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RUMBLE!	By : TreeStar Category: +M to R > One Piece Views: 7990 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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RUMBLE!

25

Diagnosis Needs Work

The next morning felt somber somehow. Luffy woke up before Zoro to find that everyone else in the room had already left. He wondered why Zoro had stayed down here with him when they could very well be missing breakfast before he remembered that his swordsman was irreparably lazy. He had probably woken up when everyone else did, and then waited to see if Luffy would wake, and when Luffy didn�t, he'd gone to sleep.

Oh well. It wasn�t like he didn�t deserve to take it easy. His night had been interrupted, after all. Luffy was still confused about that. Had all that happened been a nightmare? Because it didn�t feel like a nightmare. He would have sworn that something was moving around on his ship� but his senses couldn�t be trusted right now. Then the laughter� Luffy knew that that part was his imagination, but he�d been really scared and that made all of his ghosts wake up inside! It wasn�t fair if anyone tried to disregard the whole thing as a dream just because he was scared. He�d been blind, not deaf!

But maybe it had been a nightmare. After all, it would be too weird if Zoro had been the only thing he couldn�t find in the darkness, right? �Right?

Deciding not to dwell on it, Luffy pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and crawled up to where Zoro�s head was propped against the arm of the chair. His swordsman looked so peaceful when he slept. The hard features softened and he almost smiled sometimes. Luffy smiled and watched Zoro sleep for a while longer. Oh, yeah. He could get used to waking up with Zoro every morning. That would just be gravy. Luffy blushed.

Zoro really was the best first mate he could ask for, but he was more than that. Zoro was warmth and safety and something else that made it so easy for Luffy to open up to him. Zoro understood him so well. He didn�t hold grudges against him for anything. Not for the attacks he�d been having, or for the interruptions from his training regime that Luffy�d pulled him from. Not even for all those times in the past that he had gone catapulting into him and practically burst Zoro�s spleen� Luffy smiled fondly at the memories.

But now when he was with Zoro, it was heaven. In fact, it was as though he liked it too much. Was that possible? How perplexing. It felt strange, but it felt so good�

Luffy shook himself out of it. This had to stop.

In a few days he was going to go back to being normal-sized. In a few days, Zoro wasn�t going to hold him close, or rub his back, or tuck him in at night or anything ever again. In a few days it would be like none of this ever happened.

But wasn�t that a good thing? Luffy didn�t want to stay like this at all. He wanted to be big and strong again. He wanted to be a real captain again.

Zoro wouldn�t want to hold him, anyway. Luffy knew that Zoro didn�t mind doing this while he was sick, but after he got better he knew that Zoro had a life besides spending time snuggling with him. In fact, when everything was normal on the ship, Zoro tended to avoid spending time snuggling with anybody like a man avoids being kicked in the groin.

No matter what Luffy really wanted, when he grew back to normal, Zoro would bounce right back. But this strange new feeling that Luffy was getting a little more often now had raised the question in his mind: would he be able to bounce back like he always had in the past? Like Zoro inevitably would?

But then, Luffy thought, why has Zoro been asking me so many questions about myself? Did he really want to �share the load� as he said? Be Luffy�s emotional escape? �maybe be more?

Luffy didn�t know how he could be more, but he felt like they was cutting themselves short by stopping at just that.

Zoro had become different than the others in Luffy�s mind somehow. No� perhaps he�d always thought of Zoro as special and just never really seen it before, but things were different now.

Now Luffy wanted to be more. He wanted to mean more TO Zoro and be more FOR Zoro. He really wanted Zoro to see him the same way that he saw Zoro. He didn�t know how there even could be more, but as he watched Zoro sleep, he just knew that somehow, impossibly, by the time this ended �he wanted to be more.

His feelings he�d recognized days ago had not changed; he wanted to need Zoro, and he wanted Zoro to need him. He just wasn�t sure how to help that along. Was there anything he could do? He didn�t know� He supposed he could try to be less of an annoyance today and see if that made Zoro like being with him more. But the only problem with that was that Zoro already liked being with him. He�d told him two mornings ago that he wanted his whole schedule to revolve around Luffy. Talk about devotion.

