Can't Be Beat

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Okay, so yet again I've come out with another oneshot. This one (yet again) just popped into my head and I had to get it down before I forgot it so here it is. Sanji/Zoro friendship fic.

Stupid fucking Marimo! Why'd he have to go and be like this? How can he be so damn calm about all of it? Act as if nothing's wrong? I watch him now and it really makes my blood boil! How can he just lie there like he normally does and sleep his life away? I know Chopper told him to rest but fuck! Shouldn't he be doing something more than sleeping?! …not that I care anyway.

I finish up my smoke ad head for the galley to prepare the 'extra-nutritional' meal for the stupid bastard – cramming it full of the drugs Chopper gave me. I wonder sometimes whether it'll make the food taste different, but I daren't taste it. Those drugs were made especially for him, to react with his body. Who the fuck knows what they'll do to mine!

How long has it been now? Four, five months? And still he acts as if nothings wrong. When will he grow up and start showing what he's feeling. It can't be good for him keeping it all inside … not that I care anyway.

We didn't even know anything was wrong. If he hadn't been drinking that stupid fucking rum then we might have noticed … might have been able to prevent it…

Sanji smirked as yet again the sound of Zoro throwing up filled the air. For the past two weeks the swordsman had been drinking every night and suffering the next morning with a hangover from hell. He didn't really look sick, he'd had enough hangovers to know how to deal with them and so life went on as usual.

The retching sounded again and Sanji smirked turning his head towards the open galley door.

"Serves you right moss-head!" he called "Maybe now you wont drink our entire rum supply in one week!"

Angry footsteps thudded his way and the cook wiped his hands to dry (he had been washing up), but just as the footsteps reached the point where they would turn into the galley they quickly thudded away. Sanji's face fell blank for a second wondering what had happened but a satisfied smirk crossed his face and he returned to his dish-washing as he heard more heaving.

Nami grimaced as she watched Zoro throw up over the side of the ship before turning back to her magazine. Luffy ignored it, used to this happening in the morning after Zoro had had a drink the night before. The rest of the crew ether shot a sympathetic look his way (which if noticed was returned with a glare) or ignored him. Zoro was a tough guy, he was fine …or so they thought.

That night he'd been unusually quiet. He was a pretty quiet guy normally, but he hadn't even shouted at Luffy when the boy had stolen half of his food and merely shrugged it off. He blamed it on the headache when questioned by Chopper and the crew had talked softer, not making so much noise. Even Luffy seemed to tone it down a little, for if Zoro were to actually complain about a headache then it had to be pretty bad.

"Oi bastard" Sanji growled, noticing Zoro's plate which had been hardly touched "You'd better not think of leaving that"

"I'll eat what I damn well please shitty-cook" Zoro snapped back, though the crew noticed it seemed to lack in energy

"Zoro doesn't want his food?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side before grinning. His hand stretched forward but was stopped in its tracks as a barbeque fork slammed down on the table in front of it, courtesy of Sanji. Luffy yelped and pulled his hand back, throwing a pout at the cook which was utterly ignored in favour of glaring at the swordsman. Zoro merely glared back.

"Eat. Your. Food" the blonde ground out angrily

"Make. Me" Zoro replied, mimicking Sanji's tone

The cook growled and Zoro's right hand unconsciously moved to his swords. By now the rest of the crew had finished up and were leaving the galley, ignoring the two as they readied to fight. It was nothing new.

How the fuck was I supposed to know there was anything wrong with him? As far as I was concerned he had a hangover. End of story. But then that shit-head had to go and black out on me…

When the fight finally broke out, Sanji instantly noted something was off. Zoro was weak, much weaker than usual, and his balance and attacks were sloppy and off. If he'd have been in a calmer frame of mind maybe he'd have stopped, but the only thought running through his head was to kick some sense into that thick Marimo skull. And he had.

