Caught Off Guard
The movements were impossibly fast- her eyes were incapable of even registering what was happening. It all lasted for less than an instant, then the high-pitched whine of bullets racing through the air ceased, and Nami looked down at her blouse- it was covered in blood. She felt on the verge of a breakdown when she saw the state of her protector- the whole crew was already exhausted from an intense showdown with one of the Yonko. It was inconceivable for a surprise attack to happen now… Zoro tried to breathe, coughing up blood and dropping his blades as he fought to stay conscious.
"Oy… don't you dare get killed here… without a navigator, (cough) we're just drifting on a… piece of wood."
The swordsman choked out, his legs giving way beneath him as he collapsed, the dark crimson from his wounds soaking the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny as Nami screamed.
"ZORO!"
The entire crew immediately dropped what they had been doing in reaction to Nami's terrified outcry, all rushing onto the deck. Sanji was the first to reach her, charging out from the kitchen.
"What's wrong, Nami-sa"
The cook nearly gagged on his own words, staring in shock- first at the blood that was splattered on Nami's shirt, face and hands, then at the sight of Zoro laying facedown on the deck with two holes in his torso. Sanji's mouth hung agape, his cigarette falling to the deck floor. Luffy, even after just waking up, was there milliseconds later, yelling out in confusion, rage and shock when he saw the state of his first mate.
"ZORO!"
"What happened?!"
Usopp slammed open the door to his workshop, followed closely by Franky as Robin and Chopper appeared from the entrance to the library, Brook leaping down from the bow of the ship.
"Zoro-san!"
Nami was trembling violently on her knees in front of Zoro, her voice filled with fear.
"I-I don't… It just… he- there was a sound like gunfire and he- I couldn't see it- they went by so fast…"
"Somebody move his katana so I have more space! Robin, help me flip him over!"
Using her powers, Robin sprouted a dozen arms from the bloodstained deck to carefully lift up Zoro while Brook took his katana and Chopper gently lowered the swordsman back down as he was rolled over. The young doctor tore open Zoro's shirt.
"Robin, apply pressure to both entry wounds, and keep it constant!"
The archeologist sprouted two pairs of hands from Zoro's chest, each pressing down firmly on the two bullet holes. Chopper slung his bag off his back, using one hand to open the pack and the other to check the swordsman's pulse. At the same time, he placed an ear against his chest, listening intently.
"He's got a faint pulse- but he's not breathing."
Everyone was utterly quiet as Chopper worked rapidly to stabilize Zoro. They were all worried that if they so much as breathed at the wrong moment, the doctor might lose his concentration. Brook silently hummed his favorite tune to himself to ward off his worry and fear. Usopp paced back and forth, fiddling with his hands. Franky kept hoping for a miracle. Nami just sat, too shocked to do more than tremble and shiver. Sanji couldn't even bring himself to light another cigarette. Luffy just stood still, looking down as Chopper worked, his expression impossible to read under his hat and in the darkness of the night. Both Luffy and Sanji were visibly tense, so they knew the attack was coming before the gunfire could even be heard from the enemy ship. Luffy yelled orders as he vaulted himself up to the crow's nest.
"Franky! Guard Robin and Chopper! Everyone else, get down!"
"Huh?"
Despite their initial confusion, Brook and Usopp dropped to the ground, Usopp pulling Nami down with him, while Franky spread out his arms standing in front of Robin and Chopper. Sanji flew into the air just before another round of bullets shot over the deck, deflecting harmlessly off of Franky's metallic body.
"Bastards! You won't catch us off guard a second time!"
From the enemy ship, the order for cannon fire was shouted, and a pair of explosions sounded off soon after. Leaping from the crow's nest, Luffy sent one of the two cannonballs flying into the night sky. Walking in the air, Sanji's right leg glowed red as he moved to intercept the second attack.
"Shitty bastards… You won't escape from me!"
Swinging his heel powerfully into the cannonball, Sanji sent it smashing into the enemy ship's mast, the wood snapping and crashing down into the sea. Landing back on deck, Sanji watched as Luffy catapulted himself onto the crippled ship, taking out his fury on anyone on board. Pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, Sanji spoke briefly before igniting his lighter.
"Oy, Brook, Usopp. You two make sure nothing damages the ship. Franky, protect Nami-san and Robin-chan. Don't let these shitheads bother Chopper."
There was no verbal response- they all just steeled themselves against their exhaustion. As Sanji started to move towards the railing, Chopper called to him.
"Sanji, don't go out there! Your left leg is still broken and your internal bleeding will start again if you fight!"
