This is a quick update for me, I know! This chapter is mostly just filler, development of the island as I like to think of it. Anyway, there are some good developments of the Zoro and Sanji-ness as well! At least, I think so.

Enjoy!

"-ro!"

He frowned. Someone was being obnoxiously loud. Again. He could usually sleep through it, so, he was going to give it his best.

"-eave him here al-?"

"-watch. I have t-"

"-f he's sick, too?"

Zoro groaned, fighting not to reposition himself. He was sitting up against a wall out in the open, near Nami's mikans by the smell of it. He couldn't remember where he fell asleep, and he wasn't going to open his eyes to find out.

"-oo dumb to get sick."

"-not nice, Sa-"

The deck vibrated slightly, alerting him to someone approaching him. It wasn't clacky like one of the women, or light like Chopper. It wasn't flip-flops, and it didn't sound clumsy like Ussop. Damn. Zoro was toying with the idea of slicing the disturbance away with 'Three-sword style; let me fucking sleep', but, he couldn't quite put the plan in order before the footsteps stopped a few feet short of his position.

"Oi." The cook's voice was quiet, almost as if he was trying not to disturb Zoro. "We're almost in the port. You staying here?"

Zoro ignored him; just in case there was a chance he hadn't noticed that he was already awake. Seeing as Sanji didn't leave, Zoro figured it hadn't worked, but he was still playing possum. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. You've got watch and sick patrol, then."

His arm twitched. I'm fucking asleep! You can't stick me with chores while I'm asleep! He tried to telepathically communicate with the cook, or anyone really, begging not to be stuck with the ship when he missed dry land beyond belief.

Sanji laughed suddenly, quietly. "Gonna help me with the shopping, then, Marimo?" Silence. "Leaving it up to me?" Irked silence. "Okay," Smirked at silence. "Hey-!"

"Okay, okay, fine! Just shut up!" Zoro grumbled, effectively shooshing Sanji. He didn't want to know what the cook had been about to yell, but, he knew it would doom any chance at peace he had for as long as they were at that island. "I don't wanna be stuck with the ship." Zoro stated, opening one eye enough to see the cook grinning.

Sanji nodded. "Good. 'Cause Chopper's staying here and he asked me to get some medicine stuff for him while I'm out. I'll need someone to help carry those." He turned on his heel, and walked away. "Hurry up, baka-Marimo!"

"Oh, you're both going shopping?" Nami asked. Sanji looked at her and smiled. "Yep! Is there anything you need while we're out?"

"No, thanks. I'll be going out, too, to get various things." Nami said, shaking her head and examining a page in the book she was holding. "But, Ussop's staying here to repair the ship, so ask him if he needs anything." She said, waving Sanji away with one hand and holding her book up higher with the other.

"I do need some stuff!" Ussop called from below deck. The hatch to the men's room opened and a hand holding a folded piece of paper emerged. "Here's a list. Thanks!" Ussop said, before Sanji even took the paper from him. The cook kicked the hatch shut, and Ussop howled.

Sanji unfolded the paper and read through the list. It was mostly things he recognized. Wood and nails and such. But, there were pictures drawn beside names he didn't know. "What the hell is this...? Pipes? And, why'd you draw a bottle of Tabasco! I know what that is!"

"Ahahahowowow! Good luck!" Ussop shouted. Sanji cursed him and his long nose as he stomped over to the edge of the ship where the ladder was. He looked back and saw that Zoro wasn't following him. "Nami-swan, please forgive me in advance~!" Sanji cooed. "And, you might like to plug your ears."

Nami barely blinked before she put down her book on the railing and covered her ears with her hands. "Okay. Thank you for the advance warning, Sanji-kun!" Nami said, smiling briefly before turning back to her book. Sanji smiled and nodded at her, though she was no longer paying attention.

"Ma-ri-mo-kuuuuun..." Sanji called, his voice dripping with a sinister tone. "GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!"

"Or, what?" Zoro's voice was challenging and curious at the same time.

"Or, ya don't get fed, shitty-swordsman."

A not-so-subtle stream of curses was directed at Sanji as the swordsman finally stood, crossed the deck and jumped off the side of the ship onto the creaky wood of the docks. Sanji rolled his eyes at the display and waved over his shoulder at Nami. "I'll be back in an hour or two, My Lovely~!"

"Okay. No hurry, though, we're gonna be stuck here for a few days." Nami said, setting down her book and waving. Sanji smiled a lewd smile at her before climbing down the ladder, list in hand.

