Chapter 2

"Oi, oi, oi, why do I have to take the marimo with me?" Sanji half-heartedly complained to Nami while Usopp, Luffy, and Brook darted into the white-marbled town.

Nami signed heavily at their chef as he continued to pout. The Straw Hats had successfully landed Thousand Sunny at the picturesque dock of this new island. It appeared to be tropical, for palm trees and luscious vibrant green vegetation decorated the island, and a lone, white-marbled town rested near its shore. It was rather beautiful: it was like Greece on an island. The townspeople seem rather peaceful too.

Meanwhile, the crew was trying to decide what they were going to do, having arranged themselves in a circle that was missing four members. Zoro leaned back against the mass, looking out to sea in a daze. Sanji noticed this, a nerve pinching in his forehead in irritation, but before he could yell at the marimo to come and pay attention, Nami answered the daft cook's question; he'd almost forgotten that he'd asked.

'Stupid Marimo, distracting me all the time,' Sanji pouted as he listened.

"Because someone has to look out for him. He'll get lost all on his own! -" Zoro squeezed in an annoyed 'Oi!' as Nami continued "Usopp, Brook, and Luffy already left to do whatever the hell they do, and Robin, Franky, Chopper, and I are going into town to buy clothes and whatever other necessities we need, to gather some intel about this island, and to find out how long it will take the log pose to set," Nami huffed as she crossed her arms and glowered at the pouting cook.

"Besides, you probably need someone strong to carry all of your ingredients, since we have been sailing for quite a while. We're probably running low on food. Oh, and my group won't be long so you can leave the ship shortly after us," she added in an attempt to lessen the cooks 'misfortune' of not being paired with one of his precious ladies. It seemed to work when Sanji cheered up at the idea of using Zoro as a pack mule. In his joy, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply, relishing the second cancer-stick of the day.

"Hear that, Marimo? You're with me." Sanji said while exhaling, releasing the smoke trapped within his lungs. Sanji began to walk in the direction everyone else had gone, but he didn't hear anything behind him. There wasn't a sign that the moss-ball was following.

Sanji growled at the lack of acknowledgement from the marimo, briskly turned around, and marched towards him, but all of his motivation to kick Zoro drained from his body and went into the deck's floorboards. Once Sanji saw Zoro, he stopped in his tracks and his heart thumped like it did every time he laid eyes on that shitty-swordsman.

Zoro's sun-kissed muscles were relaxed where he was lounging against the mast. His sculpted back rested against the wood, his shaped shoulders slacked, his white shirt pressed into a chiseled chest and abs that were curved as his leg crossed over the other. The sea breeze played with the swordsman's hair; gently weaving its fingers through the short green hair. His three earrings glittered and chimed in the wind. His simple clothing pushed into him, defining his already noticeable muscles. The sun's light caused the shadows of the indents in Zoro's muscles and his contours to deepen; it made his skin shine and his hair appeared to be a lighter, softer, warmer shade of green.

Sanji openly gawked at the oblivious marimo in admiration and astonishment. This wasn't the first time the cook would describe the moss-ball as attractive, but in this moment, Sanji thought that Zoro was undeniably handsome. Moreover, Sanji was neither disgusted nor ashamed of his rather outrageous thoughts. He was used to them by now. He'd stolen glances before, but now, he couldn't help but stare. His face flushed slightly, and his heart fluttered.

Zoro was completely breathtaking as he looked out to the deep blue sea.

Then Sanji's eyes trailed up Zoro's well-defined neck to his face.

He felt his heart tighten and his body tense as he took in Zoro's countenance.

Zoro's half-lidded, green eyes seemed to be glazed over in quiet, sullen contemplation as they stared out to a spot on the ever-moving sea. His lips curved into a small frown and his jaw was set. His usual creased eyebrows were only slightly drawn together and his scowl was gone. Sanji's breath caught in his throat, mouth slightly gaping and eyes widened.

'What is wrong with my marimo?'

