Hellllooo guys!
Phew, I'm once again very fast with another update!
I was just so overmotivated to write this one haha :D
And as promised there are many sweet little moments between the straw hats and their captain in this chapter! I hope you like it!

Soo without holding you back any longer, enjoy reading!

️Warnings: Description of Blood Spitting and Vomiting.

If you are sensitive to this content I would advise you to stop reading at this point.

And for those, who have no problem with it, have fun!

The next 24 hours wouldn't be the easiest for the straw hats.

It was already very late at night, almost morning, when the exhausted crew members had already settled down to sleep in their bunks, oblivious to what was happening in the sick bay.

The symptoms of pneumonia, which Chopper had managed to bring under control up to this point, now returned stronger than before, causing Luffy's fever to spike dangerously again.

Chopper and Robin, who were watching over Luffy together, had their hands full as they desperately tried everything they could to bring down the stubborn fever.

While Chopper was working on a new medicine that could alleviate the symptoms, Robin was sitting at Luffy's bedside and was about to dip the already dry little rag on Luffy's forehead into a bowl containing a mixture of water and some vinegar.

This mixture, along with a larger dose of fever-reducing medicine that Chopper had just administered to the sick boy, had to be sufficient for a while, until Chopper was finished with the new medicine.

Since Luffy's breathing had improved enough, the little ship's doctor no longer thought it necessary to keep the breathing mask on Luffy and had put it aside for now. Much to Robin's relief, as she could no longer bear the sight of Luffy with it on. It made him seem so incredibly weak, as if he was about to die.

Robin tried to keep as quiet as possible, not that she was normally a loud personality otherwise, so as not to disturb Chopper in his research. The faster he finished, the less Luffy would have to suffer.

The black haired woman studied Luffy's face as she gently ran the clenched cloth in her hand over his flushed cheeks. The redness stood out very much on his pale face. Luffy's eyelids were tightly closed, indicating that he was in pain, possibly caused by the high fever. His brow was also drawn together and his lips were slightly parted as quick gasps escaped them. On the whole, the person on the bed hardly resembled their captain.

Even though Robin was not really able to show her feelings openly, a storm of emotions was raging inside her. No matter how hard each of them tried not to lose hope, each of them could still see Luffy slipping away from them more and more.

Chopper had told her earlier that there was a high possibility that Luffy could die in the next few hours. Although she was deeply shocked by this information, she remained calm, because panicking would be of little help to Luffy in this situation.

She had never seen her captain in such a bad state as now, even after a fight he seemed to be more alive, snoring loudly and taking strange positions. But Luffy had barely moved, and the only sign of life was his labored breathing and the erratic rise and fall of his chest.

Robin let out a deep sigh as she brushed away the strands of Luffy's bangs that were sticking to his forehead, then dipped the rag back into the small bowl, folded it neatly, and placed it back on Luffy's forehead.

"I did it!"

Chopper's sudden outburst made Robin flinch in her action, which made her look up at him in surprise right after. Thereupon the little reindeer turned around with a big grin and a little vial with a purple substance in his hoof.

"I managed to make a medicine from the new medicinal plant I found on the island, which should ease his symptoms and, most importantly, lower his fever." The ship's doctor explained happily and then hopped down from his chair to quickly grab an empty syringe from his cabinet.

"That's great, Chopper!" Smiled Robin and watched him as he briskly filled the syringe with the liquid and then approached Luffy's bed.

"I wish I had thought of this much sooner, because then maybe Luffy wouldn't be in this bad shape right now." Chopper huffed as he then applied the tip of the syringe to Luffy's arm to inject the contents into his vein. Robin watched him closely and then let her eyes wander back to the black haired teen's face, which showed a little twitch as the syringe penetrated his skin.

"If the remedy works, it should increase his chances of surviving the infection." Chopper added hopefully, while he briefly pressed the puncture site with a small cotton ball from the little bedside table to stop the minimal bleeding.

"Well, that sounds great. I just hope he doesn't have to suffer any longer." Robin said as she raised her hand to gently stroke it through Luffy's sweaty hair.

