Heat

Less than an hour into their journey on foot across the desert to Yuba, Sanji noticed that Fox was having difficulties. She was more heavily wrapped up than the rest of the crew, completely covered from head to foot in a loose dark blue robe with a scarf wrapped around her head leaving only a thin slit to look out through. Even her eyes were hidden as she was wearing sunglasses again. Sanji was more concerned about the slight hesitation in her gait and the way she weaved from side to side every now and then.

"Fox-chan?" he inquired carefully, moving so he was walking next to her. "Are you alright?"

"No," Fox said flatly, startling the chef slightly. "I'm a child of the sea, Sanji. This dry heat is killing me."

"Literally?" Sanji asked, a little panicky. He didn't want Fox-chan to die!

"Not any time soon, I promise," Fox whispered, "but the aridity and the heat are more than I can really cope with. I feel very strange."

"I could carry you," Sanji offered seriously. Fox' health was in danger so this was not the moment to mess about.

"Would you?" Fox swayed on her feet. "I'm afraid to stop moving, Sanji-kun," she added; "I think I might never be able to start again."

Sanji quickly lifted the taller woman up onto his back and let her lean her head on his shoulder, now seriously concerned for her. Fox had up until now seemed both unflappable and highly resilient and seeing her as weak and helpless as she had been that first day on the Baratie worried him greatly. Her harsh, hoarse breathing in his ear however reassured him that she was not too far gone yet.

"Hey, dartboard-brow! What are you doing?" Sanji glared across as the shitty swordsman.

"What does it look like I'm doing, marimo?"

"What's wrong with Fox?" Luffy asked.

"The heat and aridity are a bit much for her," Sanji explained; "probably due to her mermaid heritage. She's better suited to damp conditions than this desert."

"Will she be okay?" Luffy asked seriously.

There was a short, cough-like chuckle from Fox. "I promise not to die on you, captain. I want to see you make it to Pirate King after all."

"Good!"

"Are you really alright?" Sanji asked sotto voce when Luffy was no longer in hearing distance.

"I've been worse," Fox replied, which wasn't all that reassuring.

"Have some of my water," the chef said, holding the flask up to her face. "Your need is definitely greater than mine."

Ironically, Fox' frailty meant that, when Luffy lost all their luggage to thieving Sagi, both swordsman and chef still had water bottles as they were taking it in turns to coax the part-mermaid into drinking. Sanji did have to put his precious burden down in order to defeat the giant Sandora lizard, but defending her against the monster desert dweller and a chance for some food made up his mind for him. Food would help Fox-chan replace the nutrients she was sweating out and there was just enough shade among the rocks for her to sit in moderate comfort. Also, the rescued camel could carry her much more easily.

Sanji soon changed his mind about the camel when it refused to let any of the guys on it. As Fox had become slightly delirious and wouldn't let anyone other than Sanji and Zoro within arm's reach without lashing out, that meant she couldn't ride as the disgusting beast wouldn't let either man ride with her. Instead Nami and Vivi got on the camel and the marimo tied Fox firmly onto Sanji's back. She was muttering and whimpering constantly now, words slurring occasionally and regularly descending into gibberish. What was comprehensible, made Sanji want to kick someone.

Luffy had stupidly eaten a hallucinogenic cactus, so after Chopper knocked their captain out the shitty swordsman made sure he didn't get left behind by dragging him behind them. Usopp staggered along in the rear while the reindeer plodded onwards in his full animal form, barely conscious in the heat.

Luffy recovered from his poisoning as the sun started to set and just as Usopp keeled over, so Zoro heaved the sniper over one shoulder as the temperature dropped and they finally caught up with Nami, Vivi and the camel. Fox seemed to be breathing much more easily in the chilly desert night, but she swayed and staggered so badly when Sanji let her try to walk that he picked her up again and refused to let her off. She capitulated at once, a dead giveaway as to how well she wasn't. She was no longer delirious though, which the chef was grateful for. Her ravings had suggested either a morbidly overactive imagination or a profoundly shitty past and he was leaning towards the latter. People with happy pasts do not beg and plead to die so they can join their friends, nor do they apologise to people who aren't there for 'not being there' and 'not living up to expectations'. The bit about suffering being the road to discipline sounded like something the shitty swordsman might believe, though 'in order to kill you first have to die' was a bit odd.

Sanji was very glad to reach Yuba and even more glad that there were beds to sleep in. What did upset him was that as soon as she realised there were beds Fox stumbled into Zoro, wrapped her arms around his middle and refused to be budged; the shitty marimo wound up going to sleep with Fox-chan in his arms, his back to the room in order to prevent her from falling out of bed. Sanji would have been angrier if he hadn't seen the concern and confusion on the swordsman's face when he realised he couldn't pry the woman off; the chef consoled himself with the knowledge that at least the moss-head had the sense to treat this woman with the care and attention she deserved, even if he utterly failed where the rest of the female gender were concerned.

By the next morning Fox was clear-minded again but as weak as an overcooked noodle, but the shitty swordsman snatched her up before Sanji could and carried her outside. Then a little later Luffy stopped under a dead tree and refused to go further, provoking Vivi into attacking him when he pointed out how naïve she was to want to defeat crocodile without anybody dying. The marimo stayed out of the dispute entirely, hanging back and coaxing Fox to swallow more water even as the Straw-hat captain and the princess of Alabasta got into a vicious-looking fist-fight. Eventually Vivi broke down and agreed to lead them to Rainbase, when Crocodile's base was, a full day's walk away.

Sanji just hoped Fox could make it.