Zoro's expression was desolate. It wasn't blank or thoughtful like it usually was whenever his scowl was gone; he wasn't just daydreaming; he wasn't half asleep. Zoro was despondent. Zoro looked as if he was in silent anguish and was just keeping his mouth shut and taking it behind his sullen eyes.

"Zoro?" Sanji murmured as he thoughtlessly took a step forward and stretched his hand out to touch him.

At the rare sound of his name slipping through the cook's lips, Zoro's eyes widened slightly and his head turned to the concerned curly brow. With Zoro's unexpected movement, Sanji's fingertips touched Zoro's cheek, almost as if Sanji had lightly caressed his face. Sanji saw and felt Zoro tense and realized he had followed suit. Oceanic eyes met moss-green ones. Sanji's breath caught once more when he saw the faintest of blushes rise on the swordsman's cheeks and he felt his own face heat up. Knowing that he was turning red and that Zoro could see, his heart quickened and his stomach did somersaults.

'Shit. I am so fucked. I already knew I was attracted to this marimo bastard, but I never thought it was this bad! What the fuck should I do? Shit. I have to try to make it seem like I don't. I've done a fuckin great job at it so far. Besides, this shitty swordsman will never feel the same: he's just uncomfortable or confused as to why I reached out and touched his face. It's not a love blush. It's not, damn it.'

Sanji nonchalantly pulled his hand away, stomped out his drained cigarette and patted himself down for another. Sanji acted oblivious to Zoro's adorable confusion about what had just happened, but Sanji continued acting like it had been nothing, just an accident. Zoro looked at Sanji with a mix of embarrassment, confusion, and awkwardness, and then quickly turned his head away. It took all of Sanji's self-control to not seize the moss-ball and kiss the hell out of him, so much so that he didn't notice that he'd used the word 'adorable' to describe him.

"What do you want, Curly-brow?"

"We have to go and get ingredients, Shitty-swordsman. Get your shit together and follow me. Wait, you know what? Walk in front of me so that you won't get hopelessly lost. I don't wanna' have to save your sorry ass," Sanji said roughly, hoping he didn't sound nervous as he smoked another cigarette to calm down. Honestly, those words pained him like they never had before. Using that tone of voice with Zoro felt like trying to swallow a knife.

Sanji wasn't the type to constantly bully the one he likes, but that was all he'd ever done to Zoro. Sanji just didn't see any other way around it, because… well, this was Zoro: the man that would rather commit seppuku than be with Sanji, even though he wasn't a samurai.

'Meh. Who am I kidding, I do like to bully the one I like, just not all of the damn time. I'd really like to be kind to him, but … Well, it's better not dwell on the impossible…but who knows. This is the Grand Line after all, the place where the impossible is possible. Maybe, just maybe… He might feel the same way… Hmmm this is worse than I thought. I have to keep my hope at a minimum…Can I even do that?' the daft cook thought as he meandered off, leaving the cute moss-ball to follow behind.

: -:

"Damn it, Marimo! How the hell are you able to get lost when you're supposed to be following me?! Especially when I told you we are supposed to be moving forward, as in, a fuckin' straight line! Besides, you can't even go to the left since the sea is right fucking there!" Sanji scolded the moss-head while he inspected a weird-ass fish that had two fucking heads and an antenna thing with bluish purple scales. The cook scowled at the poor dead freak, and then bought it. Placing it in Zoro's backpack, Sanji directed his scowl at the bag and sneaked a peak at the stupid swordsman.

Zoro was pouting, his lower lip protruding as he looked straight ahead, trying to ignore Sanji's insults since he had no excuse. Sanji froze…for the second time that day. 'When…? When did he get… so… so damn cute!? He's adorable!' Sanji stood and stared, oblivious to the fact that he was bluntly gazing at a man in broad daylight. And frankly he has yet to care. He was just about to reach out and cup Zoro's cheek but then he pulled himself out of his daze, his hand retracted.

'Wait… Zoro is… 'cute'? Wow… I really am screwed… No, it's far worse than that. I'm doomed. I fell for a marimo. I knew that shitty Kamabakka Kingdom fucked with my head.'

