Chapter 13: Passing and Failing
Time seemed to slow as Sanji took in my question.
"Excuse me?" He said after awhile, his hands pausing over the last dish left in his side of the sink. "What'd you just say?"
I grinned and chuckled. "Be my friend, Sanji!" I said again. The boy's eyes widened and the dish in his hands slipped and cracked on the bottom of the sink. He swore loudly and quickly moved to scrape up the pieces before anyone saw. He ended up just dumping them onto my growing pile of shattered plates and wiping his soapy hands on the front of his apron, which I didn't really care about seeing as I had already destroyed more than enough plates to warrant a scolding.
Sanji coughed into his hand and jumped down from his stool.
"Sorry, kid, no can do," he said slowly with his back turned to me.
"What?" I said, tilting my head to the side. "Why not? Being friends is fun."
Sanji shook his head sadly. "You don't get it, kid-"
"Luffy." I corrected.
"Okay, Luffy," Sanji said with an exasperated sigh, turning back to face me. "I'm sorry, but I can't be friends with you. I've got a lot of things I want to accomplish, and having friends would just get in the way. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is right now for me, it's nothing personal. And besides, you wouldn't want me for a friend anyway. I'm not exactly what you would call normal." His eyes drifted to the floor and for a moment I thought I saw sadness flash there.
A smile bubbled up on my lips and I laughed, hopping down from my stool and wiping my hands on my apron. I had cut myself piling up broken plates, and a bright red smear ran down my front. Sanji frowned.
"What's so funny?" He growled, folding his arms.
"Being normal!" I said cheerfully. "Normal is boring! I like people who're strange, like me, you, Zoro, Nami, and Ussop!" I placed my hands on my hips and laughed at Sanji's baffled expression. The boy sighed deeply and rubbed the back of his head, looking much more tired than a kid his age should. Upon closer inspection, I saw that there were large dark circles beneath Sanji's eyes, like he hadn't slept in a long time.
The boy raised a curly eyebrow. "You know you just called yourself strange, right?" He said. "You, and like three other people."
"Yup!" I said happily, nodding my head. "You know, all my friends are really interesting! Not one of them is 'normal,' like you said, and that's what makes them so fun!" I reached out and grabbed Sanji's sleeve, flashing him my widest grin. "You're the same, right? So we should be friends!"
Sanji shook his head. "Look, Luffy, I already said I refuse! There's nothing you can do to change my mind and that's final."
"No!" I yelled, puffing out my cheek stubbornly. "I refuse your refusal! And there's nothing you can do to change my mind either, so ha!" My grip on his sleeve tightened and he began to look annoyed. In his eyes however, there was something new, something bright that was either unbridled anger or... glittering hope? The emotion was new so I wasn't sure. Sanji opened his mouth to speak, most likely to yell something back at me, but was interrupted by the double-doors slamming open and three very angry shouts resounding throughout the room.
"LUFFY!"
I blanched, nervous sweat beading on my face. I didn't want to turn around for fear of the sight that was waiting for me, and in front of me, Sanji just looked confused. I glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that I'd been gone from the dining room for well over forty-five minutes, more than enough time for my friends to start to worry about my absence, and the thought of being yelled at by Nami flashed through my mind, making me shiver.
Sanji craned his neck to see the three figures behind me, and I wanted to tell him to run and hide. Chances were that if I was going to get a scolding, then he was too. I gulped and turned my head. Sure enough, there were my friends, standing just in front of the double-doors with three very similar expressions of annoyance on their faces. Zoro had his arms crossed, and that was never a good thing.
"H-Hey, guys," I said meekly, a nervous smile playing on my lips. "What's up?" A vein twitched in Nami's temple.
"What's up?" She said lowly. "What's UP!? You suddenly disappear on us for the better part of an hour and you have the nerve to ask us WHAT'S UP!?" She strode towards me and slammed her fist against my head. I cried out and fell to the floor, clutching the welt with my hands and cowering before the girl's rage. Nami was the scariest person I knew, narrowly beating out Grandpa in terms of dominance and terror.
