Acute Phase Beginning: Day Six and Seven

"Oi, Usopp, are you okay?"

Usopp lifted his head from his fist and blinked at Sanji, before taking a moment to situate himself, and look around him before answering. The seats around him were vacant, but on the table lay dirty dishes save for his own which, surprisingly, had untouched food. Breakfast was over then. He cleared his throat, "I'm fine."

"Did you sleep well last night?" the Cook questioned, "you came in pretty late with Chopper." Sanji stood behind the island at the sink washing the pans from breakfast.

"I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed," Usopp responded before falling silent. Other than waking up in the middle of the night once, he slept like a log. Shaking his head, he offered Sanji a bright smile. "Heh, heh, I must've slept a bit too well!"

Sanji reached over and placed the pan he was washing on the drying board, his eyes roving over Usopp. "I've had days like that," he said carefully.

Usopp ran a hand through his hair and smiled lightly, "then you know what I mean, yeah? I'm sure after I get some fresh air I'll be good as new!"

Sanji offered him a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Would you like me to heat up your breakfast for you, so you can eat it outside?"

Usopp looked down at the food on his plate and felt his stomach twist in protest, "no. I'm not feeling hungry right now." Sanji narrowed his eyes as Usopp pushed away from the table and stood shakily to his feet. His fingers bit sharply into the edge of the table as he fought to keep his balance.

Not wanting Sanji to see the pain that crossed his features, Usopp leaned his head down so that his curls could block his face. Sanji, not one to miss a beat, cleared his throat, as he continued to watch the younger boy suspiciously, "go outside. I'll pack the food away for later."

Usopp straightened himself and forced a smile on his face. He pushed in his chair and left the Galley as quickly as his weak legs would take him. He could feel the burn of Sanji's eyes on his back as he went. Once outside on deck, he paused to think about his options. He could go back to the boys' cabin and sleep a bit more, he could really use it- the exhaustion weighing heavily in his bones, but that would lead to unnecessary questions that he did not want to answer. His factory it would be then, Franky had watch for most of the morning so that would give him the privacy he needed. He turned left and carefully began his descent downstairs. He would get the privacy he needed and could easily avoid those awkward questions that may arise. Afterall, he locked himself in the factory at least three times a week.

Slowly, he pushed open the door to the factory and closed it firmly behind him, leaning back heavily on the Adam wood. He sighed, pressing the back of his head to the door and running a shaky hand through his sweaty curls. The smell of cinnamon buns wafted through the open window behind Usopp's desk. It caused him to place a hand over his mouth and nose to keep himself from being sick, his stomach reacting aggressively to what would normally be a delicious smell for him. Keeping a hand over his mouth, he willed himself not to be sick as he walked over to the window and slammed it shut, cutting of the nauseating cinnamon scent.

Usopp fell limply into his desk chair and leaned forward so that he could lay his head against the cool surface of his desk. He felt very heated and weak, and his head seemed to decide that it was an opportune moment to play a very active drum solo. He screwed his eyes shut, and nuzzled his head into his arms.

He had a lot of work to get done. His pop greens needed cultivating, and he should find out what was going on with the new ammo he had created. What exactly was causing it to go off too early? Usopp did not know, but he will be damned it if would blow up in his hands again. Then, of course, he needed to spend some brotherly time with Luffy and Chopper before dinner, if only to keep Nami from killing them.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking around blurrily he searched for the ammo that he left on his desk the morning before. Usopp caught sight of it on the far corner of his desk and reached towards it. However, his fingers could not quite reach so he dropped his hand to the desk to bring it back under his head. Perhaps a nap was in order. Yes, after a nap he will be back to his usual energetic self.

o0o

Sanji frowned from behind his glass as he watched Usopp from under his fringe. While the rest of the crew was inhaling their dinner as if it were the last they would ever eat, Usopp was pushing his around the plate with his fork. He looked half asleep and when he did bring the fork to his mouth, it was with a pained expression and the fork was void of food.

