Chapter 4

After what felt like an hour, Sanji was finally on the Thousand Sunny shouting for Chopper. Chopper was playing a card game with Usopp when he saw Mezumi laying limp in Sanji's arms. Chopper started panicking and running around.

"Doctor! Doctor! We need a Doctor!" Nami hit him over the head as he ran past her.

"Chopper you are the doctor. Now get your furry butt to the sick bay and find out what is wrong!" They hurried to the sick bay. Sanji lay Mezumi on the bed gently.

"What happened Sanji?" Chopper was all business when dealing with his patient.

"I don't know. I found her like this. By the time I found her she was dry heaving. I don't think she ate anything for dinner last night or breakfast this morning. She didn't have any energy left to tell me what was wrong."

Sanji explained all he knew about her condition while Chopper took blood for testing. He turned around to his work station to start testing her blood. Satisfied that his tests were in progress, he turned around to gather more information. He started with a few routine tests. He looked at her mouth and throat. Pressing his paw to her neck he checked her pulse. He felt the sides of her neck and under her chin. Sanji was uneasy to say the least. He kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other while clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. Every few seconds he became aware of what he was doing and attempted to stand still only to have the energy building up in him again.

Chopper unbuttoned her cloak to access a good spot for his stethoscope when he looked slightly confused. Pulling up her shirt enough to see her ribs Chopper was absolutely shocked.

"Oh Kami." Choppers face was grim.

Sanji was horrified. He didn't have to ask what was wrong. He could see how thin she was. Her stomach was concave. He could see every rib in fine detail. The skin stretched over each one showing shadows in between. Just above her pants he could see her hip bones through her skin. If it hadn't been for her ragged breathing he would have assumed she was already dead. Chopper turned around to look over her test results frantically.

"Chopper what's wrong with her? Is she going to be okay?" Sanji didn't take his eyes off her. Chopper took a few minutes to look over the test results. Chopper sighed as he looked at Sanji.

"She is experiencing refeeding syndrome. Fatal shifts in fluids and electrolytes..."

"In English Chopper!" He rounded on the doctor. He didn't mean to sound so rude. But the stress of the situation was getting to him.

"She has gone so long without a significant amount of food that eating so much yesterday at lunch caused abdominal pain, reflux and nausea." Sanji paled at the idea of his food making her sick.

"How long has she gone without food?" Chopper hesitated. He knew how important this was to Sanji. The thought of someone starving was unacceptable to him.

"Years, Sanji. She must have only gotten the bare minimum to live." Sanji felt bile rising up in his own throat. His fists clenched so hard he felt his nails digging into his palms.

He had starved for weeks when he was a kid. He would never wish that fate on anyone. She had starved for years with hardly a scrap of food. If he hadn't offered her lunch yesterday no one would have ever known.

"I will start the treatment immediately. Medicine and fluids to help replenish the substances in her body to the level they should be at naturally. Food will have to slowly be reintroduced to her. I think no more than a table spoon of food 3 times daily until her appetite improves. If all goes well she should be feeling better in a few weeks." Sanji couldn't handle being in this room any more. He turned to the door.

"Let me know when there is any news." With that Sanji left the room. He had a cigarette outside before going to the kitchen. Sanji was pissed beyond belief. To have an entire village attempting to starve one woman all because of some false rumors was unforgivable. Sanji needed to keep busy. He didn't want to think about anything. He needed to clear his mind. He set to work cleaning the kitchen while he waited to hear if Mezumi was making any progress. He focused entirely on cleaning but much too soon the kitchen was spotless. For once he cursed always keeping his kitchen clean. He still had too much energy. He walked out on deck and looked around. He over heard Chopper explaining what was wrong with Mezumi. He tried to keep the details general. He got away with explaining that she was sick and would need a special diet to make her healthy again. But Sanji didn't want to hear about it again. He was trying to avoid the situation till she was awake. He spotted the person he was looking for. Zoro was leaning up against the railing of the ship. With his arms crossed, he was pretending to be sleeping.

"What are you doing you worthless waste of space? Given up on your dream to be the world's best swordsman?" He knew insulting him would get Zoro's blood boiling. And an angry Zoro always lead to a fight with him. Despite the fact that everyone thought they hated each other, they didn't. They had an unspoken understanding that they could hate each other on the surface but they would be there for each other in a way. They were friends just like everyone else on the ship. But neither would admit to being friends with the other. Zoro opened one eye to look up at Sanji. Zoro wasn't exactly sure what Sanji wanted but he did know he was picking a fight. Zoro was more than happy to oblige.

"You are one to talk you shit cook. How can you claim to be a great cook when you can't even cook rice correctly?" With that Sanji swung his foot at Zoro's head. Zoro took less than a second to dodge and draw his remaining two swords. They spent the next half hour trading blows and insults. At the end of that half hour Sanji's pent-up energy was gone. Both were far from being out of breath but they were ready to call an end to their fight. They both turned around, Zoro putting his swords away and Sanji putting his hands in his pockets.

"Worthless marimo." Sanji started walking to the kitchen to start on a late lunch.

"Shit cook." Zoro sat back down and closed his eyes. Attempting to resume his nap from earlier.

Sanji made lunch and set down the food in front of the crew. He figured soup would be easy on Mezumi's stomach. He poured the newly made soup into a bowl before he frowned at it. He remembered she could only have a table spoon of food at one time. Staring down at the amber liquid in the bowl, he transferred a tablespoon of soup into a tea cup, set a spoon in it and set it aside. He sat down at the table with the remaining soup.

