Chapter 5: Chapter Five
Summary:
What will happen now?
Notes:
I don't know but I think this chapter went sideways. I kinda think that Zoro's been out of his character or something like that.
"D-daddy."
The voice was so familiar that Zoro needed not to look up to know where the voice came from. His hands fell on his side and he suddenly felt weak. What should he do now? He felt so embarrassed. This was not the right time for him to show his weakness. Especially not in front of his child.
"Let me go." Zoro said. The nurses hesitated at first but they still let him go.
He looked at his child properly and his heart broke when he saw that his eyes were bloodshot, glassy, and sad. Surely he had been crying and of course, it was his fault again. What kind of family man was he? All he did was to put his whole family in agony. And yes, self-loathing might not help him in this kind of situation, but what could he do? It was really all his fault. It was his GOD DAMN fault. He deserved to take all the blame, people could even hit him if they'd wanted to and he would not budge. He would be happy to let them beat him senseless.
"Zoro." Zeff said in his own grumpy way as he blocked his view.
How could he face Zeff now? He made a promise that he would not let anything to happen to Sanji, that he would not put his son in danger. He felt useless and angry at himself. It was just a simple promise and he failed to fulfill it.
"Oi! Get up you little green headed brat!" The old man said as he approached him.
Ha? How did I end up on the floor? I did not kneel or crouch down, did I? Fuck! What the hell was wrong with me!
"Oi. Zoro?" Zeff said as he once again called his attention.
As he invaded Zoro's space, the other man kicked him, strong enough to bring him back to his senses. He stared at the old man quick enough to see his angry eyes. Zoro tried to get up on his own and of course, now's the right time for his knees to turn to jelly, for them to wobble non-stop. He fell back down with a loud thud.
"Haha!" A stream of low and mirthless laugh escaped Zoro's mouth.
Yes. He found his situation funny. Awfully funny. Who wouldn't laugh at that? First, he failed to protect Sanji. Then he failed to be strong. Everyone thought that he was a strong man and now, he proved them wrong.
"Hahahahahahahaha!" Another stream of laugh escaped from his mouth.
Why hadn't I noticed it before? Why hadn't I realized the failure that I really am?
Zoro couldn't stop laughing. He tried to cover his mouth to stifle his laughter, but to his surprise, he realized that his cheeks were wet and his eyes were a little warmer. Surely, it was tears of pure joy and nothing more. How pathetic. Crying over something hilariously funny.
While Zoro was hysterically crying on the floor, Zeff talked to the nurses about the green-haired man's condition.
Moments passed and Zoro was still on the floor at least now, the crying and laughing had died down. He was just sitting on the floor and staring blankly at the scratches on his arms until he felt something warm on his shoulders.
He unconsciously looked up to see the worried face of his son.
"Daddy, do your boo boos hurt? Do you want me to kiss them until they fade?" Little sun said as softly blew at the large bruise on his father's face. "Papa always kisses my boo-boos for them to heal faster."
Zoro sat there, gaping at his child. He then realized that he should not act this way. This was not the end of everything and his actions would certainly make Sanji angry.
He knew that Sanji was in this hospital somewhere, just waiting for him to come and pick him up.
Taking a deep breath, Zoro smiled at his son and opened his mouth to speak. "Thank you. I'm okay now. It does not hurt anymore."
"WOW! It does work then! Papa is really great!" Little Sun said as he danced around his father.
"Oi! Quit it you little brat!" Zeff said as soon he went back on the scene. "And you idiot, get up or I will kick your ass all the way to your stupid room." He added as he glared at Zoro.
"Gramps is right daddy. Let's go to your room." Little sun said as he tried to pull Zoro up. "Come on dad! Get up! Get up!"
"Ugh. Okay." Zoro said as he followed his son.
