Hello everybody,
let's jump right into the water and have fun ;-)
Experiential learning – Part 2
-Sanji-
There was a strange feeling in his stomach. Chopper had explained that it was important to cool Zoro's body down continuously for several hours to days. Sanji didn't know why exactly, but Chopper was an excellent doctor, so Sanji trusted him.
Franky and Usopp had set about making an ice machine, as they would probably need a lot of it and, above all, quickly. Sanji had now scraped together the last pieces he had left in his freezer and was just bringing the ice to the bathroom. Several hours ago, Chopper had disappeared here with the two swordsmen.
There sat Hawk Eyes on the edge of the bathtub, the Marimo was wedged between his legs, leaning against the bathtub wall, half sitting, half lying, the water about up to his belly button under the long-sleeved shirt that Chopper had probably put on him. His head was leaning against Hawk Eyes' knee, and he was obviously asleep, his entire face still unnaturally reddened and he was still breathing heavily.
"How is he?" Sanji asked, closing the door behind him and carrying the bowl of ice over. It was cold in the bathroom – as it should be – and yet the air was heavy and damp, as if someone had showered too long with hot water.
"His temperature seems to be stabilizing. Obviously, it is still much too high, but for now, Doctor Chopper is satisfied that it does not rise any further."
"Mhm," Sanji just said and poured the ice into the water, his gaze briefly on the other's legs, which were standing in this ice water, as if it were a pleasant cooling.
"Chef, come over."
He looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You know I don't take orders from you?" But he walked closer.
"Hold Roronoa for a moment," Hawk Eyes simply continued to speak as if Sanji hadn't said anything.
"What are you doing?" he asked, while he was already holding Zoro's shoulders and Hawk Eyes straightened up, stepped out of the water, and walked to a small pile of utensils in the corner. As soon as his legs had disappeared as a support, Sanji had to grab hold of the other with both hands, while Zoro's moist head of hair slid against his arm. Unusually, he didn't even seem to notice, normally he was aware of his surroundings even in his sleep. It was a strange feeling. The water around his forearms was cold, as if he were washing vegetables, almost as cold as the ice water he sometimes used for strawberries, but the wet fabric under his fingers was warm, almost uncomfortably warm, felt far warmer than a human should be able to cause, as if Sanji were holding a hot baking pan with a potholder that was too thin.
"Roronoa has to go deeper into the water, his whole upper body is almost burning. But this way it will not work, the tub is not deep enough. So we have to lay him down without lowering his head too much," Hawk Eyes explained calmly as he put on socks and gloves.
"Okay?" Sanji muttered suspiciously. He understood what Hawk Eyes meant. He felt the heat radiating from Zoro's forehead at the crook of his elbow, every breath of the other was like the scorching heat of an oven that had just been opened. But he did not understand what Hawk Eyes was doing, who straightened up and came over again.
"You want... You want to get in there? Completely?" Stunned, he stared at the other. "Are you crazy?"
The other looked down at him condescendingly before he put two towels on the edge of the bathtub.
"This is the easiest and safest way to keep him in the right position," he explained the obvious.
"You want to get into the ice-cold water for hours?", Sanji probed. "And isn't that counterproductive? I mean, you're human — aren't you? – you also give off body heat, don't you? Then it only gets warmer for him."
"It is not ideal, indeed, but it is the most sensible alternative to lower him as deep into the water as possible while minimizing his risk of drowning; He has to be held one way or another. In addition, I have a naturally low body temperature and cold is not a significant obstacle for me. Well then, hold him for a moment."
Without waiting for an answer, Hawk Eyes climbed into the water again, pushed Zoro forward a little, so Sanji had to let go of him, and then sat down behind him on the wall of the bathtub. He pushed the towels into a wanted position, which were halfway sinking into the water, and then leaned against them. Carefully he let Zoro slide lower, put his legs up as a lateral boundary. Zoro escaped a barely perceptible sigh as he sank his head on Mihawk's stomach, now the water up to his neck.
"You swordsmen are really crazy," Sanji grumbled. "I'll make you a pot of tea. Make sure you don't cool down too much, understood?"