The cook looked back to face the young doctor, who hadn't missed a beat working on Zoro. Chopper wasn't even looking at him. Glancing down at the cast on his leg, Sanji took in a deep breath of his cigarette. Suddenly, swinging his body around, he slammed his left leg into the ship's mast, shattering his cast. The only sign that he felt any pain was that he winced slightly, before he coolly unrolled his left pant leg as he let out his breath, a trail of smoke rising from his lips. Realizing he couldn't stop him, Chopper didn't say anymore as Sanji walked to the Sunny's railing, glancing briefly back at Zoro before flying towards the enemy ship.
There were only about 200 of them, and, using Observation Haki, Sanji easily marked the one who had made the bullets spray over the Sunny moments earlier. Not taking his eye off the gunner, he let himself fall and landed near Luffy's position so that they were back to back on the deck. Sanji let out a puff of smoke, noticing that Luffy was taking special care to personally beat the tar out of every single man that approached him. The cook knew for a fact that a man like his captain could end the fight without throwing a single punch. But he also knew that, even though Luffy didn't usually fight opponents that he so severely outclassed, he did need some way to the release the rage that had a hold on him. He knew his captain well enough to tell all this without exchanging any words- Sanji was there because he felt much the same.
"Oy, Luffy. You willing to share, 50-50?"
Luffy answered through gritted teeth, the veins in his forehead throbbing as he shuddered furiously, full of energy despite the extreme battle he had endured only the day before.
"You got the mast- the ship and the captain are both mine."
Sanji unceremoniously curbstomped one of the rushing enemies' face to the deck of the ship with his right heel, taking in another deep whiff of his cigarette.
"Fair enough. Most of these shitheads are moving to attack you anyway. I'll handle the rest that are on my side of the ship and the bastards below deck."
Luffy started to move to take the offensive, but Sanji caught him by his vest collar.
"Hold on. One condition- see that one with the weird gun? That shitty gunner with the metal chest plate?"
Luffy grunted acknowledgement without looking- he didn't have to look.
"That shitty bastard is MINE. Got it?"
Even in his furious state, Luffy was a little surprised by Sanji's tone. The cook rarely announced whom he planned to fight before actually fighting. But it didn't linger on his mind for too long.
"Yeah!"
"Good- OKAY, YOU SHITTY PIRATES! BRING IT ON!"
It could hardly even be called a fight- the number against the two Strawhat pirates was cut down from 200 to only 2 in a matter of less than 90 seconds. Luffy at least felt a very slight relief of tension as he charged to fight the captain. Sanji, by contrast… for some reason, the fact that the enemies were weak only irritated him increasingly, his eyes resentful by the time he brought himself face-to-face with the gunner who had started the whole chain of events that night. The gunner was grinning, his head filled with delusions of grandeur at the thought of taking out one of the Strawhat pirates.
"Just sit still while I kill you! It'll be easier that way!"
Sanji just kept walking towards the gunner, glancing at his weapon as he prepared to fire. The cook briefly wondered if it was one of those firearms that had eaten a devil fruit- then he decided that he simply didn't care. Even with his broken leg, he was too fast for the bullets to so much as graze him. The gunner misinterpreted this, thinking he was forcing Sanji to stay on the defensive.
"HAH! All you can do is dodge, and that won't last for long! Not against the awesome power of my arsenal!"
The gunner kept boasting, but Sanji couldn't hear him- his mind was drifting back to one of his last memories of the restaurant he called home, Baratie. He was remembering another man who had claimed he was strong, always talking about how he was invincible because of his arsenal of weapons. When Sanji looked again at his opponent, he saw the face of Don Krieg. And it made him furious. While his mind was making the connection, one of the bullets grazed his pant leg, which the gunner again misinterpreted as his own success.
"See? You're wearing out already! You're nothing against real power! In the face of this gun-"
Sanji rushed forward suddenly, ignoring a few bullets that left scratches on his arms and legs, bending down under the firearm and rearing up his right leg.
"Who the hell cares",
Swinging his leg upwards, the cook sent the gun flying into the air towards the open sea. Straightening himself, Sanji spun his leg around again, planting the sole of his shoe squarely into the dazed gunner's face.
"ABOUT YOUR SHITTY WEAPONS?!"
The enemy pirate skidded across the deck, scrambling back to his feet as the cook advanced towards him again.
"Heh, that doesn't matter! My arsenal is unbeatable! Behold, my spea-"
(SNAP)
Sanji broke the weapon in half.