Suddenly she noticed how Luffy's shivering became stronger and only now realized how thin the white bedspread was that was covering him.

"Chopper, do you have an extra blanket for Luffy here? He's shaking pretty bad." Robin asked as she turned to the little reindeer, who was meanwhile cleaning his utensils at his work table.

"This is normal, but soon the chills should subside once the medicine takes effect. Here's the extra blanket." Chopper turned to his closet and pulled out a red wool blanket from the bottom drawer, then handed it to Robin. The little ship's doctor checked Luffy's condition again while Robin covered him with the blanket and found that not much had changed in his condition yet.

He hoped at least that Luffy would regain consciousness. Robin noticed Chopper's disappointed look and put her hand on his back to get his attention.

"Don't worry, he needs some time. But you'd better get some sleep now, Chopper. You must be terribly exhausted." Robin said and gave her friend a smile.

"But what if-"

"If he gets worse, I'll wake you up, don't worry. I'll be fine on my own." The archaeologist assured Chopper, whereupon the small reindeer nodded.

"All right, but please make sure Luffy takes in enough fluids. It's very important for him." Chopper reminded Robin and then reluctantly left the sick room with one last look at his patient.

After the door closed behind Chopper, Robin reached out for the water jug on the nightstand next to her and filled a cup with it. Then she carefully lifted Luffy's head and put the cup to his lips, to pour it into his mouth the next moment. She repeated this action every half hour to keep him hydrated.

As she put the cup back on the table, her eyes fell on the book she had brought with her and then reached to it to pick it up.

"Would you like me to read to you, Luffy?" She asked the question, although she could already guess that she wouldn't get an answer from him. Still, she stared hopefully into his face, but in vain. Smiling bitterly, she took his hand in her own and deftly opened her book with the other.

"You might like this." The archaeologist whispered to her captain and began to read aloud.

After reading the first page, she looked up from her book at Luffy and saw that his features had relaxed a bit, his breathing was less labored, and he seemed to be sleeping more peacefully in general.

A satisfied smile crept onto her lips as she then continued reading.

~At noon the next day~

Luffy slowly opened his heavy eyelids and stared at the ceiling for a short while with his vision still a bit blurry as his tired mind tried to realize where he was.

All he knew was that he felt pretty bad. His head hurt like hell, making it difficult to think, his limbs ached and his chest felt incredibly heavy. There was also this unbearable heat that he felt all over his body, as if he was burning from the inside, and his rather dry, burning throat, which was the real reason for his awakening.

"Luffy?"

Suddenly, a longnosed boy came into his view, bending over him. Luffy blinked a few times to clear his vision, when he saw a wide relieved smile adorn his best friend's face.

"U-Uso-*cough* *cough*" It was a bad idea for Luffy to use his voice and thus irritate his already desert-dry throat.

Immediately, he was seized by an unsuppressible urge to cough, which only made his throat hurt more. Usopp hissed at the sound of Luffy's cough, which sounded so painfully rattling, and at the same time he panicked with each cough that followed and just didn't seem to subside.

The sniper then quickly decided to carefully sit his sick friend up to at least help him breathe. In the next moment, Luffy's coughing changed to a wet one, and he could feel something rising up his throat, which made the young captain instinctively press his hand over his mouth as his body continued to try to expel this sticky substance.

Usopp had put his trembling hand on Luffy's back to rub it when suddenly his eyes widened. He saw the deep red liquid seep through Luffy's hand that was pressed over his mouth and slowly drip onto the blanket below. This was not good at all.

Usopp felt compelled to do something. He couldn't just stand by and watch Luffy choke on his own blood.

"L-Luffy...wait, I'll get Chopper!" But before the sniper could rise from his seat, he felt a weak grip on his arm stop him. He turned to Luffy, who looked at him through half open eyes with a steady gaze as he let out a few more light coughs before the fit miraculously stopped.

"I-It...*cough* is alri't *cough* Us'pp." Luffy croaked out, breathing heavily, as he wiped his bloodied, slimy hand on his blanket without a second thought.