He looked at Zoro who was walking away grumbling to himself. "That's the wrong way, in case you were wondering." Sanji called, smiling to himself when Zoro stood up straighter. "I knew that!"

Sanji laughed and started up the wide paved road towards what was quite obviously a thriving town. "C'mon, baka-Marimo, we've got a long day ahead of us." He called over his shoulder, pulling out the grocery list. Oh, a long day, indeed. Most of their perishable items had done just that; perished. Whether during the storm, or whilst being jostled by the Sea King, more than half of their supplies had been ruined. They were very lucky to have come across an island so soon after the last one.

"Why the hell are we here so early, anyway? I thought we weren't supposed to get here until nightfall." Zoro grumbled, his boots causing an excessive stomping sound as a voiceless defiance of having to go shopping. All he really wanted to do was go for a walk, maybe train in a more remote area. At least if they'd arrived at night, he would've been spared on the shopping until the next morning.

Sanji snorted, walking in front with his hands in his pockets. "Well, I don't know, maybe you were asleep? We kind of slid from a great height off a Sea King. That tends to speed things up." Sanji said, sarcastically.

"Maybe you were asleep! I was the one that caused that so, shut the fuck up." Zoro sneered, opting to keep his mouth shut afterwards. To his surprise, the cook didn't retort, though he was beginning to wonder if he should be surprised at anything the blonde did anymore.

Sanji turned his head from side to side, absorbing the lively town in all its glory in the late afternoon light. He smiled at all the attractive women and the various stands stocked full of fresh fruits and vegetables and herbs. "Nami-san said we're going to be here for a few days, so we only need to get enough for tonight and tomorrow's breakfast. And, the stuff that Ussop and Chopper requested."

"Whatever."

"Hmm. Sunny today, aren't we?"

"Shut up!"

Sanji laughed, stopping over at one of the stands and purchasing an arm-full of brightly-colored peppers. Sanji examined the peppers with a satisfied grin on his face. "This'll be great in some sort of stir-fry... Maybe slightly pickled?" He mumbled to himself the potential of a red bell-pepper, quickly starting back on his way.

Zoro watched the cook haggle for some powdered something-or-other next, and then buy a shit-load of apples. It was kind of weird to watch. Zoro likened Sanji's expression to that of a kid in a candy store, even when the person at the stand was giving him a hard time. He was amused, in an odd way, to see the cook so giddy over shopping.

The swordsman shivered. He would never again think that sentence about Sanji. Ever. That was beyond wrong.

"Hey, what do you think of this?" Sanji called, holding up a large, flat mushroom for Zoro to see. Zoro shrugged. "It's a mushroom." He stated, not really understanding. He was supposed to have thoughts about a mushroom? The cook must have mistaken him for someone else.

"No, idiot. Well, yes, it is a mushroom, but, I meant 'do you think it's a good idea to buy some'?" Sanji asked, rolling his eyes. He smirked suddenly, and waved his hand apologetically. "Oh, sorry. I forgot that would be cannibalism for you."

"Why, you-!" Zoro started, but, Sanji cut him off. "You always get so offended by the same insults I use every time. I suppose that saves me the trouble of coming up with new ones, though." Sanji observed, grinning brilliantly.

Zoro faltered. He couldn't think of any comeback even remotely insulting to the cook. Sanji had pretty much insulted himself, anyway, but, Zoro was really trying to come up with something that would piss the cook off and get that stupid grin off his face. But, he couldn't come up with anything before the cook had bought some mushrooms and moved on already.

"We better hurry up," The cook said, handing a couple bags to Zoro. "We've got to get some stuff from an actual store. It's just a bit further inland, according to that *Ossan." He nodded his head in the direction of the mushroom-stand man.

"Understood." Zoro said, looking around. He wasn't sure which way led them further inland... Maybe there were directions at the port? Zoro started off towards where they'd come from, though somehow the docks were long out of sight.

After a minute or two, Zoro noticed Sanji hadn't said anything. He stopped to listen for footsteps following him, but, he heard nothing. Well, no, he heard the hustle and bustle of a busy market, and the distant sound of seagulls and waves. But, he didn't hear the cook.

Zoro turned around and saw Sanji hadn't moved from his spot just past the mushroom stand. Sanji had his back to him, but, Zoro could tell he was holding his head in his hands. He wasn't terribly surprised at that; He'd noticed the cook acting strangely. He didn't know what had happened, but he figured it had something to do with the fall he took, who knows how many meters off a Sea King and into the ocean.