The last thing I wanted was to get beaten up by her when all I'd been trying to do was help.
"Yeah, Luffy, what were you thinking?" Ussop chimed, frowning down at me and putting his hands on his hips. "You can't just take off like that and not expect us to worry! We thought you'd already left, and THEN where would we be?" He sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. I was about to answer him when suddenly Zoro's knuckles collided with my temple, the same spot where Nami had hit me moments before, sending new waves of pain through my brain.
"Ouch! That HURT!" I cried, glaring up at Zoro. He frowned deeply and kept his arms crossed, simply staring down at me with both anger and relief swimming in his gaze. I briefly felt a pang of shame run through me. Even though I'd only been out of sight for a little while, he'd still been worried about me. I guess with the unpredictability of my illness, that was understandable. It didn't change the fact that I was getting beaten up for trying to help us get home, though, which irritated me.
Zoro looked like he was about to say something, when suddenly, his eyes darted to where Sanji was standing a little ways away, frozen in place. The blond-haired boy had a look of what I could only describe as horror on his face, and his gaze was directed at neither Zoro nor myself. I frowned and looked up at him, wondering what it was he was staring at so fearfully.
"What's his problem?" Zoro said gruffly, offering me a hand. I took it and stood.
"Dunno," I said, staring at Sanji. His visible eye was wide and his face was pale. I followed his line of sight and saw that he was staring directly at Nami, who was still glaring angrily at me with her arms crossed over her chest. I tilted my head to the side. "Sanji?" I asked.
Ussop and Nami looked at the boy as if noticing him for the first time, and, upon seeing his puzzling expression, frowned. Zoro raised an eyebrow and grunted. "Who the hell're you?" He asked gruffly. The boy didn't answer, just kept gazing intently at Nami. It was starting to creep me out, so I made a move to grab Sanji's arm and shake him, only for him to take several tenuous steps away from us.
Suddenly, his face turned beet red, his cheeks flaring up like he had suddenly been set on fire from the inside. He raised a finger and pointed at Nami, making her frown deepen. "Wh-wh-wh-" he began breathily. "Wh-why... the hell... is there a GIRL... in my kitchen!?"
It seemed as though all of the air had been sucked from the room. Ussop, Nami, Zoro, and I all gaped at the blond-haired boy, not knowing what to say.
"...Huh?" We all said at the same time. Sanji's blush deepened even further, if that was even possible, and he retreated behind the counter like it was some sort of barricade against whatever he was afraid of.
I hazarded a glance in Nami's direction and saw that her expression was as black as hell, her eyes glinting murderously and a furious smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Excuse me?" She said dangerously, stepping forward. "What did you just say? You got a lot of nerve, saying that to someone you haven't even met yet, kid." All of the boys in the room gulped. The aura she was giving off was nothing short of evil, pure and simple, and caused shivers to run up my spine.
I cast Sanji a sympathetic glance. Whatever kind of problem he had with Nami, gender-related or otherwise, to me, it wasn't worth the pounding he was sure to receive now that he had angered the orange-haired girl. I wanted him to apologize, but judging from his lack of movement and facial expression, I could tell that wasn't going to happen.
Everyone waited for someone to say something, anything, to break the tense atmosphere. At last, Sanji cleared his throat.
His face had cooled down some and he rubbed his mouth nervously, like he was thinking about what to say next. "Y-you heard me," he said, not meeting Nami's eyes. "I asked what the hell a GIRL thought she was doing in MY kitchen?" I heard a vein pop in Nami's temple. Beside me, Zoro was repressing a snicker. Ussop was glancing frantically between the two, as if trying to gauge how long it would take Nami to rip the boy's face off from her current distance.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Nami said venomously. "I wasn't aware that this was a boy-only kitchen. I'm SO sorry for intruding!" It was then that Nami took a step forward so that she was within striking distance of Sanji. I panicked. There was no way in hell the boy could be my friend if I let Nami kill him.
I quickly stepped between the two, holding out my arms with the hope of protecting Sanji from Nami's seething rage. "Wait, Nami!" I cried. "You can't hurt him! I've already asked him to be my friend! He can't do that if he's dead!"