Still, Luffy couldn�t help but feel like there was something very big that was missing between the two of them. For the life of him, he couldn�t think of what. I mean, they were nakama. They were very close nakama that shared secrets and could cry around each other and not be ashamed and just be super comfortable and relaxed, more so than either could with anyone else on the ship. What could possibly be missing? Luffy cocked his head cluelessly.

Zoro took a deep breath suddenly and stretched his arms above his head before blinking blearily at the world that miserably failed to pause time so he could sleep longer. How dare it.

He heard a giggle and looked down to see his captain hiding his smile behind his hands. Damn he was cute. There should be limits in this planet for things like Luffy�s adorableness, but nope -- it had failed there, too. Thank goodness.

�Did you sleep okay?� Luffy asked him around his hands.

Zoro grunted in mock disdain, making Luffy giggle more. Zoro couldn�t hold back a smile anymore. So it was going to be one of those mornings, was it? Zoro loved it when Luffy was in a giggle mood. Usually he laughed outright, but when he giggled like a child� When had it happened that such a sight could drive a man among men to his knees?

�C�mon, Zoro!� Luffy chirped, suddenly up and bouncing on his toes. �The others are already up. It smells like late morning and I bet breakfast is already going, so we have to hurry!�

Zoro nodded and then proceeded to take an exaggeratedly long time sitting up and getting to his feet just so he could see the display of childish impatience his companion would show.

The two went upstairs� where it was windy as hell. It was a warm wind, but it was still windy. Noisy, too, making the sails flap and the ship rock. Nami was leaning on the railing in front of the galley, frowning and looking at a map.

�Nami, what�s up?� Zoro asked as he passed her to go through the galley door. He didn�t want Luffy exposed. The captain had curled himself into a ball upon hearing the chaos that the wind was causing.

�It�s� Let�s get inside,� she folded the map in half and followed Zoro inside.

Usopp looked up from where he was doing some last adjustments to the new kitchen table. It looked nothing like the old one. It was round for starters, it being part of a tree trunk and all, and stood right in the middle of the floor. It took up about the same amount of room as the old one, except this one was a different shape. To accommodate for this, Usopp had needed to take the wood he hadn�t used from the old table (he�d used some of it to make the new table legs) and turn it into a new bench in the shape of a hexagon. This bench featured enough room for perhaps eight people to sit comfortably with space between them, and in this fashion the old-new bench was built as a ring around the table.

��How late is it?� Zoro asked upon seeing the completed piece of furniture that had been a pile of wood on the deck the night before.

�Almost lunch,� Robin smiled from the table.

�You�re lucky you slept so late,� Nami informed as she laid Buggy�s Grand Line map out on the new tabletop even as Usopp continued to sand the bench down beside her. �There�s been nothing but sawing and hammering on Aft all morning. But I need to talk to you about something, captai-�

�Did you all have breakfast?� Luffy interrupted. After all, first things came first.

Nami rolled her eyes at being interrupted. �Yes, you missed it. Now, I�ve been trying to plot a course all morni-�

�I MISSED IT?!�

Nami glared at him. �Get over it! You people don�t seem to appreciate that there�s so much more to navigation than following a Log Pose.�

�Like what?� Zoro yawned flamboyantly, not caring.

Nami glared at him then looked at Luffy again. �Luffy, there�s-�

�I want my ham and eggs! Where�s Sanji?!� Luffy demanded. There was a HUGE problem with the situation in the galley right now: There was a new breakfast table in the middle of the room

�He�s outside getting some air! Now can you plea-�

�Did he eat this morning?�

If Nami could shoot angry laser beams out of her eyes, Luffy would have melted into a puddle of goo right there.

�No,� Usopp said as casually as possible.