"You okay?" Zoro asked, not really sure what to say. Of course he was worried, if only the smallest of amounts, but he and the cook were never quite on a level where they asked whether or not each other were okay, leastly in a serious way.

Sanji didn't respond, or even acknowledge him. He just stood there with the handles of the shopping bags held by the crook of his left elbow while he rubbed his temples. Zoro groaned. If he's faking it, heads are gonna roll.

The swordsman relatively stomped back over to Sanji and poked him in the back of the head. "Oi, I asked you if you're okay."

Sanji flinched, turning slowly to glare at Zoro. "Yeah, fine, thanks for asking. Don't frickin' touch me." He grumbled, rubbing at his forehead a moment longer before straightening up and walking in the opposite direction of the port.

"Where the hell are you going?" Zoro asked, narrowing his eyes at Sanji's retreating back in question, although he had already started to follow him.

"This is inland, Baka." Sanji said over his shoulder as he pointed at some houses further up the wide road from them. "We're looking for a place with an old sign that reads 'One-stop Herb-shop', again, according to the mushroom Ossan."

Zoro frowned. "How do you know we can trust that guy?"

"Because he grows medicinal mushrooms and sells them to the people who own that place." Sanji answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"So he said." Zoro said, skeptically. He didn't trust some random mushroom salesman to point them in the right direction without ulterior motives.

"Well, I really don't see the reasoning in lying to a couple of strangers about the location of a medicine shop. Especially since they may be looking for that medicine shop to help with illness and injury within their crew." Sanji stated, offended at Zoro's suspicion of a poor middle-aged man. The mushroom Ossan was nice!

"Maybe he's seen the wanted posters? Mine, if not Luffy's. Maybe, he wanted to lure us into a trap?"

"Maybe not everyone is bad! Maybe, not everyone is after us! Stop talking about it, you're pissing me off." Sanji snapped, stomping away from Zoro.

"What the hell? Pissy princess!" Zoro shouted, making no effort to catch up with Sanji.

The blonde ignored him and was soon over a hill and out of sight. He didn't understand why Sanji was so ticked off, but, it was beyond annoying. To believe he was worried about that asshole! Well, not excessively. No. He wasn't worried. Never mind.

Wait a second…

Zoro looked around himself, standing completely still in the middle of the road, with two arms full of groceries. "Where am I?"

The shop had dusty windows, a ratty welcome mat, chipping paint and a broken sign. However, a piece of cardboard taped over the broken sign exposed the identity of the store. 'One-stop Herb-shop'.

Sanji stared at the un-impressive square building, silently doubting that they would have all that Chopper wanted. An old woman was sweeping dust off the small sidewalk leading up to the store's front steps, humming to herself a long-dead tune. She waved at Sanji and asked him what sounded like a question with an unintelligible accent. 'Can I help you?', if he had to guess.

"Umm, forgive me, **Baa-chan, but does this place have a good supply of medicinal herbs?" Sanji asked in a kind voice, and the old woman smiled. "You bet!" She replied, enthusiastically.

She rasped loudly for someone to come out, but, Sanji didn't catch the name she used. "What is it, Baa-san? A customer?" An extremely young voice called from within the store. A moment later, a small child, eight at the most, clad in yellow overalls, red galoshes and light brown gardener's gloves, hopped into view. The child pulled at its crazy brunette hair and examined Sanji from head-to-toe.

"He's a weird one, inn'e, Baa-san?" The child asked, as if Sanji couldn't hear. "Hey, you little brat, that's not polite!" Sanji reprimanded, frowning when the child giggled in response.

"Okay, sorry. My name's Gira. I'll show you around, if you'll follow me?" The child smiled politely and stepped one foot through the doorway, waiting on Sanji. The cook straightened up, still a bit annoyed that some strange kid judged him on sight as being weird.

Gira skipped into the shop and twirled around by the entrance until Sanji had caught up, at which point Gira jumped over to some potted plants on the wall to the left of the door. "These are to be ground up into a paste or something similar, used as pain-relievers, sleep-assisters, and disinfectants. Some of these ones over here," Gira pointed to some ugly-looking flowers on the small section of wall beside the door. "Are good for putting in food. They don't have a taste."

Sanji stared at the flowers with an appreciative expression. "That might be useful… That idiot definitely would agree." He told himself, quietly. Gira smiled at him and continued further down the wall, to bare branches. "These are for putting into medicinal teas. They clear sinuses, throat soreness, and help settle one's stomach. But, most of them have weird side-effects like drowsiness, loss of limbs, skin infection, and hallucinations."

