Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

„Well, the poster says dead or alive“, the man in the white and blue uniform said. „I really don‘t enjoy shooting someone as young as you. So, last chance, strawhat. Surrender and come with me peacefully and you and nobody on your crew will get hurt.“

Zoro was sheathing his sword as he looked at his captain, both of them breathing heavily. That marine had some nerve. All of his men were beaten and instead of fucking off back to his ship before Nami had completely ransacked and Usopp sabotaged it to keep him from follwing the strawhats, he was threatening their captain with a gun.

Even Luffy understood the ridiculousness of the situation. „Look, you propably don’t know this about me , but I’m-“. He started to explain, before the marine pulled the trigger. The bullet did not stretch Luffy‘s rubber body like bullets normaly did, however. Zoro watched in horror and confusion as the bullet pierced his captains left shoulder, splattering blood everywhere and throwing him off his feet.

„Luffy!?“ Zoro was on his knees at his captains side in an instant. He was laying in his back, one hand grabbing weakly at his strawhat, which had fallen off his head and was in danger of being carried away by the wind. His eyes focused on Zoro when he heard his name. „You‘ll be okay, captain“ The first mate said while looking over Luffys injury. „Just hold on.“

He was well aware of the gun pointed at the both of them, but the damage had already been done. He had more pressing matters to deal with. One big bullet wound in the left shoulder, no blood from the back, so no exit wound. Luffy seemed to be shaking slightly and was breathing rapidly, even more so when Zoro pressed a hand on the wound. The younger man groaned in pain, hands curling into fists. There was definetly a bullet in his shoulder, even though it should be the last situation the only human made of rubber should be dealing with.

„How…? What?“ Luffy was struggling to form more than a few words. He must‘ve been thinking the same thing as his first mate, just the pain and shock making it difficult to verbalise his confusion. This was completely wrong.

„You‘re welcome to accompany him into custody, if you‘re that fond of him“. Zoro could do nothing but glare at the man pointing the gun at his captain with pure venom in his eyes. „Come on, now, with me. Otherwise the next bullet goes directly into his heart.“

„You are going to have to shoot me first then“. Zoro made a move to get on his feet and draw his sword, knowing fully well how this action would end for him. Two shivering hands gripped his wrist, holding on for dear life. He looked into his captains eyes one last time, ready to ignore whatever Luffy was going to say to stop him.

„Zoro- “ Luffy pleaded, his breath hitching.

He was cut of by a gasp and the gun clattering to the floor.

„Ah, fuck!“ the marine gripped his bleeding hand with the other. Sanj was on him a second later, Nami and Usopp, slingshot still drawn, right behind him.

„What the hell happened?!“ Nami shouted while running towards him. If it had been anyone but their captain, it would have been a stupid question, with the enemy, the gun and the bullet-wound right in plain sight. This was Nami, however, now also crouching next to Luffy, her hands hovering over his shaking form. „What the hell was in that gun?“ Usopp picked up the gun from the wooden floor and turned it in his hands. „This is not the usual gun the marine officers carry with them“ he stated.

„What did you shoot him with?“ The waiter sounded murderous. Zoro looked over his shoulder for a brief second, the blonde was grabbing the marine by the collar of his shirt, both fists pushing him against the railing. The sight stressed him out, because together with Sanjis tone of voice there was nothing left of the guys usual demeanor. Nami and Usopps shocked expressions didn‘t help much, either. He had to keep cool, however. They could not help Luffy like this. Nami was speaking to Luffy in a hushed tone now, patting his cheeks while his eyelids were dropping.

Usopp opened the magazine and took out one of the bullets. „These are pitch-black“ he announced, inspecting it while holding it between his forefinger and thumb. „They are made out of something softer than a usual bullet. I can almost chip away at it with my fingernails.“

„Let me see“. Nami took the bullet from his palm. „This was made from a rock out of the ocean. It‘s onely logical that it would have the same effect on Luffy as the water.“

„Seastone-bullets, made to hurt devilsfruit users.“ the marine grinned proudly at Sanji. This was all Zoro needed to hear.

