A/N: ZareEraz here! Another rapid-fire update for you guys, aren't I nice? Teehee. I hope you enjoy this one too! Happy Reading! :3

(Updated October 2024)

Chapter 5: All Patched Up

Luffy could hear Zoro bitching and moaning all the way down on the street during the party in Cocoyashi Village, and it didn't sound pleasant. He'd had a rough time, facing Mihawk and getting stabbed and sliced, getting tied up and accidentally captured, jumping into the sea with his injuries, getting into fights, coming down with a fever, and trading blows with an octopus Fish-Man. He'd been busy, that's for sure. And so, the rubber man decided it was time to pay a visit and shot up to the second floor of the doctor guy's clinic via the window. Luffy draped himself over the window sill, a hunk of meat in his hands, and was surprised to find that he'd picked the window over Zoro's bed. The swordsman was sweating from head to toe as the doctor guy stitched him up properly this time, closing up his wounds from Mihawk and any others he'd gained in Arlong Park as quickly and precisely as he could even though Zoro was squirming around in pain. The rubber man hopped through the window, careful not to rip his own bandages or reopen his wounds from his fight with Arlong, and plopped himself down in a chair next to Zoro's sickbed to comfort him.

"You dumbass! Did you think that this would heal on its own?! I thought pirates were supposed to be smarter than this!" the doctor grumbled while he worked, seemingly ignoring his patient's groans and struggles. "Don't you have a ship's doctor?"

"Doctor? Never thought of that! Great idea!" Luffy said. Zoro rolled his head over to his captain and gave him a withering look.

"Luffy…" Zoro panted, his voice strained from the pain of stitching up his body and all the other hurt that he was feeling.

"But we need to get a musician first, right?" Luffy went on.

"Why's that?" Zoro asked, the question so ridiculous that he just had to know how Luffy's brain was working this time.

"Because pirates really like to sing," Luffy answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And really, he wanted both a doctor and a musician, but he'd been stuck on the music thing for a while now. Zoro gave him a pained smile.

"That's true, but why is that first?" Zoro asked, finding the biggest flaw in Luffy's plan. He'd rather have a doctor first, that was for sure, especially if he was going to keep needing to get stitched up. They'd gotten into so many fights already and hadn't even gotten to the Grand Line yet, so who knew what kind of trouble they'd get into next, and a doctor would sure be nice. But the rubber man ignored his first mate and turned to the doctor.

"Hey, doctor. Where's Nami?" Luffy asked, pointing his bone of meat at the man helping them.

"Hm?" he replied, still working on the swordsman.

"I haven't seen her around."

"Well, then," he started, turning toward the window as if he were seeing something far off in the distance. "If she's not in the village, then there's only one place she'd go."

"Okay." Luffy shrugged, not understanding. He got up, and patted Zoro on the head as the swordsman continued to squirm in pain. "What are you doing now?" the doctor guy asked, putting the last two stitches in Zoro's torso and tying off the thread as the man hissed under him.

"I'm taking a break. I'm sleepy. Food will be there later." the boy replied, eating his current hunk of meat in one bite, bone and all.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." Zoro chuckled, amused by his captain.

The old man shrugged. "Whatever you say. There's plenty of beds."

Luffy flopped down on the bed next to his swordsman and took off his hat, placing it on his chest. The doctor left them alone after checking to make sure his charges' wounds were properly bandaged and set to rights, including Yosaku's and Jonny's (the two of them were peacefully sleeping and snoring) before leaving the room.

Luffy looked over at Zoro as the man shifted a little to get comfortable in the new bandages that wound around his torso and arms. He looked like he was still in a lot of pain, especially after fighting Hachi without having his first wounds taken care of. But despite that, Zoro put his hands behind his head like he always did and was about to fall asleep.

"Hey, Zoro," Luffy started, tugging at a loose piece of straw in his hat. He had been really worried about his friend. Going into a fight without injuries and getting hurt was one thing, but Zoro going into a fight already dangerously injured was a completely different matter. Luffy's chest had felt tight the entire time Zoro had been in the doctor's care, only loosening now that they were both going to sleep.

"Hm?" the green-haired man grunted in response, cracking one eye open to glance at his companion.

"I'm glad you're patched up now." Luffy said sincerely. He then laughed good-naturedly and added, "You were pretty stupid back there, fighting while injured."

Zoro chuckled as well. "Well, I say you were more stupid, getting stuck in that rock and sinking to the bottom of the sea and then getting your ass handed to you by Arlong."

"I did not get my ass handed to me! I beat his ass!" Luffy shouted so loud that he startled Jonny and Yosaku from their dreams and had to apologize to them for the disturbance. They all settled down again for a nap, but Zoro was still smiling at his crewmate.

"You did kick his ass."

"For Nami," Luffy replied. "We need her on our crew. She's our friend," he stated simply. Zoro nodded in agreement. Luffy chuckled to himself. "We've got lots of friends now, don't we, Zoro? Shishishi!"

"Yeah, but you're still the biggest idiot out of us all."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"What did you say?!"

"You heard me!"

"Shut up, Zoro!"

"Both of you shut up!" Yosaku and Jonny shouted, glaring at the pair. Luffy and Zoro stared at them for a minute before bursting into laughter, however, they quickly stopped when they almost burst their stitches, deciding that a nap was definitely in order instead.

To be Continued...

A/N: And there you go! See you all later! :3