"God, the cure is worse than the illness." Sanji said, shocked that people have lost limbs from drinking herbal tea. Gira laughed, "I know, right? Those side-effects are rare. We only had one case of drowsiness."

"Yeah, that's the one I meant." Sanji said, rolling his eyes. He stepped over to the back wall where there were hundreds of glass jars ranging in size. "What about this stuff?"

"Oh. My daddy says we have a powder for everything on that wall. Stuff that cures infection, fevers, itching, constipation, bleeding, swelling of the face, broken bones, missing bones, weight loss, weight gain, delusions, upset stomach, hair loss, dia-"

"Okay, I get it!" Sanji interrupted, laughing breathlessly. "For a shrimp, you sure know your stuff, don't you?"

"Yep!" Gira chirped, smiling. "But, call me a shrimp again, and I'll show you we don't just carry cures."

"Understood." Sanji said, nodding. He wasn't sure what to make of that kid, but, he didn't doubt that Gira would go through with that threat. "Now, as fun as this little tour has been, I've got a list of things that I need for a friend of mine." Sanji said, reaching into his inside breast pocket and pulling out Chopper's list of medicines without pronunciations. He handed the list to Gira and watched him read it.

After a minute, Gira started going around the store collecting things with her eyes glued to the list. "Wow... Ya'll must be some kind of pirates, right?" Gira asked, absently, grabbing a jar of purple petals off the shelf behind the small counter.

"Yeah." Sanji answered, slowly. He knew he should be careful about whom he told about the crew, but Gira didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that they were pirates. "How did you know?"

"I guessed. Some of this is for illnesses that people contract when they're out at sea for a long time, and some of it is vitamin and mineral supplementation." Gira mumbled, emptying his arms onto the counter and skipping off to a different shelf and collecting fractions of branches. "It's quite an order, and there's some stuff we don't have on there, but, this'll do about the same job. They're good for soreness and stuff."

"Okay." Sanji said, though he didn't know what the branches were, or what they were supposed to be substituting. "So, you run this place by yourself?"

"No. Kina-baa-chan helps and my daddy works here. But, he's researching right now." Gira answered, climbing up on a ladder against a wall with bags and jars of various root-looking things. "This should be about it. That's gonna come up to a lot, though. Do you want any of the tasteless things?"

"Sure. About how much is it going to be, kid? I only have so much to work with."

Gira plucked a handful of white flowers off one of the ugly flower trees and put them in a plastic bag. "You can't put these near anything with a really strong smell, okay?" She said, hopping up onto a step-stool behind the counter and placing the bag delicately on top of the certifiable mountain of medical plants.

Sanji surveyed the pile of odd-looking things with a blank expression. He didn't know what much of it was supposed to be, or if the kid had improvised and given him more than he'd asked for. Or, if the kid really didn't know what he was doing at all. "Uh-"

"Want me to put labels on there? The doctor'll know which is which, but, if it'll help you out...?" Gira offered, smiling in a more-than-a-little-bit smug sort of way. Sanji narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah, thanks. Got a bag or something?"

Gira made quick work of labeling all the herbs and roots and flowers then placed them all in a large paper bag. "That'll be one-hundred and eight thousand beli." Gira chirped, leaning forward with a hand out-stretched.

"You're not serious?" Sanji shouted in horror. What. The. Fuck! I coulda bought out the market for that much! He thought, silently begging Gira to be joking. But, he wasn't. The money Chopper gave him barely covered it, but it was enough. Gira and Kin-baa-chan waved Sanji off with broad smiles on their faces.

"Nami-san is going to kill me..." Sanji groaned, rubbing the ache in his forehead. He was sure it wasn't all Nami-related, but he was starting to wonder if it was relative to something that warranted consulting Chopper. I could ask him while I'm dropping off the purchase of the century...

Sanji readjusted all the bags he was carrying. The herbs weren't very heavy, but the groceries were. He didn't know where his Marimo pack-mule went, but, he was going to give him hell when he turned up. Especially if he received further injury from carrying all the damn groceries and falling and hitting his head.

"Sanji-kun, what took you so long? I got back half an hour ago and I left after you!" Nami called, perching comfortably on her beach chair on the deck while Sanji and Ussop brought up all the bags Sanji was carrying. Sanji greeted her in his normal flamboyant sort of way, and then answered her question a bit more seriously. "That idiot seaweed left me alone to do Chopper and Ussop's shopping. He's still got an armload of stuff that was supposed to be for dinner."