"Your worry is unfounded and unwanted," the other said, while Sanji was already leaving the room.
But he ignored this remark, his thoughts were already somewhere else, knew that he should also prepare something to eat for the former Shichibukai, which would support him in this cold.
"Hey," Usopp greeted him as he entered the galley. "Well, how does it look up there?"
"I'm more and more convinced that Hawk Eyes is something undead," he only remarked and waved his hand at Usopp's questioning look, but accepted the cup of coffee. "The Marimo is holding out as always, but he still seems to be doing badly. How was it down here?"
"Chopper is also doing badly. You know how worried he always is when one of us is feeling bad, and especially with Zoro..." He sighed. "Well, and the fact that he can't really help doesn't make the whole thing any better. But Franky is as merry as a snowman," he added a little lighter.
Sanji took a deep sip.
"No wonder Chopper is doing badly. I hate sitting around uselessly and it must be even worse for Chopper, especially when this bastard always interferes."
"I think Luffy will distract Chopper," Usopp remarked conciliatory, "and we should be thankful that Hawk Eyes is there. An injured Zoro is already shitty to handle, but sick... I'm actually quite happy that Hawk Eyes is dealing with him voluntarily."
Sanji stared at Usopp disbelieving.
"What? Yes, he's an arrogant ass and you can't stand him, but he's not that terrible either. He hardly talks to the rest of us after all." Usopp shrugged his shoulders.
"You know, that alone should tell you enough about him." But silently, Sanji agreed with him that his presence didn't only have negative effects; However, he would not say that out loud. "Well, let's see if this ice tub does anything good."
"I still wonder what exactly he has. Chopper was pretty vague," Usopp murmured.
"The main thing is that he gets fit again soon," Sanji grumbled and stood up. "Well, anyway, I'll start cooking now. Can you tell the others that we're going to eat somewhat earlier today, probably in an hour?"
"Yes, okay?" Usopp said a little confused but stood up and complied with Sanji's request.
In fact, Sanji actually wanted to eat earlier so that he could prepare something suitable for the sword idiots afterwards – if Zoro could already eat something – but he had shooed Usopp out for a completely different reason. He had a faint idea of what was going on and why Chopper couldn't help. He remembered that cell, the heavily breathing Marimo, and he remembered the few other conversations on the subject. He didn't really know how much time had to pass before the Marimo had to take on that other form, but he knew that he hadn't done it the past few days, hadn't had the chance. What if he had long since had to transform, but for whatever reason he couldn't?
"Oh, you bastard," Sanji grumbled to himself, rubbed his hair, shaking his head and then continued working, hoping that damn Hawk Eyes knew what he was doing.
-Mihawk-
The cold of the water was supposed to bother him, but the heat on his lower body was actually more uncomfortable. According to Doctor Chopper, Roronoa's temperature had barely dropped noticeably, but it was obvious that Roronoa's skin was far too hot, inhumanly hot. Although they were in icy water, the windows and mirrors were fogged up.
He sighed softly and let his head slide back, looking up at the steam-shrouded ceiling.
"What stupid things do you always do?" he murmured. "I always have to worry about you."
"Not… my intention...", Roronoa mumbled softly.
"You are awake?"
"Hm," the other said in a tone as if he was not quite sure about it. "What has... Comil said?" he asked, barely moving his lips, his words only a breath.
"That you could die," Mihawk replied calmly, "or lose this body forever."
Roronoa took a deep breath.
"No, do not move, save your strength."
The other tilted his head slightly, looked up at him feverishly, gasped softly. Mihawk recognized this look and with a slight nod he explained what he had learned from the marine.
"Why did you do something so stupid, Roronoa?" He concluded his report with his usual – justified – accusations. "You know how important your other body is, that you are only alive thanks to it, and yet you neglect it, even though I have told you so often..."
"… not like..."
"Excuse me?"
"It wasn't like that," Roronoa grumbled in a lethargic voice and tried to sit up, but Mihawk held him down.
"You have to stay in the water, otherwise you will burn."
Roronoa snorted but gave up his – weak – resistance and leaned against Mihawk.
"Wanted to transform," he murmured then, his eyes closed. "Do it every few days, but... I forgot about it because... Because it was so quiet."