Sanji wasn't as idiotic as the shit-swordsman would like to think. He knew when he 'd fallen for someone. He knew what he was feeling. He may always be fawning over every beautiful woman he comes across, but he ever rarely felt any true feelings of serious romantic attraction. When he did feel that attraction, he knew. That being said, Sanji knew that these heart palpitations weren't the result of smoking too much and that being nervous wasn't because he'd gone too long without a cigarette. He wasn't delusional, and this wasn't just a phase. He'd actually fallen in love with Roronoa Zoro …what eluded him was… how? How had this happened? How had it come to this? How had he not noticed until now? When had this even started?

Sanji pondered on how this phenomenon had happened and left himself to his thoughts while he dragged the moss-ball along by a rope he'd tied around his neck. Needless to say, Zoro wasn't happy about that at all, but he couldn't fight back since the rope tightened whenever he struggled. He wasn't about to risk cutting the rope either unless he felt like getting kicked in the head.

'Hm, well the moss-ball is fucking adorable no matter how many times he would say he wasn't. I mean he just demonstrated that he was cute... andevery time he sulks or pouts or gets confused, or whenever we fight, he's always so cute … and… he's so determined… Well, I guess you could call it being stubborn, but… I really like that about him. He's always pushing and pushing, going beyond human limits, to accomplish his dream. He always keeps his promises. He's reliable even though he's lazy. Oh, and we have our fights and banter! I love the petty fights we have. I love the fights where we are both equal. When polished shoes clash with cherished katanas. I love when we work together. I love the rivalry. I love the companionship. I love his sleeping face when he is completely at peace.'

Sanji bit his lip, 'Now that I think about it, I love all of that moss-ball's expressions. I love…' Sanji trailed off when he realized his heart was fluttering and that he was smiling lovingly just thinking about the marimo.

Sanji realized that he'd been thinking, 'I love' repeatedly. Though, he suddenly had a nagging feeling in his gut that was telling him that something wasn't right, but he paid it no mind as he continued to idly walk along.

"Sanji!"

Before Sanji could register what had just happened, he felt a searing, piercing pain in his abdomen, a shockwave rattling his bones. The sound finally caught up and exploded in his ears, leaving his head ringing as he clutched his gut. Sanji hissed and staggered back into the marimo, who grabbed him before he could collapse to his knees. Sanji ignored the concerned look of dread on Zoro's face and glared at the culprit who had just shot a hole into his stomach. Blue eyes looked up to meet gray ones.

"Smoker." Sanji stood shakily and spat blood onto the concrete as he scanned the area.

Zoro recovered from his shock and unsheathed his precious katanas; they were surrounded. Marines encircled them; there were some of them on the rooftops and there was even a ship filled with those blasted lackeys.

"Well, well, how careless of you. Usually, you would have at least sensed us. Eh, it's not like I care anyway. Blackleg Sanji, Roronoa Zoro, you, who are part of Straw-hat Luffy's crew, are under arrest," Smoker sighed, releasing trapped smoke from him mouth.

Sanji immediately felt as though something wasn't right with the commander, trying to think through the blinding pain coursing through him. He could hardly stand up, but that didn't keep him from noticing Smoker's strange attitude.

'He usually wouldn't address us like that, right? He would have stroke up some idle chitchat first. Weird. He usually doesn't talk like this either; his impression is more laid back. These are pretty weak arguments but I know one thing for sure, something is definitely wrong. I can feel it in my gut… Wait… What's that weird mark on his forehead?' Sanji noticed a slight discoloration on the marine's face. If one were to look closely one could see a small dark red flame right in-between his eyebrows.

Sanji glanced back to see that Zoro had also noticed the mark. Zoro glanced at Sanji and their eyes met; an understanding passed between the two. Smoker was acting strange, something was wrong, and that they both knew what they had to do. But then Zoro did something Sanji didn't expect. He shrugged and growled: "Go to G-d damn hell, you mother-fuckers." His eyes were consumed with pure hatred, malice, and anger, before leaping into the fray.

Sanji was taken aback for a moment, panting and clutching his bleeding stomach as he stretched his legs.

