A/N: Thanks a lot for waiting patiently! Sorry, my laptop was broken, luckily it somewhat woks again. I swear I've always so much trouble with that old thing. My keyboard is missing a few keys. It's a pain in the ass to type -.- I've decided it's time for a new laptop! But first things first, here's (finally) the next chapter :)

Disclaimer: -Sigh- One Piece doesn't belong to me.

YXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYX

Chapter 5 – The world knows

"Nothing lasts forever, so live it up, drink it down, laugh it up, avoid the bullshit, take chances, and never have regrets because at one point, everything you did was exactly what you wanted."

"Crap," Sanji cursed under his breath for the umpteenth time. He stood in the infirmary together with Brook and Chopper, staring at his vulnerable captain whose lips had turned a dark shade of blue. Luffy seemed conscious but he wasn't quite aware of his surroundings by the way his eyes stared half-opened ahead. The moment of clarity from before was gone.

It was quite worrisome and even the reindeer seemed unsure of what to do next. But Chopper was quick to make decisions, and when it came to his patients all the more. He was in full doctor-mode, and Sanji was surprised at how calm the reindeer's voice sounded.

"Luffy is dripping wet. We need to get him warmed up as quick as possible!" Chopper turned around to face the cook. "Since Brook and me can't handle water very well, would you mind bathing him? He is freezing!" True to Chopper's words, despite the high fever Luffy was shivering violently. "The water mustn't be too hot and don't put him too long in there!"

Normally, Sanji would prefer a bath with his beautiful Robin or Nami, but of course he didn't mind at all. This was an expectation after all and he quickly nodded silently. Zoro could bathe him as well, but Sanji doubted the mosshead had the nerve for that right now. He had seemed pretty shaken earlier, his usual stoic facade shattered. But Sanji knew better than to make fun of him. They all looked horrible and exhausted, some of them were really pale, others had dark circles under their eyes, Sanji included. So who was he to talk?

Without wasting any more time, Sanji lifted Luffy as gently as possible into his arms and went straight for the bathroom. Brook could only watch in slight amazement at how tender the cook acted around their captain. He sometimes forgot with all the arguments about food and the way he always kicked the boy harshly, but in reality Sanji deeply respected Luffy. It was rare moments like these that Brook could get a glimpse of Sanji's and Luffy's deep-rooted friendship. He had been one of the first crew-members to join, after all, and had known Luffy for quite some time now.

Snapping out of his stupor, Brook helped Chopper preparing the bed and the medicine he needed when Luffy had warmed up.

"Chopper-san... I know it's rude to ask you this now, but you really don't know the sickness Luffy-san has?"

Chopper stopped what he was doing and glanced at Brook with a surprised look on his face. He seemed thoughtful as if he were choosing his words carefully, and as he began to speak his glance wandered to the floor.

"You see.. it's weird. He shows symptoms of the flu, but then again he's not being infected by the RNA virus, and not all the symptoms are fitting. Then I thought he might have gotten pneumonia by the way he has severe troubles breathing and his lungs are inflamed; though, there's something different about it. Later I suspected tuberculosis, but not one of the common antidotes work.

In fact, hardly any medicine I've given Luffy has triggered an improvement. And that's what worries me most! I'm hardly able to control the symptoms, how should I cure him from this sickness? I don't even know the root of the problem or whether it's an infection or a virus! Brook, I'm-I'm at my wits' end! I've never seen or heard of anything like this! I-", The doctor suddenly chocked on a sob.

Luffy was out of his sight, and Chopper's strong mask began to crumble and small tears rolled down his furry cheeks as he looked into Brook's empty eye sockets. "I-I've tried so many things and searched all my books, but there's nothing I can find... nothing that might help Luffy..! I don't know what I should do if he keeps getting worse, Brook...there's no way his b-body can take it for m-much longer.. and I, the only one who can help him, have no idea what I should do!"

Brook's eyes would've softened if he had any and he bent down to pick the young doctor up like a father would pick up his child. Truth be told, even the skeleton didn't have an answer for that. He knew exactly how hard it was to sit by and be unable to do anything while time was running out. His first captain had died that way, and it would be unbearable for Brook if Luffy would have to share the same fate; at such a young age, too. He could understand Chopper better than anyone. Luffy couldn't die like this... but time was a merciless and cold enemy. Chopper continued in his broken-hearted rant.