"Shut it, Luffy!" The girl spat, lashing out and gripping the front of my shirt. "This kid's asking for it! And besides, there's no way I'd ever let him be your friend, just look at him!" She whipped her head around to glare at Zoro, who was standing with his arms crossed watching the whole exchange with interest. "Back me up, Zoro!"
"Wait a second, girl, just wha-!" Sanji didn't have time to finish what he was about to say before Zoro stepped in.
"Oh, I definitely agree," he said casually, fixing Sanji with a dry stare. "This one looks like nothing more than a pathetic little cream puff to me." Zoro paused to scratch his head. I felt the searing heat of Sanji's glare on my back. "There's no way in hell I'll pass him." I hesitantly turned my head to look at Sanji, only to find that his face had turned from red in embarrassment, to crimson in anger.
I was going to say something, but was pushed roughly out of the way by the blond-haired boy so that he was standing directly in front of Nami and Zoro. A vein twitched on his temple, and I felt raw irritation rolling off him in waves. "You got some balls, moss-head," Sanji growled, his tone surprisingly even. "Talking to me like that in MY kitchen."
Zoro stiffened. "What'd you just call me, cream puff?" He said dangerously, taking a small step forward. Nami saw the tension between the two and quickly retreated behind Ussop's quivering form in the corner, muttering a quiet "get him Zoro" as she went. I stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Sanji sighed dramatically, rubbing his temple with his thumb. "You got plants in your ears too? I called you moss-head, moss-head. Or do I need to repeat it? Well, I guess it can't be helped, you do hang around with some rather slow-witted people." He shot a withering glance in my direction, to which I responded with a large smile, not understanding the implication. Zoro clenched his fists.
"Well now, curly-brow, you DO have some bite to you," he sneered. "I guess you're not as much of a cream puff as I originally thought. Then again, you do work in a kitchen for godsake, so you can't be that much of a man. No real man would ever waste his time making fancy little appetizers." Zoro crossed his arms and smirked. "Unless you're actually just a scared little girl."
That was when Sanji finally lost his cool. "SHUT YOUR FACE, STUPID MOSS-BRAIN!" He cried, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "You have no idea what the hell you're saying, so just shut up! Being a chef takes years of hard work and dedication, not to mention skills that the likes of you could never possess in a million years! I bet you couldn't tell the difference between salt and pepper if you tried!"
"YOU'RE JUST BEGGING FOR AN ASS-WOOPING, AREN'T YOU, YOU FUCKING SWIRLS!" Zoro yelled, also loosing his temper.
"BRING IT ON, MARIMO! I'LL TAKE YOU ON ANYTIME, ANYWHERE!" Sanji retorted. The two of them got so close together that their foreheads collided, making a sound that was almost like a thunderclap. The next thing I knew, the two boys were trading blows, limbs flying about in every direction and a long and varied stream of curse words resounding through the room. Sanji was kicking and punching like there was no tomorrow, while Zoro had somehow gotten his hands on a broom and was wielding it like a blade.
"Kick his ass, Zoro!" I heard Nami yell.
The fight went on for a few minutes, both boys sustaining bloody noses and ripped clothing. I stood transfixed, watching their battle as a grin slowly creeping onto my face. I knew that Zoro was strong, I could tell by the way he carried himself when he walked and the way he always carried a switchblade wherever he went, but until then, I had never seen him actually engaged in a fight before. It was cool, like watching two cats brawl over a scrap of meat. That, and Sanji was giving Zoro a run for his money.
I couldn't stop the excited laughter that bubbled up from my lips. It was more fun than I'd had in a while.
Ussop and Nami heard my laughter and looked at me with annoyed expressions. "You're actually enjoying this?" They chorused.
"Of course I am!" I said, trying to contain my giggles. "This is so much fun! Sanji's gonna be my friend, so now is a good opportunity to test his strength. Oooooh, I wonder who's gonna win?" I practically sung the last part, leaning over the two writhing boys to get a better look.