„Oi, Cook.“ He shouted, lifting Luffy from the ground into his arms. „Don’t waste your time with him. Help me get him inside.“ He definitely did not need any support carrying his captains lanky body into the ship, but they had more pressing matters to deal with. He would never admit it out loud, but the idiot was actually good at thinking on his feet, and he really did not want to do whatever he had to do next alone.

„Listen to your friend“ the marine still smiled at Sanji. „Looks like your captain is in bad shape“. The swordsman heard nothing but a gasp when his crewmate threw the smartass over the railing. Sanji was by his side a moment later, if there was any sort of impact or splash neither of them paid attention to it.

Sanji lead the way into the cabin, strawhat in one hand, the other holding the door open for Zoro who laid their captain on the counter in the kitchen center. Nami was already by his side, laying a folded towel under Luffys head. He seemed barely conscious now, his eyelashes fluttering every so often, his body shivering. Usopp disappeared for a moment and then entered the kitchen with a first aid kit in hand.

„Anyone ever removed a bullet from a wound before?“ Sanji laughed nervously.

„Only on myself, but I guess it‘ll have to do.“ Zoro mumbled without looking up. He was currently busy opening his captains shirt and getting a better look at the hole in his friends shoulder. Nobody was surprised by his statement.

Luffy was breathing rapidly, his dark curls were soaked with sweat and sticking to his forehead. He was shaking even worse than when this whole mess had started. In the middle of preparing the operation Zoro may have peeked at Sanjis face to see his reaction when the cook put a hand on Luffys forehead to feel just how cold his skin had gotten. He wasn‘t the only one who had noticed the rapid decline in body warmth.

„Guys“ Nami said, holding one of Luffys pale hands and feeling his wrist with two fingers.
„I‘ll get blankets“ Usopp hollered over his shoulder, already out of the door to collect as many as he could find.

„Captain, can you hear me? You in there?“ Zoro was tapping Luffys cheek and calling out for the man lying between them. Meanwhile Sanji was shaking him by his good shoulder. Nami ran over to the bench in to corner and took two of the pillows, which she used to elevate Luffys legs. When Usopp came stumbling back into the room with a stack of blankets he and Nami covered Luffy as fast as possible.

Sanji, standing oppsite Zoro on the other side of the counter, handed him a bootle of alcohol. He nodded his thanks. No time for bickering now. While he disinfected his hands Nami had rummaged around the first aid kit for a good pair of tweezers. No more time to waste. Zoro looked at Sanji, on their captains right side, at Nami, next to him and at Usopp, at the end of the counter.

„I will get the bullet out and clean the wound, then stich it as fast as possible. keep an eye on his breathing and hold him still if you have to.“ He did not wait for anyones answer before grabbing the bottle of alcohol and disinfecting the tweezers with them. There was no time for debate and the longer he waited the more nervous he was becoming. It had been a while and he had certainly never been formally trained to do this.

Luffy, who had been uncharacteristicly quiet since they had brought him inside the ship disapproved of his crews plan. As soon as Zoro stared grabbing the bullet with the tweezers, the young pirates eyes were wide open begging for them to stop. Sanji, Usopp and Nami had their hands full holding him down while Zoro removed the first piece of the bullet from his flesh. He had feared that the bullet had shattered into multiple parts on impact, but now he knew for certain. He dropped the small splinter into the trashcan by his feet and kept going.

When he pulled out the second piece, Luffy cried out in pain, digging his nails into the wood underneath him.

Third piece, way deeper the the first two, he let out a long groan, pushing his head back and turning his glassy eyes towards Zoro, then Sanji before squeezing them shut. He was sure his captain had no idea who any of the were.

And lastly, the fourth piece, stuck right next to the collar bone, earned a full on scream before Luffy went slack, all his strenght leaving him. Zoro dropped the last piece into the thrash can to his feet before taking the needle and thread someone gave him. Looking back, he couldn‘t have said for the life of him who had prepared the needle for him. His fingers were slick with blood.

