Wednesday, October 11, 2006

her's a quck post! runing late!

Michiyo stared at the floor as everyone looked at her. “What?” Zoro asked. “The cures on the island…” Michiyo said quietly. “Well, let’s go!” Yumi went to turn the boat. Sanji nodded and helped. They seemed so calm about it. But Jack would be waiting.
“But wait…if these are just patches…can’t we just peel them off?” Zoro asked. “I tried that.” Michiyo rubbed her neck. “The minute you do, it dissolves…” everyone was quiet. Michiyo stood up and walked behind Zoro. She ripped the patch from his flesh, making him flinch. “What!? Michiyo?!” Michiyo winced in pain as the patch dissolved. She looked up at Yumi. “You next…” she said with a forced smile.
One by one Michiyo pulled off their patches; each time she was in unbearable pain. But, hid it behind a forced smile. “So what is the cure?” Sanji asked while rubbing his neck. Michiyo scanned the book and mumbled to herself. “It looks like it’s some sort of plant….a flower maybe?” she pointed to a picture of a purplish flower. “So all we have to do is get this flower…and everyone will be ok?” Zoro asked. Michiyo slightly nodded. “Maybe…” “Maybe?” all three of them said at once. “This is an old book….who knows if it’s accurate or not…” Michiyo said. “But it’s all we have...” Zoro said sternly. “So how long do we have? You know, before…” everyone got silent. Michiyo swallowed hard. “We have approximately….forty eight hours…two days.” Every one was still silent. “What about you?” Yumi finally asked. Michiyo’s eyes fell. “Same…” she said casually. Everyone still stayed quiet. Finally Michiyo spoke up. “Come on now! Let’s go! We have lives on the line, remember?” with that, she smiled a determined smile and left the room. When she turned the corner, she fell to her knees and breathed heavily. She barely had enough energy to stand. But she had to keep going. She had to stay awake. The crew was counting on her. But she wanted to cry. She wasn’t crying about the crew…she knew they would be fine. She cried because she lied. She had absorbed four patches. Who knew how long she had. She could die at any given moment. So she did the best she could do with that haunting thought in the back of her mind.
After what was left of the crew had turned the ship around, they decided to get some well deserved sleep. Michiyo, though, stayed in the kitchen, too worried to sleep. She heard the door open. She turned to see Zoro walk in. he seemed as surprised to see her as she was to see him. “Why aren’t you in bed? You really need your rest.” He asked concerned. “I’m not tired,” she lied. “Well, maybe I can keep you company. There’s no room in the cabins. Plus, I’m not that tired either.” he pulled up a chair near Michiyo. There was a short silence. “What’s wrong? I can tell something’s bothering you.” he looked at her intensely. Michiyo swallowed to fight back her tears. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him that she was afraid. Afraid that the moment she closed her eyes, she wouldn’t be able to wake up. She wanted to tell him she might die. But she held her tongue. She knew she would give him a reason to worry when their might not be. She just smiled and shook her head. Zoro, still sensing something off, scooted closer to her and put his arm around her. Michiyo gave in. tears began to spill from her eyes as she leaned on him. Zoro, without having her explain, seemed to understand. He didn’t know exactly why she was crying, but he knew enough to know how to handle it. He just patted her on the back and cradled her until she finally drifted to sleep. Zoro let her rest on the table. He got up and put a blanket around her shoulders. But he didn’t leave. He sat in the chair right in front of her and watched her sleep. He wanted her to tell him what was wrong. He knew he could help her if she would only open up to him. Zoro just sat there in the moonlight, wondering, thinking, and caring.

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