"Eat my swor-"
(THWACK)
Sanji knocked it out of his opponent's hands.
"DAMN YOU! FINE! TAKE MY EXPLODING MAC-"
(KA-WHANG)
Sanji gave the giant iron ball a mighty kick that caused it to explode before it was sent flying. The cook felt reminded yet again of Don Krieg, and the gunner was baffled by the fact that he was still standing. Even as Sanji tasted blood in his mouth, he breathed in deeply to try to calm his nerves. It didn't help much.
"Quit hiding behind your shitty weapons and fight like a real pirate."
"FINE! I'll beat you down the old fashioned way! I can do this all night long! You won't be able to get past my armor! This plating is just about unbreakable! Even you don't have a chance of-"
"You're even worse at listening than my captain."
Sanji's temple was throbbing as his right leg glowed a fiery red, his glare burning with similar intensity.
"I already told you",
He charged forward.
"No one gives a shit",
Fire enveloped his leg as he landed his kick powerfully in the plating's center, shattering it.
"ABOUT WHAT YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS CAN DO!"
The gunner let out a piercing, high-pitched howl in agony, as several of his ribs were broken.
Sanji felt only the slightest bit of pity for his opponent, who was still conscious and writhing in pain. The cook turned his back as if to leave, but paused- he knew that a sneak attack was coming, but he let it come- he hadn't been satisfied by the fight yet. A metal chain flew out from behind him, looping tightly around his torso. Sanji coughed a little blood from the pressure, dropping his cigarette. The gunner laughed behind him.
"HAHAHA! I win! You let your guard down and lost to my arsenal! No one can stop me!"
"Oy. I'm about to teach you a few things. So consider this-"
Sanji wrapped his right leg around the length of the chain, snapping it backward. The whiplash sent his opponent face-first into the railing of the ship. The chain loosened and fell to the deck, Sanji lighting up another cigarette.
"-an act of mercy."
Grabbing the battered pirate by his throat, Sanji lifted him out over the side of the ship, breathing smoke into his face to check if he was still conscious.
"Pay more attention this time- look toward the bow. You see that rubber bastard who's about to hand your captain's ass to him?"
The gunner gagged when he looked, but he nodded.
"That's my captain- you're actually lucky he let me fight you. He'd have brutalized you twice as bad as I did."
There was silence.
"You keep talking about how strong you are because you've got a shitty arsenal. You think that makes you invincible. But that man up there has completely destroyed that bullshit theory dozens of times."
The Strawhat cook recalled how Luffy had battled, unflinchingly, against Don Krieg.
"An old fart told me once what it is that he has and that shitheads like you lack. I don't know if he used the right word, but you can figure it out for yourself. It'll make you just a little bit more of a man."
"I kept telling myself that I couldn't lose- that if I had a huge arsenal I'd be able to fulfill my dream of making my name renowned with my captain."
"…I see."
Sanji's expression shifted, but didn't soften. The gunner started crying.
"Please, take everything you want-food, treasure- just let us live."
Sanji twitched, his grip tightening. The pirate was actually begging for his life.
"I want to achieve my dream, but what's the point if I die?"
Sanji bit his cigarette in half. His glare lost its fire, and in its place, murder filled his eyes. It might have been his exhaustion, or the fact that he had already endured a battle that pushed him to his limits hours earlier. But in that moment, something in him snapped. The words Zoro had said to Mihawk over two years ago at Baratie during their duel, words that had sent chills down Sanji's spine, rang in his ears.
"I prefer death to defeat."
The fact that the pirate who had initiated the night's conflict was, in so many ways, exactly like Don Krieg; the fact that the man who was at Sanji's mercy had actually made it so far into the Grand Line, into the New World; the fact that the gunner had been just plain lucky enough to get as far as the Strawhat crew, who had all trained mercilessly for two years to get to where they were; the fact that the gunner was begging for his life and willing to abandon to his dream; and the fact that, out of sheer stupid luck and circumstance, a man as pathetic as the gunner had been able to mortally wound a man like Zoro- it all just pushed Sanji over the edge. In that instant, Sanji did something that, as a cook, he had long ago sworn he'd never do. And after it had been done, he vowed he'd never commit the act again. As the cook spat the remnant of his cigarette down after the body that he let fall into the sea, he turned back towards his captain.
"OY, LUFFY! I'M GONNA FIND THE FOOD STORES AND THEN LET'S GO!"
