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Sanji wasn’t sure how it happened, nor could he recall the chain of events that led up to it.
He'd suspected it must have been building up for a while before he'd caught on to what's happening, already used to dismissing his aches like second nature while each symptom steadily progressed within him until their internal clock ticked down and made sure he would pay attention to them.
He wasn't exactly an idiot on the topic; he knew which foods where best suited to help the patient recover faster and maintain their health.
Because alongside his wide variety of knowledge about nutrients and health foods, they had themselves a ship’s doctor that heavily cracked down on any ailment that threatened them, so really they were all pretty good at staying on top of their health. The team effort palpable as they intervened and stopped it in its tracks once they noticed something off brewing about them.
Even without all that, he wasn't one to fall under sickness easily. Not as a boy, and definitely not as a teenager (if you could call him that anymore) on the cusp of adulthood.
So, he wasn't sure what exactly set it off.
Maybe his body had finally given up on acclimating to the contrasting climates from each island they crossed, maybe he’d picked up some kind of virus he'd never heard of from one of the tropical islands, maybe he just ate something bad.
Or maybe, it was the universe’s cruel way of playing a trick on him. Maybe his hubris finally caught up to him, and the universe was set on humbling him once more.
They were all bound to get sick at least once during their travels after all. They were all aware of that going in, even if their foes didn't always show the same consideration for the sick.
Who could tell, really.
All he knew was that he'd been unknowingly living in denial of his symptoms, ever the martyr as he once again put his well-being aside in favour of his crew.
It was probably his very accurate observation of reality talking, but he knew that technically anyone on the crew could do his job.
By no means was he discrediting himself.
It took truly hard work to turn simple ingredients into a well-tasting meal that not only nourished the body, but also the soul.
Yet, on the other hand it didn't exactly take a genius to slap something on a pan and call it edible. Food was food, after all.
So with those points in hand, Sanji came to the reasonable conclusion that he had to safe-guard his position for as long as possible. He wanted the blindfold to remain on them just a bit longer before anyone woke up and realised how truly replaceable he was.
Whatever. At least he could hold his own in a fight, so he wasn't completely useless after all.
But that was besides the point.
When he’d initially started feeling more drained than usual, when the simplest tasks sapped away at his energy twice as fast, and he was fighting for consciousness at dinner time, he blamed it on the constant fights they had been getting into, and barely getting a proper night’s rest afterwards. Both were true, technically, so he didn't dwell on it again and just took more naps.
Then his appetite started to fade. First he wasn't able to stomach his usual serving sizes, then certain foods made him feel like up-chucking the entirety of his stomach content. This have been more alarming in any other context, but when memories of the rock crept up on him out of nowhere and he was focusing more on the weight on his chest than the world around him, he tended to act a bit strangely towards food and would spend more time burrowing in their pantry.
So, he smoked more than he ate and started snacking on lettuce and whatever plain food that settled his stomach, which wasn't saying much considering white bread was starting to feel too heavy for him. But the excuses to avoid eating dinner with his crew came easy.
Not to mention the headaches he would painstakingly ride out when the more flavourful spices and aromas kept wafting in his sinuses during cooking. Still, he would rather perish than serve his crew plain food unless they specifically requested it or they were feeling under the weather (ha).
Sanji still didn’t consult Chopper, but he was aware that the others were slowly catching on to his new behaviours. It wasn't enough to spur outright concern but enough to keep a closer eye on him, so he was determined to fly under the radar and prevent any arising suspicion.
The final straw was when he started getting winded during sparring sessions with Zoro, the mossheaded idiot always sending him weird side-eyes whenever he overheated too early and had to step away to catch his breath. Sanji didn't say anything then either, and neither did Zoro, because conversation between them was like pulling teeth sometimes. Which came in Sanji's favour, even if he did start to feel a pair of eyes staring daggers at his back more often.
No big deal.
He had everything under control.
Finally, it all came to a head when he exerted himself further than his new abilities would allow.
He started to feel that something was wrong when he felt his breath grew faster and shorter, as if he wasn't able to sustain his lungs no matter how much air he'd tried gulping down. Then his heart was pounding loudly in his ears, the sound drumming up a headache as his head felt a fraction lighter when he threw another kick Zoro's way.
Then he barely avoided missing Zoro's next strike. The sword a hair's breadth away from breaking skin as he pulled himself back at the last minute, the miniscule gap leaving his mind reeling as he struggled to focus on the lightning-fast figure weaving around him.