A thoughtful silence set in. That was a little strange�

Zoro didn�t want a to make this to turn into a bigger deal than it was. �He�ll be getting lunch ready before too long. We�ll make sure he eats then, right Usopp?�

Only Zoro caught the frown Usopp shot him. The look in his eyes explained the situation perfectly. Usopp had tried and failed to talk sense into the cook.

Stubborn ass, Zoro thought of Sanji. But he wasn�t too surprised. Luffy was best at getting through to them all on a one-on-one basis. Sometimes it just had to be Luffy.

�Did anyone hear anything strange last night?� Luffy broke the silence as if it had never been there.

�I didn�t notice anything strange, Sencho-san,� Robin answered around a cup of coffee that�s fumes were a little too strong for Luffy to appreciate.

�But I know it heard something,� he mumbled to himself with a pout.

�Luffy!� Nami snapped. �Do you even want to know the situation of your voyage?�

�Yeah!� Luffy cheered passionately, significantly distracted from the thought of food.

�Okay,� she leaned over the map again and Zoro set Luffy on the table� Where Luffy got distracted again by the new surface he could walk on. The table surface wasn�t finished in anyway, and the different rings of the tree trunk made a wavy pattern under his bare feet that hurt his sensitive skin just a little. He ran over to Nami�s map to stand on the smooth corner of it, and the navigator smiled and pointed to some random patch of blue on the map.

�This is where we are right now,� she informed, �and this-� she slid her finger to a rather big island higher up the map from where Mookloo was �-is where we�re headed now. It�s about a four day journey from where we are now IF we maintain good winds the whole way. Now this is the problem.� She pointed toward the open door. �The sky is overcast has been overcast since last night. Right now there�s no present threat of a storm. Those aren�t rain clouds out there - they aren�t dark or think enough. But they are a forewarning of something greater to come. Whether the real thing swings north of us or hits us head on is yet to be determined, but if it does hit us� it�s going to be bad.�

Luffy nodded, smiling. �Sounds like fun!�

�Not really,� Usopp scoffed from his knees on the floor.

�Hn?� Luffy turned to him.

�What I mean is that you�ll get sick and pass out three minutes into it.�

Luffy was enraged for a moment, then remembered. �Oh yeah� This sucks. Is there any way to avoid it?� he asked, turning back to Nami.

Nami shook her head. �All we can do is hope to outrun it or hope it changes direction. This is the Grand Line. Things like that happen sometimes, but there�s no guarantee.�

Luffy nodded.

Across the room, Chopper rose and walked out the door. Robin rose and walked out behind him so she could read and enjoy the outdoors while she had time.

�Furthermore,� Nami continued, �this weather is going to mess with out timing. What should be a four day trip may take a lot longer if a storm hits, or the wind may push us to where we need to be really quickly. In the meantime we have another issue to contend with.�

Luffy continued to look at the map in front of him as he listened to her.

�Because we were unable to take full advantage of the last island we were on, we�re running low on meat.�

There was a small slamming noise as Luffy�s jaw hit the map.

�This means we should start fishing now in preparation for running out.�

Luffy�s jaw hadn�t moved, his eyes now wide open as he made a moaning sound that resembled a dying animal.

Nami�s expression became annoyed. �Are you even listening to what I�m saying anymore?� she asked dryly.

Zoro poked Luffy in the back, making the captain pitch forward a couple steps to keep from falling on his face.

�If we need to fish, we�d better start,� Zoro replied lazily.

Nami nodded. �I�ll tell Usopp, Chopper and Sanji-kun to set up some poles outside.�

Luffy�s jaw had risen and now he was pouting about the turn of events full force. �Okaaaayyy,� he lamented mournfully.

�Nami,� Zoro called after the navigator as she turned to leave the room in frustration. She turned back to look at him. �Go easy on Dartface for a while, okay? He�s having a hard time right now.�

Nami�s eyes dropped. �I will,� she answered after a moment, then she turned and left.

With only the three of them left in the room, Zoro sat down and spoke to Usopp.

�Oi. What happened with the cook?� he asked.

