Hey everyone! Much thanks and love once again for reading and reviewing! Wonderful to know that everyone's enjoying themselves.

To The Happy Stalker Ball: 'If he really IS such a great cook, he shouldn't have a problem cooking with only ONE hand!' actually sounds like a Zoro-ish mentality. (laughs) But I guess even though the rest don't really express it, they value their hands just as much (can't make maps or hold three swords at once without them after all), so the thought of losing a hand can be quite distressing for them. (muses) And yeah, what you said about the hard decision made sense.

To Darkday Chaos: Wish there were more of Usopp? My thoughts exactly. (grin) Hence this chapter. Usopp has much to do with this fic, in fact, everyone does. When one person is in trouble, the whole team is affected. That's what being nakama is about, right? (smile) So although this fic means to center on Zoro and Sanji, I want to touch a bit on the dynamics of the crew as a whole as well.

A warning first. This chapter may be a bit gruesome and graphic. So if you're squeamish…er….please proceed with caution.

That's all. Have a nice day.

Cruel to Be Kind

Hammering in the last nail, Usopp ran his hand up and down the smooth wood. The plank fitted well. Pleased, he stepped back and surveyed the rest of his repair work with a critical eye.

The storm had been short but frighteningly intense. The skies were a shade of black he had never before seen in his life and the waves were high and wild, tossing the Going Merry about as if it were a child's paper boat which it could easily swallow whole. It had been a mad scramble to secure the sails and salvage what they could of their cargo, slipping on the rain-slicked deck, half-blinded by the downpour. His heart nearly stopped several times when he heard the mast creaked ominously under the strain of the howling winds, thinking it would surely snap into two.

But they had ridden out the storm, somewhat battered in places, but generally intact. He had completed fixing the damages, and fairly well too, even if he believed so himself.

Usopp smiled approvingly but then sighed. Even though the Going Merry wasn't a large ship, she was still under-manned. They only got by comfortably with five people. This latest storm further reminded him of their invalid crewmate, and how they couldn't possibly do without him. It had only been a few months since he joined them, but he had slipped so seamlessly into their lives; Usopp found himself missing him terribly.

His mood grew somber as his thoughts turned to Sanji. Their cook wasn't doing so well. He was getting steadily worse with each passing day. In the beginning, Usopp had looked in on him often, hopeful for any sign of recovery, sometimes pretending to see one to reassure himself that it was possible. But Sanji's fever wouldn't let up, his breathing was always a little shallower, his pulse a little fainter every time he checked.

It was difficult to pretend anymore. Now, he could barely stand being in the same room as Sanji.

The hopelessness of the situation seemed to leach cheer from the rest as well. An uncomfortable tension had stolen its way among them, leaving only their young happy-go-lucky captain untouched, still firm in his cheery conviction that the next lime might just be the cure. Nami hardly spoke to Zoro, their conversation was silted, her voice tinged with an accusing tone whenever she did. Usopp found it hard to meet either of their eyes.

And Zoro bore everything with the same taciturn detachment he always had, but Usopp thought he might have caught a flicker of something once or twice in those grey eyes.

With another sigh, Usopp shook his head and wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. The air was still chilly after the storm and Nami predicted the weather would stay cold for the next few days, but making repairs was hard work. Deciding to get a drink, he headed towards the galley.

The deck was deserted. Zoro had disappeared into the cabin to check on Sanji after the storm had calmed and he hadn't seen him since. Nami had lingered a bit to assess the damage with him but was now busy in her room with her maps, figuring out how far the squall had blown them off course. Muffled and distant, he could hear Luffy puttering around below decks, checking one final time for leaks.

The kitchen door opened so suddenly, it almost knocked him over.

"Oh! Zoro, it's you." He gasped out in surprise, staggering back a step. The swordsman reached out a hand and steadied him before he could fall over.

"Ah…Usopp. Just the person I wanted to see."

Usopp immediately decided he didn't like the way Zoro was grinning at him.

The swordsman, on his best day, made him uneasy. It was not just because of his powerful build, immense strength or even the knowledge that he could cause him grievous bodily harm if he chose to.

It was the way he fought like a man possessed, allowing himself to be lost in the blood and pain, almost looking forward to it, almost reveling in it.

Almost as if he weren't human.