"Oh, no, he dropped those off before Nami got back." Ussop said, rummaging through a bag branded with the logo of a junk shop. "Ah, wow! I didn't request this! How did you know to get this?"

Sanji glanced over his shoulder at Ussop, who was drooling over some metal something-or-other he'd picked up at the junk shop. "It looked like your kind of crap. So, the Marimo-head came back here, did he? I'll kick his ass!"

"He already lef- wait! This isn't crap!" Ussop shrieked as Sanji hauled the groceries into the kitchen and shut the door behind himself. The cook noticed the bags that Zoro had previously been carrying lying in a heap on the counter and he frowned. He hadn't expected any more than that, but he was still aggravated.

Sanji got to work putting everything in its proper place, leaving out only what he was going to use for making dinner. It took until just past sundown to finish cooking, but that was the point. No one had yet come complaining about being hungry, or even really shown their faces, so Sanji was taking his time. His head was pounding and dancing around the kitchen didn't help things, but it got his mind off of it.

He was letting yet another brilliant concoction simmer in a deep pan on the stove when he decided to sit down and read. Sanji pulled his book from the cabinet where he'd placed it earlier, after picking up the Sea King damage. He flipped through the pages as he sat down at the table, only to have to close it again when he heard the door open.

"Saaaanjiiii~! Is there any meeeeee~at?" That whine was his only warning before Luffy glomped him from behind. "I miiiiiissed yoouuuuu~! I feel like I haven't eaten your food in yeeeeearsss~!" Luffy whined wrapping his arms around Sanji four times.

"Hey! Ack- idiot! Put me down, or you don't get any food!" Sanji threatened, short of breath as he struggled to get out of the Captain's grip. Immediately, Luffy released his hold on him, and Sanji landed with a thump on his ass on the floor. That set his head to swimming again and he groaned. He used the table to help himself up, although Luffy offered him a hand. "You... you're supposed to be resting, aren't you?"

"What? But, I feel a million times be-!" Luffy cut himself off with a loud snore and collapsed at the table, snoozing soundly. Sanji shook his head and began setting the table. He put the food into sturdy serving dishes in the middle of the table with plates and saucers all around them. As fun as it was making everyone's plates for them all the time, meaning, not very, Sanji decided he would let them fix their own. Except Luffy. He'd take everything if he were allowed.

Taking a step back from his masterpiece, Sanji nodded in approval. He snatched his book off the table and replaced it in its cabinet, then stuck his head out the door and called, "Dinner's ready!"

Nami and Robin were on their chairs on deck, (Though Sanji wasn't sure when Robin had arrived), and Ussop and Chopper were swapping compliments about the stuff they'd gotten out of Sanji's shopping trip. He didn't see Zoro and that irked him.

As everyone flooded to the kitchen in a less-than-ravenous group, Sanji asked, "Where's the Moss?" Everyone answered in the negative, saying he arrived, dropped his bags, and set out again with nothing more than a 'hey'. Everyone except Nami, of course, who said she saw him wandering around town, as usual.

That was less than satisfying, but Sanji wasn't going to go out looking for some brain-dead moss after dark. Who knows what kind of places that guy visits at this time of night...

Once everyone was situated with their food, Sanji placed Luffy's food in front of him and the Captain rose with a mighty yawn. "That was a great nap! Hey, Sanji, that food smells good!" Luffy said, grinning briefly before opening his rubber jaws and shoveling in as much food off his plate as he could. The room was still and quiet for a three-second period before everyone decided that he was really okay, and nothing was going to happen.

It took Sanji a bit longer, another minute of watching him eat, of watching everyone eat, before he decided it was okay for him to step out for a smoke. He was already fishing for a light when he stepped out into the night air. It was chilly, but not abrasively so. He'd feel sorry for whoever was on watch that night, though.

As he lit the end of his cigarette, his eyes drifted to the port. There were hanging lanterns about ten feet high framing the docks, and further lanterns lighting the way into town. It was beautiful, even with the shady night crowd hanging about certain buildings that had to be taverns. It occurred to him that Zoro may have gravitated to one of the bars on the island, but, he knew in some dark corner of his mind that Zoro wasn't in any of the ones he could see from the ship.

In that same corner of his mind, he could feel a pulsing pain. It seemed to wrap around from the back of his head and stab through the front. There were two spots on his head, from what he could tell, that felt too warm and crawly, almost like he was bleeding, but he knew someone would have pointed out if he were.

