Frostbite Ch. 5
Woohoo! Next day update! Oh, and IT'S MADE UP WORD TIME!
Enjoy!
The Strawhat Pirates were formidable foes to say the least, especially their infamous "Monster Trio." Blackleg Sanji, Monkey D. Luffy, and Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro all had inhuman abilities and were all too happy to prove it. Abilities aside, they were still men and were susceptible to injury and pain.
Usually, all the pain and injury were their own faults', but they recovered quickly with no permanent damage. But, with everything else in the world, there were exceptions to the rules.
This unfortunate situation was one of those exceptions.
"Chopper-san! This way!" Roxi motioned with her hand at a fork in a road. The doctor was in his human form and had very precious cargo in his arms - the unconscious forms of Zoro and Sanji, both in terrible shape and barely holding on.
"Tell me, will they be okay?" Usopp ran next to Chopper, worry obvious on his face, but still deadly serious. Chopper stared ahead for a moment, torn between honesty and reassurance.
"It depends on whether we can get them back in time. So far, all I can tell is that Zoro has a fever that's been in the danger zone for some time. Sanji's got hypothermia, without a doubt, and some deep cuts. His leg may be broken as well, judging from the way it's bending," Usopp noticed the off shape of the appendage and cringed.
"I'm not going to argue with you on that. It looks pretty bad."
"We're almost there! Mushi-Mushi is within sight!" Mox called back to the Strawhats, who quickened their pace. The small, white town came onto the horizon, looming over the sharp sea cliff. A mad dash ensued, snow sticking harder to everyone's faces in a powdery layer. Despite the pants of exhaustion when the group entered the town, no one slowed down, to concerned for Zoro and Sanji.
"Made it!" Nami cried as Roxi almost knocked the front door down in her haste. Chopper had to slouch over a fraction to accommodate his height in the low ceilinged hallway,
"Take them this way, into the living room. That way you can treat them simultaneously," Mox stated as the reindeer followed him into the front room. The siblings helped Chopper lay Zoro and Sanji out on the pair of futons, moved the coffee table off to the side, and prepared to receive orders. The rest of the Strawhats were shaken out of their stunned trance of awe when the doctor barked his orders.
"Robin, you and Mox go to the Merry and get my medical bag. Roxi, do you have a large tub? I need to cool Zoro off," she nodded. "Good. Bring it here, along with towels, blankets, and heaters, and fill it with snow. Can you handle that?"
"Of course, Chopper-san," the reindeer had since returned to normal size.
"Perfect. Take Usopp and Luffy for help if you need them." Roxi grabbed the boys and headed for the back of the house. Mox and Robin were long gone, but the problems weren't. Nami decided to step into the fray.
"What can I do?" Sanji began to shiver violently, distressing the carrot-topped woman
"Help me get their clothes off," the doctor tugged at Zoro's (actually Sanji's) coat, ignoring Nami's squeal in protest. However, she kneeled down and unlaced Zoro's boots as Chopper moved over to Sanji, who was starting to make noise.
"Got the stuff!" Usopp declared as he and Luffy carried an outdoor bath, loaded with snow. Roxi stepped in front of them and laid a ragged towel over the hardwood floor. She then moved over to he cook and buried him in comforters and thermal blankets.
"Okay, Luffy and Usopp, put Zoro in the tub, but be careful." The raven and the liar lifted the near-bare Zoro by his shoulders and knees and slipped him into the icy metal bin. The moss head shuddered as the melting snow touched his skin but did not awaken. Unfortunately, Zoro was a tad tall for the container, and his knees bent over the rim, head resting on a pile of snow. At that moment, Robin and Mox returned, sweating in their heavy snowsuits.
"Here you go, Doctor-san," Robin said as she handed Chopper his case, composure intact, unlike Mox, who dry heaved.
"Thank you, Robin," the doctor opened the medical bag and fished out a thermometer, which he shoved in Zoro's mouth. Luffy being Luffy, a stupid question was asked.
