Disclaimer:
I don't own One Piece.
The story on hand, ‚One of us' is fan-fiction. I wrote it, because I love to write, but I will not use 'One of us' in any commercial way.
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Corrected version (what doesn't mean that there can be still mistakes in this story ;-)).
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Special thanks to Kawari (who wrote a similar story in the German section and allowed me to use her ideas in this story) and to Ameera Mae Laramie!
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Set after Alabasta.
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I gave 'M' for language and dark topics. Who doesn't like those stories shouldn't read.
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One of us
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Prologue
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His screams still echoed in her ears. A few minutes ago Chopper had given him strong drugs, which made him lose consciousness, so the reindeer could treat his wounds easier.
But Nami couldn't get Sanji's screams out of her head.
And the worst thing was that it had been her mistake.
She sighed in deep despair and clenched her fists. If she hadn't overreacted to his knock of her door, she hadn't pushed him into the water. All right, he had disturbed her try to make new maps for the coasts of Alabasta, especially for the shallow waters and Nami was… extreme in this point. She had kicked him out of the room and pushed him over the rail.
The shark had attacked immediately and out of nothing and when Robin had brought him back with her devil fruit powers it was too late. And the shark had almost hit Robin's hands, when she pulled him back to the deck.
Nami wiped a tear out of her face and pushed her hands against the ship's rail.
"Navigator-san?" a female voice rose behind her.
The orange haired woman turned around and looked at Robin.
The archeologist managed a weak smile, "Doctor-san has finished the operation."
"How's Sanji? Is he all right?" Nami asked in a shaky voice.
"He's still without consciousness, but he's stable."
Nami felt a load falling off her mind.
"But…"
The navigator tightened herself. It wasn't good when Robin used the word 'but'.
Robin continued, "But the wounds at his leg are serious."
"W… what do you mean?"
"The shark had torn up too much of cook-sans leg. Doctor-san could save his life, but there's too much damage. He had to amputate his right leg."
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He was alone when he woke up.
Sanji moaned in pained… The last things he remembered were the fangs of the beast.
He moaned again and felt as the pain increased and almost overwhelmed him. The cook took his pillow, bit it and tried to fight the pain down.
Then his hands touched his legs below the blanket. He didn't find the courage to look at it, but this overwhelming pain came from his right leg and he wanted to know what had happened to it.
He froze when he felt the bandages.
A terrible lump in his throat made him coughing and his fingers went deeper… along the leg…
Suddenly he started…
He felt nothing. There should be a leg, bones, flesh… but there was nothing.
Suddenly a strange feeling touched his heart. He hadn't to weep, but the fact that he would get a wooden leg, like Zeff, hit him like a hammer. He would limp for the rest of his life… He could never impress Nami or Robin with his fighting skills and he would never be able to be a full crewmember.
His life had ended…
He began to weep tonelessly.
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Even Luffy had understood that things had changed. And it had shocked him to see as Chopper had amputated Sanji's leg. But when the captain thought about the situation, he knew that Sanji still belonged to his crew. To recruit the cook had been Luffy's decision and he wasn't willing to send him back to an unimportant island anywhere in the GrandLine. Luffy wanted to become the Pirate King and he wanted to do that with Sanji. Nothing could change that and… by the way, Luffy wouldn't allow that this new problem would destroy Sanji's dream to find the All-Blue.
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Zoro stood in the crow's nest and looked at the horizon… So Sanji was the first of them who was injured seriously. It surprised Zoro that it was Sanji and not Ussop or Nami, but Zoro had known that something like this would happen. They were pirates and their adventures were dangerously: Every day they were close to death. In the most cases they won their fights, but today they had lost. Not even Sanji… no, the complete crew had lost. Zoro knew that it was hard for the cook and he wanted to help him, but although he had sympathy with him, they would stay pirates… and when Sanji wasn't able to fight down the tragedy, the cook would lose the right to stay on the Going Merry… Suddenly Zoro smiled. No, that was nonsense. This stupid chef was too stubborn to go away. He was much too strong to get broken – and Zoro appreciated that.
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It was quiet. Ussop didn't like this silence. It was a depressing and frustrating silence, full of grief and despair. He stared to the planks of his beloved ship and wiped the lonely tear away. Sanji was his crewmember – his friend and they had survived so many adventures. They had defeated Arlong, Wapol, Crocodile… And now a single shark had done what all those criminals hadn't managed. Usopp didn't know what would happen. Was Sanji able to stay in the group, how would he react when he saw the cook with a wooden leg? Usopp would try to don't show that Sanji… was injured now, but he wasn't sure if it worked. Perhaps he should cheer him up with his stories? No. To treat Sanji differently was the wrong way. Usopp sighed heavily. He didn't know what to do. Perhaps the time would show.
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Nami didn't want to see him. She didn't want to remember that it was her fault. Every time she would see him, this horrible moment came back to her mind when they had brought him to the deck… All the blood and the painful screams. She would see it in her dreams, for the rest of her life… She closed her eyes and her only thought was that she was responsible for the pain of a true friend – and she hated herself for it.
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The ceiling of the room was dark. Chopper hadn't noticed it until now, but the ceiling was really dark. He didn't like dark colors, especially after such a horrible day. He had to amputate Sanji's leg, because he hadn't operated him as fast as it had been necessary. Perhaps when he had the right actions on deck… and not in the cabin… No. It was nonsense to put the blame on him and he knew that. But... Sanji… He would find a way to help him, to make the life easier for him!
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Robin sighed. The dark haired woman wasn't with the crew for long, but she appreciated to be with them. What had happened today was a tragedy and Robin felt sympathy for cook-san. Perhaps his attempts to woo her and navigator-san were ridiculous, but it gave Robin the feeling to be welcome from the beginning. To see him without a leg hit her. Whenever he needed her help, she would be there. It was time for Robin to give something back, to show them that they were important for her.
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-tbc-