A sudden sound on the deck woke Sanji from his pain daze and the blonde looked up. He hadn't realized he was holding his head again, but he didn't think too long about that. "Have you gone to see Chopper yet?"

"What the fuck? That's all you've got to say for yourself after sticking me with the shopping?" Sanji asked, glaring at the slightly-illuminated moss head climbing up the rope ladder. Zoro returned the glare with a tired and annoyed one of his own. "Yeah, that's what I've got to say. Talk to Chopper about your head, or, I'll kick your ass."

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "That's an odd threat. Did the sun wither your brain while you were out leaving me to do all the work?" He teased, tapping the ashes off what was left of his cigarette. He leaned on his elbows on the railing and smirked at Zoro.

"I was trying to help you, shit-cook." Zoro sneered, dropping a full burlap sack onto the deck and his swords right beside it.

Sanji was only slightly distracted by the sack before he said, "By what? Insulting me and making me carry heavy armfuls of bags? No, thanks, shitty-Marimo."

"Hey! I did try to-" Zoro stopped himself. The half of Zoro's face that Sanji could see was indecisive. He was thinking about something. About saying something, or not saying something. Whatever it was, it seemed serious. Zoro was silent for a long moment, deliberating.

"So this is the capacity of seaweed? Impressive."

"Shut up! Never fucking mind, okay? I'm takin' a nap."

Zoro dropped down flat on his back beside the burlap sack and his swords and crossed his arms over his chest. Sanji rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. You don't get to complain if Luffy eats your food." The cook said over his shoulder as he went back into the kitchen which had quieted surprisingly to lively chatter. Zoro stared after him through one eye before relaxing and dropping off to sleep.

"Oi." The voice was in a clouded place, far away and a lot colder. The place was uncomfortable, but there were nice sounds in the background. Pretty, calming sounds like waves splashing against wood. He liked that sound.

"You idiot." The voice wasn't as fuzzy that time, sounding clearer and a bit louder, but it was still pleasant. Except that it was insulting him. What the fuck, voice? Zoro frowned and turned away from the voice. Its tone was nice, but, that voice was mean. He'd kick its ass later.

He was about to slip back under, but, the voice caused him to resurface. It was closer; "You'll catch a cold, you know." It said, engulfing him in warmth. His face was kind of cold, but it didn't bother him so much now that his body was warming. Even the cold, hard surface below him felt more comfortable.

His cheek was warmer for a moment, during which time he was almost back fully asleep, but as soon as the warmth left his cheek, he had to make an effort to keep his eyes closed. He didn't want to be awake. It was still night time, he could tell. It wasn't awake time. But, now that he was thinking of it, his stomach was starting to eat itself. It was quite loud.

"Hm?" The voice was much clearer then, though farther away. "What was that?" He groaned and attempted to cover the grumbling in his stomach, but it wouldn't cease. He'd gone without food for days at a time before. He must be spoiled.

He tried to ignore the emptiness of his gut, but he ended up stretching and making to stand up. He propped himself up with his hands flat against the deck behind his backside and looked around. It was dark and out in the open, so, he figured he fell asleep on deck again. It wasn't uncommon. In fact, it was common to the point that he couldn't discern one time from another. In that particular instant, he couldn't remember exactly what happened before he fell asleep, except that he was talking to-

"Awake now, are ya?" It was 'the voice', he knew, but with a clearer mind he could better tell who it really was. It only made sense that the insulting voice was Sanji.

Zoro grumbled something that didn't even have meaning to himself as he rubbed at his face to try and wake up enough to get something to eat. "Haha. Not a morning person? That's okay, it's only just past midnight."

"How does that make it okay?" Zoro groaned, turning his head in the general direction of Sanji's voice. He came face-to-face with a plate of something noodle-y and green-spotted and it took him a few seconds to register that it was a plate of food. "Shitty psychic." He accused, taking the plate and chopsticks that were offered to him.

"I'm a pretty damn good psychic since I knew what you wanted and had it ready beforehand!" Sanji decided, taking a step back from Zoro and nodding. "Hmm... Psychic of the sea... How does that sound?"

Zoro slurped a mouth full of noodles in a sauce that couldn't be described by human words. "Sounds insane." He said, between bites. Sanji hummed to acknowledge the reply, but otherwise didn't say anything, allowing Zoro to scarf down his food without further distraction.

Once Zoro was done, however, he said, "I told Chopper about my headaches."