"I shouldn't have left Luffy alone! How could I do that? It was unresponsive, and you all relied on me, too..! Luffy could've fallen overboard, and his condition is worse than before...I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" Chopper's eyes were squeezed shut as he whimpered those words of regret. It nearly broke Brook's heart at the sight of the doctor's emotional breakdown.

"Chopper-san, please don't let this eat you up so much. No one could've foreseen this. And in the end, Zoro-san was there." Brook said.

"Plus, it's our fault, too. We shouldn't have put so much pressure on you from the very start. Luffy's health is the responsibility of every member of the crew. Just because you are our doctor doesn't mean you have to watch Luffy twenty-four hours on no end. It's impossible to do that and we should have offered our help to you. He's a friend of us all and we're all concerned for his well-being."

Chopper nodded slowly, Brook's words sinking in. "Brook... what are we going to do? I don't want to watch Luffy suffering so much but I can't help him either. I-I'm failing Luffy!" He tried to rub away the tears but he just couldn't help it at that moment. Everything seemed so dark, so hopeless.

Brook's sharp intake of breath didn't stop the little reindeer to continue in a cracking voice.

"Doctrine would be disappointed in me." Chopper hiccuped, tears and snot mixing together. He had hardly cried these last days, and finally the barrage broke and all his emotions of frustration and anger and just utter incredulity came flooding out.

Brook inhaled deeply to control his own emotions that boiled up inside of him. "Don't say that, Chopper-san! For someone who has the heart to cry for the sake of his friend you feel nothing but respect. You have tried very hard the past days and we all know that. She's a doctor herself, isn't she? She out of all people would understand and she'd be proud of you because you keep working hard. Luffy believes in you, so you should start believing in yourself, too!"

"I kn-know." Chopper sobbed again, and Brook suddenly realized how much this had hurt the poor reindeer. It must've eaten him up. The skeleton stroked Chopper's fur gently. Everyone was expecting him to miraculously find a cure for Luffy; to heal him like he always did. But how are you supposed to fight an enemy you don't know? He as the ship's only doctor carried a heavy burden on his tiny shoulders.

The skeleton began to hum a silent song of comfort and let his small friend cry his heart out.

-Y-x-Y-x-Y-

Sanji found it extremely difficult to bathe Luffy. Not that he minded a naked Luffy; he couldn't care less about that, he was a guy, too. Besides, it's not like he's never seen Luffy nude. That guy obviously doesn't feel embarrassed about anything, so it was not a surprise to them that he would often run around naked, laughing happily and not giving a care in the world. Sanji cringed slightly as he was unintentionally reminded how many times his Nami-san and Robin-chwan had to see Luffy without clothes when he'd suddenly sprint around the deck. When Luffy was better Sanji would kick his rubber butt for scaring his beautiful ladies! (Though Robin didn't really mind and found it highly amusing).

What really disturbed Sanji, though, was how limp Luffy was in his arms. It was just utterly horrible to do this with someone that felt like a rag doll. This was not the same man that saved him and the Baratíe, beating Don Krieg senseless. Sanji clenched his teeth, holding Luffy's head over the water with one hand as he washed him with the other. Oh yeah, he would have to kick his rubber ass for making everyone worry so much, too!

His thoughts were stopped when he could see some of the colour coming back to Luffy's cheeks. Sanji sighed in relief. He actually looked a little better.

Through all this, the captain remained oblivious. Somewhere during the middle he had slurred some words that had sounded as if he were drunken. Weren't it for the seriousness of this situation Sanji would have laughed, because he hadn't understood anything. A cough that sounded pretty painful rattled the smaller one's body.

This was hard. There was no laughs from Luffy, no stupid questions or silly statements. No playfully splashed water in the cook's face. Sanji wished Luffy would hurry up and let his insanely healing rate finally work its magic, because he really missed the daily begging for food and the demanding for more meat. He hated to admit it but he really did. Things were too silent, too depressed with Luffy acting like a comatose. How on earth could he have hidden his sickness from the crew before? They hadn't seen it coming at all! Sanji's fists clenched painfully.

"Damn it Luffy... when are you going to come back?" Sanji whispered and Luffy just stared ahead tiredly.

