New Life

Title: New Life: Chapter 9
Author: Genuinelie(s)
Rating: PG-13 (I guess, there's a pinch of blood?)
Disclaimer: No es mio. Por favor no sue-ar.

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Chapter Nine
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Sanji was bored out of his mind.

It was his second day out of bed, the first was so unmentionably dull that he had already forgotten every single thing he'd done (or hadn't done, as the case was). Luffy and Zoro hadn't even let him enter the galley, let alone return to cooking until this morning. And even then, Zoro had silently cleared the table and stalked to the sink before Sanji could even think about it, cleaning and drying the dishes for him like he was some sort of invalid. He'd tried to kick the dumbass, but Luffy had ganged up on him with the doctor, threatening a sentence of a week in bed if he so much as thought of starting a fight.

So here he was, smoking petulantly on deck.

Otherwise it was an absolutely stunning day. The sun was shining down brightly, making the calm water sparkle beguilingly, and a slight breeze made the temperature pleasant and perfect.

Luffy was playing some sort of keepaway game with most of the crew, everyone laughing or yelling good-natured threats at one another. It was moments like these that were most nostalgic for Sanji; if he closed his eyes he could almost pretend that it was Usopp and Chopper instead of the new crewmembers making all the noise. If he really tried, he could also pretend that the quiet female conversation that drifted down from the girl's cabin was Nami and Robin instead of Ana and their sharpshooter.

Zoro was training behind him, the one piece of his past that had returned. It was still strange how comforting it was for him to have the swordsman back, nevermind their new relationship. It gave him hope that maybe -

Maybe they could all return.

Sanji snorted. Baka.

The cooks on the Baratie had always teased him for being a dreamer. Not much had changed, it seemed.

No, they wouldn't return, because Nami was living her dreamlife as a princess, Usopp had returned to his one true love, and Chopper -

Well, who knew what the reindeer was doing. But he was sure it was better than the constant chore of keeping him, Zoro and Luffy alive.

And Robin -

The one unknown. He hoped that wherever she was, she was happy.

He hadn't written to Zeff in a while, he mused. He supposed it owed it to the old man to tell him he would never get more little stringbeans running around. Somehow, he didn't think the grizzled pirate-chef would be that surprised.

Sanji chanced a glance backwards. Zoro's muscles were flexing, shining with a thin sheen of clean sweat, his face a study of focused concentration.

It must be satisfying, Sanji thought, to have a goal you could actively work on every day. Rather than something as obscure as chasing an ocean that everyone but him and a few other misfits thought was a fairytale.

The sun was almost above them in the sky. Sanji pushed himself to his feet in one smooth movement, swallowing the automatic hiss of pain as the stitches in his stomach were stretched. He put his hands nonchalently into the pockets of his black dress pants and strolled across the deck, patting himself on the back that he could do it without jerking.

"Oi, Zoro," Sanji called without turning.

Zoro grunted at him.

"You better be clean when lunch comes around, or you're gonna be catching your own. You smell like a piece of crusty seaweed that's been lying on the beach."

"Maybe I'll come in and season your dishes with some of my sweat, kuso-cook."

Sanji stopped, and raised an eyebrow. That was almost like usual. He smoothed on a practiced expression of indifference before turning to face the swordsman. "Maybe I'll season your face with some of my kicks, chowder-head."

Zoro narrowed his eyes and pulled his lips back in a grin. He must have been missing this as much as Sanji had. "Is that so? You think you can? I'm the best swordsman in the world now. Think you can still hold your own against me?"

Sanji grinned back at him, excited at the prospect of a good fight, wound in his stomach forgotten. "Yeah, I do, baka-marimo." He dropped back into a fighting stance.

"You've probably forgotten how to fight without me around to kick your ass." Zoro dropped his hand to one sword, not yet drawing it.

Sanji smirked. "Without you around I've been able to perfect some of my real moves. Instead of taking it easy."

There was a dangerous glint in Zoro's eyes. "Taking it easy. Is that so."

"Yeah. Kuso-swordsman." And with that, he swung a kick at Zoro's head.

It didn't hurt. Much.

Zoro seemed to have bought his act from earlier, because he wasn't holding back as he blocked and countered. Sanji flipped to his hands, rained down a couple of kicks, both of them falling on an empty deck, then danced away. Zoro took a couple of swipes at him, and Sanji saw that his sword was still sheathed.

"Holding back on me, are you?" Irritated, Sanji pulled a few of his better moves, a spinning kick from above followed by one that shot up from the ground.

Zoro was apparently not expecting Sanji to be so fast with his injured stomach, because he was forced into an automatic response, a block and counter jab that slammed directly into Sanji's belly.

Sanji crumpled immediately to his hands and knees on the deck, curling inwards on himself like a deflated pastry. Hands gripped his shoulders, alternately and compulsively brushing his hair back from his eyes and smoothing over his cheek.

Around the rushing in his ears he heard Zoro frantically and worriedly asking if he was all right. It pissed him off, and as soon as the piranhas stopped eating their way out of his intestines he was going to give that dumbass a what-for.

He coughed. Alarmingly, the deck was spattered with red.