Nami sighed and walked over to me, sidestepping the brawl. "Are you still on about that?" She asked, folding her arms. "I told you already, I won't allow it. If we let the kid join our little circle the only thing he'd do would be cause trouble and try to murder Zoro. That, and little bastard has no respect for women's rights whatsoever!"
"THAT"S WRONG!" Came the sudden cry from the floor. All eyes darted to where the two boys had ceased their struggle, Sanji clutching a fistful of Zoro's hair and Zoro biting down hard on Sanji's arm. They were in disarray, clothes hanging half-off and blood dripping all down their fronts. I wanted to laugh, but the sudden silence prevented me from doing so.
Nami stared at Sanji. "... What?" She asked after a moment. "What did you just say?"
The violent blush returned to Sanji's cheeks and he scrambled to get up from the floor, releasing Zoro as he went. The green haired boy looked like he still wanted to gut the young chef where he stood, but kept quiet and merely grunted as he stood up, dusting himself off.
"U-um... that is... well I..." Sanji struggled to form words as he turned to face Nami, not looking her in the eye. "Wh-what I mean is... is that... a girl should... should never be in the..." he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Th-the kitchen." He muttered the last part so that all of us could barely hear it. As soon as the words left his mouth, however, Nami's rage was re-ignited, and she made a move to punch him.
Sanji's blush deepened to an impossible color. "Because a m-man should n-never let his woman work. All g-girls are p-p-p-princesses, and... and need to be t-t-treated as such." Nami stopped what she was doing and stared, all traces of anger draining from her face.
"Is that what you think...?" She asked, almost wonderingly. "So then you, earlier...?" There was a long pause.
Sanji nodded.
Nami gave a loud 'pfft' and started to laugh madly, tilting her head back and clutching her stomach with the force of her giggles. At first, I wasn't quite sure what she was laughing at, but eventually, I joined just for the heck of it. The other three in the room looked at us like we had gone insane, and as we laughed tears formed in our eyes and fell to the floor with a splash.
Sanji looked up from the floor with wide eyes.
At last, Nami wiped away the last of her tears and met his gaze, a small, gentle smile on her face. I poked Nami in the ribs with my elbow and gave her a sly grin. "I told you he was fun!" I said. "So, can he be my friend now?"
Nami put her hand on her chin and made a "hmmmm" sound like she was thinking. "Well," she said. "Let's see. He's awkward, shy, clearly a loner, and extremely rude." Sanji flinched at her criticisms but kept his gaze on her face. "But... he's also a gentlemen. What the hell, I'll pass him. He can be your friend if you want, Luffy."
I leaped into the air. "YAY! Thanks, Nami!" I cried happily, slinging an arm around her shoulders and kicking up my legs. Nami looked both annoyed and affectionate at the same time and made no move to push me off. In front of us, Sanji looked confused.
He blinked a couple times, and then frowned. "Now wait just a second!" He yelled, jabbing a slim finger into my chest. "Didn't I already tell you that I WASN'T going to be friends with you? I'm pretty sure I was expressly clear when addressing that fact! And what the hell is with this whole 'pass/fail' thing, anyway? I don't get you people!" I grinned at him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't have to get it," I said happily. "It just is what it is!"
"Ain't that the truth," Ussop muttered from the corner where he still stood. He stepped out and looked Sanji up and down, his arms crossed over his chest. After a moment, he sighed. "Sorry, Luffy, I just don't see it. I mean, what's so special about him that would make me want to pass him? We already have one violent knuckle-head-" he jabbed a thumb at Zoro, who growled in response. "-so we most definitely do NOT need another one."
"Oi," Sanji said, offended.
I frowned, thinking. To other people, it may have seemed ridiculous that I had to approve my possible friends with existing ones, but to me it was totally reasonable. I wanted Ussop to like Sanji, because if he didn't, it would make things a lot more complicated. I wondered what I could say to change the long-nosed boy's mind, and then it suddenly came to me. "OH!" I cried, pounding my fist against my hand. "Remember that food we had? Sanji was the one who made it!"