-Meanwhile, on deck-

Zoro's vision was spinning. Had that really happened? Had that really just happened?! It seemedunreal, and so out of character it filled his stomach with dread. What kind of sickness did his captain have to make him act like this? No, it was not just that. Luffy wasn't just acting weird.

Luffy was dying and their world was starting to tumble. The thought alone made everyone shudder with utter devastation. Couldn't they do anything?! Was it their cruel fate to stand by his side and just watch everything?

"You okay, Zoro-bro?" Franky asked and put a metallic hand on the swordsman's shoulder. Zoro tensed visible but didn't turn around.

Franky waited patiently for an answer, but it never came. Instead, the cyborg was met with an unreadable aura and the sound of raindrops drumming angrily against the wooden planks of the deck. It was as if even the heavens weren't pleased about the events.

"It's not your fault, you know. Someone needed to bring him back to reality. You did the right thing." Nami spoke gently, as if to make up for shouting at him in the kitchen earlier. She had somewhat calmed down, but her puffy, red eyes were still visible, even in the dark rain.

This time, Zoro turned around and glared at them. "Shut up, all of you!" And with that, he stormed off and slammed the door behind him. Nami and the others were speechless and could only stare, but the navigator could have sworn there had been a glimpse of deep regret in Zoro's eye.

"What the hell?" Franky growled. Nami frowned.

"He's being such a child right now... why can't he just accept our help? He needs it."

Usopp shook his head. "Zoro's like that, you know. Always acting like a tough guy without emotions. But even he is not invincible."

The others didn't reply. They didn't know whether Usopp was aware of the fact he just pulled them back to reality with that last statement. It was true, they were all just humans and no one was invincible. Things like hopelessness and sadness could get to anyone.

They may be strong, but sometimes strength wasn't enough.

"He just doesn't know how to cope with this situation... actually, none of us know how to." Franky said, and no one could disagree to that.

YXYXYXYXYXYX

Franky was the first to volunteer keeping watch over Luffy. He still hadn't woken up, but then, no one expected him to. His fever hadn't worsened too much, much to Chopper's surprise and everyone's relief. Maybe that was finally Luffy's legendary fighting spirit that shimmered through the darkness but no one wanted to get their hopes up too high.

The little doctor had calmed down a little and regained some of his confidence as he enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate with the rest of the crew. He was unbelievable grateful that not one of his friends were blaming him for what happened. But then, Chopper hadn't really expected them to do so, but he was still glad about that. They were the best nakama in the world. They even apologized to him for not supporting him enough in such an important matter. The thought of being able to rely on the others brought a small smile to Chopper's face.

Sanji returned from the kitchen's counter with the last cup of hot chocolate and sat down at the kitchen table. The young cook fingered for his pack of cigarettes only to find it was empty. He sighed a little disappointed. After such a night he could really use a smoke right now. He looked at his tired, worn-out crewmates and his glance stopped at the silent form of the swordsman.

"Damn it, Marimo, you need to stop blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault." Sanji grumbled half-heartily. "Luffy may have freaked out a little earlier but he's okay right now. And someone needed to get him back to the presence. You did all you could do."

"Shaddap." Zoro only grumbled back, not even attempting to insult Sanji like usual. The fact that the cook had unintentionally repeated Nami's words from before angered him even more, but Zoro wasn't in the mood to argue right now.

Everyone was painfully aware of the fact that the earlier events had shocked the swordsman more than he let on. After all, he'd been the one who convinced himself the sickness wasn't that bad and Luffy would come out of this alive and unharmed quickly – like usual; like they all had gotten used to. That wasn't the case this time; it was as if a nightmare came true. To witness Luffy in such a delirious state earlier must have been a jump into ice cold water for Zoro.

Nami watched Zoro with sad eyes before she turned away with a deep sigh. Maybe the stubborn moron had finally comprehended the gravity of the situation. He just needed some time.

The sniper of the strawhats, on the other hand, had other things on his mind and hardly paid attention to the others. He sweated a little. He knew he was having really negative thoughts about this but he needed to know the opinions of his friends. So he finally decided to voice the question he'd turned and twisted around in his head all the time out loud.

"Hey, guys...what are we going to do? I-I mean... what if he...?" Usopp's small voice trailed off but they all knew what he was implying.