The wound didn’t need many stitches, but Zoro could tell his captains body had had enough. Every stich was accompanied by quiet whimpers from Luffy, fading in and out of consciousness, which made his first mate feel like he was torturing the person that he swore to protect. By the time he was done he wanted to walk out the door and jump over the railing right after the marine that had gotten then into this.

„Why don‘t you wash your hands in the sink and let us take over for a minute?“ Nami suggested all of a sudden, taking the needle from his hands as gently as he had ever seen her do anything. He hadn‘t even noticed how he had been staring at his hands before she had started talking to him.

How embarrasing. Usopp was smiling at him. „You did well, man“. Sanji did him the curtesy of not acknowledging what had just happened and put a hand to the side of Luffys neck to feel his pulse. „Seems a lot calmer“ He stated after a while. „The shaking has also stopped almost completely.“

The cook was right, even from where Zoro was standing now, washing his hands but not taking his eyes off his crew for more than a few seconds, he could tell that Luffy had also gotten some of his color back. His chest was rising and falling nearly like it did when he was sleeping. The swordsman dried his clean hands with a towel now, taking in the peace and quite that had taken over the scenery.

Usopp was sitting on the counter next to Luffys legs, explaining how the shot he had landed earlier to disarm the marine had saved the day (it was impressive shot, even Zoro could admit that). Sanji was listening quietly over taking a packet of cigarettes from his suit jacket and lighting one of them shortly thereafter. Nami was pushing Luffys hair back from his forehead, stroking it softly. The captains strawhat was sitting on the counter right next to the sink, where Sanji had probably trown it quite carelessly. Understandable, given the circumstances.

An hours passed, then two. The afternoon blended into early evening while Luffy snored softly. Sanji took some leftovers out of storage at some point, Nami went out on deck to readjust their course and Usopp prepared for a night on watch-duty. The captain and the first mate however, stayed side by side. Zoro sat next to his captain, still sleeping on the kitchen counter. Maybe he should move him to Nami‘s bed instead, after all he had no idea how much time would pass before he woke up.

He then noticed how Luffy‘s breath had become more rapid again, only to see him furrow his brows and blink for a while before turning his face towards Zoro. Despite looking quite fragile and tired, his captains expression immediately softened when he recognized him. His smile wasn‘t as bright as usual, but it still helped ease the tension Zoro had been sitting with for a few hours now.

„Hey.“ Luffy said, his voice weak and raspy.

„How are you feeling?“ Zoro asked, putting a hand on Luffys injured arm when he made a move to sit up and winced at the pain he must‘ve felt in his shoulder. Because his captain didn‘t answer immediately and tried to push himself up again, he got up and helped guide him into a sitting position without to much hassle.

Luffy looked at the dressing over the wound. „Still hurts a bit.“

Zoro snorted „Yeah, that‘s to be expected. You got shot, captain. That was a bullet made of seastone.“

„Oh! That makes sense why I couldn‘t toss it back!“ Luffy exclaimed. „That means-“ he stretched out his uninjured arm, retrieving his strawhat from the kitchen counter. His arm snapped back and he put the hat back on his head. „- I‘m going to be okay! My powers work again!“

Zoro couldn‘t help but smile at his captains relieve. He bounced back so fast from anything, physically or mentally. „Take it easy though“ he said, when he helped Luffy off the counter onto unsteady legs. „You lost a bit of blood and went into shock for a while. Gave us quite a scare.“

„I don‘t remember any of that.“ He seemed genuinely confused that his state had been so serious. The lightheadedness that overcame him didn‘t make it any easier to concentrate, though. „Dizzy…“ Luffy slurred, fingers clawing at Zoro‘s arms. The swordsman had been expecting something of the sort, and, never taking his arms off his captain, led him to the nearby kitchen bench. Said captain sank down on that bench, utterly exhausted.