Mihawk rolled his eyes. How could one just forget that one had to transform every few days? But well, Roronoa also regularly forgot to eat or even sleep. He had probably fallen into his daily routine, been so concentrated during training, that the rest of his brain had taken a summer break.
"Then we were... attacked all the time, for days. Hadn't even... a break to… take a piss. I felt it, I wanted to... but it just didn't work. In the middle of it all, it has... stopped." He breathed deeply in and out, the talking obviously strained him, but he still seemed to feel better; he would not have been able to hold a conversation for the past few hours. "It didn't tug anymore... and I thought... No idea... had crossed a new limit, or something..."
"You thought you would have to transform even less often? Because the tugging stopped on its own," he asked and Roronoa nodded. "And then you did not try to transform anymore?"
"Mhmh," Roronoa agreed with him. "But... after we were separated... after a few days, I noticed it... wanted to transform, but couldn't do it anymore and..."
"And you felt worse."
"Mhm... At first I thought it was just warm, but... then my chest hurt, and I knew... but no idea what to do."
"You could have called me."
"Were already on our way to the meeting point. It wouldn't have helped."
Mihawk rolled his eyes again. Roronoa was probably right. Presumably, it would not have helped them to know in advance. The Chef and the sniper would have had to bring him here first and then it had only taken a short phone call. It probably would have made just under half an hour difference, but how it annoyed Mihawk that Roronoa did not want to see how important such half an hour could be.
But he decided not to open this dispute, he still could after Roronoa had recovered.
"It is what it is. Try to get some sleep and gather your strength. It will probably take some time before you get better. Until then, you have to stay in the water, you hear me, and as soon as you get better, you must transform."
He did not get an answer, but that did not surprise him either, after all, it was one of Roronoa's special talents to be able to fall asleep anytime and anywhere, even in the middle of a conversation.
"Mihawk?"
"Yes?" So he had not fallen asleep yet?
"You don't have to stay here, in the cold water... I won't... drown."
"Don't make a fool of yourself. As if some cold water would harm me. Do not forget that I trained you, so do not underestimate me."
"Hm," Roronoa snorted amusedly and then muttered something incomprehensible, which sounded too much like old man, after which he fell asleep.
-Sanji-
"Here, you should drink something warm."
"Your concern is unnecessary. A little ice bath will not harm me."
"Arrogant snob." He bent down and poured the ice he had brought into the water. "At least eat something and should the Marimo wake up..."
"I will try to force him to eat, of course."
They looked at each other. It was late in the evening of the second day and the two sword idiots were still sitting unchanged in the bathtub filled with ice water. Hawk Eyes had a book from wherever he had gotten that from, which he read with one hand, his elbow resting on his upright leg. Marimo lay on Hawk Eyes' stomach and slept, leaning against Hawk Eyes' free forearm, his face was still reddened and although it was cold in the bathroom, warm steam hung in the air.
"How is he?"
"He endures. His temperature has dropped slightly, but Doctor Chopper is far from satisfied." Hawk Eyes put the book aside and grabbed one of the onigiri Sanji had provided. "Most of the time he sleeps, which is probably better for all of us, because otherwise he would only cause Doctor Chopper more trouble, as much as he likes to disobey his orders."
Sanji didn't say anything. It was true, it was much easier to deal with a sick Marimo when Hawk Eyes was present, who seemed to like to put up with this stubbornness, but Sanji was also sure that Chopper was simply insecure, because this procedure probably did not correspond to his medical expertise.
"Tell me," he murmured, "this... is dangerous, isn't it? I did the math, he should have turned back a long time ago, so... He can't do it anymore, can he?"
"So many questions." Did Hawk Eyes avoid him?
"Actually, there were only two."
He quickly lowered his gaze as the hawk eyes bore into him. He had never liked it, this direct gaze, this staring. He didn't understand how Hawk Eyes worked and sometimes it was insignificant remarks that suddenly freaked him out. Sanji knew that the other didn't like him at all, and that was mutual, there was only one thing making them at least try to work together.
"He could die."
