Hey! I'm back here with another chapter. I don't have much to say now...
Anyways... Enjoy!
When Sanji had come to, he found himself laying on a rather comfortable couch, and a dampened rag on his forehead. Groaning, he forced himself to sit up, but found his muscles rather aching for some reason. He knew he hadn't strained himself too much, so why..?
A flashback hit his mind, and his heart skipped a beat.
It was that damned marimo bastard! He just couldn't let him live in peace, no matter what! Suddenly finding himself filled with a new rage, he threw the rag onto the table that was in front of the couch.
Grubling, he stood to his feet, and discovered his cigarettes were missing from his pocket, which only made his mood even more sour. He glanced over at the clock, which read 4:30 PM. However, soft foot steps entered the room soon enough, and his gaze shifted over to the doorway, discovering Nami standing there, with a new rag, most likely for him.
"Sanji, you really should be laying down." she sighed, coming over to him, holding the rag in one hand now.
"Ah, but my precious Nami-swan, I couldn't bear to let you take care of me, dirtying your hands like that." he replied. In all honesty, he just wanted to stay awake, and not fall asleep. Falling asleep was an even higher risk of the green-haired bastard to show up and torture him.
"Just lay down Sanji. I volunteered to look after you, since Luffy and Usopp had gone off somewhere. Poor Chopper has been working himself like a dog to keep up with his medical knowledge, so I decided to help him relieve some of that stress by watching over you." she replied, as Sanji reluctantly laid back down, before she leaned in, gently placing the cool rag onto his forehead.
Sanji couldn't find any words to give her a reply, so he settled for giving her a soft smile, laying on the couch.
Nami walked over to the head of the couch, sitting on the arm rest by Sanji's head.
"What even happened out there, Sanji? One moment you were out there smoking a cigarette, and then the next we heard a loud thump against the glass door." she questioned, as she looked down at her blonde haired friend, who had his eyes closed.
Slowly, he opened up one eye, hands resting on his stomach, folded. How was he supposed to answer her? He couldn't just blurt out, 'Oh, I can see supernatural stuff and other shit, so I saw a ghost and I fainted.' His eyebrows furrowed, and he sighed some, trying to think of an excuse.
"I mean, have you been sick recently? When Luffy carried you inside, you were in a cold sweat, and you were burning up."
"I guess I have been... I just don't really think it would bother me to that extent.." he sighed. He hated lying to people, especially women, but his ability of seeing the supernatural had to be kept a secret. If his friends discovered that he could, he'd probably end up getting sent to some sort of asylum. The more he thought about it, the more absurd the concept seemed.
"My God, you all don't know when to quit, do you? Always getting sick, and insisting your fine, and then stuff like this happens..." she sighed, rubbing her temples, slowly standing up. Sanji could only give a sheepish smile in return, as he knew she was right. The guys were never ones to let a cold get to them. Well, Usopp might.
"Well, just get some rest. I'm going to go to the corner store real fast and pick up some more aspirin. Chopper should be coming in shortly. He was supposed to end his training for the day around this time." she spoke, slipping on her favorite designer jacket, zipping it up. Sanji wanted to cry out to her and beg her not to leave.
If she did, that bastard was sure to show up.
"Alright.." he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. He heard her footsteps head for the door, then the door opening, then it clicking shut. A wave of dread swept over him, as he waited in agony. God, let someone hurry and come. He did NOT want to be stuck with the marimo ghost. He didn't know the motives of the spirit, and he didn't want to find out when he was in a vulnerable state.
The minutes seemed to pass like hours, as the blonde waited in anxiety for something to happen. He listened for the smallest of noises, even if a pin dropped, he wanted to hear it. Anything but the taunting silence of the room. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, as it felt as if the room had gotten colder. The temperature seemed to keep dropping, and he didn't dare open them.
He was there. Sanji was sure of it. He was watching him.
He bit his bottom lip so hard he drew blood, as the metallic taste singed his tastebuds, keeping his eyes squeezed shut. That bastard was probably enjoying every last bit of this. Watching him tauntingly, knowing he was causing suffering to the blonde laying on the couch.
Still, he didn't dare to make a noise, or look, as he didn't want to stare into those lifeless orbs of darkness. If he looked in them, he'd be paralyzed with fear, and then he was vulnerable for any sort of attack, even more than he had been at the moment. He could've sworn he heard some sort of dripping, and a very faint laughter. It all dispersed though, as the front door clicked open.
Relief washed over him, as he daringly cracked open one eye, and let out his held breath as he recognized the figure immediately as Chopper. He was saved from seeing something he didn't want to for the time being, and he wanted to be saved like that whenever he could.