Over lunch he shared with everyone what he had discovered about her. The rumors, her state of living and even the strange things that Katsuo had said. Chopper had left immediately after he ate to continue monitoring his patient.

"I don't know why the entire village has been treating her like this. But it has effected her daily. She doesn't even have a dream." Sanji found this just as disturbing. "Have they abused her so much that she doesn't even dare to dream?"

"Yes and no, Cook-san." Robin interjected. "A psychologist named Abraham Maslow states that there is 'A Theory of Human Motivation'. He realized that humans have needs but not all needs are equal. The most important being physiological needs such as sleep, food and breathing. If our dear Mezumi-chan never had her dietary needs met then it would be difficult for her to think about higher needs such as safety, friendship or self confidence." Usopp looked up from his plate with a pensive expression.

"So basically she couldn't eat so she never even considered having friends or a dream?" Usopp asked.

"Basically." Robin echoed with a smile.

Chopper pushed open the door. "She's awake." Sanji stood up and grabbed the soup he made for Mezumi, Sanji was the first out the door. Throwing open the door to the sick bay he saw her looking, if possible, worse than before. Chopper had hooked her up to an I.V. line and several monitors. Sanji closed the door behind him, set down the cup and sat down next to her in the only chair.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked with a dark expression. She felt that it would be pointless to start lying now.

"My entire life. But it's not that bad. It's only spring. The plants haven't managed to grow yet. I usually live off the land when the seasons allow it. But in the winter I have to go through the shop garbage cans. It's really not as bad as you think."

"'Not as bad'?" Sanji yelled. "Have you looked at yourself lately? You look like a walking corpse! You say you are forced to live off the land and steal from garbage cans. And you find that acceptable? I know what it's like to starve for weeks but this..." He gestured to her. "This is a level I could never have conceived of in my worst nightmares." He paused to calm his temper.

Mezumi's chest hurt. Sanji's words had struck a blow to her pride. Her bottom lip quivered but she pushed back the tears threatening to well up in her eyes. She had kept herself going by telling herself that she could always have it worse. The villagers usually left her alone. She at least had privacy if nothing else. They avoided her like the plague. They could always start beating her. For that, at least, she was thankful they were afraid of her.

"Why won't you join our crew?" Sanji looked hurt. She couldn't help but be honest with him now.

"I'm scared. How do I know that my life won't be worse if I leave the island? How am I supposed to trust anyone after 18 years of guarding myself against everyone?" She was pleading with him to understand. She saw it as a 'better the devil you know...' sort of situation. Whereas Sanji knew what life was like for them on the ship. Sanji grabbed her hands in both of his. Their eyes met. Mezumi was captivated by his intensity.

"Mezumi-chan, I'm not asking for you to trust everyone. I'm asking you to trust me, here and now. I have been in your position. I didn't want to join this crew at first. But after I joined I realized that this bunch of misfits are more than just friends. They are family. Each of them would give up their own dream to see another fulfill theirs. We protect each other. We have done what others consider impossible to help our family." Sanji looked even more serious. "Mezumi-chan if you join us, we can give you a new life. We can be your friends, your family, your protectors anything that you need. You can do more than just barely survive. You can thrive with us here. And I will personally see to it that you eat like a queen everyday. Please say you will at least reconsider." Mezumi paused looking torn. She was incredibly frightened of what the world had to offer her off her lonely island. She seemed to have an unnatural ability to garner hate from everyone she passed. But Sanji's words had her thinking that maybe her life could be different.

"I need time to decide." Sanji smiled at the progress he made.

"Well, while you are thinking how about some soup?" Sanji held up the cup with a smile. She nodded. He brought the spoon to her mouth. After 4 spoons full the soup was gone.

"I must say you have an excellent bedside manner." She giggled at her small joke. Her smile made her look so much better. It brought some color back to her face.

"I also do parties." He joked. She laughed louder. It almost seemed as if she wasn't sick at all. Chopper came back in to check on his patient.

"It seems you are feeling better." He said while checking his machines. "You will need to get up and move around a little." Chopper disconnected her from the machines and her I.V. He began to write her progress down on a medical chart. Sanji helped to lift her out of bed. He stood next to her with his arm around her waist to prevent her from falling. Mezumi blushed.

"You don't have to treat me like I am a paper doll. I can walk on my own." She let go of him and walked out to the deck herself.

"You are so stubborn." Sanji said it as an endearment. He followed after her. She stood in the sun just breathing deeply. Her face held a serene expression as if she didn't have a care in the world. With her cloak removed, Sanji could see that her white hair reached her lower back. Everyone was on deck at that point wanted to see how their new friend was feeling. She still hadn't accepted Luffy's invitation. But from the moment Luffy invited her to join their crew, everyone started to think of her as family. Everyone was glad to see her out of bed.

"Luffy, the log pose just reset we can leave anytime now." Nami had waited till everyone was around to announce this.

"Sanji can we eat before we leave? I want barbecue like the people on the hill." Luffy whined to Sanji.

"The... people on the hill?" Mezumi echoed. Mezumi looked around. "What do you..." She stopped dead with a horrified look on her face. On the only hill on the island had smoke rolling up into the sky. Mezumi took off in the direction of the smoke.

"Mezumi-chan wait!" Sanji yelled after her. She didn't stop. Everyone ran after her.