"What?" He looked up in shock. Those eyes were still burning into his mind when the other said it so naturally. But no matter how often Sanji heard it, no matter how often he saw one of his friends die or almost die, and no matter that they usually managed to survive all this shit somehow, for Hawk Eyes it might be an everyday topic, a problem that you just had to deal with again and again, but for Sanji it wasn't. It was one thing to worry about a sick crewmember, especially if it was the Marimo, but he hadn't thought it would be so serious.
"But if we cool him down long enough, he should survive. Since his temperature has dropped in the meantime, I remain confident." Hawk Eyes sounded relaxed, almost bored, but Sanji was sure that he was just a damn good actor. If there was one thing, he wasn't calm about, it was the freaking Marimo.
"How long is long enough? He's been in there for over a day now, hasn't he?" He wanted to sound just as bored and annoyed, but he was aware that he didn't succeed nearly as well as the swordmaster. No wonder Chopper reacted that way. This was not a disease, an infection, or whatever you could treat with pills, herbs, and so forth, it wasn't about medicine, research, science. This had something to do with the fact that Zoro had died before. Magic was the word that came to Sanji's head, and Chopper couldn't help with that.
"I do not know," Hawk Eyes admitted with a shrug, rubbing his fingers clean on one of the many towels that lay around him, and reaching for the book again. "It seems to be a lengthy process. So far it has been about 30 hours, I assume that it will take at least that time again, measuring the temperature so far. However, this is nothing more than a mere guess."
Exaggeratedly conspicuous, he turned a page, clearly showing that the conversation was over for him, but Sanji didn't let that stop him.
"But will he transform again afterwards? Or will he no longer have to, once this is over?"
One of the former Shichibukai's eyebrows moved up without him looking up.
"Yes?", Sanji asked, as that was clearly not enough for him as an answer.
Sighing, Hawk Eyes lowered the book a little and met his gaze, a simple gesture, but those eyes immediately sent a cold shiver down his spine. Would he ever get used to it?
"We should hope that he will still be able to transform after that."
It took a moment for him to understand, and his gaze slid to Marimo, who was still lying on Hawk Eyes' abdomen, sweaty and with a reddened face, sleeping, breathing heavily. Sanji swallowed.
"His other body is the dominant one?" he asked, without expecting an answer. "Does that mean he's more likely to lose this one than get rid of the other one?"
Hawk Eyes nodded and then turned back to his book.
He didn't know why, but somehow Sanji had always had this faint hope. At some point, yes at some point, Zoro would no longer have to transform, would no longer expose him to this conflict, would no longer bring this unrest to the ship. Of course, he had known better. Zoro himself had told them all that he was only alive at all thanks to his female form, and so it made sense that he could die without it
But somehow... somehow Sanji had always been convinced of this possibility. Only once, when Zoro had suddenly not been able to transform into his actual form for a few days, had it occurred to Sanji. At that time, he had actually thought about the meaning of this other body. But the problem had solved itself after a few days and since then there had been no more problems – as far as Sanji knew – and that had been a long time ago.
No, that wasn't quite true. Obviously, this had been a problem the last few days again and he hadn't noticed it, maybe not even Zoro himself hadn't noticed. But that meant...
"It can happen again, right? And at some point... Can it happen that he can no longer transform?"
Again Hawk Eyes looked at him almost casually.
"That possibility exists," he replied coolly. "Doctor Chopper may disagree, but in the future, I think it is advisable to cool Roronoa down directly if he has symptoms of higher temperature, even if this is not the usual medical procedure."
Sanji understood. But the idea of somehow trying to treat a grumpy, sick Zoro against Chopper's advice wasn't exactly great, especially without Hawk Eyes being there. The only good thing about the former Shichibukai was that Zoro was unusually docile with him. There was only one other person who could get Zoro to cooperate in such a situation. He would have to talk to Luffy. But even if Luffy gave the order, they would always have to supervise Zoro, like a toddler who didn't want to take a nap, and the idea was even worse than sitting at or even in an ice bath for hours and...
"Hey, you want me to take over?" He had actually already been on his way out, but now he stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "You've been in this ice water for almost a whole day. That can't be healthy."
"And I repeat myself. Your concern may be well intentioned, but absolutely unwanted. I do not need a break." Hawk Eyes sat unchanged in the icy water and turned a page.