'Zoro doesn't usually say stuff like that before he fights. Why does he look like that…?' Sanji wondered. As he got a handle on the pain of his bullet-wound, he quickly blocked a sword as a marine came at him.

After a few minutes of bodies and blood flying, the only ones left standing were the lackey marines who were towards the back of the huge-ass crowd prior, the marine ship, the marines on the roofs, Smoker, Zoro, and Sanji.

Smoker attacked Sanji while Zoro sunk the ship in one fell swoop, cutting it into perfect halves. The silent agreement was that Zoro should go take care of the underlings quickly while Sanji bought him time so they could then they could gang-up on Smoker. Sanji just hoped he could hold out before he passed out from blood loss. It was getting harder and harder to perform high kicks with that bullet wound tugging every time his stomach tensed.

Zoro took out the rest of the petrified grunts. When the last one fell, he heard a scream that made his blood freeze. That was Sanji's scream. Zoro swiftly turned to his cook to witness something he was never going to un-see.

Sanji was struggling fiercely against a suffocating hold of smoke, being repeatedly stabbed. Smoker was holding Sanji up with one smoke arm and had a large knife embedded in Sanji's chest with his other hand. Sanji was coughing up blood; almost choking on it too. His handsome face was contorted in pain. It was unusually inhumane; Sanji was basically being tortured, right in front of his eyes, and just the thought of it made Zoro snap.

The green demon disappeared and reappeared in front of the unsuspecting commander. Zoro's hated-filled glare was shot towards the marine. Zoro slashed at smoke that countered and trapped Zoro as it had Sanji. Zoro held his breath against the smoke and glanced at the cook, who had crumpled to the ground, lying still against the pavement in a growing puddle of blood.

'I need to get him to Chopper. He's losing too much blood!'

Before Zoro could act, Smoker stabbed him in the chest, bringing his attention back to their fight. Some quick jabs and then some painstakingly slow stabs were inflicted. It was as if Smoker was just trying to 'spice things up' by changing the speed at which he stabbed his victim. Though, Zoro didn't react accordingly, face blank and uninterested, causing Smoker some alarm, enough that his grip loosened. Zoro positioned himself to break free, satisfied that his lack of response to the piercing of his skin had bewildered his assailant, causing him to carelessly loosen his hold.

However, Smoker wasn't stupid. He quickly tightened his grip on the swordsman, causing Zoro's wounds to gush blood. Zoro didn't give a single fuck as he forced himself into an advantageous position and tried his damnedest to break free. And he did. Zoro forced himself out of Smoker's grip, surprising the motherfucker, and then slashing the marine before he could turn into smoke.

In his astonishment, Smoker clutched his bleeding chest, and quick as lightning, Zoro snatched Sanji off the pavement. He quickly noted that the cook was barely conscious, and then ran as fast as he could.

He had to get to Chopper. Sanji was losing way too much blood. Zoro desperately looked for either his nakama or the ship so they could save his cook. Zoro could feel the blood he never wanted to see start to seep through their clothing, dying his white shirt red.

'Shit. Shit. Shit! I have to get Chopper! I have to get to the ship!' Zoro chanted a he searched.

: -:

"Dammit. Sanji… Sanji!" Sanji's head turned slightly, feeling fuzzy and dazed. A dull pain pulse throughout his body, but otherwise he felt numb.

"Zoro?" Sanji croaked, voice raw and scratchy from the smoke exposure. 'Where am I? I thought I was fighting Smoker? Damn, my throat hurts. It hurts to breathe.'

"Sanji! How do I get to the ship?" 'Huh? We're going back? Why? Weren't we fighting marines?'

Sanji lifted his head slightly and lazily gazed at their surroundings, blood being pounded out of him with every heavy footfall as Zoro ran at a breakneck pace.

"We went across the whole fucking town. Take the next right turn." Sanji wheezed. After a series of turns and the occasional wrong turn, they returned to the ship in a frenzy.

"OI!" Zoro yelled, hoping that Chopper had come back.

"Chopper!"