His eyes moved over to Zoro, who was chewing his food thoughtfully and watching the younger boy as he too had noticed Usopp's peculiar behavior. His had a hand around Luffy's wrist to keep the Captain from stealing his food, but when he let go, Luffy had instead went for Usopp's food. Zoro and Sanji frowned as Usopp made no move to stop him, or even seemed to notice what was happening. Odd, as Usopp never let Luffy near his food, not without a fight at any rate.

The more Sanji studied Usopp, the more he could see how 'out of it' the younger boy was. His eyes were glazed over, and a pained expression crossed his face whenever he so much as moved a finger. His breathing even seemed off to the point where he was panting. What the hell was going on with the shit-sniper?

While the others left the Galley, chatting happily amongst themselves, Usopp remained seated. Cautiously, Sanji took the plate from in front of Usopp, frowning deeply when the boy just stares ahead and gives him no acknowledgement. Zoro, who was picking up the dishes from the other side of the table and placing them in the bucket on the table, stopped what he was doing to watch the exchange, or rather, lack thereof.

Sanji reached over to touch his arm, "Usopp?"

Usopp did not answer him, causing Sanji to panic. "O-oi, Shit-Sniper!"

Zoro stopped putting the food ware in the bin and walked around the table to where Usopp was still sitting. He crouched beside Usopp, and shook his knee, "oi."

Usopp blinked and looked down at Zoro, "sorry. What were you saying?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sanji snapped, standing up straight. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips. He expertly lit the cigarette before inhaling deeply.

Usopp pushed his chair back and stood up, "w-what are you talking about? I'm fine!" He turned away from them so that they would not see the pained expression on his face. His muscles ached in ways that did not seem possible to him, every movement he made was filled with an aching pain that he had not felt since he had begun to train during their two years apart.

He sent them a strained smile and pushed in his chair. Slowly, he began to move towards the door, aware that their eyes were still on him. He breathed heavily through his nose, feeling the dizziness as it began to wash over him, causing his legs to become wobbly. Suddenly, his legs gave out from under him, and he screwed his eyes shut, preparing for an impact that never came. He took a few calming breaths allowing Zoro to support him for a moment before he pulled away to stand unsteadily on his own feet.

"if you are sick you need to see Chopper," Sanji pressed. He threw his cigarette into the ashtray on the island and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Leaning his hip against the island, he glowered at Usopp from over Zoro's shoulder.

"I'm not sick," Usopp insisted, unconvincingly as his hands and voice were shaking. At Sanji and Zoro's stern glares he added, "I'm fine, really." He backed away from Zoro slowly, careful to school his expression to hide any pain he felt as he tried, once again, to make it to the door.

"Usopp," Zoro said firmly.

Frustration and anger crossed Usopp's face. He was feeling weak and just wanted to get out of the Galley. "I said I'm fine! Why can't you just leave me alone!?" He turned on his heel, and slowly made his way out of the Galley, slamming the door as he went.

o0o

It was closing in on the witching hour when Sanji's night watch was interrupted by the sound of scaping down below on deck, close to where the boys' cabin resided.

He poked his head out of the crows' nest, cigarette pressed between his lips, and looked down watching as Usopp stumbled about. The younger boy barely made it to the railing, his hands scrambling to grip the wood to keep himself upright. After a moment of fumbling, he sat himself on the barrier and looked out at the ocean. Normally, Sanji would have gone back inside as this was normal for Usopp to do, however, the boy was leaning much too forward for Sanji's comfort.

"Back it up a bit," Sanji chastised, jumping down from the crows' nest to land neatly by Usopp. He placed a hand on the Sniper's shoulder and pulled him back.

Had Usopp been feeling his usual self, he would have jumped and comically complained to Sanji about sneaking up on unsuspecting people. As it was however, he was barely able to give the Cook a look of reproach. He pulled himself back, wincing as he did do.

The Cook froze when he got a proper look at Usopp. The boy looked terrible. His cheeks were sunken, his skin pale, eyes glazed over and his breathing- well, what he was doing could hardly be considered breathing.

Usopp laughed weakly, "sorry if I bothered you. I was just taking in some fresh air. Seem to have a bit of trouble sleeping." His voice was worn, making what he said sound completely true, and false at the same time. "Shouldn't you be up in the crows' nest?"