Everyone had cleared from the deck by the time Luffy and Sanji returned, all of them gathered in the medical bay. Luffy headed over to join them, and after refrigerating the food they had stolen from the enemy ship, Sanji followed after him. Seeing Nami still shivering, Sanji threw his coat over her shoulders, alerting her to his presence.
"Sanji-kun…"
The cook gave a small, reassuring smile. Everyone was quiet for a while. Robin was still applying pressure to Zoro's wounds, but the swordsman was at least breathing- albeit weakly and at irregular intervals. Sanji read the faces of the crew, seeing the extreme concern in their expressions- Luffy was the only one whose face he couldn't decipher. He sighed. Of course the cook knew better than to worry, but he couldn't think of anything to say to relieve the weight of the tension in the room. Chopper paused in his work briefly to wipe his brow, and Brook took the moment to speak.
"Zoro-san… Will he be all right, Doctor-san?"
There was silence for a moment before Chopper answered.
"I don't know. He's still not entirely stable, and even though he's breathing, one of the bullets hit a lung. The other one missed his organs, but the damage is pretty extensive. I don't know if he'll be able to-"
"Chopper!"
Everyone's heads snapped to look towards Luffy, his expression a questioning one.
"Are you stupid?"
His tone was flat and plain. Everyone stood stunned. Usopp was the first to break the silence, taking a step towards his captain.
"Wh-what are you saying, Luffy?! This is serious! Zoro could really-"
Luffy interrupted again in the same simple tone.
"But Chopper's taking care of it, right? So it's fine."
Franky tried to speak next.
"But that's not-"
"Besides",
Luffy pulled his hat back onto his head.
"Zoro can't lose."
Lifting up his head, Luffy beamed with his typical confident grin.
"Because Zoro is Zoro."
Silence fell on the group again as everyone stared at Luffy, the weight of his words sinking in. Sanji smirked, feeling amazed at his captain's ability to make things so clear with his pure simplicity in just a few words. The tension was nearly cured, but suddenly came crashing back down as Nami, trembling again, violently grabbed Luffy by the collar of his vest, shouting at him.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! ZORO WASN'T SCRATCHED OR BRUISED! HE WAS SHOT! DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO THE INJURIES CHOPPER JUST LISTED OFF?! HE COULD DIE!"
The Strawhat navigator shivered again. Sanji watched as Luffy let Nami's outburst sink in. The rubber captain had already been thoroughly clear. Noticing the blood on Nami's face and hands again, Sanji realized that she wouldn't be convinced as easily as the others.
"Nami-san…"
Without any hesitation, Luffy took off his straw hat and pointed to it.
"Nami, if Zoro does die, then I'll eat my hat!"
Everyone, even Sanji, was shocked by Luffy's statement. Nami yelled at him again.
"Stop saying such stupid things! This isn't a game!"
Luffy gave her a questioning look.
"I never said it was a game. I'm dead serious."
Before Nami could interject, Luffy spoke again, replacing his hat on his head again.
"Besides, you started saying stupid things first."
"…"
Nami fell silent, unable to respond as she realized the impact of her captain's retort, watching him grin again. She stopped trembling and released her grip, looking down at her feet. A small smile eventually etched itself on her tired face, and she nodded in understanding. Luffy wasn't underestimating the somberness of the situation. He appreciated that it was serious. He simply had an unshakeable faith in Zoro's strength. In his mind, the concept of Zoro dying from such injuries was in the same realm of impossibility as doing anything to jeopardize or harm his treasured hat. It was as simple as that. His immense confidence was contagious, and gradually, everyone in the room started to grin with him. Luffy chuckled.
Eventually, everyone except Robin and Chopper left the medical bay to get some rest. Sanji was about to turn in when he noticed that Nami was still sitting out on the deck. She hadn't made any effort to try to change out of her bloodstained clothes.
"Nami-san."
She looked up at Sanji, and, seeing the expression on her face, the cook could only sigh before offering his right hand.
"Come. Let's get you clean."
Nami gave a shallow nod before taking Sanji's hand, wrapping her arms around his as he escorted her to the ship's washroom. Under any other circumstances, the cook would have been ridiculously overjoyed at having the navigator so close to him, and he did enjoy it, but his mind was otherwise preoccupied. Sanji opened the door to the washroom for Nami.
"I'll bring you a fresh set of clothes and a bathrobe, Nami-san."
Mildly surprised by the lack of ill intentions in Sanji's words, Nami nodded again tiredly. Sanji didn't spend much time gathering Nami's clothes and robe, though he was careful to carry them with only his right hand. Any other night, Sanji would have gladly taken advantage of an excuse to barge into the washroom while Nami was in it. But that night, preoccupied as he was, and with the state Nami was in, he decided he wasn't so desperate a creature as that. He knocked before walking in.