Both of their heads snapped to the direction of the door when they heard it being opened. Nami stepped in, followed by Sanji. Both of the stopped in their tracks when they saw that Luffy wasn‘t where they‘d left him.

„Luffy!“ Nami exclaimed when she spotted him a few feet further away, awake and (mostly) upright. Sanji grinned and kept his respectful distance as she dashed over to her friend. She wrapped an arm around him and hugged him close, all while being mindful of his injury. The captains reassurance that he was feeling fine, given the circumstances were not enough for her to let him be. „You have to be careful, don‘t rip your stitches.“ She warned him, holding his face with her hands. „No jumping around, do you hear me?“

Just as Nami began to settle down and let Luffy catch a breath, Usopp came barging in. „I knew I heard you!“ He shouted, Luffy exclaimed something unintelligible to Zoro and raised his good arm into the air. „This is exactly what I meant! What did I just say?!“ Nami scolded both of them.

„That scar is going to look badass.“ Usopp grinned at Luffy, pointing at his injury.

„Yes! I finally earned a scar!“ Luffy was beaming with excitement.

„How the hell do you earn a scar!?“ Nami asked, not expecting an answer that made any sense.

The cook chuckled before grabbing a rag and starting to clean the kitchen counters. „What would you like for dinner?“ He asked, smilling at Luffy. The question immediately ended all shennanigans.

„Something with meat! Mostly Meat!“

Zoro sat down on the floor across the rest of the crew, his sword safely next to him. This was how it worked, when his captain was being his energetic self, entertaining the whole ship, it was the time he rested. He could take a quick nap before dinner, now that he knew everone was safe, that his captain was safe.

He closed his eyes, the chatter of his crewmates already a comforting noise in the background of his mind. This was how it was supposed to be.

Chapter Text

He hasn't healed after Arlong Park. Even for a guy as strong as him, that would be unrealistic. He had been fighting extensively after being injured, tearing a few stitches in the process. He could admit all of that. But he had been stiched back up by a doctor on the Conomi Islands , and just because his whole crew had overheard said doctor telling him to "take it easy" for a few weeks did not give them the right to treat him like he was fragile.

He was glad when they'd sail again, far away from getting punched around by some fishmen while the other guys from the crew (including Usopp) all emerged victorious from their battles. Zoro could not wait to get out of the east blue, contaminated with failure. Their navigator said they still had days, if not weeks until they'd reach the grand line, so all he wanted to do was get back to his old stenght and prove himself to be worthy of his title as first mate.

Admittedly, it did take a lot more out of him to do the most basic day to day things, so when Nami screeched at him for trying to work out yesterday, on their first day back at sea, he didn't put much of a fight and withdrew to a more quit corner of the ship to nap. His usuall spots, he'd realized quickly, were out of the question for now, since his crewmates had seemingly made it their sole purpose to hang around him and keep a close eye on him.

He was used to Luffy having no personal space, to Nami demanding assisstance in navigating the ship and Usopp feeling to need to make conversation. It was all different since he had been injured, though. They all acted nonchalant and like nothing had chanced since he had almost died, but he could tell they were still concerned. Even that stupid blonde casanova who was gallivanting around Nami practically every second of the day shot him the odd glance here and there. They all did, when he had to catch his breath walking up a flight of stairs or when he would grab onto the corner of the table to steady himself because he's stood up to quickly.

He couldn't wait until this was all behind them.

It was an hour after lunch, so nobody would be in the kitchen for a few hours, until Sanji started preparing for dinner with Luffy looking over his shoulder. It should be enough undisturbed time to do whatever he wanted without prying eyes. He closed the door to the deck behind him, drowning out the noises from his crewmates, the sea only a faint rustle. He put a hand on his chest and felt his heart beating faster than it should be. It didn't make any sense. He'd just fought a couple of fishmen two days ago and had gotten out of it relatively unscathed. He'd felt exhausted afterwards, but he felt even more tired now. As he walked towards the kitchen table, grey spots constrained his vision, causing him to grip one of the table's corners as soon as he'd reached it. His other hand was grasping his sword tightly. What the hell was wrong with him?