"Hey, what is it, Zo-" The little reindeer looked over the edge of the ship and took in the sight of his two injured nakama. As expected, he reacted immediately "Zoro! What happened! Come on, get on the ship and take Sanji to the infirmary!" Chopper ordered, throwing a roped ladder down.

Zoro executed all of what he was told. He scurried up the ladder, and took the chef to the infirmary, following the little doctor. Once they arrived they burst through the doors.

"Put him on the bed!"

Zoro did exactly that. As gently and as quickly as he could, he placed the cook on the bed and awaited further instruction.

"You can take care of me afterwards. Just… help Sanji first… please." Zoro whispered with a straight face while looking at the unconscious cook's face. Zoro saw the disbelief in Chopper's demeanor when he heard how Zoro said this. He'd sounded like he was pleading. But the reindeer decided to ignore it at the moment since his attention was needed elsewhere.

"Yeah. I will have to give him a blood transfusion and operate on him." Chopper evaluated Sanji while he talked and got ready for the operation. "He has a few broken ribs, a bullet wound, his right tibia is fractured, he sustained a heavy amount of blood loss, smoke inhalation, multiple deep, jagged stab wounds and," Chopper paused in his evaluation. By the time he'd started listing off what was wrong the cook everyone excluding Usopp, Luffy, and Brook were present and panting from running behind the doctor and swordsman.

Chopper glanced at them, not wasting anymore time. "Zoro, grab the syringe and give it to me- and Sanji-" he finally continued after ordering the swordsman around, "Sanji has some torn muscle tissue, and is bleeding internally" Chopper finished his preparations and shoved Zoro out of the room along with everyone else. "I have to hurry and try to fix him so wait out here. This may take awhile, since he might have nerve damage. His organs might shut down if I don't repair them quickly." With that, the little doctor shut the door, leaving everyone rattled, unnerved, and scared.

After absorbing the information, Nami turned to Zoro who was just staring blankly at the door, letting his wounds bleed.

"Zoro." She didn't get a response from the swordsman.

"Zoro." Still nothing. His blood was leaking into the floorboards, staining them.

"Zoro!" Nami hissed at him so she wouldn't disturb Chopper. When she didn't get a reaction, she softly shoved the swordsman.

"What," He finally said with a sigh. The shove caused pain to course throughout his body, but Zoro didn't care as he raised a calloused hand to his face and rubbed his eyes, and then pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What happened? How did Sanji get like that!? Why are you two so banged up!?" Nami harshly whispered with concern and a hidden anger he found in her voice.

"Marines ambushed us. Smoker did this-" Zoro gestured to the door and then to his own wounds, "to us." He dropped his hand and turned his attention to the infirmary door, not wanting to see the disbelief in the remaining crew's faces.

"Smoker did this? Something like this? I thought he didn't use blades!" Nami talked at Zoro.

"He doesn't," Zoro said to the door, realization washing over him, although his countenance revealed nothing. This proved it; something was definitely wrong with Smoker.

'What the fuck was that red flame mark on his forehead? Now that I think about it, it almost looked like a bruise or something. I feel like I have seen it somewhere before… Why can't I remember? Is it because I try to forget my past? … Yeah, when I think about it that must be it. But now the biggest question is: Why does it scare the shit out of me?'

"Zoro" He was dragged out of his thoughts again when he heard Robin speak up for the first time, and it was his name nonetheless. He glanced back at her to let her know he was listening. She continued, "Are you okay?"

The question caught his attention, and he cocked his head towards her as she stood next to a sullen Franky.

"I've just got some cuts and a couple broken ribs. I'm fine, trust me. This isn't nearly enough to take me down. Sanji took the most damage," Zoro stated flatly, nothing given away in his voice other than the low hiss that it took to get the words out. He touched his chest tenderly, taking a shuddery breath, pain bursting through the area with even the slightest movement. He could feel the break with his fingers, wheezing as he tried and failed to take a deep inhale.

"Just need to rest," he said with a grunt, sitting down on the floor, facing the door. It was a stubborn and Zoro-ish thing to do, to not admit that he needed medical attention, and none of them would question it. They wouldn't notice what was going on inside him, not the upending doom he was feeling, not the unbearable amount of guilt and desolation, not the hopelessness and loneliness. Nothing.

