What it means to be a Nakama

Nakama

Sanji hesitated.

He shot his arm out and grabbed the larger man's wrist as he slipped backwards towards the cliff. He dug his heels into the loose dirt trying to stop their momentum as he grabbed Zoro's arm with his other hand as well. His heels slid through the dirt and couldn't find purchase. As he let out a string of curses, he pulled with all his might. He felt his right heel stop suddenly, ramming into a solid stone. His moment of relief was short lived, however, as he was violently jerked forward when Zoro's body slid off the edge. Sanji slammed onto his front as he was pulled to the edge as well.

His shoulders were screaming under the immense weight as his body slowed as it slid towards the edge.

"Wake up, damn it, wake up!" Sanji yelled towards his companion who hung limp, supported only by Sanji's hands, which gripped his sweaty forearm. Rocks dug through Sanji's chest as he grit his teeth, struggling to hold tight to Zoro's slick arm. He slammed his foot downward, trying to create a grove to give himself something to pull them back with.

"Don't you dare be the reason for my death you damn marimo!"

==============

Zoro awoke to a pounding in his head and a dull pain in his right arm. He grabbed his head, trying to calm the pounding as he sat up and opened his eyes, wincing a bit at the light. A delighted gasp made him turn his head towards the noise. Chopper was at his desk but jumped up and ran over, swaying back and forth happily.

"Zoro! You're awake! How are you feeling?" He asked, obviously thrilled that the swordsman had awoken. Zoro gave a grunt.

"M'fine." He replied, rubbing his head. The pounding in his head was relentless, but he'd felt much worse before. He took a moment and gave himself a onceover, flexing his sore arm. He noticed there were bandages on it, but it felt as if they were only surface wounds. He frowned, not remembering their appearance, or better yet, how he had gotten back on the ship. He looked around, trying to piece what had happened together. He felt as if there had been someone else... Chopper followed his eyes then clapped his hoofs together.

"Ah! Don't worry! Sanji will be fine, eventually. He woke up before you." Chopper said, with stars in his eyes. "So heroic!"

Zoro paused and looked at Chopper. Heroic..? He felt heat rise to his face. No. What did Sanji do? He pushed himself off the bed, swayed slightly as his vision blurred a moment from the abrupt movement, and walked out onto the deck despite Choppers protest.

He was greeted by a few of the members on the lawn as they heard the door open.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Swordsman?" Robin inquired from her lawn chair as she closed her book.

"Fine." Zoro responded, his eye sweeping the boat looking for a certain blonde.

"If you're looking to thank your white knight, he's in the kitchen." Nami said with a wicked grin, causing Luffy to burst into laughter. Zoro's eye twitched as he gripped the railing. White knight? Usopp looked torn between wanting to laugh along with Luffy, but also terrified at what Zoro might do to him. He settled for ducking behind the mast and snorting with laughter from behind.

Zoro turned on his heel and stomped off towards the kitchens. Sanji apparently saved him. So what? They were crewmates, they watched each other's backs. Luffy had saved him quite a few times as well. But, Luffy was their captain, pretty much invincible. Sanji... was a moron whose IQ dropped every time there was a female in the room.

He slammed the door open to the kitchen and glared over towards the counter. However, Sanji wasn't in his usual space, but rather sitting back in a chair at the table.

"Oi, shitty cook, what the hell happened?!" He asked, aggravated. Sanji looked surprised at his entrance at first, but a sly grin grew across his face.

"Oh, so the damsel in distress has awakened. How are you feeling, princess? Want some tea?" He teased smugly. Zoro reached for his blade, intending to start one of their usual matches, but he only felt air. Remembering he'd just been in the sick bay, and his swords were probably still there, he instead raised his foot and kicked the table. It caught Sanji off guard in the chest, and he fell back in his chair, gritting his teeth.

"Tea sounds good." Zoro replied, smirking. He waited for Sanji to jump up and attack, but it didn't come. Instead he heard Sanji scuffling around under the table. Zoro cautiously bent over and looked under the table. Sanji was rolling on his back, trying to push himself up. It was then that Zoro finally noticed that Sanji's chest and arms were all wrapped up. His arms were in thick casts and hung in a sling around his neck.

"Bastard!" Sanji snarled, finally giving up trying to stand without the use of his hands, and kicked the table right back at Zoro, who, having bent over, caught it with his face. He cursed and moved to retaliate against his rival but hesitated. Sanji was inching towards the wall like an inchworm. When he reached the wall, he planted his head against it as leverage, and was finally able to stand. He scoffed and looked down his nose at the swordsman with a red line across his nose.

"...Idiot." Zoro rolled his eye and stood up, pushing the table back to its original position. Sanji's expression went blank, seeing the swordsman give up the fight. He followed Zoro's form as the man grabbed a chair, flipping it around and sitting down, resting his forearms across the top. He waited. Sanji gave an annoyed tsk and walked back over to the table, using his foot to hook a chair and sat down.

"I'm fine." The cook told him, looking annoyed.

"I don't give a shit about you. Just what the hell happened?!" Zoro asked, but as he glanced at his companion's arms, he was reminded of the dull pain from his own. He flexed his hand again, testing it. There seemed to be nothing wrong with any of his bones. He then started to unwrap the gauze from his arm. There were traces of blood on it, but nothing too severe. With the wrappings off, however, his arm wasn't looking the best. There were long, thin gashes all up and down his arm, ten in total.

Sanji shifted in his chair and his lip twitched. He needed a smoke. His usual jacket was folded on the table, and he could see the indentation of his cigarettes and lighter. He was contemplating whether to use his foot, which would dirty his table, or his face, which would just look ridiculous, when a hand reached over and grabbed his jacket. Zoro fished out a cigarette and shoved it roughly into the cook's mouth. Sanji was about to snap at him but froze when Zoro lit the cigarette with his lighter. Sanji leaned back in his chair and took a deep drag, sighing contently as the nicotine entered his system.

"Thanks." Zoro said simply, setting the lighter back on the table.

"You owe me." Sanji replied, but his grin held no malice. Zoro rolled his eye.

"Just don't drag us down while you're recovering." He shot back lightly.

"Wouldn't dream of it, marimo."