Ussop'd eyes widened. "Seriously!?" He said in disbelief. "You mean he was the chef who cooked all that delicious stuff? No way! That's incredible!" He paused for a moment and scrunched up his face like he was thinking. At last, he nodded to himself. "Alright, alright. If that's the case, then I guess I can pass him. But only if he promises to make more of that beef stew whatever he made before. That shit's delicious." Ussop grinned at me and gave me a thumbs up.
"Awesome!" I said, fist pumping. "That means that only Zoro's left!" I turned to my friend who was rubbing his shoulder and grimacing. "What do you say, Zoro?"
"No way in hell." The boy responded automatically, causing my smile to fall.
"What? Why not?" I whined in dismay.
"Several reasons." Zoro said, wiping blood from under his nose. "Primarily because he's an asshole and I don't like him, but also because I don't trust him. End of story."
"Aw, Zoro!" I said walking over to him and putting on my best pouty face. "C'mon, he's not that bad! And he cooks really good food! Shouldn't that be enough?"
Zoro groaned and crossed his arms. "Damn it, Luffy, food isn't everything you know. Character counts too. And from what I've seen, this shitty cook had none of it."
"WHAT WAS THAT YOU DAMN MARIMO!?" Sanji roared. "IF YOU WANNA FIGHT AGAIN, JUST SAY IT!"
"BRING IT ON BITCH! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS ANYTIME!"
Just then, the doors to the kitchen slammed open. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" All eyes turned to the figure of Zeff looming in the doorway, a furious scowl playing on his lips. In one hand he gripped a ladle like a bat, and all at once everyone in the room grew still and quiet. "I swear to god, I can hear you brats all the way from the front of the store! Don't you know it's bad for business to have screams echoing all throughout the damn place!?"
I heard Sanji mutter something under his breath that sounded mysteriously like "shitty old geezer."
Zeff sighed and stroked his mustache, his frown relaxing so that it was more irritated than angry. Everyone shifted uncomfortably on their feet, like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "I swear, who told all you brats you could do whatever the hell you wanted in my restaurant?" He closed the door and walked over to us, placing his large leathery hands on his hips. "Well? Would someone care to explain?" He shot a glare at me. "Waiter boy?"
I laughed nervously. "Well, my friends were wondering where I went, so they came back here," I said. "But then they met Sanji, and he and Zoro started beating each other up! I did my job though, so it shouldn't be a problem that we can't pay anymore, right?" I smiled up at the man and he let loose another deep sigh.
He glanced over at the sink where Sanji and I had washed our dishes and saw the pile of broken plates at the bottom. From his expression, I could tell he wasn't expecting anything else. "I don't care about that anymore, brat," Zeff said tiredly. "And Sanji, what do you think you're doing fighting in the kitchen?" He glanced over at Zoro, and then looked back at the young cook. "It doesn't even look like you kicked his ass."
Ussop and Nami snickered while both Sanji and Zoro adopted expressions of annoyance. I let an easy smile form on my lips at the exchange. "So, does that mean we're free to go then?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah, yeah, you can leave." Said Zeff. "Or rather, get the hell out. You're giving me a headache." I grinned and laughed, making all of my friends sweat-drop.
"Thanks a lot, mustache old guy!" I said. I turned to look at Sanji, who I saw smirk. "I'll be back again, Sanji! And I'm definitely going to make you my friend! No matter what it takes!"
"Oh Joy." I heard Zoro mutter.
Sanji sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "You just don't know when to quit, now do you?" He said. "Fine, fine, you can try as many times as you like. It's not going to change anything. I have my own reasons for doing things, and friends would just get in the way. But I'm guessing you don't really care about that, do you?"
"Not at all!" I said cheerfully.
Behind me, Nami cleared her throat. "Well then," she said, making everyone look at her. "I guess we'll take our leave then. It's already getting pretty late, so we should be heading back home anyway. C'mon guys, let's go." She walked to the door with Ussop and Zoro trailing behind her. After a moment of intense staring between me and Sanji, I followed. Zeff huffed and kept his arms crossed as he watched us go, a strange glint in his eye that didn't match his gruff exterior. Nami pushed open the door and turned back. "We'll see you later then, Sanji-kun," she said with a wink.