"Are you sure Luffy? You can barely breathe! Chopper should help you!" Usopp still insisted frantically, when he could clearly see that his friend was not well at all.

"N-no...haah...it's o-okay…haah." Luffy said in a whisper as he gradually got his breathing back under control. He saw how Usopp still looked at him suspiciously, which is why he now forced a smile, which was still far from reaching his eyes, onto his lips.

"Alright, if you're sure...Here I'll give you some water, it'll help your sore throat." Usopp sighed and was finally persuaded after a while and then reached for the jug, pouring some water into the cup before handing it to Luffy. Luffy gratefully accepted the cup and drank the contents in one gulp, feeling the cool water soothe his burning throat.

"How are you feeling, Luffy?" Usopp asked as he took the cup from his friend again.

"I'm fine, just still so tired."

Only the part about feeling so incredibly tired, which was a mystery to him, since it felt like he'd been asleep for ages, was true. But he simply didn't want his friends to worry even more. It was already hard enough for him that he just wasn't getting any better and was therefore a burden for his crew, even though he was the captain.

"How long was I out?" Luffy inquired as he looked around and saw daylight coming through the small peephole in the back door of the sick room. As far as he could remember, it was still dark the last time he was conscious, and he wasn't on the ship yet.

"You've been unconscious all night and now it's almost noon. Robin and Chopper had a hard time with your fluctuating fever last night. But Chopper told me that he managed to make a new medicine, which then eased the symptoms. He came by earlier and gave you some more of it." Usopp told his sick friend, who listened attentively.

Then he put his hand on Luffy's clammy forehead to check his fever. Concerned that it still seemed quite high, he then noticed how Luffy had closed his eyes and was nuzzling his cool hand.

"Come on, you should go back to sleep, Luffy." Usopp said, when he was about to help Luffy lie down again.

But just at that moment, the door opened and Sanji appeared behind it. He held a small tray in his hands as he entered the room and deftly closed the door behind him with his leg.

"Well I knew I heard you guys talking. Glad you're finally awake, Luffy!" Smiled the blond man as he stepped closer to Luffy's bed.

Luffy just smiled tiredly back as Sanji set the tray with a bowl of soup down on his lap.

"Chopper said to me, that you should definitely eat something when you're awake again, so I quickly heated up the soup I made for you this morning." Spoke Sanji and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Thanks, Sanji." Luffy thanked the blond chef as he placed a hand on his grumbling stomach. He didn't feel very hungry, although under normal circumstances he should be starving, but his stomach still demanded something to eat.

"No problem. You need the rich vitamins to get back on your feet. Unfortunately, you're still strictly forbidden to eat solid food, and therefore meat. But I doubt you could keep that down anyway." Sanji said, trying to fight the urge to light a cigarette in Luffy's presence. Chopper had warned him about this several times, as it could only harm Luffy's lungs even more.

Sanji and Usopp exchanged uncertain glances when they noticed Luffy staring hesitantly at his soup. They weren't used to seeing Luffy like this at all. Their captain with the bottomless stomach...

"Usopp, if you like, I can take over for you now. Anyway, it would be my turn to take care of Luffy." Sanji broke the uncomfortable silence, whereupon Usopp stood up to leave his place to the blond cook.

"All right, I guess I'll be going now then. I'll see you later Luffy!" With these words, Usopp disappeared from the infirmary in the next moment.

Sanji changed his place and sat down on the chair next to Luffy's bed and watched him greedily gobble up the soup. However, after a few sips, Luffy suddenly put the bowl back on the tray as he felt his stomach begin to rebel, drawing a puzzled look from Sanji.

"What's the matter Luffy? Don't you like the soup?" The blond cook asked, suddenly noticing Luffy's pale face turn a shade paler, if that was even possible.

"I...I feel sick..." Luffy mumbled and held a shaky hand to his mouth, placing the other on his churning belly. He clearly had trouble suppressing the rising gag reflex.

