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The Straw Hats didn’t even have time to dock the Merry before marines open-fired on the boat. Bullets shot through the night, forcing them to scramble into battle, fighting back as they had many times before. Zoro took the headlines, fighting off swordsmen trying to climb onto the boat while Usopp took to the crow’s nest, aiming special-made exploding pellets their way. Nami was readying an attack from her climatact while Chopper gulped down a rumble ball.
“There’s more snipers on the hills!” Usopp called loudly.
“Heard!” Nami shouted back, firing a gust of clouds over the hills. She saw marines pop up and scramble away as the clouds struck down lighting.
Sanji glanced around before spotting Zoro down on the ground fighting marines off. He rushes over, leaping down and calling out to the swordsman.
“On your right!”
Zoro’s eyes flick over to him for a short moment before back to the men he was fighting. Sanji kicked a marine in the torso, sending him crashing into a few others. Zoro was a bit relieved to have some help beside him, the sheer amount of marines rushing him had caught him off guard.
Usopp was still firing pellets at more marines in the distance, ones trying to shoot at the boat. But he let out a gasp and turned his attention back to the hills where Nami had previously attacked.
“Zoro! Sanji! More men on the hills! They’ve got guns pointed at you!” Usopp yelled to them. As Sanji turned his attention to the marines above them, he felt a sharp pain somewhere between his right shoulder and chest. He stumbled backward suddenly and clutched at the area of pain. A slick, cold feeling made itself clear, and Sanji looked down at it. Blood. He was dripping, seeping blood from his shoulder. The adrenaline that was coursing through his veins slowly started to wear off, replaced by the pain that came from the wound.
He’d been shot. It took him a moment to register, caught up in everything around him. When Sanji finally realized, he didn’t know what the hell to do. But his body decided for him because he promptly collapsed to the floor.
Zoro whipped his head around just in time to see Sanji go limp on the ground.
“Cook! Gah… Dammit!” He cursed, finishing off the final marines circling him before dashing to Sanji’s aid. “Cook’s been shot! Where’s Chopper?!”
Zoro sheathed his swords, hooking his arms under Sanji’s knees and back, hoisting him up. The blood had stained deep into Sanji’s clothing, dripping down his side and bloodying Zoro’s hand. But that didn’t matter. Zoro’s one thought was to put Sanji somewhere down safely. If he didn’t, another marine may come in for the final blow. And Zoro couldn’t have that, as much as he despised the cook.
It was all a blur. Sanji was barely conscious. His vision was fading, going dark around the edges. He could faintly make out Zoro’s face and his voice, and he tried to speak back. Sanji knew what he wanted to say, but it couldn’t come out right. He managed to babble out a few weak words, about the fight, about being okay, something about Nami? Zoro couldn’t really tell.
Zoro set Sanji down on the couch in the men’s quarters. Chopper was quick to hop up next to him, medical tools in hand.
Nami climbed down the rungs, followed shortly by Robin, Luffy, and Usopp.
“Is he gonna die?” Zoro asked grimly, looking down at Sanji, who had since passed out.
“He shouldn’t,” Chopper confirmed, unbuttoning the cook’s shirt and carefully peeling it away from his bloodied skin. “Gunshots to the shoulder aren’t fatal. Most of the time.”
“I see..” He responded back, keeping his eyes on Sanji’s rising and falling chest. As long as he was breathing..
“He should heal up in a few days,” Chopper informed before he began working to the best of his ability, first pulling the bullet from the wound. He set it aside, reaching for a bottle of unfamiliar substance to Zoro. It must have been something to clean the wound, because Chopper poured a little onto a rag before gently dabbing at Sanji’s injury. Every time it got too close to the actual hole, Sanji’s shoulder wound flinch upwards. Even though he was unconscious, he still seemed to be in considerable pain.
The crew watched silently as Chopper wrapped the injured shoulder in bandages.
“It should be fine for now. But the bandages may need to be changed if the wound starts to bleed again,” he explained, pulling another bottle from his medical kit. “Somebody needs to stay with Sanji and watch over him.”
Before anybody else could say a word, Zoro raised his hand a little. “I’ll do it. I don’t mind.”
“Good, Zoro,” Chopper smiled up at him. “When Sanji wakes up, tell him to drink some of this,” he handed the bottle to Zoro. “It’s antibiotics.”
“Got it,” Zoro hummed, getting himself comfy on the floor next to the couch Sanji was lying on. Chopper glanced around the room before spotting a blanket on the other couch opposite to them.