Usopp fought back a shudder. He liked Zoro well enough, admired him even. But he just couldn't help but feel a wee bit nervous around him.

Especially at times like this, when there was a sharp knife in his hand and a glint that bordered on madness in his eyes.

"Wh…wh…why?" He stammered, taking a small furtive step backwards, wondering if Zoro had finally snapped under the pressure of the past few days.

The grin turned ever so slightly evil. He could tell the swordsman knew was he was intimidating him, and like all such previous encounters, he was enjoying it.

"Nothing much." Zoro replied airily, favouring him with another one of his scary grins. But his tone and expression turned serious as he caught his elbow and started steering him firmly towards the cabin. "I want you to help me with something."

He laughed nervously. With Zoro's voice sounding like that, he knew it wasn't a suggestion. But he had to try. One last attempt at self-preservation.

"Um…hehehe…Luffy can help." He squeaked hopefully. "Or Nami?"

"Luffy will only make matters worse and Nami may not have the stomach for this." A push sent him stumbling into the room. "Now quit your whining."

Not good, Usopp thought in dismay, whatever Nami may not have the stomach for cannot be good.

Water had gotten into the cabin, although it had receded with the passing of the storm, his boots still squished as he walked across the floor. Thankfully, the couch was dry and Zoro had tucked another blanket around Sanji to keep back the chill. But it was obvious the wild tossing of the storm and the cold weather was bad for the cook's condition. He shivered violently, shifting fitfully under the blankets. A long painful-sounding cough rattled his chest, leaving him gasping, his features twisted in agony.

Usopp sighed and looked away, suddenly feeling like he couldn't breathe himself. The room was filled with a nauseating mix of the smell of damp wood and antiseptic.

It reeked of death.

"Here, hold this." Zoro thrusted a basin at him.

"Oh, er…what is it you want me to help you with?"

The swordsman didn't answer immediately, instead he stood silent, all trace of humor gone from his face. His eyes were frighteningly intense as he studied the knife in his hand carefully, running a finger along the sleek silver, testing the point and edge lightly with his thumb.

"Hn. At least the dumbass knows how to keep a blade sharp." He muttered approvingly.

Then, he sat down beside the couch and motioned for him to do the same. Usopp gulped and complied, clutching the rim of the basin tightly with both hands.

"Hold it under his arm." Zoro instructed as he began cleaning the knife thoroughly with antiseptic. Seeing the sniper's stricken look, he shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not planning on going with Nami's idea. I just want to reduce the swelling a bit. Sometimes, that helps the wound to heal."

He nodded, took a deep bracing breath and breathed it out slowly. Zoro rolled back the sleeve and unraveled the bandage to reveal the injury. It was hard to tell if it was worse than when he last saw it, but the raw weeping wound surrounded by terribly bruised skin, engorged with infection was still horrible to witness.

With his mouth dry, Usopp watched with morbid fascination as Zoro calmly drew the first cut with the tip of the blade. The taunt swollen skin broke and peeled back like an overripe grape as blood, yellow with pus, burst forth.

Sanji jerked, trying to pull away, the sharp pain filtering even through his unconsciousness.

But Zoro held firm, one strong hand clasped around Sanji's thin arm. He glanced at Usopp, then took the basin from him and balanced it on his knees instead to catch the dripping blood.

"Hold him still." He ordered, his tone so grim, the sharpshooter felt a sudden chill down his spine as he scurried to comply.

The second cut bit deeper and Sanji flailed violently with a cry this time.

And the next, and the next, and the next…

Usopp struggled to keep him still, each cry of anguish that tore from the cook's throat went straight to his heart. Yet Zoro hardly seemed to hear them. His eyes were extremely focused and terrifyingly intense. There was a resolute set to his mouth and his face was strangely expressionless, not a shred of compassion or any other emotion in his features. It was a look Usopp knew he wore only at the height of a tough battle, only when his entire spirit was concentrated on a single point and that was not to lose. It was a look that came with the black bandanna shadowing his eyes and his teeth clenched around the hilt of the pristine white sword.

He had always thought Zoro looked insane in those moments, almost demonic. As if he was beyond blood, pain and death; and he couldn't care less if these things happened to other people as well.