One kick was all it had taken and Zoro was face down on the deck of Merry. Two of his three swords rolled off the end of the ship and into the murky waters and without a second thought Sanji had kicked off his shoes and gone in after them. Emerging seconds later, he tossed the two swords back onto the ship before climbing on himself, courtesy of a rope ladder via Usopp. To say he was shocked was an understatement. Zoro was really out cold. Chopper was fussing over him, checking to see if anything was wrong and all Sanji could do was watch, panting slightly from his unexpected swim wondering what the hell just happened.

I got my answers only hours later. Chopper refused to talk to us until Zoro woke up. Doctor-patient confidentiality. Always a professional when it came to medicines. But we didn't expect that…

Zoro walked out from the cabin and was instantly assaulted by an armful of Luffy. The captain was worried about his first mate and was firing off question after question, but one I particular caught him off guard. It caught them all of guard really, and it made Sanji smirk.

"How could you lose to Sanji, Zoro?" Luffy asked, a confused expression crossing his face "You guys always tied before so how come you lost?"

"I guess the better man finally won" Sanji smirked

"Che, in your dreams princess" Zoro retorted

"Then what other excuse could there be moss-head?" the cook sneered "Can't handle your drink?"

Zoro huffed again as Chopper walked out of the cabin and looked up at him with teary eyes. Zoro looked down at him and rolled his eyes.

"Stop crying Chopper" he stated "I promised I wouldn't lose until I beat Mihawk remember? Nothing can beat me until then"

"But, Zoro…"

"No buts" Zoro reprimanded "Stop crying, I won't let it beat me"

Chopper nodded and the crew looked between the two, confused by the exchange.

"What's going on?" Nami asked warily

The little reindeer threw a glance in Zoro's direction and the swordsman nodded his consent, settling down by the mast and crossing his arms behind his head to take a nap.

"Zoro … he … he has cancer…"

The rest of the crew looked on obliviously. It was Luffy ho voiced what they were all thinking.

"Cancer? What's that? Can you eat it?"

Well, minus the eating part of course.

"I-It's a disease" Chopper continued, his voice wavering as the tears in his eyes fell "Zoro might die"

The deck fell deathly silent as it seemed even the wind had stopped blowing at the shocking news. Finally it was once again Luffy who broke the silence.

"That's stupid" he stated bluntly "Zoro can't die form some mystery disease – he swore he'd never lose again"

And with that the Captain bounded off to sit by his first mate. Neither seemed to really have a care in the world. The same couldn't be said for the rest of the crew. They simply stood there in shock, taking in what they had been told, but not quite comprehending it.

"What?" Sanji finally choked out

Chopper sobbed slightly and started to explain what cancer was and how it ate away at the body. He also told the group that starting tomorrow (to make sure all of the alcohol was out of Zoro's system) they would begin treatment. He would outline a list of foods for Sanji to prepare and give him medicines to be put in with the food and Nami and Robin could take over Zoro's night watch, as he would need as much rest as he could get. Usopp and Chopper would take over his chores and Luffy would be in charge of making sure Zoro didn't train for more than an hour a day.

Now normally Luffy couldn't be trusted to do anything, but when it was for his Nakama then they knew they could count on him. The crew listened numbly, memorising what the doctor was telling them, but one sentence still dominated their thoughts.

Zoro could die.

I didn't really believe it at the time. I mean, come on, this was Zoro the guy that lost nearly all of his blood in a fight and still walked away; the guy that tried to cut his legs off to escape and still walked away; the guy that nearly got sliced in fucking half by Mihawk and still walked away. A stupid disease couldn't bring a guy like that down.

But I was wrong. Those damn tablets Chopper gave him seriously messed with him. He had to try several different batches before finally they got it right. It wasn't ideal, but it was better then some of the other outcomes.

The first batch of tablets had made him collapse and pant for air, his skin ranging from blue to red in hot a cold flushes. I had been the one to walk in on him after taking those ones. He'd been in the cabin…

Sanji climbed down the ladder to the men's cabin, ready to change his suit after it had been splashed in preparing dinner. What he'd seen when he's got there was not what he'd expected. Zoro lay in the middle of the room heavily panting whilst his skin took on a deep purple colour. Running to his side and kneeling down to rest a hand on his forehead, Sanji pulled it back at how hot he felt.