Sanji eyed him as he lit a cigarette and leaned back against the railing beside Usopp. "Came down to see who was clever enough to break into the Sunny without me sensing them. Turns out, it was you!" He pushed back a strand of hair from his eyes and grinned cheekily at the boy beside him. His eyes still watching Usopp as if he would fall over the railing at any moment.

Usopp rolled his eyes at the Cook's antics. "Hardly counts as breaking in when I live on the ship, Idi- ", he took as gasp of breath and fell backwards off the railing. His fingers gripped into the wood, in a mostly failed attempt to keep him upright. "Shit," he cursed under his breath, and struggled back to his feet.

"What the hell has been going on with you, Longnose!?" Sanji hissed, bending down to help Usopp to his feet.

"I'm fine, it's just fatigue." Usopp insisted as he allowed the Cook to help him up.

"How long have you been feeling this way?"

"It's only been a day. If I feel like this tomorrow I will go to Chopper, okay?" Usopp sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But, I am sure that after a good nights' rest, I will be my usual annoying self."

A chuckle escaped Sanji's throat as he shook his head, "if you don't tell him tomorrow than I will."

Usopp murmured his agreement before stumbling away from Sanji, back towards the boys' cabin. He tripped again but Sanji, who was keeping a close eye on him, caught him. Sanji tutted, pulling Usopp's arm around his shoulder and half carrying him into the cabin.

"Just stay here the rest of the night," Sanji whispered. He leaned down to make sure Chopper was not in the bunk before placing Usopp there. Everyone tended to fall asleep where they landed, and he did not want to risk dropping Usopp on someone.

"Mmhmm," Usopp muttered, snuggling deeply into his pillows and blankets, immediately falling to sleep.

Sanji stared at Usopp a moment longer and then turned to leave. "Mr. Usopp is ill then? I was afraid so, he has been acting odd lately."

Sanji jumped and turned to glare at Brooke who was sitting on the low sofa in the middle of the room. Brooke's dark empty eyes glared back at him in the moonlit room, "why didn't you send him back to bed, Shitty-skeleton?"

"I assumed he was going to use the bathroom."

Sanji glowered at him before turning his back and storming out of the cabin and back to his post. He picked out the last cigarette from his pocket and lit it as he entered the crow's nest. He paced back and forth muttering to himself about Shit-Snipers and even Shittier-Skeletons.

Sanji did not get any sleep that evening after his shift. Instead of going to sleep, he would use the extra time to cook a big breakfast for the crew. He also prepared ingredients for smoothies for later that day. The unsettling twist in his stomach not leaving the entire time.

o0o

Sanji told Chopper.

It was around midday when Nami, Chopper and Luffy stormed into the factory with worried expressions marring their faces. They caught Usopp off guard, he was sitting on the floor with a marker in his mouth, and blueprints littering the floor around him. Nami's Clima-Tact was in his lap as he fussed with a screw, the screwdriver in his hand shaking.

"Usopp!" Nami glared down at him with her arms crossed in front of her generous chest.

"What?" he asked, not bothering to look up from the object in his weak grip.

She reached down and took the small circular piece from his hand and threw it onto his desk. Usopp growled under his breath and jumped up, he reached back to steady himself on the desk as dizziness settled in with his sudden active movement. "Sit down, you Idiot! You're sick!"

"I'm fine, I don't need you to baby me."

Chopper pushed in front of Nami, "I need you to sit anyway, Usopp, in order to give you a physical," he chirped.

Usopp sighed and sat back down on the floor. It was all he could do to stop himself from rolling his eyes as Nami, Luffy and Chopper gathered around him with crossed arms and stern expressions. How Chopper, in his tiny stuffed animal-like form, seemed to tower over him, Usopp would never understand.

Usopp's hand, still shaking, ran through his hair as he stared back defiantly at his friends, "what?" Nami pulled out a mirror and held it in front of his face. He blinked at his image and looked up at her, "I'm sorry?"

"Look at yourself!" She insisted, pushing it closer to his face.