"Oh shit...Er...just try to take a deep breath. It's probably because you ate too fast on an empty stomach." Sanji tried to reassure him, alerted by Luffy's words.

Luffy nodded slightly and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, as far as his aching lungs would allow him. Sanji took the tray from his captain's lap and slid closer to him, stroking his back soothingly in hopes that it would make him feel better.

Under no circumstances did Luffy want to spit out what he had eaten. Especially because he also knew that Sanji hated it when food was wasted and the young captain didn't want to waste Sanji's food.

"I...I don't want to throw up..." Luffy muttered behind his hand, looking Sanji in the eyes in anguish.

But eventually Luffy lost the battle against nausea and all at once his stomach contracted. Sanji, who immediately became aware of his captain's signs, grabbed him in his arms with quick movements and sprinted out the back door of the sick room.

Outside, he lowered Luffy in front of the railing and helped him bend over it, just in time as Luffy began to empty his stomach. Sanji felt more than just overwhelmed with the entire situation when he didn't know any better than to stroke Luffy's back again with circular motions.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the black haired boy's stomach to settle down again, causing him to collapse in Sanji's arms afterwards, completely exhausted.

"I'm...haah...so sorry...Sanji." Despite being out of breath, Luffy apologized.

Sanji looked at him in utter horror as he could hardly believe his ears. Had he just heard that correctly? His captain was apologizing to him? He hadn't done anything wrong, so why?

Without hesitation, the blond chef hoisted Luffy back up in his arms, seeing how his eyes were about to fall shut.

"B-But why...? Oi Luffy, you have to stay awake!" Cried Sanji in a panic as he shook him firmly to keep Luffy from losing consciousness. He then hurried back to the infirmary, where he gently laid the young captain back down on the bed.

"I'm s'rry...I-I didn't…haah…mean to…haah…waste your food." Luffy apologized again in a feeble voice as he looked up at Sanji with half open eyes. The 19-year old found it hard to fight against the emerging fatigue and besides, his pain all over his body had doubled due to the whole action.

Sanji could only shake his head in disbelief. But what could he do, that's just the way their captain was.

"You're such a stupid captain, you know that? You really think I'm mad at you for that?" Sanji asked as he was about to cover the black haired teen with his blankets.

"But I-"

"Listen Luffy, if anything I'm deeply concerned about this. You'll eventually have to eat something without throwing up." Sanji quickly interrupted him and then lifted the tray with the half empty cold soup bowl from the nightstand.

"You're going to stay awake until I bring you another serving. I'll be right back." After receiving a silent nod from Luffy, Sanji made his way to the kitchen next door.

When he returned, he found Luffy fortunately still awake, then sat him up again carefully and handed him the bowl of hot soup again. This time he made sure that Luffy drank slowly, so as not to upset his sensitive stomach again.

After that, Luffy let himself fall back onto his back and as soon as his head touched his pillow, he was out like a light.

Sanji sighed contentedly as he eyed the empty bowl, which he then placed on the nightstand. Then he checked for Luffy's fever, which still remained unchanged.

The blond chef took the now dry cloth, dipped it in the bowl of water and placed it over Luffy's forehead. When that was done and nothing else seemed to be wrong with Luffy, he leaned back in his chair with his head bent back, closed his eyes for a moment and listened to Luffy's rasping breath.

"Oh Luffy..."

—

When Luffy awoke a second time, he still couldn't believe how tired and exhausted he felt. Slowly, he turned his head to the side and this time saw Franky.

The cyborg had not yet noticed that his captain had awakened as he was too busy screwing around with the small metal cube he held in his hands.

"F-Franky..." Luffy said almost in a whisper, and if it wasn't so quiet in the room, the blue haired man wouldn't have noticed it at all.

All at once Franky flinched when he heard his name and turned to Luffy, who gave him a weak smile, which the cyborg immediately returned.

"Luffy, you're awake! I didn't even notice. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?" Franky inquired as he scanned Luffy with his gaze to make sure nothing was wrong.

