I Sell Gacha Jars in One Piece

Chopper was extremely particular about the tanuki thing.

Any time someone called him one, he would jump up and protest on the spot, without fail.

"Then why is your nose blue?"

Robin pointed at it with a sly grin. She had already figured out he was a reindeer from the start. She just wanted to tease him a little.

"I am not a tanuki. I am a reindeer!" Chopper declared, rising up on two legs with great dignity.

"Oh, a reindeer? Perfect timing, actually. We're all quite hungry." Robin's expression shifted into something dangerously casual. "Guess we'll have reindeer for dinner."

"No, don't eat me!"

Somehow Chopper found the legs to run, and he took off across the snow in a panic.

Robin watched him scramble around and finally felt satisfied enough to let it go.

...

"Little reindeer, stop running! We're not bad people. We won't eat you!"

Lily stepped forward to clear things up.

Chopper froze, looked at her, and then screamed again. "A talking pet! It's a monster!"

"Who are you calling a monster? Can't you talk too?"

Lily planted her hands on her hips and glared at him.

Chopper blinked. Then he thought about it.

"...I can talk too."

He slowed to a stop.

"Alright, alright. That's enough from everyone."

Amon stepped in before things could spiral further. "Little reindeer, what's your name? Don't be scared. We're just traveling merchants passing through. And besides being a merchant, I'm also a doctor. Let me take a look at those injuries first."

He crouched down, ready to help.

"A doctor? You're a doctor too, sir?"

Chopper had been saved by Dr. Hiruluk. He had a natural softness toward anyone who called themselves one. The wariness in his face settled a little. He gripped the trunk of a nearby tree and peered out from behind it with wide, curious eyes.

"Of course. I'm quite a good one, actually. Come over and let me treat you. You'll see for yourself."

Amon smiled and waved him over.

Chopper hesitated for a moment. Then he walked forward.

Ever since accidentally eating the Human-Human Fruit, almost no one had looked at him with any real warmth. But Amon had stepped in without a second thought to protect him, and hearing him say he was a doctor loosened something in Chopper's chest. He came forward slowly, each step a little less careful than the last.

Robin watched him approach, small and wary, and almost reached for another joke. One look at how rattled he still was, and she decided to leave him alone this time.

"Come on. Nothing to worry about." Amon kept his voice easy, and that settled Chopper the rest of the way.

"Not too bad. These are all light injuries."

The Human-Human Fruit had done good things for Chopper's constitution. Despite taking that many hits, nothing was serious. Just bruising that needed to be worked loose. Amon ran his hands gently along Chopper's coat, applying steady pressure to break up the blood pooling beneath the surface.

"It hurts a little, but it's getting better."

He worked carefully through the fur, and it had to be said, Chopper's coat was something else. Soft in a way that even the most pampered cat or dog couldn't match. Robin and Lily were watching from the side with barely contained longing, stars practically forming in their eyes.

Chopper felt a vague, unnamed unease creep over him.

If Amon weren't holding him in place, and if his body weren't actually feeling better with every passing second, he might have bolted.

Robin watched Chopper's expression go soft and comfortable, and inspiration struck.

"Reindeer stew is made by simmering the reindeer low and slow. The key is to massage the muscles first, get the blood flowing. That's what gives the broth such a rich, clean flavor..."

Chopper nearly launched himself off the ground.

"Robin!"

"Ha. Alright, alright. I'm done teasing you."

Amon said her name once, flatly, and Robin covered her mouth with a laugh and backed off.

...

"There. Try walking around. Does it still hurt?"

Amon finished and let him go.

"It doesn't hurt at all!"

Chopper took a few steps, then stopped, genuinely astonished. His entire body, which had been aching from head to hoof, felt completely fine.

He dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Thank you so much, doctor!"

"Ha, don't mention it." Amon waved a hand. "But you never told me your name. And what brought you out here?"

He already knew, of course. But it was their first meeting, and there was no graceful way to explain that, so he played along.

"My name is Chopper, sir!"

Then his eyes went wide. "Oh no. Dr. Hiruluk is waiting for me to bring back the mushroom!"

He shifted forms on the spot, dropping back into his full reindeer shape, and looked up at the cliff ledge where the mushroom was still sitting.

"Is that the one you need?"

Amon had already spotted it, the colorful mushroom at the top of the rock face. He stopped Chopper before he could jump.

"Robin. Could you grab that for him?"

Robin glanced at the mushroom, then at Chopper. When Amon quietly explained it was for someone who was sick, she nodded without hesitation.

"Mil Fleur."

She stretched her hand out. Dozens of arms bloomed from the air, linking together in a chain that reached across the cliff face and came back with the mushroom in seconds.

Chopper stared.

"A monster. A monster! That arm, it's so long!"

He was only three or four years old. Brave was not a word that applied to him yet. He dove behind Amon's legs and pressed himself flat against the ground, peeking out with one eye, trembling.

"You're right. I am a monster." Robin's voice dropped to something quiet and conspiratorial. "One that feeds on reindeer hearts, specifically."

She had no idea why she enjoyed this so much.

But watching him shake on his little legs was simply too good to stop.

Chopper bolted.

He was running in circles again.