"Don't be such a bastard," Sanji grumbled, only too happy to be goaded on by this arrogance. "For all I care, you won't freeze to death because you're a block of ice yourself, but even you'll want to move every once in a while. And even you have to go to the toilet or whatever."
Hawk Eyes looked at him over the edge of his book, as if it were audacity for Sanji to think he had such low human needs. But Sanji didn't care about that either – although a quiet voice in his head was wondering whether Hawk Eyes actually didn't have such bodily functions, maybe he was an undead or something after all.
"No," came the monosyllabic answer.
"Oh, come on, I'm trying to be nice here, and you..."
"And I have no interest in exposing myself to your stubborn behavior. Thank you for the food and your continued help, but..."
Sanji didn't listen to him anymore when he suddenly understood what was going on.
"You asshole!" it escaped him.
"Excuse you?" Hawk Eyes looked at him piqued.
"You don't trust me to watch him for five minutes!" The silence of the other was answer enough. "What the fuck? Who else do you think is watching over him on the high seas? When you're not there? Do you really not trust us, Zoro's crew, to take care of a crewmember?"
Hawk Eyes rolled his eyes and probably wanted to say something, but Sanji was angry and far from finished. "We may not be as strong as you, but we do take care of each other, understood?! Yes, I know you're probably blaming us forever for this whole thing with Eizen and so on, but with what arrogance do you think you know everything better than Chopper, his doctor, or me, the ship's cook, or Robin, who is just damn smart! I may not be some shitty sword fighter, but I assure you, I'm absolutely capable..."
He could die.
He fell silent, while Hawk Eyes looked at him dismissively, angrily. No, he had misunderstood. It wasn't that Hawk Eyes thought they were incapable, it was just that he...
Oh wow. Now that Sanji suddenly saw it, saw it so clearly, that small voice in the back of his head fell silent, and suddenly he was quite sure, no matter what kind of monster the other might be, in the end he was only human, and his fears were those of a normal person.
"I promise you I won't let him drown," he said simply, feeling all that anger gone, and all he had left was compassion. Sanji was already worried, it was already exhausting for him that this annoying amoeba of an algae was so important to him, he didn't even want to know how bad it must be for Hawk Eyes.
Hawk Eyes stared at him, his eyes widened for a moment, then he lowered his gaze and closed his eyes.
"I really cannot stand you, Chef," he said then, but his tone made it clear that he was defeated, and Sanji knew he was right. Hawk Eyes' refusal had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't trust them to take care of Zoro for a few minutes. Not even that he thought they were incompetent and simply didn't like them.
"It's mutual," he replied, unimpressed. "But I understand you."
"I have my doubts about that," the other sighed and then leaned forward slightly, grabbing Zoro by the shoulder. "Roronoa, do you hear me? Can you straighten up a bit? The Chef will replace me for a moment."
A deep growl was the only reaction of the Marimo, who didn't even seem to move when Hawk Eyes pushed him slightly forward and waved Sanji over with his other hand. Hawk Eyes looked at him disparagingly from top to bottom, obviously had to overcome himself and Sanji gave him the moment. He rolled up his trousers – he had left his shoes and socks in the anteroom to the bathroom – and then climbed into the bathtub at Hawk Eyes' nod. Shuddering, he stood there for a second, in the ice-cold water, regretting his good-naturedness for that second, then he sat down on the edge of the tub and adjusted the mountain of towels on which Hawk Eyes had been lying in the water before he helped Hawk Eyes adjust Zoro against this mountain, bordered by Sanji's legs. Like a wet sack of potatoes, the Marimo let himself be navigated back and forth without much resistance, hardly a sound slipped over his lips, except for strained breathing and sometimes a soft gasp.
There was something unreal about touching him. The water around him was freezing cold, but the wet fabric of Zoro's shirt was warm, as if Sanji was taking a cake out of the oven. Where Zoro leaned against his legs, it was warm, almost uncomfortably hot.
Hawk Eyes rose and looked down at him, a calculating look in those glaring eyes.