“Robin? Could you grab that blanket, please? It's crucial that Sanji stays warm,” Chopper pointed at it. Robin, with her devil fruit powers, grabbed the blanket and passed it between hands until she reached Sanji’s side. Carefully, she laid the blanket over him before the hands vanished with a flourish of petals.
“Let’s let Sanji rest,” Nami suggested. The others nodded solemnly. As they all left back up the rungs, Chopper glanced back at Zoro one last time.
“Zoro. If something happens.. The wound starts bleeding too much or Sanji starts to look even paler, come find me.”
“Got it. Don’t worry, Chopper,” Zoro nodded, watching as the reindeer smiled and climbed up the rungs. When the hatch closed, Zoro exhaled softly, leaning his head against the couch cushions. He caught a glimpse of Sanji from the angle he was at. And he couldn’t help but stop and stare. Despite the circumstances.. Sanji looked peaceful. It was a stark contrast to the pained, almost scared look Zoro saw on him the moment he had been shot.
This felt like a reminder to Zoro. That no matter how many times he skirted the line of danger, he could never truly be safe. Being a pirate was a dangerous endeavor; Sanji’s current status was proof of that.
Zoro was used to getting injured, hell, he was used to Sanji getting injured. Maybe it was the closeness, but this time spooked him more than any other time. When Sanji had a broken spine at Drum Island, Zoro didn’t worry. Chopper and Kureha fixed him and he was up and running around in no time. Even in Skypiea, Sanji had been brutally struck by Enel’s lighting. Zoro didn’t seem too bothered. Sanji had been okay.
It must have been the fact that Sanji still wasn’t up yet. That’s what was shaking Zoro to his core. But Zoro would wait patiently by his side. He didn’t fully understand why himself; he and the cook always fought. But something deep within him was urging to stay.
So he stayed.
The early morning drifted into the afternoon and Zoro still hadn’t left Sanji’s side. Without him, Nami and Usopp had to come up with lunch themselves. They had brought Zoro a plate and a mug of sake. Nami had offered to take over watch of Sanji, but Zoro insisted on staying. So reluctantly, Nami left once more.
Finally, as Zoro felt himself drifting off into a nap, he heard Sanji’s breathing shift. His head shot up, waiting to see any other movement. Sanji’s uncovered eye fluttered open and his gaze flickered over to Zoro.
Sanji made a small noise of pain, trying to force his body to sit upright.
“Hey, don’t move,” Zoro warned, reaching a hand out and placing it on his chest to keep him down. Then, he quickly remembered the antibiotics Chopper wanted Sanji to take. So he leaned over to the table and grabbed them, reading over the label before unscrewing it.
“What’s that?” Sanji ached out tiredly.
“Antibiotics. Chopper wants you to have ‘em.”
“Oh,” he murmured, letting his eyes flutter shut again. Zoro shifted closer on his knees, gently scooping his hand underneath Sanji’s head. Sanji’s eyes shot open quickly again as Zoro adjusted his head.
“Open your mouth,” Zoro said, pressing the bottle to Sanji’s lips. Obediently, Sanji let his lips part for Zoro. Once he did, Zoro was careful to feed the liquid to Sanji. He kept his head propped up so he wouldn’t choke, slowly letting Sanji swallow the contents of the bottle. Once he was finished, he laid Sanji’s head back down on the pillow.
Zoro shifted away from Sanji, crossing his legs on the floor.
“How’re you feelin’?” Zoro asked, keeping his eyes on Sanji. To Zoro, he still looked pretty weak and pale, but the wound hadn’t bled anymore.
“Like shit,” Sanji grumbled.
“Makes sense. You were shot in the shoulder.”
“Yeah,” he groaned, glancing down at the bandaged area. “What’d Chopper say about it?”
“Something about it being non-fatal, that you’d heal in a few days…” Zoro recalled. “He got the bullet out and patched you up pretty well.”
“Mm… Good,” he hummed before closing his eyes once more.
Zoro, despite knowing Sanji was still in pain, was glad. Sanji was alive, he could talk and move, even if it was limited at the moment.
“Glad you’re still alive,” Zoro blurted his own thoughts out, not fully registering that he had even said anything.
“Hm?” Sanji perked up a little. “What’d you say?”
“What?” Zoro spoke back in a similar confused tone.
“You said something about being glad I was alive?”
“Oh. Yeah..” He mumbled, glancing away, a little embarrassed. Zoro never really got soft with Sanji. They were supposed to be enemies, or.. Something.
A small grin just formed on Sanji’s face, content. “Well… I’m glad I’m alive, too..”