Chapter 5
(Hit The Floor)
In Zoro's mind right now only one thing was certain, if Chopper had a sharp instrument in his hands then shit this was going to hurt.
It wasn't the knife that worried him, it didn't scare him one bit. Not even the thought that what was coming might hurt, after all he had endured ridiculous amounts of pain in life that were considered inhumane. Infact it was just the thought of the doctor dissecting him, like a piece of meat; poking and prodding him around.
An image of Sanji, chopping and preparing some meat came to his mind, which made him shudder and detest the move even more.
As chopper ascended (did I use the right word?) towards Zoro, the swordsman realised if he didn't do something now he would be mince meat. He knew he had one of two options open to him.
Either let chopper do his stuff, and become a human side dish.
Or
Run now think later.
Yeah. Running seemed like a good idea. Now there was only one problem; how would he make his escape from the hands of the doctor in question?
Desperately, he tried wriggling his shoulders free of Sanji and Franky's strong grip. But their hold on him immediately tightened. And is his state right now, if they had competition in strength; his was far weaker than theirs. His struggle only lasted a few moments, before he dropped back on deck, exhaustion kicking in.
Franky and Sanji had noticed the swordsman sudden change in behaviour, making them both wonder if the pain he was in was really that unbearable. Both took in his appearance.
Sweat poured from his forehead, trickling down his face; making his tanned face look more noticeably pale than usual. His eyes were closed tightly, as if they were blocking everything around him from view. Knuckles white, and blood dripping down his arm from the cement grip his nails had on the palm of his hands.
All members of the crew knew how stubborn Zoro was; particularly Sanji, Robin and Brook who had all witnessed the swordsman offer his life to Kuma in exchange for Luffy's life, as if he was worthless. It was a one shot, but Sanji knew he had to do or say something before Zoro's stubbornness led to his death.
'Oi! Marimo, stay still! It's for your own good' the blonde barked
'Shut it . . . shitty . . . cook' the green haired nakama wheezed, clutching his ribs and taking a deep, pained breath between each word.
'How are we gunna find out who is the strongest out of the two of us if you die, hmmm?' Sanji teased
'Fuck . . . you . . . curly . . . brow' Zoro snarled between gritted teeth.
'Zorooooo! Please try not to speak I need to concentrate' Choppers pleading voice rang out
Without warning Zoro let out an agonising scream of pain. Arching his back, he started to shake violently, letting out tremoring coughs, which decorated the deck in a deep crimson, sticky substance. Blood.
'Chopper Hurry!'
The sound of Franky's worried voice, interrupted chopper from the daze events had put him in.
He quickly made an incision with his medical knife, about 6 centimetres in length, just below the space which held Zoro's left lung. Grabbing a small tube, chopper inserted it into the incision he had just made.
Almost instantly it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from the nakamas chest. His lungs greedily inhaled big intakes of oxygen as he struggled to regain his breathe, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The swordsman promptly passed out.
Chopper changed into one of his many forms, now the delicate procedure was over, he was able to change himself large enough to carry Zoro quickly to the medical bay.
As the sound of Chopper's hurried footsteps faded, all of the Strawhat crew were left standing on the deck of the sunny, gobsmacked, and left wondering if the swordsman would be okay.
As time passed, minutes turned into hours, and hours felt like days.
As curious as the crew were of the first mates condition, they all knew better then to disrupt Chopper from his work, and knew too well that concentration was the key to Chopper's success.
When Chopper had finally emerged from the medical bay, he found the rest of his nakama seated in the kitchen. From what he could see, they were all very anxious to hear of Zoro's condition.
Franky was on his 10th bottle of cola, Brook had miraculously not cracked a skull joke since the incident, Robin and Nami sat opposite each other, their heads resting on their hands looking rather depressed. Sanji had cooked about 10 meals to keep his mind of things; unfortunately it didn't look as if any of the crew would be dining tonight.
Usopp stared blankly at the seat in which Zoro would usually be present, sighing. And Luffy? Obviously he was the anxious of them all. His usual goofy grin had been replaced by a heart breaking, gloomy expression. He sat on the floor, knees drawn to his chin, staring into space.
As soon as the crew had realised Chopper's presence in the room, he was bombarded by a flood of questions.
'How Is He?!?!'
'Is he ok?!?!'
'What's wrong with him!?!?!'
'Can we see him?!?!?'
'Is he awake!?!?!'
Sighing, Chopper took in a deep intake of air;
'QUIET!'
The whole room went silent.
'Thank you. I'm afraid Zoro is still unconscious, but I did find out the cause of his condition . . .'
'What's wrong with Zoro?' Luffy asked, still sat across the other end of the room.
Chopper paused, he bit his bottom lip to stop it from trembling; a small set of tears broke free of his small, brown eyes.
'I've done a few tests, but . . . I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything until he wakes up, patient confidentiality . . .'
Wiping his tears away with his arm, he slowly made his way back to the medical bay. As tired as he was, someone still needed to keep an eye on his patient.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Well? What do you think? =]
As usual I think I could have done better, I am suffering from a little writers block at the moment.
Thank you once again for all your reviews, I really do appreciate them, and let me know if you find any mistakes.
Next Chapter Expected Thursday, possibly earlier.