Robin stared at him and he stared back. It was as if she were trying to look for a ghost; she knew the swordsman was hiding something. She knew something was there but she couldn't see what it was and she didn't have much evidence to prove that there was something in the swordsman to begin with. But she knew something was not 'fine' with the swordsman to begin with. Whatever it was, she knew that something was definitely amiss with their swordsman.

Robin smiled at her new mystery. "Well, that's good swordsman-san. Let's give you some first-aid so that you don't lose too much blood. Since you are, well, still bleeding," Robin pointed out as she asked Franky to guide the swordsman out of the hall to follow.

Zoro refused to move from his new spot next to the door, and Robin compromised and helped him right where he sat. Nami gave up in trying to scold and nag Zoro for answers, so she left with a sigh and went back to the deck in hopes that the marines wouldn't find them anytime soon; the fucking log pose set in two weeks, so they were pretty much screwed until Sanji and Zoro recovered and their dumbass captain came back.

A heavy silence engulfed the hallway, and as soon as Robin had finished, she bid the swordsman farewell and left Franky with Zoro. Silence occupied the space once again, just to be shattered.

"You know, Zoro-bro, this isn't your fault." Zoro looked up at the cyborg as he looked past Zoro, at the door.

"We all know you guys are abnormally powerful. We all know that smoke that can disperse and harden around something is completely at your guys' disadvantage since you are fighting with a gas." Franky turned to Zoro and smiled.

"You guys are some lucky bastards you know that? You and Sanji should be dead if you went up against Smoker!" He laughed heartily.

Zoro clamped a hand over his gigantic mouth and hushed him before Chopper murdered them with a cleaned scalpel, and he genuinely smiled at the cyborg.

"Yeah. Thanks, Franky." That had undeniably comforted Zoro but it didn't change anything. Not that Zoro was ungrateful to the gesture; it's just that, Zoro simply didn't agree.

"Well, I should get going. Oh, I should tell you that the log pose is gonna' set in two weeks' time so hurry up and get well soon. With Smoker here causing trouble, we need you two and Luffy. Anyway, if you need us, just shout." With that Franky departed as well, leaving Zoro to his thoughts, which were plagued with the cook and negativity. Zoro leaned back against the wall, rested a bloodied arm on a knee and let his head fall backwards, hitting the wood with a thud.

'How the fuck isn't this my fault? Sanji can take care of himself, I know that and I don't doubt it. He's strong and reliable… but… If I had just… been a little bit faster, if I had trained a little harder, I could have gotten there before it got that bad. Damn that shitty-cook, he probably withheld his screams of pain so he wouldn't give Smoker what he wanted, but that meant I couldn't hear that he was in trouble!'

Zoro shook his head in disgust. 'That guy was out for blood. That was fucking sadistic… but, if I had been the one to go up against Smoker when we split up, he wouldn't be in that bed getting patched up. Sanji wouldn't have been the object of that man's sadism. If only I had paid more attention to my instincts. If only I weren't distracted. If only I had been stronger. If I wasn't so weak… I could… I could protect the ones I love.' Zoro squeezed his eyes shut.

His mouth went dry and he clenched his fists, nails digging in his palm so deep that he drew blood. He felt some of his wounds bleed harder; but he'd never given a fuck before so he wasn't going to start now. He could bleed out for all he cared. It wasn't as if he felt the pain anyways. It wasn't as if he was scared of death. In fact, if he were to meet the Grim Reaper, he would tell the demon to go fuck itself.

'No. Zoro, don't think about it. Don't think about that time. Don't remember. You can't…' He let out the breath he held.

'But how can't you.'

Zoro was just about to calm himself down, when that little tendril of doubt whispered in his ear. Zoro froze; gut tensing up and forcing blood out into his bandages.

'How can't you think about that time? Or the time after that? Or after that? How can't you remember? How can you even begin to forget? Besides, this is another irreplaceable person. What if Sanji died? Another wound on a bleeding heart. Another injury that Chopper can't fix. That's all Sanji would be. If he wasn't already.' Zoro paused.