"I will hurry. You do not seem to be able to stand cold temperatures for long." It felt like the first time that he sounded different to Sanji than usual, neither condescending nor angry or amused. Factual, factual and something Sanji couldn't quite grasp. Still, it was annoying how weak he thought Sanji was.
"Don't underestimate me," Sanji grumbled, frustrated by his demeanor. "At the Baratié, I regularly peeled 500 shrimps in ice water in one go. I'll manage to water our Marimo a bit."
Was he imagining it, or was a fleeting smile playing around Hawk Eyes's cold features? But if it did, it was gone faster than it had come, and the next moment the former Shichibukai looked down at Zoro with great dissatisfaction, as if he didn't like leaving him behind. Only then did Sanji really become aware of it. Hawk Eyes looked tired, emaciated. He had probably been really worried for the past few days until they had found each other again. But instead of relief, he had learned that Zoro could die. For the first time, he wondered how difficult whatever was between these two sword freaks must be for the former Shichibukai. He seemed to be absolutely obsessed with control, a perfectionist who only accepted his very way. It was probably not easy for someone like that to have feelings for someone like the Marimo, who always did his own thing and also constantly put himself in danger.
"Hey," he said. "You said this could last for several days, didn't you?"
Obviously surprised that Sanji had spoken to him, Hawk Eyes looked up and then nodded.
"Wouldn't it be good if you got out of your wet clothes for a few hours and catch some sleep?"
Hawk Eyes inspected him.
"I do not think that..."
"If you're exhausted and therefore inattentive, it won't help anyone," Sanji objected before Hawk Eyes could refuse, "least of all Zoro."
"You will not be able to last for hours."
"That may be. But downstairs in the library is Jinbei and he usually doesn't go to bed until early in the morning anyway. He certainly has no problem taking on a few hours, which would probably be the wisest thing anyway, since as a fishman he can also cope well with cold water."
He could see Hawk Eyes thinking about these words, then, without another word, he left.
Less than two minutes later, Jinbei was standing in the doorway.
"Mihawk asked me to switch with you," he said in a warm voice. "So that you can rest a bit."
"Me?!" Sanji escaped. "Me?! That I can rest… This bastard is the..."
He fell silent as Jinbei held a finger in front of his lips and nodded down to the Marimo, who stirred slightly and began to grumble.
"The last few days have certainly been very exhausting for all of you," Jinbei remarked as he took off his kimono and began to wash himself as if he wanted to take a normal bath. "You, Usopp, and Zoro have hardly been able to catch your breath for a moment. So you should rest a bit."
Sanji didn't say anything. He was absolutely pissed that Hawk Eyes had used him as an excuse in front of Jinbei. At the same time, he had the feeling that Hawk Eyes apparently trusted Jinbei much more than Sanji to take care of Zoro. Although it really wasn't a challenging task. The Marimo slept the whole time. Every few minutes a cold cloth had to be placed on his forehead, nothing more. Except for the cold, it was really not an issue.
"But you did really well," Jinbei said as he came over and stepped into the tub from the side. "I had already tried to convince Mihawk that we could take turns, since of course I don't mind the cold water, but..." He laughed softly. "Compared to him, even Chopper is harmless."
Sanji swallowed as he thought back to the past conversation.
"I think he's scared Zoro might die."
"Mhm," Jinbei said sympathetically and pulled Zoro over to him, who endured this as a matter of course, still asleep. "He's a very possessive person... well, maybe it's understandable considering how much he lost at a young age. No wonder he mutates into a dragon with someone like Zoro being his partner."
Sanji stared at him, completely forgetting about the cold water.
"You like him, don't you?"
Jinbei looked at him.
"Oh, I hardly know him. Not good enough to really be able to form an opinion. But I respect him, very much so, and I'm glad he's on… our site. We have a lot of strong enemies, it's good to have a few strong allies as well." Then he winked. "Of course, this strong will sometimes leads to conflicts."
"Well, I guess you can say that." Sanji grumbled and got out of the water, he was already icy cold, and it had really only been a few minutes. "But I understand him," he murmured. "It's easy to worry about people who are careless about their own health."
Jinbei laughed softly and the Marimo grumbled a little dissatisfied, as if he had been listening.