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Chapter 95: Kindred Spirits
To the little reindeer, the blue-haired girl before him was the most unique human he had ever encountered.
She radiated a distinct sense of familiarity, as if she were a member of his own herd, making him instinctively want to draw closer.
However, a deeper, more massive and primal fear kept him at bay. It was the same terror he used to feel as an ordinary reindeer when facing an apex predator in the mountains.
If I get any closer, she might eat me.
Because of this, he hadn't wanted to enter this room at all. But Doctorine had ordered him to deliver medicine to the patient, and he couldn't refuse her.
I just need to finish everything quickly before she notices me, and then sneak out...
Chopper prayed silently in his heart, his small body trembling slightly from nerves.
Holding his breath, he stood on his hoof-tips and gingerly took out the syringe. With movements that were both incredibly gentle and exceptionally practiced, he located the vein and slowly pushed the medicine into the patient on the bed.
Once finished, he let out a long, silent exhale of relief.
Luck was on his side; he hadn't been spotted.
He took a moment to carefully observe the patient's condition. Seeing that her sickly pallor seemed to have receded and her breathing had stabilized, he felt a bit more at ease.
Now came the most critical step—retreating safely without alerting the terrifying presence in the room.
He turned around and tiptoed toward the door, each step as light as a falling snowflake.
Just then...
"Oh? When did you come in?"
A face wearing a gentle smile suddenly leaned down from above the bed, staring straight at Chopper just as he was about to slip away.
To Chopper, those purple-hued eyes seemed filled with greed and hunger.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Chopper's soul nearly left his body at the sudden voice and gaze. His entire body went rigid before collapsing into a heap on the floor, the empty syringe falling with a loud clatter.
"I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to disturb you! P-Please... don't eat me..."
His fur stood on end from sheer terror. He curled up in the corner, shivering violently, not daring to look up even once.
Ganyu watched his reaction, tilting her head in confusion.
Do I really look that frightening to a reindeer?
"Why would I eat you?"
Her voice was as gentle as possible, laced with a hint of bewilderment.
In truth, she had noticed him the moment he sneaked into the room. Seeing him focused on treating Vivi, she hadn't wanted to disturb him, opting instead to quietly observe the reindeer doctor at work.
But seeing him try to sneak away after finishing the treatment, Ganyu felt she had to communicate with him. After all, if she didn't establish a connection now, inviting him onto the ship later would be much more difficult.
She just hadn't expected her appearance to scare him so badly.
"You must be the reindeer who pulled the sleigh earlier, right?" Ganyu tried to break the ice with a harmless topic.
Chopper nodded timidly. He didn't dare speak, nor did he dare open his eyes, as if ignoring her existence would make him invisible.
Ganyu found it somewhat amusing.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, reached out, and scooped the shivering ball of fur onto her lap.
Feeling the fluffy texture beneath her hands, she unconsciously began to stroke Chopper's back, stroke after stroke, as if soothing a frightened kitten.
The fur was warm and soft; it felt very comfortable.
"Why won't you open your eyes and look at me?" Ganyu asked softly.
Seeing that Chopper still kept his eyes squeezed shut and continued to tremble, she thought for a moment and tried a different approach—one she hoped would resonate with him.
"Look, I have horns on my head, too. Don't you think there's a possibility... that we might actually be of the same kind?"
Same kind?
Those two words struck a chord in Chopper instantly.
His eyes snapped open, filled with surprise and anticipation. He stared at Ganyu for a long time, realizing she wasn't as terrifying as he had imagined. The fear in his eyes gradually receded.
After a long hesitation, he asked in a timid voice, "Are... are you a human?"
Finally, he speaks.
Ganyu smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, her tone becoming even gentler. "No."
"I knew it, you're human too..." Chopper habitually lowered his head, a massive sense of disappointment washing over him.
But a few seconds later, his brain finally processed what she had actually said. He snapped his head back up, his eyes wide and round.
"W-What?! You said you're not...?!"
His gaze landed on the pair of small horns resting on Ganyu's head. The shape... they looked a bit like the goat horns he had seen in books.
Could she be a goat that ate a Devil Fruit?
The thought instantly excited Chopper. He summoned his courage and asked with great expectation, "T-Then, are you a goat?"
For some reason, the moment he asked that question, Chopper felt the hand stroking him stiffen for a split second. The pressure of the hand increased imperceptibly, causing him a tiny bit of pain.
"I am not a goat."
Ganyu lifted Chopper off her lap and placed him gently on the bed so they were roughly at eye level.
"I am a creature that doesn't exist in this world, called a 'Qilin.' You probably haven't heard of it."
"Qilin?"
Chopper frantically searched through all the medical knowledge and animal encyclopedias in his brain but ultimately had to shake his head regretfully. "I-I've never heard of that creature..."
But he quickly looked up again, asking with curiosity and hope, "T-Then how did you turn into this form? Did you eat a weird fruit too?"
"No." Ganyu shook her head slightly, a faint smile gracing her lips. "Taking a human form is an ability I was born with. It has nothing to do with the Devil Fruits of this world."
As a Qilin adept, taking human form was simple. Moreover, if she remembered correctly, this particular body was a half-human, half-Qilin hybrid, making the transformation even more natural.
Hearing this, Chopper didn't press further.
Just knowing that she wasn't purely human—and that she, like him, possessed "non-human" traits—was enough to make him faint with happiness.
Ever since he ate that strange fruit and transformed into a monster that was neither reindeer nor human, he had suffered too much rejection and pain.
His original herd saw him as an anomaly and cast him out. Humans greeted him with hunting rifles and looks of disgust, calling him a "monster."
Now, he had finally found a creature like himself.
"D-Do you have a name?" Chopper's voice lost its earlier timidity, replaced by eager curiosity. "Are... are those humans your partners? How do you get along with them? Do they... do they shoot at you? Do they call you a monster?"
For him, it was rare to find someone he could talk to without pressure.
"My name is Ganyu..."
Ganyu naturally understood what he was thinking and felt deep sympathy for his plight. She was incredibly patient, treating him like a young child.
She recounted her meeting and adventures with Luffy, Zoro, and the others, sharing snippets of life at sea and their current situation.
Of course, she also took the opportunity to explain Luffy's abilities and her own in more detail. She used this chance to tell Chopper that he wasn't the only one in the world with Devil Fruit powers, and that he was certainly not a monster.
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