"Chopper!" he shouted "Get down here! Something's wrong with Zoro! Seriously wrong!"

Sanji looked down at Zoro who stared back at him through half lidded eyes, looking almost dazed as if he didn't understand where was or what was going on. Chopper had been down along with the rest of the crew in a matter of seconds but he'd told the cook that there was nothing they could do other than watch him and make him as comfortable as possible until the tablets effects wore off. It was an agonising four hours before finally Zoro's panting started to slow and his face returned to its normal colour. He was asleep, obviously exhausted from the ordeal. Nami was with him when he woke up. They took it in turns to watch over him. Chopper had been in his lab, working on altering the tablets to get rid of those effects. He never once mentioned it, didn't want to talk about it and didn't so much as make one complaint Chopper's way. The little doctor was doing the best he could, and he knew that.

The second batch of tablets kept him awake for days on end. He'd looked an absolute mess by the time he'd finally fallen asleep…

"Huh? Zoro?" Usopp asked sleepily as he rubbed at his eyes "What are you doing up? What time is it?"

"Early" Zoro replied simply, not even a hint of sleepiness in his voice "Go back to bed"

"Is something wrong?" the marksman pressed "You want to talk?"

"I'm fine" Zoro answered simply "I think it's the tablets … go back to bed Usopp"

"…okay" Usopp replied reluctantly as he settled back down into his blanket yawning "Wake me if you need anything"

The next morning Zoro was still in the spot Usopp had seen him in last night when he woke. Chopper had yet again changed the tablets, but the damage had been done and 8 tablets had been taken (the daily amount). They kept him awake for five days straight, and by the fifth day, to put to bluntly, he looked like shit. Dark rings were under his eyes and he could hardly focus. He kept walking into things and falling over after losing his balance when even the smallest wave rocked the ship. Luffy kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn't fall over the side of the ship. He'd finally fallen asleep at dinner on the fifth day, falling face first into his dinner and making everybody at the table jump.

"…I think Zoro hung around with Ace too much" Luffy stated

The crew actually chucked a little at that. Luffy could always be counted on to lighten the mood. They'd all returned to eating, not wanting to move him just yet other than making him a little more comfortable and moving his face from his plate. Luffy had even reached out one of his arms on the table so that Zoro could lie his head on the soft rubbery texture rather than the hard wood. After lunch, Luffy and Sanji had carried him down to the men's cabin and laid him down on the couch. He hadn't s much as stirred the whole time. Zoro slept for the entire day and night the next day to recover before he was ready to try again.

Next was the third batch of tablets; the ones that made him constantly heave and throw up for a week. He didn't complain though, the idiot.

Nami cringed as Zoro coughed out another heave over the edge of the ship before wiping his mouth and trying to get back to his training. Five minutes later he was at it again. Finally he set the weights down and gave up on his training for the time being reminding him self to make it up that evening when the sickness wasn't so bad. He moved to sit by the railings, his body aching all over ad protesting against al the running he was doing to make it to the edge of the ship before the contents of his stomach, which by now was nothing, came spewing all over the deck. Feeling the familiar feeling in his stomach, he twisted around and dry heaved over the ocean, spitting out the bile and glaring as it disappeared into the sea. Once again his tablets were taken from him and altered and time and time again they caused painful and suffering side effects.

Batch after batch Zoro took without complaint. He was strong and determined. This thing would not beat him. Chopper had got Usopp to help build a make shift scanner so that he could keep an eye on the progress of the disease. It seemed to be decreasing. And so Zoro took the tablets.

The final batch had not been ideal, but had produced symptoms that Zoro had insisted he could 'deal with'. He was sometimes sick, and sometimes tired. Sometimes he lost his appetite and sometimes he became so dizzy so suddenly, he'd fall over in the middle of a conversation - they even made him start to lose his hair. But he'd taken it in his stride and carried on.

