DISCLAIMER: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda and TvTokyo, I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. This is a purely Fan-made Fiction
"Chopper! C'mon, at least say somethin' to me, little guy! I told you the day it happened it was an accident, dammit!"
Zoro was bashing his fists against the doctor cabin door onboard the Sunny, wanting the Straw Hat doctor to at least answer his voice as he was right outside his room. But no answer was given by the blue-nosed reindeer inside, who was sitting on the side of his bed, being all focused on a bandage around his chest area, stretching far down to his abdomen. The wound had healed, physically. But mentally, Chopper was a wreck. He could not believe that it had happened, nor that the damage had actually been caused by the one he had so much respected and looked up to as a big brother; no one than Zoro himself. Sighing, Chopper reached for a small water glass, when he suddenly hunched over, his small hooves clamping over his wound, which only added more pain to his body.
"C-C-Curse these… contractions…" he grunted, before quickly reaching over to the nightstand drawer, and pulled it open. He quickly picked up a painkiller pill from it, and tossed it into his mouth, then used both hooves to hold the glass steadily as he gulped down the pill while drinking. Sighing in relief as the medicine began working inside him, he put back the glass and sighed, still hearing Zoro bash his hands onto his door and wanting him to answer. But he was too shaken up and confused to answer, not knowing what the outcome would be if he did. He just turned away from the door and covered himself with his blanket, trying to fall asleep and just shut out any noises that came from his door.
Zoro realized his yelling would not help, and with a heavy sigh, he rolled off the door, leaning his back onto the deck wall, and slid down into a sitting position, his arms supporting themselves on his knees while his head was hanging slightly downwards. Why didn't Chopper want to speak to him? Was he so riled up after what happened, that he would not want to know about his existence… or even hated him? Many thoughts flew through the swordsman's head, and while he sat there, the crew's chef – Sanji – went past him, only to stop, his back turned on Zoro, while he puffed out smoke rings from his cigarette.
"Still blamin' yourself, are you Marimo-head?" the blonde chef asked while he pulled out his nicotine stick from his mouth. Zoro just grumbled a few inaudible words while looking down on the floor. "I see." Sanji was about to walk off, before he heard Zoro speak to him;
"Oi, Ero-cook…" he said with a sigh. "Do you think… he's become a wreck because of me?" Sanji raised his curly eyebrow before he eyed Zoro. First off, why would Zoro even bother talking to him about this? They were rivals ever since they had met, seemingly, and now he sort of asked him for advice? That was very uncommon of him, but in no way did Sanji refuse to hear out Zoro. And secondly… it was highly unusual for Zoro to care so much for someone in the crew. But, since it was Chopper, Sanji kind of figured out he'd care for him. Shrugging, he turned to face Zoro while putting back his cig in his mouth.
"Well, how should I know? I'm merely a cook, not a psychologist." He said as-a-matter-of-factly, looking straight at Zoro. "But hey, don't go around blaming yourself for what happened, ok? It'll only cause ya to get more depressed and cynical than you already are, 'kay?" Zoro was taken aback a bit of Sanji's caring words and gentle tone. The last time he had heard someone speak to him was when Luffy yelled at him. He sighed and nodded slowly, sitting back near the cabin door.
"I-I get it… thanks, dude." Zoro said, looking back down on the floor. Sanji merely nodded and moved off, as he had lunch to prepare. Zoro just sighed, as he felt his mind beginning to spin around again, his thoughts wandering off to that day. The day he most of all wanted to forget and bury deep within his mind… yet for some reason, came back to haunt him.
The Straw Hats had once again stumbled upon a huge group of Marines, all who which wanted their head and their bounties, of course. But the pirates just kept bashing them back and fighting them like nothing. Although one of them fought harder and more bloodthirsty than the others; from his left to his right, Zoro was cutting down the Marines like they were nothing, his battle hunger literally burning in his eyes. He had been without fighting in several months now, and he was unleashing every bit of rage and demonic blood thirst he had pumping in his veins. Luffy and the others seemed a bit thrown back by his demonic behavior, but they just figured that it was how he was, and they kept beating up the Marines around them. Zoro, however, felt that his entire world had gone blind and deaf. All he heard… all he saw… was blood spilling and ear-splintering screams and pleas of mercy and despair as he drove through the crowds of Marines, delivering carnage wherever he stepped. His blades sliced through them like they were merely paper, and the blood stained up on his face and clothes, filling him with the stench of death, only fueling his desires more. All the Straw Hats kept fighting the Marines off, until most of them were either dead by Zoro's hand or fleeing back in panic to the ship, the captain – Monkey D. Luffy – raised his arms in the air and cheered loudly.
