she heard Luffy's voice behind her. She pushed Elder Nyon to the floor and grabbed a knife and apple on the bedside table. She spun around with a smile on her face. 

"Luffy, you're awake? Do you want an apple~?" 

She spoke with a sweet voice. Luffy opened his eyes and sat up while smacking his lips. 

"Sure, I'm starving." 

"Alright, I'll peel it for you." 

Apple peels flew in the air as Hancock moved her knife with skill and swiftness that would make Mihawk proud. 

"Here, Luffy! I craved it into little strawhats!" 

She handed Luffy the plate. 

"Thanks." 

The apple slices disappeared the moment he held the plate. Hancock took the plate and immediately started peeling him another. 

"By the way, how long were we out for?" 

"We were out for..." 

Hancock looked over to the side of her bed and whispered. 

"Hey, Granny. How long were we out for?" 

Elder Nyon looked up at her with a glare as she laid on the ground. 

"Screw you, you ungrateful little-" 

A knife stabbed into the floor a few inches from her face. 

"Around 12 hours, My Queen." 

Hancock turned back to Luffy. 

"Around 12 hours, Luffy~." 

Luffy became quiet for a bit. 

"So I missed 6 meals?" 

(What kind of calculation is he doing?) 

Elder Nyon thought as she got up. She cleared her throat. 

"Do you want to hear a report of what happened in the 12 hours you were out?" 

Hancock's eyes widened. 

"That's right, Caria!" 

She grabbed Elder Nyon's shoulders. 

"Is Caria okay?!" 

"Well....She survived." 

Elder Nyon looked away from Hancock's pleading gaze. 

"All of the Supreme Five survived, but it doesn't look good." 

"What do you mean?" 

Hancock and Luffy were led to the room where the Supreme Five were by Elder Nyon. 

"Yo." 

They were greeted by Kelly who was there with Connor. They were watching over the Supreme Five who were all in bed. 

"What's the situation with them?" 

Hancock asked. 

"Well, Jessie has several broken limbs, but he'll recover because he's an Awaken Zoan now. Astrid had to have an emergency surgery, but he's out of the hard stage now and will recover." 

Connor stopped talking and started grimacing. 

"Caria is okay but..." 

"I don't have much longer to live." 

Caria sat up from her bed. 

"How long were you awake?" 

Kelly asked. 

"I just woke up." 

"Caria." 

Hancock walked up to her bed and hugged her. 

"Hey, Hancock." 

Hancock released her and looked at her. Caria like Hancock was wrapped in bandages, but her hair was a ghastly white colour and her skin was pale as well. 

"....Was what Emilio said true about you dying because of the drug you took?" 

Caria nodded. 

"It's the price for being able to push past my limits." 

She clenched her trembling hands. 

"I can't hold a sword anymore...." 

She showed a dry smile. 

"My body will completely shut down in a year or two." 

Tears gathered in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Hancock. I might not be able to see you get married..." 

"It's okay because I won't let you die." 

Hancock held her face. 

"I'll use all of the World Government resources to find a way to extend your life. I promise." 

"Hancock...." 

"It will be fine." 

Luffy spoke up with a smile. 

"I'm sure Chopper will be able to cure you in the future." 

"Chopper? Your crew's pet Racoon?" 

"Nah, Chopper is our doctor and he's an amazing one too. I'm sure he'll help you out." 

Luffy walked up to Caria and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"Just wait until we find the One Piece! I'll bring the crew here and he'll look after you!" 

"I see..." 

Caria showed a genuine smile but spoke with a strained voice. 

"Then, I'll make sure to hold out until then." 

Luffy nodded. 

"Thank you, Luffy." 

"No problem, Hancock." 

Caria looked at Kelly and Connor. 

"What about Frantz and Luka?" 

"Frantz barely made it. He had lost a lot of blood and his old wounds had reopened. He was the closest to death but he pulled through in the end. The doctors say he'll be okay if he gets long periods of rest. 

"Thank goodness." 

Caria breathed a sigh of relief at Kelly's words. 

"And Luka?" 

Kelly and Connor frowned. 

"Physical, he's not fine but he'll manage. Mentally, we don't know. The doctors said he appeared to have suffered great psychological shock, and they don't know when or if he'll wake up." 

"He'll wake up." 

Everybody turned to Jessie's bed and saw him sitting up with both arms in casts. 

"Luka will definitely wake up and when he does, we'll face his sins together." 

Caria nodded in agreement. 

"We went through hell, but we all need to keep moving on. No matter how much we're hurting. That's what it means to be human. That's what it means to live."