Sanji's face lit up like a sunset. "Stupid!" He cried. "Don't c-call me that l-like were all buddy-buddy! I'm NOT your friend, okay?" Zeff chuckled to himself and Zoro rolled his eyes.
"Sure you're not," Nami said with a sly grin. She walked out into the hall and we all followed her, trailing behind like loyal dogs. We always let Nami lead the way whenever we went someplace because the orange-haired girl never seemed to get lost. Zoro, on the other hand, prided himself on his ability to not even be able to walk in a straight line.
As we made it to the front door of the restaurant where we came in, I was surprised with what I saw. The snow outside had picked up, and the entire world was now cloaked in a dense blanket of white powder, with more piling on top every second. We had only been inside for a little over an two hours, and already the landscape had changed so drastically. I couldn't help the wondering smile that spread across my face at the sight.
"Wow! Look how much there is!" I said excitedly. "There's enough snow out there to make, like, a MILLION snowmen!"
"We could make more than that, maybe even TEN MILLION!" Said Ussop with the same enthusiasm. We turned to each other and shared a conspiratorial grin, Zoro standing stoically off to the side. Unlike us, he wasn't affected by the sight of the freshly fallen snow, though I knew once we started playing in it, he would crack and join in just like all the other times.
"Aw crap," said Nami, frowning.
"What's the matter, Nami?" Ussop and I chorused.
Nami scratched the back of her head and frowned deeply at the snow. "Just look, idiot, there's snow everywhere!"
"So?"
"So, it'll make it that much harder for us to walk all the way to the train station. Snow's a bitch when it comes to transportation. If it comes down any harder, I'm worried that the train will shut down and we'll stuck here until they get it working again. What do we do...?" She put her hand on her chin and frowned worriedly.
At the thought of being trapped in a strange town with nowhere to stay, the rest of us frowned as well. There was a tense silence, interrupted only by the sound of the gray waves on either side of the boardwalk lapping against the shore.
"Well, we'll just have to risk the walk then." Zoro said after awhile. Nami looked at him incredulously and he shrugged. "It's better than finding some hole to hunker down in for the night because we never found out if the train could move. Chances are, it's still working. The snow's not that heavy yet so I doubt they've closed the station. We can still try."
Ussop and I gasped dramatically. "Zoro just had a good idea!" I cried.
"This is bad! The world must be ending!" Yelled Ussop.
"SHUT UP!" Zoro said, glaring at us with a vein twitching on his temple.
Nami sighed and casually slammed a fist into each of our head, effectively shutting us up. "In any case, Zoro's right," she said, the three of us nursing the fresh bumps on our heads. "It's better that we try and fail then never try at all. Now that that's settle, let's get going." She turned to me and her expression became slightly concerned. "You okay, Luffy? It's pretty cold out there and you're not wearing much..."
"I'm fine!" I said, smiling. "I can make it to the train station, so you don't have to worry. I've been feeling fine all day."
Ussop and Zoro shared a look, but I ignored it. Truly, my chest was beginning to ache slightly, like it did whenever I did anything physical for a long period of time. I woudl never show it though. All it would do was worry was worry my friends and cause them to fuss over me, which was the last thing I wanted. Silently, Zoro slid the scarf off from around his neck and handed it to me, his face unreadable. I stared at it, and then took it with a small "thanks."
Nami looked doubtful, but resigned herself to the facts and sighed. "Alright, but if you fell anything, and I mean anything, you tell us straight away and we'll stop. Promise?"
"Promise." I said with a nod.
"Okay then. Everyone, let's go." With that, Nami pushed open the door, and we were greeted by a fierce icy wind that stung our faces and whipped our hair violently about. I felt my hat slipping, and so I put a firm hand on it to keep it from blowing away. Nami went first and pushed her way out into the blizzard with her gloved hand shielding her face from the wind. Second was Ussop, followed by me, and then Zoro who brought up the rear.