Now with the large callused hand that could easily encircle the pale slender wrist with thumb and forefinger locked in a cruel iron grip, Usopp's fear tripled.

Sanji was no longer flailing around, just tiny twitches at the next cut, too exhausted for anything else other than gasp softly in pain. When Usopp looked, he saw tears leaking from under the closed eyelids, gliding silently down his ashen cheeks.

"Oi…Zoro…" He started, uncertain. But when the swordsman didn't cease, he forgot his fear and grabbed his hand desperately. "Stop! Stop! You're hurting him."

Cold grey eyes met his own.

"You think I'm enjoying this." A statement, not a question.

It immediately filled him with shame.

"Um…um…I…I mean…I…" He stuttered, then he took a steadying breath and drew himself up self-righteously. "Everyone knows you and Sanji are always fighting with each other. Who's to know you're not taking this chance for a little payback?"

Zoro stared at him, seeming to be caught between amusement and anger. Then he groaned in exasperation. "You're as bad as Nami!"

Shaking his head, he turned back to the wound and probed it carefully with his fingers. "If I wanted to hurt the bastard, and trust me, I do at times, I would make sure to do it properly. While he is awake. So he can feel everything to the fullest effect."

"I would also do it while he is awake so that he has a fair chance at hurting me too." He glanced at him. "It's no fun fighting when the other person can't fight back."

"What I'm doing here is trying to bleed the wound clean." With gentle precise movements, he pressed on either sides of the cut. Fresh blood welled up and trickled along the arm and dripped off the fingertips. But the ruby droplets had lost their sickly yellow tinge and were instead, bright red in colour.

Zoro allowed the wound to bleed freely for a few minutes. He cleaned the blood off and applied more antiseptic before bandaging up his arm neatly. Then, he sat studying their crewmate almost pensively.

"And," He continued as he reached out and brushed the tears from the pale cheeks roughly. "I'm doing this because this is all I can do for him right now."

He sighed, closing his eyes, for the first time showing some emotion. "Nothing's working. I've already given him as much of the fever medication as I dared…any more, and the drugs are going to kill him before the infection does."

"I'm at the end of the rope here. We can't win this-" He broke off sharply, his throat worked as his hand slowly curled into a fist. "And I promised Luffy I wouldn't bloody lose…and that I wouldn't let shithead here die…"

Usopp gulped and bit his lip. "Uh, well…then maybe…maybe we should consider what Nami said…"

Zoro shook his head, a muscle in his tightly clenched jaw twitched. "It's too late for that now." He said, his voice was strained. "At this point, he is too weak to survive the blood loss if we amputate."

Hope shriveled up in his heart and died. As much as he detested the feeling of despair, he couldn't bear to see it on Zoro's face even more.

Zoro was fearless. Zoro could do anything, overcome any obstacles. Zoro always triumphed in the end, even if it meant picking himself up once or twice in between to try again.

To see that alien expression on his strong face felt like something just wasn't right with the world.

Usopp rubbed the side of his nose distractedly, overwhelmed with helplessness and the uncomfortable mood. "Well…I know of a place, you know." He started, wanting to say something, anything, that may make things right again. Involuntarily, he fell back into the familiar safety of telling his lies. "There's this magic spring…and…and whoever drank its waters would be cured!"

"Cured of any disease, anything at all!" He grinned, gaining confidence as his mind spun the tale, hope rising in his heart again as he lost himself momentarily in the story. "Do not doubt my words, my friend. For I, the great Captain Usopp, have seen it with my very own eyes."

He straightened and held a fist to his chest importantly. "I have journeyed through jungles filled with flesh-eating mice and swamps infested with blood-sucking fishes to finally arrive at the-"

"Usopp," Zoro interrupted, the weariness in his voice took the sting out of his words. "Save your stories for Luffy, okay?"

He sighed, then brightened. "Alright. But I've got one good news I can tell you that's absolutely true."

Zoro eyed him skeptically. "Yeah?"

With a conspiratal wink, he leaned in and whispered.

"The storm had washed our entire supply of limes overboard."

And he was glad to see that Zoro still knew how to smile.

Author's Note: This method is considered as a minor surgical procedure and should only be performed by a trained medical professional (not that Zoro is one, but given the constraints of the situation, I think he may be excused). Please do not try this at home.