Usopp stared at his image in the mirror. Truth be told he looked like crap. His hair was a tangled mess; his skin had an even deeper yellowish hue than the day before, the whites of his eyes taking on the yellow color now as well. This puzzled Usopp. Sure, he was shakier than he felt earlier that day, but otherwise he felt much better today than most of the previous days. He felt almost normal, except for the shaking and dizzy spells with fast movement, but that could be attributed to him not drinking enough water, and eating less food, the last couple days.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I am quite handsome, I know." His attempt to lighten the mood did not fly. He got neither a smirk nor an eye roll.

"You're sick and you are in here working on your stupid little gadgets! You could die, Usopp. Do you not realize that or are you just too stupid to care‽"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Usopp muttered, rolling his eyes. He might not look any better, but he sure felt it. Her statements of dying were over-dramatic, and that was him talking.

"We have no idea what you have!" Nami insisted, "you could very well be dying or even have something that could kill us all! Did you even think of that? You could spread something to us that will take out the entire crew!"

Chopper placed his hooves on Usopp's left knee, "we're really worried about you! If you overexert yourself, you are likely to get even sicker!" A small syringe appeared in Chopper's hoof, just where had be been hiding that?, and was waving it threateningly in front of Usopp. "I have no idea what you have or how dangerous it is. So, if I see you pushing yourself too hard, I will be forced to sedate you."

Usopp shoved himself back, pulling the desk chair with him to get away from the syringe wielding reindeer. "No, no... no, do not come near me with that thing. My can't-go-near-needles-or-I-will-die disease is acting up."

"I will if you leave me no choice!" The tip of the syringe prodded Usopp's knee, and he kicked out, pulling his knees to his chest.

"I said no! Touch me with that and I swear the only stories I will ever tell you again are ones that will make Thriller Bark look like Candy Land!" Usopp snarled. He breathed heavily, glaring hard at Chopper. He startled the small reindeer, causing him to drop the syringe to the floor and run and hide behind Luffy's legs.

His hooves hugged Luffy's leg tightly as he peeked out from behind them, "Ah! Usopp's being scary."

Luffy blinked as he stared down at Chopper. Slowly, he slid his eyes over to Usopp. Nami was standing beside him, muttering to herself. After a moment, he decided it was safe to ignore her. "From what Sanji says you've been sick, Usopp, and you didn't tell us. We can't lose you. You're the only sniper we've got."

"We're all just worried about you." Nami added, "We realize that you hate to feel like a burden, and that you want to do everything you can to help, but you really don't need to. Especially not now. We can help Sanji with the cleaning and someone will happily take over your watch. I'll do the laundry this week and Luffy can mop the deck tomorrow." She paused to throw a weary look at her captain who gave her a blank stare as he picked his nose, "I'll get Zoro to do it." She said as an afterthought.

Usopp slowly let his knees down from his chest and leant forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. He kept his eyes trained on the floor as he spoke, "listen, I appreciate your concern. It makes me extremely happy, but..." He paused and slowly took a breath, suddenly, he was having a lot of trouble breathing. "I rather just live through it until it goes away." He lifted his head and looked them in the eye, exhaustion coloring his features. "Look, I will not overwork myself, and I will let you guys take over when I get too tired, but I need to do as much as I can for myself."

Nami sighed, "you're such an idiot," she muttered. "So, freaking stubborn and reckless." She rubbed a hand over her forehead, trying to clear the headache forming.

After a moment, she reached down and took Usopp's hand, pulling on it to get him to stand. "Come on, up you get. Chopper is going to do a quick physical and then you are going to sleep. If you are better tomorrow and Chopper clears you, you can come on the island with us. We will be docking at a new island in the morning."

Usopp tensed as his stomach gave a lurch, before allowing himself to be pulled up. "Just let me put my blueprints away."

She gave him a stern look before letting go of his hand, "five minutes," she conceded, her voice leaving no room for argument. She tapped Chopper on the shoulder from where he was still hidden behind Luffy's leg and motioned towards the door, "Let's go ge-, USOPP!?"