Suddenly, more voices overpowered Zoro's, angry and frantic. He could pick Ana the doctor's high-pitched reprimand above them all. He raised a hand, waving them off, but apparently it had been providing him with some much-needed support because he immediately toppled. He would have hit the deck face-first if the Zoro's strong hands hadn't prevented him from doing so.

He didn't pass out this time, and as soon as he focused on Ana's beet-red face he realized it was more of a curse than a blessing. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, shaking off Zoro's worried embrace.

"'m fine." He insisted.

"What in the hells were you thinking?" Ana screeched at him.

Sanji looked up defiantly. "I was thinking that I was going to turn into a worthless mound of sea-sponge if something interesting didn't happen soon. You wouldn't even let me cook."

"No." Ana snapped. "Not you. You." She was glowering at Zoro. "You knew he was hurt, kelp-for-brains. What were you thinking engaging him in a fight?"

The fact that she just insulted Zoro like that shocked even him. A weird wave of protectiveness washed over Sanji, and he looked to Zoro to see how he would handle it.

Unnervingly, Zoro not only didn't respond, but he wasn't looking at either of them. Instead he stared at the deck, fists clenched with white knuckles in his lap, head bowed.

Ana snorted. "It's a wonder any of you lived this long. Someone help me carry this baka-cook to the sick room."

It wasn't Zoro who lifted him.

He heard Luffy's belated voice asking everyone what happened as two of the men half-carried him after Ana, but then the door to the sick room swung shut, cutting off the commotion.

Once inside, Ana made him lie down on the bed so she could restitch the now-bleeding open wound in his abdomen. Sanji frowned, suppressing the urge to snap at the doctor as she was none-too-gentle with the needle. "Don't be too hard on him, ok?" he said instead.

"Mm?" Ana responded, not looking up from her work.

"Zoro. And don't you dare tell him I said that. But it's not his fault and he's just gonna beat himself up for it. The dumbass."

Ana sighed and cut the thread. "Fine, whatever. I'll just be harder on you. What the hell were you thinking? Macho pride?"

Sanji sat up only to be pushed right back down. "Oi-" he said weakly in protest.

"Bedridden. Two days." She snapped. "If you didn't notice, you have some lovely internal bleeding. Good job, by the way."

If Sanji squinted, he could almost pretend the woman was Nami.

She hit him lightly on the head. "And if you don't obey, I'm going to tell your damned sweetheart that in a fit of delirium you were asking for your "precious snookum snugglebunny." Try living that down."

Sanji groaned. "My darling Ana is so clever and sweet for looking out for me." He said weakly.

Ana smirked at him, and slapped his leg lightly. "Now sleep."

She left.

He slept.

*****

Two days of hell, and Zoro hadn't even come to visit him once. Luffy had been in and out with some of the other members of the crew, playing cards and getting their carpenter to tell jokes for him. It didn't help a lot, and when Sanji was finally released from his prison he had never been happier to be able to kick Luffy across deck for eating half their stores.

Zoro was nowhere to be found. Sanji didn't think much of it. Damned marimo was probably napping in the crow's nest or something anyway.

He spent the morning and most of the afternoon cooking the most challenging dishes he could think up. According to their navigator, they were less than a day away from where Zoro claimed he'd found All Blue. He wanted to be in the best shape possible, in the unlikely event that Zoro had actually managed to successfully give them directions. He was already daydreaming about the dishes he could make with the sealife they would find, dishes that no other cook in the whole world had ever made.

The galley door swung open. Sanji hoped it was Zoro so he could try kicking his ass again, now that he was healed.

But it was Luffy's voice that cheerfully asked him, "When's dinner, Sanji? I'm hungry."

Sanji smiled at him. "You just ate a whole plate of pastries."

"Yeah, but now I want some meat."

Sanji turned his head to look at him, continuing to chop ingredients. "You always want meat."

Luffy gave him a blank stare.

Sanji sighed to himself. He guessed it didn't really matter whether Luffy had a boring palate or not.

"You'll have all the meat you want once we reach All Blue," Sanji said.

Luffy grinned widely. "Oh yeah?" He perched himself on the counter.

"Yeah," Sanji affirmed. "Meat you've never tasted before. Plate after plate of dishes that no one else in the whole world has ever tried."

"I can't wait, Sanji!" Luffy clapped the soles of his feet together, looking for all the world no different than he had when Sanji'd met him.

Sanji grinned back at him. "Me neither." He glanced out the window above the sink and frowned. Trying not to be too obvioius, he said casually, "The marimo isn't sweating all over the deck. He fall asleep again?"

Luffy shook his head. "I don't think so. Haven't seen him around in a while."

"Huh." Sanji said.

Suddenly a loud chorus of cheering came from the deck. Luffy's eyes widened. "Oh! The game!" He hopped down and sprinted towards the door. "Don't skip my turn! Don't skip my turn!" The galley door swung open and closed so quickly Sanji could almost see the trail of dust clouds.

Sanji shook his head and went back to his cooking. It didn't matter where the bakayaro was. He'd see him soon enough at dinner.

But Sanji decided to give the swordsman an extra dose of chilis.

Teach him to ignore the cook.

*****