The swordsman was forced to stop whatever he might have been doing and look at Sanji in disbelief. He was glad that the cook told Chopper about his head, if he wasn't lying, but he was shocked that he actually listened. "...You listened to me?" He questioned, before his tired mind could stop him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't be too proud of yourself. My head was killing me, so I just did myself a favor."

"Che, sure. So, what'd he say?"

Sanji shrugged. "He said that some asshole must have been really getting on my nerves to cause such an injury."

"Bastard." Zoro sneered, frowning.

Sanji chuckled at the response. "He gave me something for the pain, anyway. 'S got me kinda out of it, but, better. Not hurting as much."

"As much? Geez, you must be one (*) lily asshole to be so affected by one little bump."

Sanji glared at him in the dim light. "Some Nakama you are! Just go to bed, Marimo, I'm on watch."

Zoro set his dishes down on the deck and stood up; causing the blanket that had covered his lap to fall in a heap at his feet without a sound. That made him pause. Sanji had draped that blanket over him while he was sleeping, (or, at least, mostly). He didn't know why it bothered him, but it did. He was a prideful man, one that wouldn't concede to the opinions of his rival. But, he was also honest, and his honesty wasn't going to allow him to ignore that behavior.

"Nah. You go to bed, I've got this." Zoro said, shrugging. It wasn't much, but that was all he could manage. He'd already had two naps that day, whereas Sanji had been up and about. And he listened to him, and he was injured and... God, thinking about it made him feel like an ass.

Sanji narrowed his eyes at Zoro. "No, it's my shift. What are you trying to pull?" He asked, shifting his weight to his left foot. That wasn't a good sign, in Zoro's opinion.

"Nothing. If your brain's bothering you, just go the fuck to bed!" Zoro snapped, immediately against being accused.

Sanji recoiled away from the words in shock before sneering his comeback, "Your brain must be bothering you, shitty-swordsman! It's my job, so, just go to bed before I have to make you go to bed!"

"What the hell are you going to do, cook me to death?"

"That can be arranged!" Sanji snapped, glaring. Suddenly, his head was screaming and he nearly doubled over trying to catch and stop the pulsing, stabbing pain. He felt as if his head was hurting in places it didn't even contain.

Zoro froze completely. He didn't know what to do. "Uh- you- are you alright? Should I, uh- should I get Chopper or something?" He reached out because it looked like Sanji was about to fall over, but the blonde head shook a firm 'no'.

"No, he's got too much to worry about. Besides," Sanji said, quietly, sucking in a breath through his teeth in an attempt to ward relieve some of the pain in his head. "You're the one making my head hurt, idiot."

"I didn't do anything!" Zoro defended. He wasn't sure how Sanji could possibly blame him for that, but, he wasn't having it. He grabbed Sanji by the shoulders and made him sit down on the deck. "You got some medicine or something that he gave you?"

Sanji laughed without a sound. "I already told you that. I said he gave me some stuff that made my head kinda foggy."

"Yeah, but, I mean, extra. For when shit like this happens." Zoro growled, annoyed. He was just sitting there, not doing anything, when he could be helping Sanji. He hated being useless.

"Shit like this, eh?" Sanji laughed again, this time with some sound aside from his ragged breathing. "Yeah. Yeah. Help me up, will ya?" Sanji raised his head just enough so that he could look Zoro in the eye. He hadn't wanted to do that, because he knew what Zoro would think. His eyes, he knew, must be full of his pain, his helplessness. Zoro would think him pathetic. But, it worked, just as he thought it would, in convincing the swordsman to help him up and into the kitchen.

Zoro pulled one of Sanji's arms around his shoulders and stood up a little too quickly for Sanji's liking. The sudden ascent had his head spinning, making him more than just a bit nauseous. His free hand clamped over his mouth, just in case, Sanji attempted to keep up with Zoro's pace, stumbling and nearly falling on the stairs. Surely the swordsman was trying to help, but, if anything, it was making Sanji feel worse.

When they walked through the door, Sanji nearly smiled at the closeness of a still seat. Zoro sat him down at the table and disappeared from view, mumbling something that Sanji couldn't hear above the pounding in his head. He didn't care to know what it was either, because it was probably an insult aimed at him.

A moment later, a glass of water and the cloth bag of medicine Chopper had given him were pushed into his view. He looked up through his hair at Zoro, then back at the items he was offering and put out his hands palm-up after realizing that the items were swaying and multiplying. He was pretty sure that he was the only one seeing them that way.