"I'll leave the clothes here. Do you need anything else, Nami-san?"
Any other night, Nami might have chosen to abuse her influence over the cook, but she was simply too tired. She shook her head, and handed Sanji back his coat.
"Thank you, Sanji-kun."
Taking it back with his right hand, Sanji slung it over his shoulder and walked towards the door. As he was about to leave, without thinking, he started to wave goodnight to her with his free hand, realizing his mistake an instant too late as he saw the horrified expression on Nami's face.
'Shit!'
Leaving the door open behind him, Sanji shoved his left hand back in his pocket and charged toward the kitchen. Nami could only stand still for a few moments before she closed the door, the image of Sanji's waving hand stuck in her mind. It was unheard of, something she'd never before witnessed throughout all the time she'd known him- Sanji's left hand was thickly coated with blood.
"Do you really need to do this now? I'm shitty tired."
"If you'd listened to me and didn't break the cast, I wouldn't need to!"
"Who the hell wears a shitty cast to a fight?! It makes it harder to move!"
"My point is that you shouldn't have fought! And the cast is supposed to make it so you DON'T move! With the extra strain you've put on it, you'll have to wear it even longer now!"
Sanji huffed, leaning back in his chair in the medical bay. Chopper had caught him on his way to the kitchen and was forcing him to sit still so he could he replace his leg cast and treat his injuries.
"You've started the bleeding again, too! Now drink this!"
Before Sanji could react, Chopper had forced open his mouth and poured medicine down his throat. The cook's face turned pale as he gagged.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Good medicine always tastes terrible."
Chopper quoted his old mentor. Sanji sighed, taking out a cigarette while Chopper checked where his pant leg had been grazed. Reaching awkwardly into his left shirt pocket for his lighter, he was about to ignite it when Chopper swiped the cigarette from his mouth.
"Don't smoke in here! Zoro is having enough issues breathing with one uninjured lung as it is!"
As the cook sighed and replaced his lighter, Chopper realized that Sanji hadn't taken his left hand out of his pocket.
"Let me see your hand."
Sanji suddenly stiffened and rose abruptly out of his chair, moving to leave.
"Well, I guess you're finished fixing me up. Better get some rest now."
"Hey! Hold it! Let me check your hand!"
"That's not necessary. I'm fine."
"Sanji!"
"Really, I'm fine."
"OY!"
Chopper jumped up to grab Sanji's arm. The cook jerked and swerved backward, throwing the young doctor to the floor. Sanji glared with a petrifying intensity.
"I said- I'm fine."
There was a tense pause before Chopper sighed, admitting defeat. Sanji let out a silent breath of relief, watching as the young reindeer walked back over to sit next to Zoro.
"You really gonna stay up all night?"
The cook asked, reaching for his coat. Chopper nodded.
"Have to. (Yawn) If he starts having trouble breathing while he's asleep, the lack of oxygen could cause brain problems…"
"That's all? How could we even tell the difference? That muscle-head doesn't ever use his brain."
No response.
"Chopper?"
The young doctor fell flat on the floor. A few seconds later, he started softly snoring.
"Don't pass out after saying something like that!"
As Sanji rested Chopper down on one of the seven beds in the men's quarters, he reflected on how insistent he'd been about Zoro before passing out.
"Tch."
Throwing his coat down onto his bed, Sanji walked over to the medical bay. The cook glanced at Zoro as he shut the door behind him, scoffing as he pulled out a cigarette.
"Still alive, huh?"
Sanji leaned a chair back against the wall so that he could prop up his feet on the counter, lighting up his cigarette and taking in a deep breath. If it had been any other member of the crew in Zoro's position, Sanji would have obeyed Chopper's orders to not smoke. But, it was, and so he did. In some strange, dysfunctional way, Sanji's choice to smoke when he knew that it would more than likely upset Zoro's ability to breathe normally was a show of respect for the swordsman's strength. As often as they argued, their mutual respect for one another was immense. But since they were both so stubborn, and avoided showing signs of any weakness, they constantly competed with and challenged each other in virtually everything they did. That was how they communicated the respect they felt. That was why neither ever worried about the other during a fight, because they knew how strong the other was. It was why Sanji wasn't really even concerned at that moment. He was there because Chopper was concerned, and because no one else was up to take the doctor's place. And he was there because he knew that he was too preoccupied to really get any sleep anyway. Sanji let out a long trail of smoke, looking down at the blood that stained his left hand before replacing it in his pocket and staring up at the ceiling. He knew he couldn't, in good conscience, cook anything until he had thoroughly washed it. But right then, he couldn't find it in himself to take care of it.