Luffy rushed forward to grab his friend as Usopp fell to the ground, his breath labored, and beads of sweat forming.

"Lay him flat on the ground!" Chopper commanded, "Nami, move that chair out of the way." Luffy kneeled by his friend, shell shocked. His eyes were wide as he watched his friend struggle to breathe. "Luffy, move away," when he saw that the captain was not moving, he snapped, "now!" He motioned for Nami to move away from where Usopp was laying as well, not wanting them near Usopp while he worked.

Usopp's lips were starting to turn blue, as were the beds of his nails. He let out a cry and then he passed out, his arms flexing up before they were flung outwards, their movement stopping completely as they hit the ground. "Nami, grab that jacket and place it under his head. He looks like he is going into a seizure." Chopper's eyes roved over Usopp's body, waiting for something to occur.

Nami ran over to the door and grabbed the jacket hanging on the doorknob. She raced over and rolled the jacket up, placing it under his head. She squeaked and jumped away violently as Usopp began to jerk violently.

Nami reached her hand out, only to have it slapped back firmly by a hoof, "don't touch him!"

Nami sat back, watching wide-eyed as her friend jerked on the floor, tears filling her eyes. She spared Luffy a glance; he was staring blankly at Usopp, his eyes unblinking- obviously in shock.

They waited, and waited, and waited. Slowly, Usopp's jerking began to slow, and soon after, it stopped completely. Chopper nodded to himself, "Luffy, help me get him on his side."

Luffy gave no indication that he heard the Doctor. The reindeer frowned and turned to Nami, "help me move him onto his side. I need to make sure his throat is clear so that he doesn't choke. It should also help him breathe better."

Nami pulled on Usopp, but he only returned to his back. She sighed and tried again, starting when slightly larger hands covered hers and helped put Usopp on his side. She looked over her shoulder, watching Luffy as he frowned down at Usopp and placed him in a position he would stay in on his own.

"Are you okay?" Nami whispered to him. She slipped her hand out from under his and placed it on top, squeezing his fingers gently.

Luffy continued to stare down at his best friend, stiffening as the boy took in a particularly harsh breath. He sighed, and squezed her hand back, before allowing his hand to fall into his lap.

Chopper was on the other side of Usopp's body. He was writing notes on a notepad that he found on Usopp's desk and muttering to himself. He placed the pad down with a sigh and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked.

"The average cold would not give Usopp a seizure and he does not have a past of them. This means that whatever illness he has caused it. It is good, because narrows down the illnesses significantly."

Luffy and Nami gave out a sigh of relief, "it is bad, because most illnesses I know of that cause seizures, as a side effect, are mostly life threatening."

Nami's face fell, "when will you know what he has?"

Chopper cocked his head to the side in thought, "once he wakes, I can draw blood from him and begin to run tests to eliminate illnesses. I need to investigate his family history, what he knows of it at any rate, and see if there is anything to find there. If there is nothing, I will begin to look into illnesses found in the New World. I hope to have an answer by tomorrow evening." He examined Usopp for a moment longer before nodding. "He should be okay for now. I am going to go tell the others what happened. One of you should stay with him until he wakes. Once he does, call me so I can look him over."

Chopper gave one last sad look at Usopp before turning and leaving the room. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he sniffled and let out a choked sob. He rushed up the stairs to his sick bay, needing a moment to himself before he talked to the crew.

"Luffy, you can go. I'll stay with him," Nami whispered. She sat beside Usopp's head and was running her fingers through his hair. Luffy sat beside her, cross-legged, merely staring at him. The shock hadn't worn off yet.

"Nami, I'm scar-"

"Ugh," Usopp flipped himself onto his back, his eyes screwing shut. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he swallowed, "what happened?" he complained, as he attempted to sit up. Neither Luffy nor Nami were having any of that, however, and forced him back into a laying position. What is going on?"

"You had a seizure," Nami said as she pressed down on Usopp's shoulder to keep him there. "You shouldn't be moving."