A collective, thick silence followed. They all had been wondering about that, each of them imagining all the possible scenarios and what was to happen to them afterwards. To them as a whole; as a crew. Would they still sail on? Or maybe they were dishonoring Luffy by giving room to that small, scary thought that could become cruel reality?

Much to everyone's surprise it was Brook who broke the silence finally. But what he said was even more shocking and sent a shiver down their spine.

"We need to prepare for the worst."

"No way! You can't be serious! I'm not going to accept-", Nami was quickly cut off.

"Don't be silly. Luffy's still vulnerable and very much capable of dying, you said so yourself." Robin said with a cold edge to her voice. Nami's eyes widened before she bowed her head slowly.

"I know. I'm sorry everyone. But the thought of Luffy... i-it's just so scary I don't wanna think about it. He still has so much to do. He.. shouldn't be going through this shit."

Sanji stood up, opened a cupboard and grabbed a new pack of cigarettes. He seemed to be smoking more and more everyday. "It may seem cold, but what Brook said is true. We have to be prepared for whatever may come. Even if it all happens too damn fast." No one realized the hard look on Sanji's face.

„We all have come on this ship for something and we have traveled too far to give up now." Zoro spoke up without any emotion in his voice.

„Damn it...do you think we don't know that already? Of course we won't give up now!" Usopp replied but it didn't sound very convincing at all. He hated how cold everyone was sounding.

Robin's hard eyes softened a tad. "No one here has thought of giving up. Ever."

"Come what may come." Brook agreed quietly. The dark silence returned, leaving everyone to their own thoughts.

Chopper could only watch in shock as his eyes wandered from one face to the next. He couldn't believe this. These weren't the friends he knew and loved so much. These persons were all just gray. It was unbelievable how much they had changed the past few days!

Were they really just settling things like this? Were they able to accept this horrible fact this easily? Well, Chopper couldn't. He couldn't and he would not kill Luffy off like this! He still had some time. Not much, but Chopper somehow had to find a way to cure Luffy. There just had to be a way!

With one determined face he stood up and left the kitchen to return to the infirmary. The rest of the crew watched him leave with different expressions and mixed emotions.

-YXYXY-YXYXY-

Even though the marines managed to sneak up on their ship and surprise them with their attack, the crew was doing a nice job of defending the Sunny. They were all pretty tired and had caught little to no sleep last night, but their anger towards an invisible enemy seemed to strengthen them enough to fight.

It felt strange to fight against the marines without Luffy running around, laughing madly to show how much he enjoyed his pirate life. Somewhere during the fight, the crew half-expected a shout of Gomu Gomu no Pistole! or something like that, which -of course- never came. Instead, the air was filled with clashes of swords and the sound of bodies hitting the deck. It felt like a suffocating silence to the Strawhats.

The marines were losing badly. Though they weren't idiots and soon realized that there was one person missing: Strawhat Luffy. They briefly wondered what had happened to the rubber captain. Mutiny? Or did he have some kind of accident?

Whatever it was, it was affecting the rest of the crew badly, that much they could tell. The aura around the Strawhats was much more threatening than usual, and they didn't seem to enjoy their fight at all. They didn't exchange words or even glances. Everyone just tried to beat as much marines as possible, trying to get rid of that tension around them by force.

One marine fighter was especially lucky. He had the privilege to meet Roronoa Zoro, who – today – really lived up to his nickname Demon Hunter.

The young man tried his best to fight back, but against the incredible force of Zoro's swords and the sheer madness in his eyes he didn't stand a chance. He tried to dodge out of the way since he couldn't land a hit at all but even that wasn't working. Zoro didn't let him. The poor marine guy felt like a punching bag as Zoro released all of his frustration on him at once. With one last mighty slash, he was tossed into the dark sea of cold unconsciousness.

At that moment, Zoro felt like a giant stepping on small, annoying bugs. He never thought of fights like that, even against weaklings. Each fight was important; a small test of his own strength and limits. It shouldn't be dishonored by fighting out of pure lust to hurt others. But today everything was different. Today Zoro embraced the chance of fighting against marines as if it'd ease Luffy's pain.

The fight went on, but it was put to a stop as the crew heard a surprised yelp coming out of the infirmary. Franky, Brook and Zoro were the first ones to react as they quickly stormed to the sick bay with fury in their eyes. Some marine had dared to intrude Chopper's room were the little doctor was nursing Luffy. For the crew, that act was unforgivable.