'I'll deal with it before breakfast in the morning.'
Taking in another deep breath, Sanji let his eyes close as he exhaled another long stream of smoke.
"You better have been listening earlier, shitty swordsman. Captain's strict orders- you aren't allowed to die tonight."
Zoro groaned as he began to stir, a sharp pain tearing throughout his chest when he tried to sit up, forcing him back down. Craning his neck, the swordsman saw that his entire chest was wrapped in tight, thick bandaging. Struggling to recall the events of the previous night, he moved to take them off.
"Oy, moss head. Are you stupid?"
Sanji asked in a bored tone without looking up.
"What kind of swordsman gets themselves shot in the lung?"
Zoro didn't flinch, resting his head back down.
"Who asked you, Mr. Nosebleed?"
The swordsman matched Sanji's tone.
"What kind of cook gets his leg broken? How are you supposed to stand around in a kitchen all day?"
Sanji snapped his head up to shout in reply.
"At least I'm still functional with these bandages on and not limited to a bed, shitty swordsman!"
Zoro snapped his head up to retort.
"Shut the hell up, love cook! I'm at least actually capable of knowing when the ship is under attack!"
"You weren't even shitty capable of breathing last night, let alone KNOWING anything! Robin-chan had to do your shitty moving for you while I protected the ship!"
"The ship wouldn't be worth its weight in sake if I hadn't saved that woman navigator!"
"Saved her from WHAT?! I had to fight the shitty gunner for you while you were dying! He was a joke! Usopp could have beaten that shithead with his bare hands!"
"You wanna fight, love cook?! I'll cut you!"
"Bring it on, moss head! I'll kick your ass!"
Both men moved as if to attack, Zoro lunging forward from his bed, Sanji leaping upright from his chair. The sudden movement caused another, more intense wave of pain from Zoro's chest. Standing up and putting weight on it so abruptly caused a similar pain to shoot up through Sanji's leg. Both men grew dizzy, their vision blurring intermittently. Zoro fell back onto the bed. Sanji likewise dropped down into the chair. They glared at one another, but didn't make any further attempts to fight. After a long silence, Chopper suddenly barged in.
"ZORO!"
The young doctor paused, taking in the scene before rushing up to the swordsman and whacking him in the head, knocking him back down so he was laying flat.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"Don't try to move when I've covered you in bandages! I put them there for a reason!"
Sanji smirked briefly before Chopper jumped up and slapped him, knocking his cigarette out of his mouth.
"What the hell?!"
"I told you not to smoke in here!"
Sanji sighed, standing up and moving slowly towards the door.
"Where are you going?!"
"To the kitchen."
"I need to check your leg and reapply the bandages!"
"No, I think these are still working fine. I'll just walk it off."
"The cast isn't gonna cause some kind of miracle!"
Sanji looked at Chopper.
"Do you want breakfast?"
The young doctor's stomach growled.
"…Yes."
"Then quit whining."
Chopper groaned, frustrated that no one listened to him. Checking his pack for something, he suddenly ran back out.
"Oy, what's wrong?"
"I need to check the library to look up something."
With that, Sanji and Zoro were alone again. Not in the mood to wait, Sanji put his right hand on the door. Pausing, he glanced back.
"Oy, Zoro."
"Eh?"
"You better get healed quickly. With a shitty stupid captain like Luffy, the rest of us need a reliable first mate around to keep him out of trouble."
There was no immediate reply. As Sanji was about to close the door behind him, Zoro called after him.
"Sanji."
"Hm?"
"You better not let him do anything stupid. If you do, I'll kick your ass."
"Hmph."
Sanji closed the door behind him, noticing that Chopper was listening in from the other side of the wall. Startled, the young doctor tried to walk past Sanji casually.
"You didn't hear anything",
The cook gave Chopper a terrifying glare.
"Right, emergency food supply?"
"WAAH! No, nothing! Nothing at all!"
Shaking his head adamantly, Chopper slammed the door behind him as Sanji lit another cigarette. Letting out a long cloud of smoke, he looked down at his left hand, reflecting on everything that had occurred within the last few hours. Feeling that he'd relieved his mind of everything else, Sanji headed towards the kitchen to wash away the last reminder of the previous night and to prepare breakfast for the crew.