"Hey, Chopper, why the Hell is Zoro in just his underwear? And why is he in a bathtub full of snow?" Nami smacked him in the head as Roxi noticed the exposed scars and chiseled muscle that made up Zoro's body. Her face flushed as red as the swordsman's, whose temperature was finally taken.
"Well, Luffy," Chopper answered, "he has a fever of 106 degrees, which we need to bring down. Therefore, his body must be exposed to cooler temperatures, and nobody likes wet clothes, so he's in his undies." (A/N: Hell yeah, undies! XD) Chopper sterilized the thermometer, placed it in Sanji's mouth, and began to dig him out from the blankets. Robin materialized several arms along the futon to support the cook as Chopper cleaned and bound the cuts on his back.
"Thanks again. Let's see…" the glass tube was slid out of Sanji's mouth and Chopper stared at it for a moment. "Well, it's a little too low for my liking, but he should warm back soon."
"Chopper, Zoro's got some cuts on his back, too. Eww, the blood's congealing," Usopp pointed out as Chopper rushed over and pulled him from the snow, repeating the process of cleaning and bandaging. With nothing to do, the siblings offered seats and tea.
"I can't believe that Zoro is this sick. The slash he got from Mihawk gave him a fever, but he looks worse than Nami did on Drum Island." Usopp stated as he fingered his cup, glancing from the kitchen to the makeshift hospital across the hall. Luffy had calmed down considerably, and was quietly sipping his tea as Chopper set Sanji's leg. Nami cringed as she heard Sanji cry out in pain after the barely audible scrape/click noise.
"Okay, guys. I've managed to get Zoro around 103 degrees, and Sanji's pretty much back to normal. Anywhere we can put them that's not a futon?" Chopper asked as he toddled into the dining room.
"Sure, we've got two rooms left. Take your pick; a king or two separate ones," Mox unknowingly teased the crew. Their relationship wasn't really a secret to the girls, but Robin played it off perfectly.
"Since we are not entirely sure of Swordsman-san's diagnosis, it would be best to keep them in separate beds."
"In fact," Nami laughed, "tie them down in separate rooms. The minute they're feeling better, they'll try to kill each other." Roxi seemed rather confused, but decided against vocalizing.
Did they see the way Sanji-san was cuddled against Zoro-san? Even if they're not in love, that cute move probably saved both of their lives. She then whacked her brother in the back of the head.
"What the Hell was that for?" Mox yelled, clutching the throbbing point on his skull.
"Help. Them." She growled. It had been some time since Roxi had been violent with Mox, so he rushed to be of service. Zoro and Sanji were laid out on blankets and carried up the steps, stretcher-style. Mox and Luffy took Zoro; Usopp and Robin took Sanji.
"So, what's wrong with Zoro? Does he have some freaky, contagious disease?" Nami questioned as she opened the door to the final bedroom in the hallway, making way for the others.
"Well," Chopper propped Sanji's leg up on a pillow, "I'm still not entirely sure. It doesn't appear as though Sanji has contracted it, so it's likely to be in a non-contagious form. Right now, my best guess is twarze."
"Twarze, Doctor-san? Are you sure of it?" Robin cut in, tucking Zoro into bed and preparing wet towels for later.
"Well, it's still in the early stages, but it's the most logical answer." Everyone but the historian and the doctor were lost.
"Sorry, but what the Hell is twarze? I'm confused," Usopp inquired. Robin made one of her classic 'random, gross fact time' smiles.
"Would you like to explain, Doctor-san, or should I?" Chopper nodded and took over with the explanation.
"Twarze is a rare, deadly virus that-"
"DEADLY VIRUS?"Usopp shrieked. "Okay, everyone out of the room, these two are in quarantine!" Somehow, the sniper had made a full-body sterile-suit materialize around himself, and attempted to push his nakama out the door.
"Usopp, you jackass! Let Chopper finish!" Nami punched him in the face, irked. "Please continue."
"Were was I? Oh, it's a rare virus that has two stages. Zoro's in the middle of the second, which is a high fever. The first stage is fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, symptoms that can be mistaken for a particularly nasty cold. The kicker is that even the healthiest people can get twarze, but because of the way it's spread and how long the incubation takes, it stays uncommon."