"I-I'm fine, don't worry…Just very tired." Answered Luffy, whereupon he had to cough slightly a few times.

Once again he had lied. He felt even worse than the last time he was awake. His head felt like it wanted to explode, the pain all over his body still hadn't subsided a bit, if anything it had gotten worse, and he was terribly hot and, despite the two blankets, cold at the same time.

He felt miserable.

When would this suffering finally end?

And when could he finally return to his friends?

"That's good to hear." Franky said with relief and lifted the small cube in his hand to Luffy, who only looked at him questioningly. Since his vision wouldn't clear, he only roughly recognized what the ship's carpenter was holding out to him.

"What...what is that?" Luffy then asked curiously.

"Actually, this was supposed to be a secret until it was finished, but it doesn't matter now. It's a music box, for you!" Franky explained with a grin.

"This is Brook's and my idea. You know, the music box is supposed to play Binks Sake! Wait...I'm almost done..." The cyborg continued and started tinkering with the little metal thing again.

Luffy watched him as best he could. He was just so amazed that he couldn't wait to hear the music.

"There, it's finished!" Franky exclaimed after a short while and looked proudly at the music box.

"Do you want to listen to it right now?" Asked the blue haired man Luffy, who nodded clearly in response and you could even see an excited glow in his tired eyes.

"Super, well then." At his captain's request, Franky wound up the small metal cube.

In the next moment, the beautiful sounds of the box resonated throughout the room, bringing a big smile to Luffy's lips. With each tone, he could recognize his favorite song. It was indeed Binks Sake.

"That's so awesome, Franky, thanks!"

You don't have to thank me. Just get better! I have a lot of my new inventions to show you when you get back on your feet. For example..." Franky began to talk about his many new gadgets, but Luffy didn't hear any of this as he was lulled back to sleep by the beautiful sounds of the music box.

"I-I'm…sso s'rry..." Was the last sentence that came over the lips of the sickly young captain in a barely audible whisper before consciousness finally left him.

—

An unsuppressible urge to cough tore Luffy out of sleep again. And he didn't know how, but surprisingly, this time he found the strength to sit up. Again and again violent coughs shook his weak body, which he simply couldn't get under control.

This time, the attack was more violent than the last times. In his state of agony, he suddenly felt a hand on his back, which made him calm down a bit and take deeper breaths between his wheezing.

He opened his eyes a crack wide, which he had squeezed shut as usual, and saw the somewhat blurry outline of Zoro. At least he suspected it was his first mate.

"Luffy? Should I call Chopper?!" Zoro asked him, as the green haired man grew more and more frightened with each deep rattling cough that left Luffy's lips, along with a few drops of blood.

But then he perceived a slight head shake from his struggling captain.

Suddenly, Luffy put his hand over his mouth as he felt something warm crawl up his throat.

"Oh shit…!" Zoro, who saw this, reacted reflexively and grabbed the bucket that Sanji had placed next to the bed at noon, in case Luffy threw up again, and put it under the black haired boy's head on his lap.

A gush of blood fell over Luffy's lips into the bucket as the raven haired teen continued to cough uncontrollably. Luffy could clearly feel his body convulsively trying to rid itself of the whole slimy mass that had accumulated inside him all this time. This process was incredibly painful for him, so that he almost thought he was about to lose consciousness.

Another gush of blood and some phlegm dripped into the bucket, and this time Luffy thought he must have spit out his entire lung. Meanwhile, he felt Zoro's trembling grip on him tighten and barely heard him call his name, as all that echoed in his ears was his own agonizing cough.

Zoro was about to call out to Chopper, but when he noticed that Luffy's cough seemed to be subsiding and heard Luffy whisper his name between gasps, he decided against it. Instead, he leaned closer to Luffy, who was spitting the last drops of blood out of his mouth over the edge of the bucket.

"Z-Zoro...*cough* p-please…haah…don't call for Ch-Chopper...haah…I don't want…the others to know...please…haah." Luffy gasped pleadingly, looking to the swordsman beside him. At that Zoro nodded silently and took the half full bucket from Luffy's lap, setting it aside for now.