Sweat had broken out on his forehead and his arms were shaking dangerously, trying to hold his hody upright. He fliched when a hand gripped his left forearm, another hand was placed between his shoulderblades. He hadn't heard anyone come inside the kitchen, much less approach him. At least he recognized her voice instantly when Nami started talking.

"Sit down over there, on the bench." she said, not leaving him much choice as she guided him a few steps and pressed him down without much force. She was being gentle, but the movement made everything spin in circles for Zoro.

"What's happening?" he slurred, trying to clear his vision by blinking a few times. It helped a bit, he could tell Nami was pulling at the edges of the bandages, inspecting the flesh around the wound, then laying a hand on his head. He had to concentrate so hard to follow her movements with his eyes, he didn't really think about what she might be doing this for.

"Your wound looks inflamed and you seem to have a fever." She told him quietly. He felt a hand on the back of his neck that helped him lay back againgst the wall gently. "The doctor said this might happen. Hold on, I'll be right back."

Nami didn't wait for an answer from the swordsman, who only made a short "hm"-noise before closing his eyes again.

She couldn't have been gone for more than a minute, but he was still startled when she crouched down in front of him. This fever was really doing a number on him. The red-haired women ignored his jumpiness, though he wasn't really sure why. On any other day, she would have a field day with him being so unobservant that he could be caught of guard by her twice. At least his vision was clearing up a bit again, he could tell she was holding some pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Take these." She said, moving her open palm with the medication closer within his reach. "The doctor gave me some, just in case any of us needed them. They are really great for infection." Zoro just stared at her with an unreadable gaze. She couldn't tell if he was fighting to stay awake or if he didn't want to take the pills from her. Either way, he wasn't moving.

"I've known the doctor for a long time, he knows what he's doing. You can trust him." You can trust me.

Now Nami was the one who was taken aback, because withouth anymore hesitation, her reluctant patient reached out and took the pills from her, the water followed moments after. She took down the empty glass from him after he'd downed both the medicine and the liquid, and that was it. 

As he laid back onto the bench, she got up and set the glass on the counter. Looking back to her crewmate who had already closed his eyes again, she could see his flushed cheeks and the sweat on his forehead and decided to grab a clean towel from the shelves and wet it with cold water.

When she crouched down to his level again and dabbed his brow with the damp cloth, he blinked at her tiredly a few times, as if at a loss what to do or say. Zoro was a person who was unfamiliar with being taken care of, much less without expecting anthing in return. Nami knew that feeling really well, and even though she and the man in front of her were so different, they still had both been on their own for most of their lives. They were still adapting to having their crewmembers that actually cared about them. That will fight for each other, like Zoro did for her.

"You'll feel better when you wake up." She whispered. He closed his eyes, she assumed the meds were already making him drowsy. The swordfighters face relaxed and she tried her best to gently wipe the sweat off his face and neck without startling him. She wondered when it had been the last time, if ever, anybody had taken care of Zoro when he had been sick or hurt before he'd met this crew.

I had one friend.

She'd have to ask him about that one day, not that she'd get an answer. Maybe if they played that drinking game from the Baratie again, she'd find out a thing or two about him. Maybe the others would join in, too. They could get to know each other better. Nami smiled. No more secrets.

Her crewmate was finally starting to breathe evenly now, fast asleep. The navigator stood up to go get a book to look something up about the local currents like she'd originally planned to do. She did not stay in her cabin, however, but returned to her comrades side, pulling up a chair next to him. 

"So..." she began, as she looked through the contents. "Because of the difference of temperature, the currents of the East Blue leading into the Grand line are known to be more unpredicable the closer one sails to the calm belt..."

She kept reading. Zoro slept on.

Chapter Text

This was just plain stupid.

Yes, he was about to die, which was clearly serious, but it was also just STUPID.