Wait… So, Sanji was, what? Hurting him? But what does that mean exactly? 'Another wound on a bleeding heart?' What the fuck does that mean? Where the hell did that even come from?

'Yeah. Haven't you noticed? Dumbass. Why do you think you still feel the way you do? You get all happy when he is around, but then you remember that he hates you and that you will never be with him. A pathetic actuality. He will certainly not fall in love with you. I bet he would curse you to his fucking grave. You are so damn pathetic! And even if by any chance he were gay or bi-sexual, you would never be his type. But it's worse, since he is as straight a fucking arrow! Ha, I mean get fucking real. You don't even have the slightest of chances. You are the only one enjoying yourself like a masochistic bitch while that guy is getting actual bitches.'

Zoro's eyes widened and watered. He straightened up, his injuries shooting several waves of pain through him, but he didn't pay a mind to any of that; it's not like he felt them anymore. He knew he was in a great deal of pain, but it was like it didn't register and all of the sharpness turned dull. All Zoro was concerned about was his own thoughts. No matter how optimistic this cynical swordsman got, the whispers would come back and haunt him. The thoughts, the whispers… It got worse and worse as time progressed.

Before, Zoro could dismiss them as he would dismiss his cook, but now, now Zoro actually believed this shit, and he knew that's all it was! Absolute, one hundred percent authentic bullshit! He fucking knew it! And yet… he couldn't help but believe it… He thought about it so often… for so long… Now, Zoro couldn't even tell if what he was thinking was his own thoughts or if that whispering was coming from somewhere else.

Zoro's self-loathing thoughts were scattered and forgotten the moment he heard the undeniable click of the infirmary door unlocking. Chopper was done. Zoro quickly ran a hand over his face as to wear off the fatigue he felt and to make sure any moisture was successfully dried. Chopper opened the door. Zoro's hope faded. Chopper had his doctor face on.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then the doctor broke down and wept. Zoro was pleased to see that the tears were of relief.

"You guys are some lucky bastards!" Chopper managed to wail in-between sobs.

"Yeah. I've been told."

Chopper felt a calloused hand cup his face, and he looked up innocently to the green-haired man.

Zoro looked genuinely happy. Chopper witnessed a sincere smile from their guarded swordsman, as the man who had killed a countless amount of people, gently wiped his tears away.

"So I'm guessing there's good and bad news?" Zoro said with a small smirk, which was more of a sad lop-sided smile. It lacked Zoro's usual edge, but the reindeer decided to ignore it for the moment.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"You said we're lucky bastards, not invincible. Someone who got hurt that badly should be dead, but he pulled through, right?" Zoro explained factually at first, then his tone turned hopeful towards the end. He wanted, needed, to hear the professional say it himself.

"Yes. He survived. That's the good news. I will tell you the rest when we go up to tell the rest of the crew that Sanji is still alive."

Zoro released the breath he just realized he'd been holding. It looked like his voices weren't completely right this time. 'Thank god,' Zoro thought with a small smile. Zoro bent down, blood dripping on the floor as he patted Chopper's hat. "Good job, Chopper, the best doctor at sea."

"Shut the fuck up, you damned barbarian! Complimenting me won't make me happy asshole!" the reindeer squealed as he did that cute happy dance he does when he gets praised. Then the doctor froze, and Zoro braced himself for what was coming next.

"Zoro! Come on! Hurry up! I have to take care of your wounds now! Wait, how long have you been here!? I've been working on Sanji for hours now! Damn it, Zoro! Look at you! You're still bleeding! How!?..."Zoro decided it was time for him to ignore the doctor, even though he couldn't fully ignore Chopper. He listened, but he was also in his own little world, a world that was just waiting to end, and he fucking knew it.

*Again, thank you for reading, and please leave a review so I know how I'm doing. I am very curious as to what people think. But if you don't want to review, that's okay too. Favoriting and following helps me think that I am doing something right, and if you don't want to do that too, then again that's okay. I really appreciate the fact that you clicked on my fanfic. =) Please have a good day!*