Before the crew reached the infirmary, the door flew open and a marine flew out and crashed against the mast. He was out cold. For a moment, the other marines were frozen as Chopper stepped out in his human form, anger barely contained.

"Don't you dare touch him, bastards!" He barked and slammed the door shut again, leaving the rest to the others. He was in the middle of creating a new medicine that might help ease some of Luffy's pain, and anyone who distracted him received a harsh treatment.

The rest of the crew silently congratulated Chopper for successfully protecting their captain and kicking the guy out. Then, they decided it was enough and managed to force the marines to return to their ship and flee.

No one thought it was strange how fast they were gone. They had other things on their mind. But soon they'd learn the truth behind the marine's weird behavior.

-YXY-

The next morning, everyone was on their own, doing small chores or reading books, just to occupy their minds with something else. Constantly worrying was pretty tiring and only made the situation worse. Some of them tried to get a glimpse of sleep. Everything was relatively calm but all of sudden a loud shriek tore through the silence.

Quickly, everyone stopped what they were doing and dashed to the woman's quarter where the scream had come from.

"What happened?!"

"Nami-san, what's wrong?!"

"Nami?"

She bit her lip and held up the newspaper's of that day for everyone to read. What they saw made their blood freeze and stomach turn upside down. This couldn't be real. Usopp's eyes widened.

"Oh my god...",

It was a picture of Luffy lying in bed, obviously out cold, with the words,

"Strawhat Luffy fell ill with deadly sickness" ,

written below. It was a simple sentence, but for the pirates it meant a hard blow. Now it was for sure that every ribble on this vast ocean would sense their chance and come after them. It was practically an invitation for bounty hunters and hateful pirates. All above, for the marines.

The crew gasped in shock. As if they didn't have enough problems to deal with already.

"Crap! How did these damn shitheads find out so fast?!" Sanji all but shouted. Now it would be impossible for them to even set one foot on land without people attacking them.

"When did they take a picture?!" Nami asked.

Chopper gasped. "It must have been the guy who entered the infirmary yesterday! He knocked me aside and he hovered over Luffy for a few seconds. He must have had a camera with him."

Zoro growled dangerously. "I should have cut that asshole up yesterday."

"How low of the marines!" Brook said in anger.

Robin put a finger to her chin in thought. "Now that I think about it, he didn't really look like an average marine fighter. The clothes he wore were a little different from the other's clothes. Maybe he was some sort of journalist."

"EH? The marines have journalists in their crews?" Usopp asked in shock. "Doesn't that seem unreal?"

"Unless...", Nami gasped.

"Not if they had planned this outcome all along." Robin said.

Her friends blinked before realization dawned on them.

"No way...!"

YXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXY

I love Sanji-Luffy friendship! :3 There's just not enough of it around here *lol*

I would like to say the quote's not mine. I have no idea who said that, I found it on the internet somewhere and thought it was fitting.

To the reviewers! I'm incredibly happy you all like this story so much! -blushes-

DarkestHourBeforeTheDawn: Thanks a lot! :D Ah don't worry about it, I'm just glad you left me this kind review now. And I'm sorry, too, for the long wait! I hope you liked this chapter :)

MeikoKuran999: You mean too much text and not enough dialogue? I'm trying to change that, but I've realized I always throw a huge text at my readers without anyone speaking O.o Anyways, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it, thanks :)

Big Sis of 8: Aw :3 well thank YOU very much for reviewing!

Llaelien: Sorry for the long delay! Wow thank you, that's really great to hear! I was hoping it weren't too out of character, so thanks! :D Heh, me too! I'm such a drama fan xD No, I'm sorry, it will be all about the Strawhats. Maybe I'll show their reactions since they learned about it from the newspaper, but the end is already planned, and this story isn't going to be too long. Oh thanks -grins happily- a hug from me, too =3 No problem, you speak well and besides, mine isn't perfect at all! ;)

mugiwara-crystal: Thank you =D Sorry it took so long!

Son of Whitebeard: Yes indeed it is! Thanks for reviewing!

a84vpszy: Aw, it makes me happy to hear that =D Thanks!

Next chapter isn't going to take long. Please leave a review, thanks for reading and take care. :)

~Neko11