I don't own One Piece. Sorry for the long wait. I had stuff, y'know?... XD! 70 reviews!! I feel so HAPPY!! Now school is over I might be able to update more sooner, but I'm still not the fastest writer and I have to do it in secret 'cause my parents would flip out if they saw me on FanFiction. Jerks.
The results of the poll are:
For Favorite Character:
Zoro: 7 Nami: 1
Favorite Pairing:
ZoNa: 1 ZoAny: 3
LuNa: 1 ZoTash: 2
ZoUso: 1 ZoSan: 1
Favorite Type of Story:
Zoro-torture: 3
Zoro-sick: 1
Sanji sick/torture: 1
For me, my favorite character is Zoro! I love him to death. My fav pairing is ZoNa and ZoVi, and ZoRo is okay. I don't really like ZoroxOC, unless it's made really, really good, and I'm not that big a fan of yaoi. No offense to those who like it. I have nothing against it, it's just not my type. I LOVE Zoro-Torture/Sick obviously, and any kind of Zoro-angst, especially when the crew worries. I don't know why they have to worry. They just do. OKAY! Sorry for the author's note. But...here's the chapter! Oh! One more thing, to answer someone's question: Q: How much time had passed since Zoro cut himself open? A: Currently it's been about 6 days. Oh, and it was mentioned that it was a bit surprising that Luffy hadn't talked to Zoro after the incident. Zoro didn't want to see anyone, and Chopper didn't want to cause him any distress so he hardly let anyone in. Luffy tried of course, but failed.
Once again, the mood was dark and depressed since the swordsman became ill. Nami would start crying every time she looked at the money that Zoro had earned for her, and Sanji helped comfort her, but steered away from his eccentric dances. Luffy and Usopp would sit in a corner together, occasionally accompanied by Chopper when he wasn't with Zoro, and would half-heartedly mutter jokes to each other that only resulted in a forced snicker.
Apart from Zoro's depression, the swordsman's condition continued to decrease. He had a fever with cold sweats, and every couple hours he would throw up what little amount of food he was taking in. His breathing was short and ragged, and every so often his heart would skip a beat.
Everything that Chopper had thought and done was suddenly revealed as utterly and completely irrelevant, and it had made the little doctor shut himself in a room with his book, trying to gain lost time and figure out what was wrong.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It was meal time and Chopper was sobbing quietly, tears falling into his food. Even one cracking heart made all the others fall, and it was abnormally silent at the table. Nami gently wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her chest, stroking his fur softly.
"It'll be alright Chopper. He'll get better somehow." But she couldn't even make her whole heart believe it.
"Bu-but...I can't cure all disease if I-I can't even cure Zoro.../sob/ It's my dream; my ambition...I promised..."
"You're the best doctor we know, Chopper," added Usopp, comfortingly. Sanji nodded.
"We'll find a way, Chopper. We'll find a way..." Nami now realized that she too was crying, her tears soaking the little reindeer's hat, as his soaked her shirt.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the galley door creaked open, and a figure stood in the doorway.
"What-" Sanji started, but broke off. Leaning heavily against the door frame, pale and sweaty, was Zoro. His hands were gripped around the side of the door frame, using all, of what little, strength he had to keep himself upright.
"Zoro!" Chopper cried franticly, eyes wide, "Wha-what are you doing here, out of bed? How did you even manage to get here?"
The swordsman panted, his vision swimming as his fever rose. Pushing himself off his support, he attempted to walk, actually making it a couple of paces into the room before his legs gave way and he fell. A pair of arms caught him, preventing him from crashing face first into the hard, wooden floor. Managing to glance, he noticed the sleeves were black and cuffed. It was Sanji.
"Oi, I don't think you should be moving right now." The cook advised, his brow furrowing with worry. Zoro's whole body then shook, racking with coughs that sounded like they would break his ribs, eventually leading to him gagging out the remnants of his last meal. Even Sanji winced at the sound. As the coughs finally subsided, Zoro pushed himself out of the cook's hold, falling to the ground.
"Oi-"
Slowly and shakily, Zoro lifted his thin frame enough so he was being held up by his arms, his fists planted firmly in the ground. His lower half soon followed so he was sitting on his feet.
"Zoro, what are-" Nami started, but Usopp put a hand on her shoulder and she stopped talking.
"I-I..." he slowly rasped out. "I...I'm...s-" A wave of pain washed through him and he need to pause in order to bear it without crying out in agony.
"I'm sorry!" He finally choked out, his throat dry from lack of use, water, and too much throwing up. Slowly, he managed to sit back on his heels, his arms resting at his side. "I-I wasn't a-able to control myself. I tried t-to kill alla you..."
His voice quieted and he lowered his gaze. Silently, Luffy stood up from his chair and walked over to Zoro. His knees bent and he crouched down in front of him. Reaching up, he placed a hand on his hat, removing it from the top of his head, and placed over Zoro's. Then, he hugged him.
"Zoro, you idiot." He whispered in his first mate's ear, closing his eyes as a tear fought its way through his eyelid. "No of us care any more. We never did. Get over it so you can get better. You're making us worry." Zoro just sat there, partially still stunned, not sure on what he should do. He wasn't given much time to think though, as Nami and Chopper followed Luffy. The little reindeer did his best to wrap his arms around him, and Nami sat down next to Zoro and leaned against him. This was unusual contact for the swordsman, and he started to feel kind of awkward.
Nami seemed to sense his discomfort, and asked, "What's wrong, Zoro?"
"Hugging...it's...weird."
She raised an eyebrow, "Weird? Why? How often are you hugged, Zoro?"
The swordsman didn't answer for a moment, looking of to where nobody resided. "I've never been..."
Sorry, short chapter again. Some day I want to try to get longer chapter, but it would take longer to update. So, which do you prefer: Short chapters more often, or longer chapters over a longer period of time(I'm not sure how long)? There was no ZoLu intended in this chapter, but if you really like the pairing I guess you could perceive it that way..but it's just nakamaship.
Okay! This chapter's poll! I wanted to see what was most common in FanFictioneer's, so I wanted to find out. If you feel uncomfortable sharing this information, you don't have to, but please be truthful!: What is your gender? And what's your age?