The last time he‘d nearly drowned, it had certainly not been a pleasant experience, but it had been at least acceptable. First, he had just lost a fight to an actual fishman, feared in the whole east blue. That guy had been strong as hell, people actually shivered at his name, no shame in being thrown into the ocean to be saved by his crew by someone like that.

Secondly, at least his crew had been there to save him in time. It didn‘t look so good this time.

Oh, and the third reason why this was just completely ridiculous compared to the last time, when he had been left to drown in the deep, dark ocean, this time the saltwater that was penetrating his lungs was about two feet deep. But paired with the guy on top of him, holding him down, it was enough to become seriously life-threatening.

This town had seemed so peaceful when they had landed here to stock up on supplies, the perfekt opportunity for Luffy to stretch his legs while his crew dealt with whatever boring tasks they had before they could set sail to somewhere exciting. Granted, none of his crew had agreed that he could wander off without any of them, but he was the captain, for pete‘s sake.

Shanks had taught him that not every fight needed to be fought, that not every confrontation was worth getting involved in, so when some whippersnappper around his age tried to start something after he had barely gotten off the Luffy did not think about it twice. Besides, Nami would be mad if he got in a pointless fight in a tiny harbour when they needed to stay undisturbed to take care of errands.

So he'd done the honorable thing, he'd smiled and turned to walk away but he hadn't banked on the other guys ego getting hurt by that. So, next thing he knew, the other guy had pushed him and Luffy had fallen off the dock into the water. So yeah, stupid.

If the water wasn't in the equation, he'd beaten that guy easily, no doubt. But here he was.

His vision was starting to fade now, and even in his oxygen-deprived state of mind Luffy could tell that his position was becoming more and more hopeless by the second. His fingers were too weak to grip his assailants forearms, his own shoulders felt like they weighed a ton. He felt one final stab of panic from his chest that travelled to his throat. constricting it along with the hands of his attacker. But there was nothing he could do; he could't event lift his body an inch. The fear disappeared along with his sight, the feeling of pressure on his body, the whirring in his ears.

---

You couldn't lose sight of him for one second. They had just gotten here, literally just gotten to this island about an hour ago, and the captain of the strawhats could not stay out of trouble.

Zoro was holding the perpetrator by his collar, his height and stature barely above Luffy's. He didn't guess the kid to be much older than his captain, either.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he hissed, pinning his opponent to one of the post of the pier.

"Pirate filth." the youth spat through gritted teeth. Zoro felt the hatred in his words, even though the teenager seemed to by quite frightened by him. "You think you can just come here and take whatever you want? Do whatever you please?"

The swordsman noticed in the corner of his eye that Usopp had dragged the lifeless body out of the water by now. This was where he should be. Whatever had made this kid do what he did to his captain, it wasn't his battle right now. He let go of his collar, the smaller man dropping to his feet in the swallow water.

"Get lost before I change my mind." Zoro growled, before turning around the join his crewmates. Nami had come out of nowhere and dropped to her knees next to her captain before Zoro had know she had even caught wind of the situation. But then again, when did their navigator miss anything going on around her?

"He's not breathing." Usopp told her. Panic hit Zoro at those words, Namis concerned eyes meeting his gaze as he finally reached them. He grabbed Luffy by the collar of his shirt and lifted his upper body into an upright position effortlessly. Waterdrops splattered into his face and onto his forearms from Luffy's dropping head. His captain was completely lifeless. Dead.

"Luffy!" He yelled into his captain face, making Usopp and Nami flinch. Never mind, he kept yelling, he shook Luffy and slapped him across the face not once, not twice but three times. "Wake up!". He shook him forcefully, but to no avail. Only after Nami grabbed him by the wrist did he realize that he was out of breath. How long had he been doing this?

He pulled back his arm, hard, and glared at her. She glared right back. "We need to try to revive him. We might still have a chance." Zoro wanted to ask who "we" was, because he sure as shit had no idea how to do any of that, but before he could do anything else, Nami put her hands on her captains shoulders and positioned him on his back again. She also pushed his chin upwards, exposing his bruised neck even more. 