The air was biting, and almost right away my teeth began to chatter, a fierce chill overtaking my body. I had always been susceptible to the cold, and now, that weakness was coming back to haunt me as shivers ran up and down my spine. My breaths came in sharp gasps, and my feet were buried almost calf-deep in powdery snow. I felt Zoro place his warm hand on my shoulder, both to steady and to guide me through the storm.
I wondered how much longer it would take before we reached the train station.
As we walked along the boardwalk, I saw large gray waves rising up over the sides, like the steely backs of dragons ready to pounce. I couldn't swim, so the sight sent waves of unease through me. I slowed my step so that Zoro and I walked closer together, his presence warms and comforting as the snow whipped at my face and the dragons howled for blood. It was turning into a blizzard.
"How are you doing, Luffy?" I heard Ussop call from up ahead.
I was about to shout "I'm fine" back at him, when a large gust of wind surged over me, blowing my precious straw-hat right off my head and into the frigid air. Immediately, I turned around and reached for it, knocking Zoro's hand off my shoulder and spraying snow into the wind from my feet. Time seemed to slow down. I could see my hat floating a little ways away, and I stretched out my hand as far as I could to get to it.
I briefly heard Zoro shout my name.
I ignored him because all that mattered at that moment was my hat. My treasure. The only thing left of the dreams that had all but dissipated since I'd contracted my disease. If I lost it, there was nothing left of the old me. The me whose horizon was so wide with possibility that you couldn't see the end of it.
As I desperately grabbed for my hat, I didn't realize how close to the edge of the boardwalk I was becoming. I took a few more slow-motion steps, reaching out with my fully extended fingers, and at last I felt the familiar brush of cold straw against my palm. Relief surged through me, but it was short lived as I realized where I was. Looking down, I saw nothing but dark waves. I had been so focused on my hat, that I completely ignored where I was.
I was leaning over the side with nothing to pull me backwards.
And I fell.
As soon as the cold water hit me, all of the breath left my body. I found myself completely paralyzed by the intense cold that was surging through me, and thus I was unable to even thrash about beneath the stony waters. It felt like I had been submerged in a container of ice. The current pulled me down until my lungs were burning for air, and every time I tried to open my eyes the saltwater seared them, and I was forced to keep them shut tight.
Water poured into my mouth and nose, rushing into my throat and making me choke. I was completely at the mercy of the winter sea, a simple body among giants whose sole purpose was to tear me apart.
I wondered if I was going to die.
At once, my mind fought against that thought, screaming at the possibility that I would die any other way that through my sickness. It just wouldn't be fair, dying like this. All alone, in an unfamiliar place, with no one around to comfort me and tell me that it was going to be alright. If I hadn't been underwater, I would have cried. I had just made so many new friends, only to have them ripped away from me in a cruel twist of fate.
It wasn't fair.
It just wasn't fair.
My consciousness was beginning to slip, and the unbearable cold hurt so much that I wanted to scream. Just before all feeling left me, I opened my eyes one last time, fighting the salty burn, only to see a dark figure cutting its way through the water towards me. It was small, like a child, and I wondered if Zoro had dived in after me. It was definitely something he would do.
I let my eyes drift shut and the world went black, all thought and feeling going with it.
It was cold.
I awoke to the sound of voices. Some calling my name, others muttering in tones so low I couldn't make them out. I felt something soft below me, and I wondered if maybe this was heaven, and I was floating suspended on a cloud somewhere. But then again, heaven wasn't supposed to be freezing cold, was it? My entire boy felt like it was being held beneath a giant block of ice, and I struggled to open my eyes because of the sheer exhaustion I was feeling.
"Hey guys, I think he's waking up!" What sounded like Ussop's voice drifted into my mind.
My eyes fluttered open, and at first, things were so blurry that I couldn't see anything. After a few moments, the fog vleared form my vision, and I saw the eager faces of Nami, Ussop, and Zoro hovering above me.
"Luffy!" All three cried happily, smiles splitting their faces. I groaned as I tried to get up, making it to my elbow before Nami put a gentle hand on my chest. She shook her head and smiled.
"Not so fast, Luffy," she said, pulling the blanket I saw was over me up to me chin. "You've got quite the fever. You need to rest as much as possible." Fever? How was that possible when I felt like I was freezing to death?