Small footsteps shuffled over to the couch, and Sanji opened his eye, looking over at the younger male.
"How are you feeling now, Sanji?" Chopper asked, in the usual stern doctor tone he had grown rather accustomed to.
"Somewhat better. Head still feels like it's spinning around, but I'd say I'm doing better."
"That's good. Here, put this in your mouth and wait a few seconds. I need to see if your temperature has dropped at all. It was dangerously high earlier when we carried you inside." the doctor instructed, giving Sanji the thermometer, as the blonde placed it underneath his tongue.
About roughly five seconds later, a beep was heard, and Chopper removed the thermometer, examining the results. A small sigh of relief escaped from his lips, and he disposed of the test sample.
"Your temperature did go down, thank goodness. But that doesn't mean your clear yet. I still wanna make sure that your temperature returns to normal, so you'll probably have to rest for the remainder of the day."
Sanji had no problem with that, as his body felt as if an immense pressure was added to it, then released, creating a horrible strain feeling to his muscles.
"You'd most likely want to call your dad so you can rest at home, or if Usopp would be so willing to let you stay in his apartment." Chopper spoke, as he removed the rag from Sanji's head, going to run it under cold water.
"I'd best call my old man. I don't wanna burden Usopp anymore than I have. Speaking of him, where'd he run off to?"
"Luffy practically dragged him out of the door, insisting they wanted to go get you something to make you feel better. Usopp was a little reluctant, and wanted to stay back and watch you and his apartment, but he didn't get a say in that." Chopper replied, putting the cold rag back onto Sanji's forehead.
Sanji couldn't help but chuckle, as he knew Chopper's words were most likely true. Luffy always drug people along with him whenever there was something for them to do, and he wouldn't have it any other way. He was always the type to seek adventure.
"But that being said... You really should take it easy, Sanji. Whether you are coming down with a fever or not; it's hard to tell now, but you could most likely be getting sick. Make sure to keep drinking lots of fluids, and make sure to rest." Chopper instructed, still standing beside the couch.
"Well, if there's work to be do-"
"Sanji, I don't wanna have to strap you down."
"Alright alright, I'll stay down. No need for the straps, I'll be fine, thank you." Sanji grinned, earning an exasperated sigh from the doctor in training. After Chopper went to the kitchen to get Sanji a water, he pulled out his phone, and sent Zeff a text, although he had a feeling the old bastard wouldn't even know how to open it up. He was like a caveman when it came to technology.
'I need you to pick me up from Usopp's. Chopper thinks I'm coming down with something. Thanks.'
He sighed, and stuffed the smart phone back into his pocket, managing to sit up, holding the rag onto his forehead, as Chopper came back into the room, holding a glass of water in hand.
"Did I not just tell you to stay down..? Oh, why do I even bother wasting my breath..." the younger teen mumbled, handing the blonde the glass of water, as he chugged it down, throat feeling rather dry. He set the glass down on the table, and leaned back into the couch.
"Well, I gave my old man a text his way, so now it depends if he bothers to read it or not. If he doesn't, I can just walk home. I don't live that far away anyways."
"Sanji, my goodness, did you not listen to me at all?!" Chopper yelled at him. "You can't just go dallying about! It's too cold, and it isn't going to help you at all, especially if you're getting a fever!"
Sanji simply dismissed his lecture with a small wave of his hand, and Chopper huffed, obviously displeased and annoyed.
Within a few minutes, a honk was heard outside, most likely indicating Zeff waiting outside in his car. How he managed to drive with a peg leg still baffled Sanji to this day, but he didn't question it. No matter how many times he told his old man to get a robotic leg, he either got kicked in the head, yelled at, or both.
Sanji bid his farewell to Chopper, and walked down the stairs, heading to the front of the building. He walked to the car parked on the side of the road, and opened up the door, getting inside, a rather unhappy-looking Zeff waiting within.
"You damned eggplant, don't you realize we've got business! And now you have to get sick, making me stop cooking just so I can pick you up!" Zeff fumed, as he turned the car around with a K-turn, and began driving down the street.
"Alright, next time I'll walk home, and I can get even more sick than I already am." Sanji grumbled, looking out the window. He frowned, seeing a glimpse of the green-headed spirit, who was watching him from behind a lamp post, his black eyes locked right onto Sanji, a smirk plastered onto his pale lips. The spirit chuckled to himself.
"You don't realize the mistake you're making, ignoring me... If we want to play tough, we'll play tough.." he smirked, before vanishing into the cold air, no trace left behind.
I'm not very happy with the ending of this chapter at all, but it'll have to suffice for now. Updates will probably take around 2-3 days, if I keep on the pace that I've been going at.
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Animelover0160