"Yeah! That was an awesome fight!" he cheered out loud with a grin, as the other Straw Hats agreed in unison. "Now, let's pack up and get outta here so we don't get delayed by more Marines!" he turned to Zoro, and saw a Marine behind him, cowardly enough aiming his rifle to him while aiming from behind. "Zoro! Behind you!" Luffy cried out. Zoro's hearing was returning to real life, and he registered Luffy's warning, before turning around and dashing to the Marine with blinding speed. A giant flash occurred as Zoro sliced across the Marine's abdomen and chest, probably spilling lots of his blood on the ground. He heard a thud behind him, and a wide grin spread on his face. But then, he heard his crewmates starting to yell desperately and heard fear in their voices. What had happened now? Did they actually care for the Marine, or did Zoro…
Then there it was.
A second thud.
It was as if Zoro's entire body had frozen to ice, and he was completely immobile while he tried to understand what the second fall to the ground could have been caused by. He slowly turned around, and felt his eyes widen more than before, his heart beating against his chest like a sledgehammer and filling him with dread; next to the Marine's unconscious body, his fur drenched in blood… was Chopper. He was just turning back into his Brain Point, which made it only more heart-scarring to see the small, Chibi-like boy just laying there, seemingly lifeless and drowning in his own blood. It was so horrible and disgusting, that Zoro turned around and belched slightly, holding his mouth to stop himself from vomiting, dropping his swords as his hands covered his mouth. He was shaking. His entire body was shaking and he felt a slight cold sweat breaking out all over his face and body. He felt sickened and disgusted of himself, looking at his trembling hands as he held them in front of him.
'W-What the… the fuck have I done?' he thought for himself, just staring at his hands. Next thing he knew, he felt a fist connect to his face, almost breaking his jaw with the force of it and sending him crashing into the ground. He instantly looked up and saw Luffy's fist retract into his arm, as he was looking at him with serious, angry eyes, along with the rest of the crew.
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, ZORO?" Luffy roared at Zoro, while Usopp rushed to pick up Chopper gently, giving the swordsman an angry glare as well before turning away from him.
"How could you?" Nami scolded Zoro and glared down at him. "He's our Nakama, for god's sake! How could you just do that to him?"
"I thought you were a shithead before… but man, did you fuck up big-time this time…" Sanji sneered at Zoro, who still did not react to all the words thrown at him. It was as if his time was standing still, and all the glares and yells were pinning him down, weighting him down. The only one who was silent was Robin, but even she had a face of disgust and slight sorrow over the entire event, as she just turned her head and went onboard the ship again. As Zoro got back on, however, he'd expect Luffy to lunge at him and throw him off the ship, but strangely enough… no one did. They were all too busy tending to Chopper, they must have forgotten all about him. Zoro realized they'd care less if he dropped dead, so he just sighed and went for his cabin, walking inside and sitting down on his bed. For the first time in his life, even after his confrontation with Mihawk all those years ago… he was scared. Scared to death of what he had done. If Chopper died now… he could never look upon himself as more than a monster. His fear brought tears to his eyes… and be began crying, while covering his face.
'C-Chopper… p-please, be ok…' he begged over and over in his mind as he laid down on his bed, still sobbing slightly over what he had done to his Nakama, but managed to halt it down to a sniffle as he closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
As the thoughts of his past actions ended in nothing but a blur, Zoro stirred from his half-coma state, feeling wet under his eyes. He wiped it off, knowing it had been tears running down his face, as he had remembered the cruel thing he had done. And to make it worse, he had done it to the one he adored and cared for the most of his Nakama. Even more so than their Captain. The rest of the crew had forgotten about it and left their concern to whether Chopper would heal or not… but Zoro had not forgotten. It was burning clear in his mind, like a fire that was inextinguishable. It was searing his skull, and he could never know peace until he knew a way to set it out. And the only way he knew, was to show Chopper how sorry he was, and apologize to him properly. He stood up on his feet, looking at the door that lead to Chopper's room. He knew that the door had no locks, and he could very well just trudge inside of his room… but he was being kept back by fear of making Chopper even more scared or even terrify him so much it would make his condition worse. He finally took a deep breath, sighed it out, and hoped for the best. "Here goes nothing…" he said to himself as he grabbed the handle, and twisted it, opening the door.