"How's it spread, anyhow?" Luffy asked, worried.
"The ingestion of infected blood." Everyone was confused by this, then realized how easily that could happen to Zoro. Well, except for Roxi and Mox, who were simply grossed-out.
"He ate someone's blood?" The siblings cried. The Strawhats just shrugged. "Eww…"
"Zoro doesn't drink blood or anything. We got into a crazy fight with some Marines on the last island we were on, and someone's blood must've gotten into his mouth." Nami explained.
"Oi! I'm not done!" Chopper hollered.
"Sorry…" the crew apologized.
"Good. The thing that makes twarze so dangerous is that the fever will continue to climb until it's fatal. It has to be kept down until a very complicated medicine is administered. I have some things that can be used in the medicine, but I'll need more ingredients. Is there a medical shop or supplier on this island?"
"Of course. However, it's closed until tomorrow," Roxi answered. "We can take turns watching them until they wake up or you get the medicine. Sound like a plan?"
"Sure. But, I'm not quite done with them just yet. Can you get me a bowl of snow?" Roxi nodded and sent Mox out to fetch it.
"Well, it's getting late. Who wants dinner?" Roxi offered.
"Yosh! I do! More of that snow beef stuff!" Nami always relaxed when Luffy was back to his old, hyperactive self. As the group filed out of the bedroom and trampled downstairs, Robin stayed behind and helped Chopper.
"Doctor-san, are you sure that it is twarze?" Robin inquired as she knelt down to wipe the sweat off Zoro's face.
"What else could bring Zoro down this hard? When Sanji wakes up, we'll ask what happened. He's exhausted so he'll wake up around early morning or noon tomorrow." Chopper pulled himself onto the corner of Sanji's bed, hooves not even hanging over the edge.
"Cook-san injured himself and still helped Swordsman-san in the storm. Can you tell when he broke his leg?" Robin stood up from the floor but waited for her answer before she left for dinner. Mox then appeared in the doorway, snow in arms.
"He walked on it for some time, but that's all I can tell," Robin smiled and left. Mox placed his towel-wrapped bowl on the nightstand.
"Thank you, Mox," the chibi doctor dropped off the bed and began to work again.
"Your welcome. I'll bring your dinner up here when it's ready." Chopper nodded, focused deeply on his work.
Wow… What a strange fellow. Have to remember, I live on the Grand Line! Anything is possible, even animal doctor. The young man smiled at the thought and leaped down the steps, preparing for a battle. He may have known the Strawhats for only a day or so, but he knew their captain was a monster eater. Where's that spiked flail…
It's so warm…and soft… I can't still be outside, can I? Oh, well…it's not important… I like it here. It feels safe... Where's Shitty-Marimo? He's probably here, too. Good… If I'm dead, then I've gone to Heaven, and I don't care. Sanji thought as he drifted in between consciousness and sleep. Everything was soft and warm, and had a calm, light-golden glow. When he tried to move, his body hurt, so he just stayed still. His eyes felt like lead and remained closed as they had been, but the world around Sanji stayed the same. He fell asleep again, but returned in what felt like minutes, feeling energized.
Damn… It's so peaceful here… But, I can't stay forever. Time to go. The cook forced his now lighter eyes to open, taking in the light. Sanji lay in an unfamiliar bed, with unfamiliar clothes, all in a very unfamiliar room.
To top it all off, Zoro was to his right, still out of it, and between them, sitting in a chair and dozing, was a total stranger.
A pretty girl, yeah, but still a complete stranger.
So one thing led to the next, and Sanji freaked the Hell out.
Mwahahaha! Fifth chapter!
About the whole twarze thing, I just figured that no REAL disease would hurt Zoro enough for my liking, so I just made one up. Don't ask why I named it that, it was the result of staring at my keyboard for several minutes. I kinda struggled with how it's spread. If it was by just blood alone, Sanji might get it, or if by body fluids. I want to spice this story up, but as I said before
NO SMUT!
So, I just went with a combination of the two. By the way, only one person answered my question. I WANT A SECOND OPINION!
Please review!
Fishy-Neko-Fangirl