"What is this that I have heard? You made a scene? Really?" The little doctor said as he checked Zoro's vital signs. As expected, the green haired man did not answer so Chopper continued his doctor-like speech. "Don't you know that you have to rest. you've been through a lot Zoro, your body wouldn't be able to keep up with your act if you wouldn't rest for-"
"Sanji." Zoro muttered.
"Huh? What did you say?" Chopper asked.
The green-haired man then looked straight into the teenager's eyes and asked. "Where is Sanji? I want to see him Chopper."
"He's-"
"Where is he Chopper?! Don't prolong this anymore! All I want is to see him. Make sure he is alright! I-I just badly want to see him." His voice becoming thin and small as he reached the last sentence.
Chopper breathed in deeply then sighed before he opened his mouth to answer. "He's in the intensive care unit."
"I-is he okay? Will he get better soon?" He still asked even if he had some idea on how severe Sanji's injuries were. Plus, no one's been put in the ICU that hadn't been in a 50-50 situation. He knew that he was an idiot at times but he learned some valuable thing just by staying with this doctor-to-be friend of his.
"The doctors are still quite unsure of his situation. Unlike you, he hasn't shown any sign of consciousness up until now and his injuries are quite severe."
Zoro sat up from his bed taking the blanket off of his lower half before he tried to make his was out of his room before Chopper blocked his way while glaring at him.
"Where do you think you going Zoro?" He asked angrily.
"I am going to see him."
"Zoro don't be stubborn even just for this particular moment."
"Get out of my way Chopper, I want to see him." He said as he tried to shove the little doctor-to-be out of his way.
"No." Chopper's voice was firm and full of command. "Zoro, you being stubborn will not help any of us. Do you understand that?"
"I just- I just badly want to see him."
"I know that and I completely understand you, but you have to rest first. You have to gain strength, not just for you, but for your whole family." Chopper said as he put both of his hands on the green-haired man's shoulders before turning him towards the bed. "Now come on, you have to rest."
Chopper might still be a teenager but most of the time, his wisdom would not fail to amaze everyone. Even though most of his so-called "wisdom" was for good, it still hurt as hell.
As soon as Zoro felt comfortable on his bed, he felt as if his energy had been suddenly seeped out of his body and just like that, he entered the world of dreams.
Zoro woke up out of the blue. What woke him up was a question he could not answer. He then looked around him. He knew that he sometimes had no sense of direction, but he also knew that he had never ever been in this place before. It seemed like he was in a forest or an island maybe. He got up to his feet and searched for something he did not even know. He just felt that he should be somewhere else other than in the middle of a fucking forest or whatever. As he wandered deeper or maybe out of the forest, he smelled the familiar scent of nicotine and spices combined together.
"Sanji." Zoro whispered as he scampered closer to its source. He was never clumsy, but as the smell got stronger, his knees grew weaker. He kept stumbling and falling for no apparent reason. He took a few more steps before he saw a familiar figure surrounded with what seemed like smoke or fog.
"Sanji!" The green haired shouted but his voice failed him. He was sure that he was shouting, but there was no voice coming out of his mouth. If shouting would not work, he should just approach his husband.
He walked faster, but the distance between him and Sanji was not losing in. He was nowhere near the other man. It almost seemed that as he walked closer to him, the farther he got.
"What the hell is happening?" The green haired man thought. He tried again. He ran and shouted at the same time until he could walk or talk anymore, but still, his effort did nothing to get him closer to his husband.
Once again, he stood up and started walking towards the other man. He called his name out again and again until Sanji looked at him. Maybe he finally heard him or maybe he felt his presence. What's more important was at least now, Sanji knew that he was there. He started to walk again, but Sanji seemed to have other plans as he faced Zoro and opened his mouth to speak, though Zoro could not really hear or figure out what he was saying.
When it seemed like Sanji was finished talking, he smiled at Sanji and slowly turned away. Walking farther from Zoro and fading out of his sight.
"Sanji- Sanji. Come back." He said as his consciousness started to slip out of his grip.