With his heart about to escape his chest from how fast it was beating, Luffy's adrenaline started to rise when Sanji's silhouette was drawn in closer towards the bathroom.
"Sanji, wait!! W... Wait a minute!"
His voice caught the Cook off guard, causing him to take a step back, seconds before Luffy saw his shoe from the corner of the entrance to where the bathroom was.
"Not good..." The anxious Captain sighed.
"Luffy, are you alright in there? Need some help?" Sanji asked.
"No, I'm good!" Luffy said, at first.
But when his legs started to tremble from standing on his own for so long without assistance, the Captain knew that he wouldn't be able to leave the restroom until he was fully clothed.
"Once you finish up, let me know. I wanna ask you something but I'll wait 'til you're done."
Sanji spoke, sounding energetic.
This made Luffy question what he wanted to ask him, but when it dawned on him that the Cook was leaving, he couldn't hold back on calling out to him.
"S... Sanji...?"
The Cook retraced his steps and walked back to the same spot that he was in, waiting for Luffy's response.
"Yes?" He answered.
"Can you get Zoro for me?"
The boy asked, giving Sanji the same request that he had given him, last night.
Of course, the Chef didn't mind getting ahold of the Swordsman, under Luffy's command.
However, his emotions got the best of him, encouraging him to speak up on how he truly felt about Luffy relying so much on his first mate.
"What do you need?" He asked, clearing his throat for a second.
"Zoro." Luffy replied in a simple manner.
"What do you need... From Zoro, I mean."
"He just has to help me with something! Please, get him!"
Luffy responded, sounding almost desperate for air after his legs started to tremble, again.
"Sorry about this, Luffy. But I just wanna know... What can Zoro help you with that I can't, huh? You can count on me too."
After stating what had been on his mind ever since yesterday, Sanji felt that a weight had been lifted off of his chest.
But his words had a reverse effect on Luffy: He was under more pressure than ever, and the more stressed he felt, the heavier his body became.
"I can't lift my... Pants back up."
The boy awkwardly responded with embarrassment.
"That's all?? I can help you with that!" Sanji chuckled, walking into the bathroom.
"Don't! Don't get any closer!"
"Luffy... Why are you acting all defensive now?"
Sanji questioned, feeling saddened by the way his Captain was rejecting his help as he stepped closer towards him.
Being aware that the older man was now standing a few inches behind him, Luffy dropped his head down and placed his hands in front of himself.
"I don't wanna disappoint Sanji. But I don't want him to see me like this... Not after that time..."
~Flashback~
"This... This is too much for me to take in... I can't stomach it. That's not normal, It's not supposed to look that swollen and bruised! What the Hell did they do to him!?"