"Are you feeling better now, at least?" Zoro asked as he handed Luffy a glass of water, which the young captain immediately downed.

Luffy hesitated with his answer for a while as he strengthened his grip on the now empty cup in his hand. Instead, he decided to ask another question.

"How...how are the others doing?" Luffy asked softly, knowing the answer already. Zoro looked at him in surprise for a moment, since Luffy had ignored his question, but he answered the raven haired boy anyway.

"They're doing well so far. Everyone is going about their business. And Chopper's been researching his cure in the library non-stop. No one is allowed to disturb him."

"I see..."Luffy sighed and bit his lower lip.

"And…to answer your question…No, no I'm not well at all...And there is nothing I can do about it..." Luffy spoke honestly, shifting his gaze from his first mate.

"I...I feel so damn...weak!" Thick tears flowed down Luffy's flushed cheeks and sporadically dripped onto the bedspread.

It was only a matter of time before Luffy broke down emotionally. He had tried to hide his feelings from his friends until now, but he just couldn't take it anymore.

Even though he was so sick and just sleeping all the time, he could clearly feel how everything threatened to collapse. Luffy was aware of the small quarrels and arguments between the crewmates, because despite the fact that he was unconscious, he could somehow hear everything that was happening around him. Only he lacked the strength to do something about it.

The young captain could feel the sadness in his friends. Every single one of them was despairing bitterly with every moment that he couldn't be out on deck with them. None of his crew members let on their true feelings, but they didn't need to for Luffy to feel it.

That destroyed him.

The despair together with this damn disease ate him up from the inside.

He as the captain was the reason for the unhappiness of his crew.

He was so…so weak.

Such a disappointment as a captain.

The straw hats deserved someone better than him.

"Well, you're not. You're not weak, Luffy. Being sick is not a kind of weakness. You can't help that." Tried Zoro to convince him against it and took the glass from the black haired teen's hand, before he could smash it with his squeezing hand.

Luffy tried to suppress his tears over Zoro's words and squeezed his eyes shut. He was so ashamed that he showed so much weakness at that moment. Then he shook his head.

"Yes, I am. I just can't get over this disease. I'm trying to fight it, but it's just not working. Even sitting upright now takes me...a lot of...strength." With his last words, Luffy was overcome with sudden dizziness, causing him to fall backwards onto his pillow again.

"L-Luffy..?!"

Zoro then bent over his captain in panic and was relieved to see Luffy's eyes slowly opening again, even if only halfway.

"I just…haah…n-need a little more time…haah...Then I'll be back...I promise..." Whispered Luffy weakly as he then let his heavy eyelids fall shut.

"Oi Luffy, what's wrong?!" Zoro could sense that something was seriously wrong.

"I'm…so sorry...Zoro..."

"Stop apologizing, damn it, do you hear me?" Yelled the green haired swordsman as he shook his captain's shoulder, but Luffy was out cold.

With the hand he had placed on Luffy's shoulder, he could feel his fever rising again. This was not good, not at all…

Zoro's eyes widened in fear, and he quickly placed a hand on his captain's forehead. But as quickly as he had placed it on his head, he took it away again, because the incredible heat emanating from Luffy's body almost burned his hand.

"Oh no, shit, he's burning up again!"

Immediately Zoro rose from his seat to run out of the room.

"Chopper!"

~A few hours later~

After Chopper had managed to get Luffy's fever under control again, it was Brook's turn to take care of the sick captain.

The skeleton's gaze was fixed on Luffy's misreable, sweaty form as the very sight gave him a sense of deja vu. It was not the first time he had seen his captain so sick and vulnerable.

As he looked into Luffy's pain-distorted face, deeply reddened by fever, he could suddenly see the face of his former captain Yorki. His last moments before he said goodbye to him played out before Brook's inner eye. Unconsciously, tears flowed from his empty eye sockets at the painful memory. Just when he had gotten over the death of his last captain, the same fate threatened to befall Luffy.

