Back Problems By CidOtaku
Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of a Fly-Slayer
One Piece Pairings: Sanji/Gin Rating: PG—PG-13
A/N: I'm glad people are enjoying this. To get three reviews in a few days is great! So this is the second chapter, and I hope I can make it as good as the first one! Please tell me if anything is wrong! And Vajita4eva, I'll get into some detail about Don Krieg, and what happened to him and his crew after the anime showed them in the next chapter. I've been planning on how to use them so don't worry. I didn't forget them. I'm not sure how accurate my version will be, so I hope no one gets offended or anything. ;; I don't own One Piece or any of it's characters.
Gin woke up, wincing at his sore back. It had been two days since he had seen Sanji, and his back was not getting any better. He remembered Sanji's suggestion the other night, but hesitated against it. He didn't want to bother with some idiot small town doctor. And to let Sanji see him? Vulnerable and weak? It was just a small injury. He had received worse punishments before. Or at least that's what he kept telling himself as he stepped out of the hotel he had been staying in for a little less than a week.
It was already late afternoon to his surprise; he had been sleeping in longer than he had thought. He was walking near the harbor when he recognized Luffy's pirate ship. He stopped and frowned, remembering Sanji's expression when he heard of Gin's back troubles. He had seemed genuinely worried, something Gin wasn't used to. Maybe he could just ask a local store if they had some sort of cream to help the healing. To prevent infection. Just enough to let his mind stop wandering to Sanji's expressions. That was all. He wasn't weak. He just didn't want to disappoint Sanji. He owed him that much. Smirking at the ridiculous symbol on Luffy's flag, he quickly walked past, and stopped at a small store.
Sanji collapsed on his bed, and stared at the ceiling. If Luffy didn't let them leave the next day, he was going to go insane. Absolutely-freaking-insane. He hadn't seen Gin since the bar the other night, and was worried he had left the island, still injured. He hadn't recognized any of the boats when he had started counting seagulls a few hours earlier. And when he was trying to flick peanuts on people passing the ship after that, he didn't see the blue striped headband or messy black hair. And when he was trying to kill flies with Usopp's slingshot after that, he still hadn't seen Gin. But then again, he had been pretty occupied. Damn flies. Sanji sighed, and decided to walk around the town again. Maybe he'd find Gin, or at least find something to do.
After picking up a cream, Gin headed back home. He was reading the back of the jar, and it was saying he just needed to massage in into his skin. He winced. He wasn't sure he could do that without hurting himself. The cuts on his back were sensitive. And he knew the ointment could do nothing for the bruises. Sighing, he opened to the door to the hotel. Just then, he heard a voice calling his name.
"Gin!"
Gin turned and saw Sanji striding toward him, nearly waving his entire arm to greet him. Gin shoved the jar into his pocket, and waved politely at Sanji.
"Good afternoon Sanji-san." Gin said when Sanji had caught up with him.
"Hi Gin! I'm glad I found you. I was worried that you had left the island by yourself." Sanji said, sighing with relief.
"I can defend myself. Why would you be worried Sanji-san?" Gin questioned. Sanji had seen him fight. And had unfortunately been on the other side of Gin's attacks at one time. What was there to be worried about? His back might hinder him, but if the cream did what it was supposed to, he'd be fine. And he was getting sick of the island. Back pain or not, he could handle a few enemies.
Sanji shifted his feet. "Well, it's just that I know you don't want to go to a doctor, and you didn't want me to see you, so I was worried you might try to get off the island even with that back pain."
"Well, that's what I've been planning on doing." Gin said.
"What?! Did you injure your head too? It's too dangerous! Pirates aren't exactly the most thoughtful people. They're not going to wait one at a time if several gang up on you!"
Gin sighed, as if talking to a young child. "I'm doing something about it Sanji-san. I'll be fine, you don't need to be troubled about it."
"Oh!" Sanji exclaimed. "So you saw a doctor then?"
"No…"
"You'll let me see what's wrong?"
"…No…"
"…Well, then what are you doing?" Sanji asked, aggravated.
"I bought a jar of ointment that's supposed to help." Gin said. "All I have to do is rub it on my back."
"I thought you said it was back pains." Sanji said, suspicious. "A jar of ointment wouldn't heal that. What happened to you?"
Gin's eyes widened. He had forgot about that. Cursing himself, he tried to make up an excuse. "Um… Well, I do have back pains Sanji-san. But I got a few cuts from… training. I accidentally tripped… into a big rock… Yeah." Gin mentally kicked himself. There was no way Sanji would believe that.
And he was right. Frowning, Sanji glared at Gin. "Gin, do you think I'm stupid?"
"N-No, of course not, Sanji-san, I--"
"Then just let me see your back! I'm not going to gross out or anything. Really. I'll even help you but the stupid cream on, but just tell me what happened to you! If you don't… I'll tell Luffy you're here, and he'll make you show his entire crew and me. You know how he is." Sanji didn't want to have to resort to a petty threat, but he was worried about Gin even more than before. Now there was a whole new side of the story he needed to find out if he wanted to help him.
"…Fine. Come on. But I swear Sanji-san, you go blabbing this to everybody, and I'll leave the island whether I'm dying, injured, or cured." Gin growled, stomping into the hotel.