"G-Guys," I stuttered, my voice scratchy. "Wh-what happened? Where are we?"
"You almost died, that's what happened!" Zoro yelled down at me. I flinched at his words because in them was enough repressed worry to choke a horse. "What were you thinking!? If curly-brow hadn't come around, you would have drowned. Are you that stupid!?" I bit my lip in shame as I looked into the faces of my three friends. All were wearing similar expressions of worry mixed with intense relief, and guilt dripped through me knowing that it was my fault.
"I'm sorry, guys," I murmured. "... I guess I worried you, huh?" I smiled sadly and felt tears prick in my eyes. I fought against them, though, because there was no way I was going to let them see me cry. "... Wait, curly-brow?" I asked suddenly. "Sanji saved me?"
Ussop nodded. "Yeah," he said. "You were too far away for any of us to get to you in time, and then Sanji just appeared out of the blue and dove in after you. It was awesome!"
"Oh... remind me to tell him thanks," I said groggily. My head was getting fuzzy, and my chest was slowly starting to ache again. I wanted to sleep, but at the same time, I wanted to keep talking to my friends.
"Sanji-kun is here now," Nami said. She pointed with her thumb behind her, and upon looking I saw that the blond-haired boy was leaning up against the far wall staring at me. "He's been here the whole time. Ussop's been thanking him so much Sanji-kun kicked him in the face." She giggled and I smiled.
"S'not funny," Ussop mumbled and rubbed his cheek.
Sanji leaned forward and walked over to us. He was wearing a thick blanket around his shoulders and I saw that he was shivering. "Hey, Luffy," he said, smiling slightly. "You're in my room, in case you were wondering. How are you feeling?"
"Okay, I guess," I said slowly, trying to hide the growing pain inside me. "How about you, are you okay?"
"Me? Never better. Despite your size, you're surprisingly heavy, though. My arms are killing me. Here's your hat, by the way." He brought out my hat from behind his back and set in on the pillow next to my head. Despite everything else, I was glad it was safe.
I bit my lip. "Thanks... and sorry..." I said into the sheets. "It's my fault that you had to save me. I'm really sorry."
Sanji's smile grew more gentle, and he lightly poked me in the forehead. "Idiot. It's fine. Don't worry about it. At least you're not dead."
My guilty frown didn't fade away at his words however, and I let my eyes drift to the door of the room so that I wasn't looking at anyone. There was a long silence in which no one moved or said anything. Zoro sighed deeply.
"You know, Luffy," he said, getting my attention. "After that little stunt you pulled, I wanted to kill you. But one thing kept me from doing it."
I met his eyes and tilted my head in confusion. "What?" I asked.
"The shitty cook over there," Zoro said, jabbing a thumb at Sanji. "He pulled you from the sea when I couldn't. And as much as I hate to admit it, I guess saving your life counts as earning my trust." I realized what he was saying and my eyes widened slightly.
"You mean..."
"Yup. He passed."
At that moment, I wanted to jump from beneath the covers and wrap the green-haired boy in a grateful hug, but unfortunately, the heaviness in my body prevented me from doing so. So instead I grinned as widely as I could and laughed.
"Thanks Zoro!" I said tiredly. "I'm so happy! Now Sanji can be my friend." I felt sleep coming over me and my vision blackened at the edges. I longed to say more, but found that my mouth wasn't working. My friends saw this and let out a consecutive sigh. Zoro put a hand on my forehead and smiled softly.
"Just go to sleep, you idiot," he said. "We can talk when you wake up."
I managed to nod my head before a wave of warm darkness overtook me, and I was whisked away to the land of my happier dreams. The last thing I heard was the rustle of sheets being moved as my friends settled down beside me to rest for the night.
Damn you guys! It's been a long time! Now, before you kill me for not updating in a while, please take into account the length of this chapter. It is hella long. And I was suffering from SERIOUS writer's block for a while. I hope you enjoy what I've written, and I promise the next update will be swift. Soon, we get to Chopper... Muhahahahaha. Until next time! - Mikki