He numbly felt himself shift into stance one more time as he blinked the heaviness out of his eyes.
Sanji was staring at the sky.
Sanji was staring at the sky.
Sanji was staring at the sky?
He swatted away at the warm hand resting on his forehead, his fingers going to clumsily loosen his tie as it suddenly felt too tight around his neck. He let out a small sigh once the pressure magically loosened, a small breeze starting to cool down his face.
He closed his eyes.
The floor wasn't too bad.
Sanji sipped at his glass of water.
Considering the scare he gave them, they stuck him in the comfortable bed of the infirmary so his situation could be worse.
"Sanji!", Chopper protested as his little hoof frantically waved the thermometer in the air, "You have a fever, how long have you been feeling sick for?!"
Sanji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as all eyes ping-ponged between the two,
"I...don't know exactly. I can't really remember."
Usopp looked up from the piece of metal he was fiddling with, a thoughtful look on his face as rubbed at his chin, "Is that why you were eating less?"
Nami zeroed in on him.
"You noticed that too?!"
"Kinda hard not to-"
"And you were taking more breaks when we sparred-", Zoro interjected.
"And you were definitely more tired at dinner, you almost fell asleep-"
Chopper squeaked in anguish after each revelation.
Sanji cut in before the conversation continued to spiral out of his control, "Okay shut up, that's not true."
"How am I supposed to keep you alive and healthy if you don't let me?!", Chopper's ears drooped as he clutched at his head, "I want to do my job the best I can, did you think I wouldn't be able to help you?"
"That's not-", Sanji heaved a sigh as the ceiling suddenly got more interesting, "That wasn't my intention. I didn't realise I was sick, so I promise if I knew I would have came to you."
"You promise?"
"I do."
Chopper nodded slowly.
"Okay then, apology accepted. I'm putting you on bed rest for the next 5 days-"
Sanji's eyes bulged, "Five?!"
"-And I'm assigning you lots of nutrients to get you back on your feet. I'm talking vitamins, broths with lots of vegetables, protein, water, you know the works", Chopper turned around to face the others, "You guys think you can handle something like that?"
Robin beamed warmly at the reindeer, "It's no problem at all-"
Sanji shook his head in disbelief.
"No. No way. That's too much. I'm not doing five entire days in bed, what about my work?"
"What? You don't think we can handle a few days of cooking?", Nami asked pointedly, her arms crossed as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"That's not...what I meant, you know that Nami-swan, I just-"
"Then great! Get well soon, we've got it from here-", she called out behind her back, dragging Usopp out with a yelp as he scrambled up to follow her pace.
"Cool! I want to cook for Sanji too, wait for me guyss-", Luffy bounded after them.
"Don't mess up my kitchen", Sanji called out in alarm as he sat up abruptly, trying to stretch his neck for a better view of Luffy's retreating figure, "Put everything back in its exact place and be careful with the knives, some of them are sharp and you'll damage the blade if you use them wrong, but also don't hurt yourself, and my recipes are-"
Robin let out a low laugh.
"-on the counter where you always keep them, I think they have a handle on it, Cook-San. And if it makes you feel any better, I will be helping them with keeping our dear captain at bay."
Sanji flushed slightly as he relaxed back into the pillows, "It's not that I don't trust you-"
"We know, you don't need to worry. Your kitchen will be in good hands."
"I'm sorry it has to fall on you."
Her expression softened just a smidge, a small frown present on her lovely face as her head tilted, the change almost undetectable to those who aren't privy to knowing her, "What do you mean by that, Cook-San?"
"It's a lot to put on you all at once-"
"Nonsense. You're not feeling well, let us take care of you. You do the same for us."
"That's-", Sanji pursed his lips.
That's different.
Sanji didn't much like depending on others.
He trusted them with his life of course, and he always could count on them in the heat of battle. In fact, had grown to care about them like family. There were very few people in the world he could say that about, and most of them were gathered on the ship.
And yet...
A moment of weakness meant opportunity to take advantage or to weaponize it.
He couldn't just allow chinks to materialise in his armour, the action practically asking for somebody to come screw him over.
He didn't need to worry about back-stabbing if he was always stamping out the sparks before they had a chance to alight.
They wouldn't get it.
"I can see you need more time, and that's okay. I hope you get used to the experience as time goes on. Get well soon, cook-San."
"Thanks", Sanji muttered as everyone filed out of the room, flopping dramatically on the pillows as he buried his head in his hands.
It was going to be a long five days.