Zoro said something to him, but his ears were ringing. Sanji looked up, dizzier than he had been before, and pouted. He couldn't make the bags merge with each other to become the real bag; therefore, he couldn't open the real bag. Zoro could help, he knew, but, it seemed like Zoro needed worded instructions.

"I," Sanji began, swallowing an ache that was rising in his throat. "Can't do this." He said, holding up the bag that Zoro had placed in his hand. He stared at Zoro for a long minute, watching his lips move, but not hearing words come out. He looked like his usual clueless self. So, Sanji had to really help him out.

"Look," Sanji paused again, making sure Zoro was looking. He pointed to a drawer with a shaky hand that twitched to go back to holding his head together. "Get me a tablespoon from there. You know what those look like, don'tcha?"

Zoro was already moving in that direction and Sanji had to focus really hard to hear him say something about 'don't underestimate me, just a second'. That was what he heard anyway. But, he didn't trust his brain, or his ears to tell him the truth at the moment.

When Zoro got back, he offered the tablespoon to Sanji and the cook shook his head. "No, I can't see straight. Put two-a those in that glass of water and stir it up, then bring me summa the honey from that cabinet." He said, pointing first to the bag and then to the cabinet that contained the honey. Zoro did as he said with a surprisingly small amount of complaining. None, actually. Sanji managed to drink the whole glass down before Zoro spoke again.

"What the hell happened?" Zoro asked, sounding rather upset. Sanji couldn't tell if he was angry, or annoyed, or what, but it was ticking him off.

"The doc said I should avoid taking this stuff, if I can." Sanji mumbled, not really sure why he was saying that. He could guess that the purple stuff made his mind jumble and his mouth blabber. "He said it would have about the same effect as drugs, but it would ware off a little sooner so I could have clear moments to cook."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I asked?" His voice was curious, Sanji noted. He had to be really out of it, he knew, because he just smiled. "My head feels better now." Sanji said, sighing afterwards. "So, it doesn't matter what happened before."

"Yeah, it does! Everybody would blame me if your pansy-ass self decided to die right now."

"No one said I was gonna die, but thank you for that sparkling enthusiasm of yours." Sanji reached out to poke Zoro's forehead, but he stopped when Zoro looked at him, agitated and confused.

"Then, what? What's going on?" Zoro asked, trying to be stern, but Sanji's expression was so unnatural for him that it took all his efforts not to make fun of it.

Sanji noticed the lack of response to his sarcasm and frowned. It was a serious conversation. He didn't want a serious conversation. He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to think about it. He'd had enough of it when he had to work to convince Chopper to leave him be. When he'd had to tell Robin-chan that, no, nothing was going on, he was fine. When he'd had to explain to Ussop and Luffy that he had just had a couple glasses of wine, and that's why he sounded weird and looked goofy.

"Oi!" Zoro slapped his hand down on the table, causing Sanji to jump nearly a foot off the bench. He was glaring right at Sanji, or had been, anyway. He stopped and softened a little when the cook fought to keep a neutral expression on his face. "Does your offer still stand?" Sanji asked, looking somewhat resigned.

"What?" Zoro asked, completely lost on the cook's thought trail.

"Your offer. You said you'd keep watch and I should go to bed. Does your offer still stand?" Sanji asked, raising his eyebrows innocently. Zoro thought about it a moment, wondering if he should say what he wanted to say, if the cook would remember it when he was back to normal.

"Yeah, fine." Zoro said, nodding once and standing up. "As long as you explain yourself in the morning."

"Aww, conditions?" Sanji whined, standing up as well. "How mean. But, it can't be helped. What you get to know depends on what I feel like telling and if you continue down this path," Sanji paused to take a breath. "That might be quite a lot."

Zoro was shocked, but he didn't say anything, despite his instinct nagging him to say something about 'the real Sanji'. Instead, he nodded and followed the cook out onto the deck. Sanji had grabbed the glass and the powder on his way out and tossed them down onto a hammock in the men's room before looking back at Zoro. "Thanks. You seem to be helping me out a lot lately."

"Yeah..." Zoro mumbled and watched as the hatch shut behind the cook. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to say. But, something in him, something that he suspected knew what it was doing, told him to go back to that diary...

* Ossan - Man, guy, usually used to address an older male, and very informal.

** Baa-chan - Grandma, old lady. Again, this is an informal term.

(*) Lily - I didn't know if people would understand this. It just means wuss, or pansy, but, I don't know if it's a widely used term. xP

Ara ara~? What is this? A diary chapter next, perhaps? We will see. Review, my readers! I would very much love to hear from you!