I couldn't believe it when he'd walked in the galley with his bandana on his head. I thought twice about insulting him that day, but I think he would have been more hurt or insulted if I hadn't…

"Oi Marimo or should I call you egg-head now?" Sanji smirked from the stove "What's the deal with the bandana? Don't tell me you're getting vain – I thought you only wore that thing in battle"

Zoro stared at him for a few seconds before he too smirked and then shrugged, not taking the bait as Sanji had expected him to.

"I am in a battle" he replied simply, grabbing a freshly buttered piece of toast from the growing pile and munching on it "And I don't plan on losing"

Things seemed so damn normal, it was unreal. Aside from the fact that Zoro had lost his hair (which was hardly noticeable with the bandana) and he was occasionally sick (which he usually was before sue to drink) nothing was out of the ordinary. But I'd been so shocked when he's had his first really bad reaction to the disease. The bastard had been bedridden for weeks. For once he just couldn't find the strength to get up. I watched him as he slowly got worse and worse, slipping in and out of consciousness and burning up with fever and to be honest I thought that was it. I thought he was going to die right there in that bed. Luffy hadn't doubted for a second though. Sometimes I wish I could have his kind of faith.

Luffy sighed in boredom and looked around the room for something to do. It was his turn to watch over Zoro and he was so bored. It was like keeping an eye on Nami with Grand Line fever all over again! An intake of breath behind him caught the boy attention and he turned to face his swordsman, giving a wide grin as he realised he was awake.

"Hiya Zoro!" he greeted cheerfully "How do you feel?"

"Fine … Captain" he replied slowly, sleepily

"Sanji says your dying" Luffy stated with a frown "But I know you're not"

"Not gonna … die" Zoro muttered out

Luffy grabbed the cloth from Zoro's head and rinsed it in the bowl of cold water beside the bed before replacing it.

"You know" he stated idly, more as if he was thinking to himself "If you did die, that would make Sanji right"

"Hell no!" Zoro coughed out "That bastard … doesn't tell me … when to … die!"

Luffy grinned and Zoro joined him this time.

"Get better soon okay Zoro?"

The swordsman settled back into the pillows and closed his eyes.

"Is that an order?" he asked weakly

"Yep" Luffy grinned, his eyes still confidently watching the green haired man

Zoro merely smirked and nodded.

I walked in one day to deliver the soup I knew he wouldn't be eating and there the fucker was sitting up in bed and waiting as if nothing was wrong. He was giving me the same look he gave me whenever he won and argument, but what the hell argument could he have won? I didn't know and I didn't care.

After that episode, everything seemed to go well. The tablets didn't seem to affect him so badly and he seemed to be getting strength back, but every now and then the idiot would overdo it and end up in bed again. All the while he carried on as if nothing was wrong. He's still doing it now. He lies there sleeping as if he's got nothing better to do. He has no idea how long he has to live or whether he's really going to beat this thing, and yet he does nothing to really enjoy life. He just keeps saying he can't die until he beats Mihawk, and then Luffy will pipe up and say he promised to never be defeated again which means the cancer can never beat him. The crew just smile, and at times like those even I feel like nothing can stop us; not the marines, not other pirates and not some fucked up disease.

The moss-head … no, I can't call him that any more. No more green hair. Chopper says it'll grow back when he comes off the tablets and I never fail to notice the when; not if but when. The stupid Mari…moron has given all of us hope, even me. He's so damn stubborn, he's got us all thinking he can live through anything. He still fights in battle with us and he still dives in the ocean to save our air-headed captain. Though Chopper does insist on no unnecessary stress or exertion, which means we don't get much chance to fight any more.

I find myself smiling as I chop up the food for lunch. He annoys the hell out of me but it just wouldn't be the same without him and I can't help but look forward to the next chance I can have a physical fight with Zoro … when he gets better.

Stupid fucking Marimo.

You know, I'm half tempted to do another chapter to this from Zoro's POV, but meh. I don't know. We'll see how it does first.