Usopp frowned. �He won�t listen to a word I say.� He sighed in frustration and dropped the sand paper, opting to take a seat instead of work. �He won�t even look at me when I talk to him. I asked him how he was feeling. He said fine. I asked him if he�s eaten, he just said it didn�t matter one way or the other, and then he got pissy at me for prying. Our �talk� didn�t last long.� He laced his fingers and leaned back against the table side to stare at the ceiling.

Luffy had folded his arms during Usopp�s explanation and now he looked serious, nodding to himself. �It�s alright, Usopp,� he said after a moment. �I�ll talk to him myself. Maybe that�ll get us somewhere. Zoro?� He looked up at Zoro who was sitting behind where he was standing. �Can you go talk to Chopper for me?� He didn�t want to be separated from his first mate, but duty called.

Zoro nodded. �Sure,� he said, stretching his arms above his head as he turned and walked out of the room. �I�ll tell Sanji to come inside, too.�

�Thanks.�

�What should I do?� Usopp asked, not really sure if staying for this was a good idea.

�You sand the bench,� Luffy answered simply.

Usopp nodded hesitantly and slowly got back to work.

�It looks good,� Luffy complimented after a moment of silence.

�Doesn�t it?� Usopp smiled with pride. �I got it done in record time. The bench can even come apart in sections so we can maneuver it around the room, and I want to put wheels on the table so we can roll it around!�

�Really?!� Luffy exclaimed, stars in his eyes. �Then we can ride it around the kitchen!�

�I have no idea what you�re referring to,� Sanji�s voice broke in as he entered the room, �but I can already tell you the answer is �no�.�

Usopp froze and started sweating like an Eskimo in Alabasta. Luffy puffed up his cheeks in a childish pout. �Awww,� he whined.

Sanji rolled his eyes and sat down on the bench. �So? Zoro called me in here, so it�d better be good.�

Luffy�s pout vanished and he dawned an innocently confused look. �Sanji, why haven�t you been eating?� he asked.

Sanji turned a glare on Usopp, who was still frozen on the spot and was now turning blue. After a minute, however, the glare dissipated some and Sanji looked toward the far wall instead. �Crap-sniper,� he whispered.

�Is it the smoking?� Luffy pursued. �Are you sick?�

�I�ll be fucking fine,� Sanji snapped in frustration as he tried to keep his voice down.

It was quiet for a minute.

Luffy looked at him sadly. �That�s not what I mean,� he corrected. �I mean, are you sick?�

Sanji closed his eyes and brought a hand to his forehead. �It�s just withdrawal,� he said calmly, possibly hoping that Luffy would let it go if he blew it off. �Anyway, Chopper hasn�t said anything�s wrong. He stopped me before I could really get sick.�

Luffy nodded, but not in agreement. �But has Chopper been checking up on you? Doing anything to make it easier? I know you�ve been hurting.�

Sanji sighed and looked at his captain. �Imagine being told you�re never allowed to eat meat again,� he offered. �It feels a lot like that. You�d live, but it would be fucking miserab- Are you listening to me?!�

Luffy�s jaw was on the table again. �No meat�?�

�That�s what it feels like. Losing something you�re so dependant on. But instead of just being upset, I�ve been getting dizzy and nauseas. I know the value of one missed meal, trust me. But I feel so fucking sick after I eat that �I just can�t do it sometimes.�

Sanji looked at the tabletop in shame. �I don�t know how long this is going to last� I don�t know if there�s anything I can do to help it pass quicker�� he murmured, sounding exhausted and overwhelmed.

Luffy walked close to him and patted his hand. �I know what that feels like, Sanji. We have more in common right now than you might think,� he sympathized. �But know that it�s not your fault. Unlike me, there are things that can be done to help you get through it easier. This got sort of outta hand,� he underplayed, �but that means that someone else isn�t doing his job by the standard I hold him to. It�s not because of you.�

Sanji rubbed his hand over his face and nodded. Later he would be embarrassed that both Usopp and Luffy had seen him have a small breakdown, but for now he needed this. Usopp climbed up onto the bench beside him, and Sanji continued to talk about his feelings and what he was going through to both of them as they sat, content to listen with an empathetic ear.