How unlucky could Brook be? He just wanted to be happy, fulfill his big dream and spend the rest of his life with his new friends. Not even in his second life did he get the chance...

Why did life always want to take everything away from him?

"Damn..." Brook pounded the bed in front of him with his clenched fist in frustration, but suddenly he realized something was wrong.

No, something was missing.

When he came back to reality, he noticed to his horror that Luffy's bed was empty.

Oh no…

This couldn't be true! Just a moment ago Luffy had been here after all!

If Brook still had a heart, it would have fallen out of his chest out of panic in that second.

He quickly got up from his seat to look for Luffy and was sure he couldn't have gotten far. In his condition, it shouldn't really be possible for him to walk around at all.

Suddenly he remembered Chopper's words, which had warned that Luffy was not allowed to leave the bed under any circumstances. Otherwise there would be fatal consequences...

—

Meanwhile, the feverish Luffy had staggered out the back door of the sick bay and onto the Sunny's rear deck.

Night had already fallen and the cool, fresh air felt wonderful on his overheated skin and a violent shiver ran over his body. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing, but he found it very comfortable out here.

Suddenly, two all-too-familiar figures appeared in front of his eyes. And the next moment he found himself on the railing, reaching out to them.

"Ace...Sabo..."

—

The musician ran with quick steps through the galley out onto the deck. It was pitch dark on the grassy deck of the Sunny. All the other crew members were out of sight and probably already in their bunks.

"Luffy! Where are you?!" He shouted loudly, looking around frantically in all directions.

The skeleton's shouting naturally attracted a lot of attention, whereupon the rest of the straw hats gradually gathered on the deck.

"What's going on Brook? Why are you yelling so loud?" Nami wanted to know, rubbing her tired eyes.

"I..." Brook started, but he didn't know what to say exactly. How could he confess to his friends that he had lost sight of Luffy? Their sick and delirious captain.

The skeleton swallowed hard.

"Hey Brook, aren't you supposed to be by Luffy's side?" Usopp suddenly asked in confusion.

"I...I lost him...I'm sor-"

"You did WHAT?!" Sanji shouted furiously, unable to believe what the musician was telling them.

Suddenly they heard screaming, which came from the direction of the stern of the Sunny.

~Meanwhile at the stern of the Sunny~

"Get away from me, Porchemy!" Screeched Luffy in complete panic as he still stood on the railing with wobbly legs.

"It's me, Luffy, Jinbei! I don't know who you're talking about!" Countered Jinbei, who had discovered Luffy by chance during his night watch outside. Luffy had a look of fear in his eyes that the fishman had never seen on him before. It just didn't fit his captain.

"Ace...haah...Sabo...help me!" Luffy gasped heavily, while an icy cold wind blew and sent a violent shiver through his body.

"Luffy please come down from there!" Jinbei continued to try desperately to persuade his captain, who seemed to be completely out of his mind due to the high fever, but it was in vain. The fishman feared that if he got even one step closer to Luffy, he would fall off and that was the last thing he wanted.

It hurt Jinbei to witness, that Luffy just didn't want to recognize him and the so incredibly strange look with which he looked at him.

As if he were an enemy…

"Stay away! Ace, Sabo...haah...plea- *cough* *cough*!" Luffy yelled again as loud as he could and had to cough right after.

"What's going on Jinbei?!" Suddenly a voice sounded from behind the helmsman. It was Nami.

All the other straw hats came running frantically and couldn't believe the sight they were confronted with. It was as if their hearts were stopped by the shock.

Luffy.

On the railing.

And his legs threatened to give way under him at any moment.

"Stay...*cough*…away...haah…"

Before the members of the straw hats were able to do anything at all, Luffy's eyes suddenly rolled back into his head, with his legs also buckling under him.

And in the next instant he was about to plunge into the dark sea.

"LUFFYYYY!"

TBC

Ok, ok maybe I should stop with those shitty cliffhangers. It's getting too much, I know…*sigh*

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and I would be very happy to hear your opinion! Stay tuned!

Take care and see you next time!