Usopp laid his hand on top of Zoro's fingers that were still gripping the fabric of Luffy's shirt. He didn't try to remove them, but Zoro understood. He had to trust his crew. He let go of his captain and watched as Usopp moved closer to the slack body. It looked unsettling, seeing him lie there, without any movement.

Nami pinched Luffy's nose closed before putting her mouth on top of his and breathing for him. Without hesitating a second, Usopp put his folded hands on Luffy's chest and started compressions. 

Zoro, understanding that he needed to get out of the way, sat back on his heels and stared at the scene that was playing out in front of him. Nami and Usopp were working together like to gears in the same machine, taking turns in trying to bring their captain back to life. Meanwhile, Zoro was staring at them. Useless. 

His captain did not show any sign of responding to their attemps. How long should they keep going? 

Two breaths, another set of compressions. The fucking cook, appearing next to him. Where the fuck did he come from? And why was he not doing anything, not saying anything, just staring, equally as useless as him? The guy that had attacked Luffy was standing a few feet away from the whole scene, staring at his beaten opponent on the ground. Part of Zoro wanted to fillet him, the rest of him knew that it would not help Luffy in any way right now. It also wouldn't help any of them if their friend didn't wake up soon.

How long had they been going?

Dread filled His throat. It was time for breaths again. "Nami-".

Luffy convulsed, water channeling its way out of his body. Before he'd even started coughing, Nami and Usopp had already turned him on his side towards the navigator. He was coughing up water and simultaeously trying to inhale air, which made everything a big mess for the first one or two minutes. His navigator was blinking tears out of her eyes while keeping a hand on his arm to keep him from falling forward. 

Usopp was panting hard, having broken quite a sweat. Sanji walked up beside him and gave him a pat on the shoulder before nodding at Nami. It had been way, way to close this time, but they had done it. 

Luffy, who was struggling to both hold his head up and keep his eyes open, tried to push himself up with his hands whilst he was still struggling to get his breathing under control. His first mate sprung into action and gripped the smaller man's arms, steadying him. He still looked a mess, wet curls stuck to his forehead, pale and unfocused eyes under heavy eyelids.

Sanji flashed Luffy a smile. "Welcome back." He said, whick seemed to do the trick. Their captain seemed to put two and two together and finally understood what had happened and why all of them where here. 

"You saved me." Luffy whispered to no one in particular, still shaken but putting on a brave face. "Thank you." 

"Nami and Usopp saved you." Zoro answered.  

Nami smiled at Luffy, giving one of his shoulders a soft squeeze. Usopp showed a shy grin, looking at the ground and then the shore, almost embarrassed of the attention. 

"That was scary." Luffy admitted, rubbing his undoubtedly bruised chest with his hand. "Ouch. I'm not sure what that guy's problem was."

"Speaking of which." Sanji spoke up from the side, putting out his cigarette with his shoe. "He bolted a while ago."

Zoro looked around hastily. Shit.

"Want us to look for him?" Sanji asked their captain, not sounding very enthusiastic about it.

"Huh?" Luffy was busy fixing some dents in his strawhat. It had been hanging from the string around his neck and it had been queezed between his back and the ground. Once it was back to it's original shape, Luffy put it back on his damp hair. "No." He said.

"Okay then." Sanji reached out a hand and helped Nami to her feet. 

Zoro straightened, grabbed Luffy underneath the armpits and pulled him to his feet. "Thanks." His captain said quietly. He still seemed a bit weak but, given the circumstances, he seemed okay. There was bruising on his neck and, a little lighter, on his face. No doubt from when Zoro hat slapped him a few minutes ago, trying to bring him back from.. wherever he'd gone.

"Hey, who's watching the ship?" Usopp sounded from behind him.

"Great." Nami replied, the sarcasm obvious in her voice.

"Let's go!" The captain of the Going Merry yelled, the last few minutes seemingly wiped from his memory.

He ran off, like always, his crew  eager to catch up to him.