---------------

Chopper turned to look over at the door when Zoro came walking in� without Luffy.

�Hi, Zoro! Where�s Luffy?�

�He�s upstairs with Sanji and Usopp,� Zoro answered casually as he walked up beside the baby Xoan. �I wanted to have a talk with you, so I left them up there to have a talk about something important,� he said, lifting Chopper up onto a barrel so they could be closer to eye level for a conversation.

�Something important?� Chopper asked curiously. �What are they talking about?�

Zoro frowned slightly. Had Chopper really not noticed Sanji?

�Chopper� How�s Sanji�s condition?�

Chopper looked surprised at the question, then he put a hoof to his chin in thought. �Well, I know he�s not feeling well at all. Withdrawal can be hard on a body, but I figured he�d come to me if he felt really bad��

Zoro shook his head. �He�s too stubborn for that. You should know that well by this time, and you should have noticed how bad he was getting. It was Usopp who finally approached Luffy and I last night about how Sanji hasn�t been eating. Haven�t you noticed that, either?� His voice gained a little volume. Chopper was just a little deer and he felt bad for doing this, but he felt worse that it had to be done at all. They should never have ended up in this situation. �He�s missed the last four meals, he�s been pale and dizzy as hell, and I don�t know how well you saw last night, but he can�t fight worth shit. His physical strength has been waning by the day until it�s gotten to the point where he�d gonna have a nervous breakdown if medicine doesn�t intervene, and you HAVEN�T NOTICED?�

Chopper was taken aback. He�d never been reprimanded by one of his nakama like this before. How had it come to this? How had he failed to follow up so closely on a patient? What would Doctor think?

Zoro�s voice had dropped again, and he spoke more calmly now. �To tell the truth, I�m not that surprised you haven�t noticed. Do you know why?�

Chopper could only swallow as tears came to his eyes.

Zoro continued without waiting for an answer. �Because you�ve been so distracted by our captain�s condition. You�ve been so careful to log every time he�s gotten winded or eaten something without getting sick that you couldn�t see beyond the little case study you�ve been conducting. I know that he�s presented you with a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I understand you being excited and amazed, but Chopper, Luffy is not an experiment! He�s your captain! If your notes could do anything to help him, that would be different. If you were doing tests or something to help him, that would change things, too. But all you can do with the information you�ve collected is publish a journal, and that�s not what your family is for. Watching Luffy so closely is making you miss some vital health issues amongst the others and I know I don�t need to tell you how serious that is.

Zoro noticed how Chopper was trembling, but forcing himself to take what was coming like a man. He took a few deep breaths and sat down on the barrel beside Chopper�s. He decided to try to explain the situation more simply.

�I don�t think you�ve noticed it, but when your with Luffy your clinical observation side has been replacing your usual bedside manner -- the one he�s familiar with -- and I don�t think you�ve realized how much you�re hurting his feelings. Luffy has been avoiding coming to you with his problems, and I don�t need to tell you how serious that is, do I?�

He watched Chopper as the little reindeer lowered his eyes and shook his head. �No,� he whispered. He�d had no idea�

�Chopper, look at me.�

Chopper raised his tearful eyes right before Zoro rested a hand on his hat affectionately.

�I�m not saying you�re doing a bad job,� Zoro explained, not unkindly. �I�m just saying that you�ve let yourself get distracted, which isn�t a crime, but now it�s creating a few problems. These problems can be fixed, though.�

�How?� Chopper hiccupped as fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

Zoro smiled. �Remember why you became a doctor in the first place.�

Chopper sobbed again and rubbed his eyes. �I wanted to help people. I want to cure people of any illness so they can live happily again.�

Zoro nodded. �Then do it. Right now what Luffy needs is nakama who will understand and support him. He doesn�t need medicine.�

�But�� Chopper sniffled. �But I worry! I just want to be sure he�s sleeping enough and eating alright and breathing okay and not getting too sick.� He choked back another sob and whispered, �That�s all I really want right now. I just want him to be okay��

Zoro leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. �That�s all any of us want, Chopper. And there�s nothing wrong with giving advice and doing follow-ups on him. But if that�s what you feel, then show him that. You may even find that he becomes more open if you do. I know that Luffy�s had some crazy things happening to him the last couple days that have scared him half to death. He doesn�t know what to expect or how to prepare for anything, and it has him absolutely terrified. He needs you to guide him some more� and I need you to guide us more. He looks to me to protect him from everything that�s hurting him�but there�s only so much I can do.�

Chopper had gone quiet.

Zoro sat in the silence for a moment before whispering secretly, �He misses you.�

Chopper looked up again, the tears momentarily halting in surprise.

Zoro shrugged. �He hasn�t said so in those exact words, but I know he feels it. What Luffy needs right now isn�t a detached doctor who spends an entire checkup taking notes on a pad of paper��

Chopper eyes widened in memory and he looked down again in shame, but Zoro squeezed his shoulder. �What Luffy really needs is his friend to start taking care of him again like he always has in the past - the one who turns checkups into games.

�The one who needs a full-fledged doctor to take care of him right now is Sanji.� He smiled at the Xoan. �Think you�re up to par?�

Chopper sat quietly for a few moments. And then Zoro smiled as he wiped his eyes, squared his shoulders, and looked up with a determined look and a slight smile. �Yes!�

Zoro nodded. �Yosh. Then let�s go upstairs and see your patients, doctor. I�m sure they both have some things they want to talk you about.�

------------

Two hours later Chopper was reeling from information overload, Luffy was smiling now that he�d gotten over the guilty admittance to scent and breathing attacks, and Sanji looked relieved to finally have some STRONG painkillers/narcotics.

Zoro noted that Luffy had skillfully avoided a few things that had happened to him over the last couple days. In fact, other than the first breathing attack (which was the big thing, anyway), Luffy hadn�t deemed much else important enough to mention to Chopper at all. The entire issue in the jungle the day before had been glanced right over, for example. Zoro had the feeling that this was only because Luffy didn�t want everyone to become paranoid for his sake. He didn�t want to lose his remaining freedoms to his overprotective crewmates.

Sanji, as it turned out, had been suffering withdrawal that had kicked up harder due to the stress of the ship capsizing and the ocean swim he�d had to take because of it. The severe physical duress that had put him under at a fragile time had then abruptly reversed when they�d landed on an island and stopped moving altogether. The constant shifts in his situation during the early stages of withdrawal had raised his stress levels -which he usually calmed by smoking- and therefore pitched him into severe withdrawal faster than his body could adjust. This threw his immune system to the wind and caused him to get sick on top of it all. Then his not eating had only made it worse.

The boys made Sanji drink some water and eat a piece of toast whilst Chopper explained all this to him so that his stomach wasn�t empty and he would be able to take some medicine and not get dehydrated.

Then Chopper had prescribed some strong painkillers for his throbbing head and other aches, as well as something to settle his stomach (a common medicine for seasickness), and an order that Sanji take it easy (as best as he could with the whole crew acting twice as frantic as normal) until he felt better in order to avoid stress.

Of course, narcotics have that one predictable side effect: sleepiness. It took only a few minutes after Sanji had taken one pill for Luffy to tell him more or less that maybe he should go take a nap or something because he looked dead and it wasn�t aesthetically pleasing.

It was only after Sanji had gone down to the bedroom that Luffy�s stomach growled again.

�Zoro, I�m hungry,� he whined. �We haven�t been eating nearly as regularly as we usually do. I missed four meals yesterday.�

Zoro rolled his eyes. �It�s not as if I faired any better than you did,� he reminded. �If you�re hungry you know all you have to do is ask that shitty cook to...�

��

��

��

That was when reality hit the four guys in the galley like a ton of bricks.

"Well that's a rub, now isn't it?" said Usopp to no one in particular, which was good because that's exactly who answered him.
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RUMBLE!