Chopper stirred from his nap as he heard someone opening the door, his small eyes fluttering open slightly as he yawned and sat up, stretching himself. He had yet to see who entered his room, but he figured it was maybe just Nami or Usopp who'd come into his room and give him lunch. He chanced on the latter, and spoke without looking. "What is it, Usopp? Is it lunch alread-" he went silent as he saw who was standing at the opening to his room, his little body going numb and his eyes almost popping out of their small sockets as he saw Zoro standing at the entrance, looking down on his with a look that could only describe one feeling; remorse. Chopper had still not fully recovered mentally, and seeing Zoro standing there made him all but comforted. He panicked slightly, opting to run away and scream, but he decided to not, and just sat still, looking away from Zoro.
"Hey…" Zoro said slowly, before he went up to Chopper's bed, which made the reindeer more nervous and unsafe, feeling his heartbeat flutter wildly and his sweat breaking through his fur. Zoro sighed as he realized Chopper was still shaken up, but he didn't care. He had to show how sorry he was. He kneeled down beside Chopper's bed, looking at him. "Chopper… I realize if… if you're still riled up 'bout what I did. It was all my fault. I'm the one to blame. What I did… it… it made me feel like a beast. A-A… monster. I know that you maybe don't wanna apologize me for what I did… but I just had to let you know how sorry I am."
"…" the little reindeer kept silent, not wanting to utter a single word, seemingly. He was so scared he doubted that he'd want to talk. Zoro sighed a bit, knowing that words would not be enough ,yet he did not dare touch the reindeer, as if he thought Chopper would think he would hurt him more.
"Chopper… please, just say something." He asked gently, almost begged him.
"…"
"Chopper, please! C-Can't you even talk to me? I-I'm sorry, Chopper! I'm really sorry for what I did! P-Please… forgive me…" Zoro was about to lose it, feeling tears run down his face again as he felt his head land onto Chopper's bed and soaking his blanket with his tears. He thought Chopper was lost to him forever now… what he had done had scarred the reindeer so much, he would be nothing but a beast to his eyes. A predator. An animal. Crying and sobbing more, he did not notice Chopper move from his spot, until he felt a small hoof slowly pet his green hair, slowly running along his head and down to his forehead, as Zoro raised his head to look a bit at Chopper. He could not believe what he saw… but he saw Chopper giving him a weak smile, while petting his head.
"… Zoro…" he said slowly, like he hadn't said his name in ages. He now knew fully that Zoro did not mean to do what he did 2 days ago. He would never have come into his room if he had meant it, or even apologize to him for what he did. His lips kept smiling, as he closed in slowly and planted a soft kiss on Zoro's forehead. Zoro was slightly dumbfounded, but relieved and happy beyond belief as well. "Of course I can forgive you… y-you didn't mean it, right? You would never do such a thing to me on purpose… r-right?" he gave off a weak giggle, only to cough slightly as his chest pains came back, and Zoro was quick to react; with blinding reflexes, he sat up on Chopper's bed, and gently wrapped his arm around his small body, holding him close to himself while letting his other hand gently remove Chopper's hat and pet his soft, fuzzy head. This made the reindeer smile more, knowing he was in good hands, as he nuzzled into Zoro's side, burrowing his face into his smooth shirt. Zoro gave off a slight smirk, now that both of them had finally settled down.
"Oi… you're acting like this has never happened." He noted, chuckling a bit. "You know it has happened, right? I was kinda terrified over that you were so close to dying… but I was more scared over being rejected by you… I dunno if I could keep living if you started to dislike me… even hate me. But… I-I am glad you can forgive me." Chopper smiled a bit, giving Zoro another affectionate nuzzle into his side.
"I'm glad that you came for me… even though you were afraid of me getting more scared." He said soothingly, before another yawn was heard passing his lips. "Z-Zoro… I am tired. Can I go to sleep again?" Zoro gave a gentle smile to Chopper, one that he only got to see as usual, and nodded.
"Of course, Chopper." He smiled, and stood up, laying Chopper down carefully and tucking him into his blanket. He managed to sneak a kiss onto the reindeer's cheek, and gave a soft whisper to his ear. 'Night, Chopper.' Before giving a smile and walking out of his cabin, closing the door. He saw Luffy standing outside, looking seriously at him.
"What were you doing in Chopper's cabin?" he asked with a slight gruff. Zoro just smirked at the Rubber-man.
"Healing him." He said simply, before walking off, leaving his Captain a bit dumbfounded, but felt himself being relieved over knowing that Chopper was still his Nakama. Forever, and ever.