"I'm fine. Just got a bit of a headache," Usopp pushed Nami's hand away and leaned on his elbows, hanging his head back so that he could see Nami's face. "Oi! Stop crying, Stupid!" Usopp stuck out his tongue at her as she gave a weak laugh, "I'm fine, really." He lifted himself up into a complete sitting position, "If I am completely honest, I feel better than I have in a few days. Well, minus the headache of course, but well, can't have everything I suppose." He reached over and wiped Nami's tears away with the back of his hand, "so stop crying, yeah? Sanji will kick my ass if he knows that I made you cry."

"True," Nami muttered as she wiped away the rest of her tears. "Would you... would you like me to get you some water?"

"I'm really not dying, Nami." Usopp teased, rolling his eyes at her. "No need to be so nice."

Nami rolled her eyes and stood up, rubbing her hands over her eyes one last time. "I need to go get Chopper anyway." She looked towards Luffy, "he can help you get to the sick bay. You shouldn't be alone."

Usopp allowed his gaze to shift to Luffy and frowned at what he saw. "I think it's more likely that I will be helping him there. What the hell is wrong with him?"

Nami shrugged her shoulders, "I think you scared him." She leaned down at patted Luffy's head before making her way out the door. "I'll be around to check up on you soon."

"Aye," Usopp nodded, shooing her away. He waited until the door was closed before twisting in his spot and sitting cross-legged in front of Luffy. "Oi, Luffy?" He poked his friend in the forehead to get his attention, to no avail.

He reached out and squeezed the other's shoulder, shaking him violently, "oi, Luffy," he tried again with no success.

He sighed and pulled back only to have Luffy's hand shoot out and grab his wrist. He gasped as he was pulled forward into Luffy's arms. He stiffened when he felt hot tears on his shoulder and did the only thing he could do, hug Luffy back.

"Luffy, …what?"

Luffy squeezed him a bit tighter, "seeing you there... I thought I would lose you, just like I lost Ace. I thought you were dying, and I froze because I couldn't bear the thought of losing my best friend."

"Luffy..."

"I don't care that you are our only sniper, there are a million more of those that we could get."

"... thanks?"

Luffy shook his head, "even though that sniper would never be as good as you, because you are the best, we could always get another one." He paused, taking in a shaky breath. "You, I am commanding you not to die. You can't die, because you are by best friend and losing you would hurt me as much as it did when Ace died. I… and I am not strong enough to deal with that. I will never be strong enough to deal with that again. I know… I am being selfish, but I don't care. I want to be selfish if it means you don't die- if none of you do. So, I am giving you a Captain's order. You are not allowed to die, okay, Usopp?"

Usopp snuggled his face into Luffy's shoulder and nodded, "yes, Captain." He gave Luffy one last squeeze before pulling away. Inconspicuously, he wiped his eyes, not noticing that his tears were stained red.

When he looked back up, he saw that Luffy was still giving him a very stern expression that made the bottom of his stomach fall out, "… what, Luffy?"

Luffy hadn't even bothered to wipe the tears or snot from his face, he only sighed and looked away to gather his thoughts. When he looked back into Usopp's eyes, what the Sniper saw reflected in them was determination, fear, sadness, and an air of command that Luffy only possessed when he was about to say something extremely important. "Until you are better, I am relieving you of all duties."

Usopp sucked in a pained breath and shook his head, fresh tears filling his eyes. . "Luffy, no, please... you can't do this." He begged, sucking in his breath and squeezing his eyes shut, willing the pain in his heart to decrease. "I don't want to stop. I'll be fine, I can do it all, you'll see."

Luffy dropped his gaze, his own heart hurting at the look of pain and loss on his friend's face, knowing that he was the one that put it there. "You'll get better," he said, voice leaving no room for argument. "You will get better, Usopp, but until then, you need to focus on getting better." Luffy stopped, the pain in his chest getting worse, "it is for your own good."

Luffy reached up and removed his hat, pausing for a moment before placing it on Usopp's own head. He felt the hot tears in his eyes slip down his cheeks as Usopp nodded and pressed his forehead to Luffy's own. His own tear trails matching Luffy's, leaving red trails down his hallow cheeks.

To Be Continued...

Hello, Everyone!

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Chandlure