#in water 7 zoro asks “so what do you wanna do captain” and luffy says go after robin etc

[assiraphales]

one of the lil english dub quirks is that whenever zoro asks luffy what he wants to do and luffy replies, it consistently changes whatever zoro says (at least compared to the subtitles) to "I had a feeling you'd say that"

[whirlybirdwhat]

If Truth is True North

For @greyskyflowers ask: I was also wondering if you could possibly continue this or do a one shot where one of the crew gets hurt? You spoke of Nami loving her role as navigator given by Luffy. How would they react if Luffy got seriously hurt? 

I hope you enjoy! Its not quite what the prompt asked, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted it in the Sea of Monsters Au or not, so I just went with what I was inspired to write! 

The other details of your ask will be posted shortly with the actual ask lol.

--

See Ao3 for warnings and better formatting!

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Nami is the best navigator in the world - but the tides of emotions are one thing she has never quite been able to map so well.

But - with Luffy she thinks she would rather die then fail in her task to help her captain.

(He has given her a place - navigator - so she must fulfill it.)

Or:

Nami helps Luffy work through some stuff after a battle - a true navigator must be able to chart all seas after all, even ones of the mind.

- 

Nami navigates. It’s what she does. She looks at the sky the wind the stars and tells her captain that way, and so they go.

She’s drawn maps since she was tiny, loves the smell of parchment and ink and the awe-inspiring feeling of I’ve seen all that when she looks at a finished chart, but nothing will ever quite beat the act of guiding her crew through their grand adventure.

She’s able to stand through hurricanes, tornadoes, water spouts, voyages ten thousand meters to the sky and below the waves. There is nothing she cannot conquer with a log pose or compass, nothing she cannot challenge with the knowledge of the winds and her crew at her back.

All perhaps one thing that is.

Nami’s never been able to deal with emotions well before.

Her childhood has been filled trauma – ever since Bell-mere died, she had no choice but to board up her emotions behind a large brick wall backed with Sea stone and anger, because Arlong would have torn her part before then if she hadn’t.

(Map-maker, the slimy beast called her, cackling as she staunched the blood dripping from a bullet wound, your mine. Go make me some maps, won’t you?)

She’s been a screen of anger and conniving grins since then, snarling at men who touch a little to close and biting at anyone who tries to steal what is hers (her family’s ticket to freedom.) A carefully placed grin – and everyone thinks she on their side.

Then Luffy came in – and suddenly Nami was laughing, crying, shouting with emotions of sincerity. Suddenly Nami had a knife in her shoulder and a hat on her head, and friend (A Captain, a King) who would do anything for her.

Suddenly, Nami had to deal with emotions again.

(Navigator, my navigator, Luffy would call her, the words not like a chain but like a crown, like belonging to something loving once more. Never possessing, because as selfish as her Captain was he would always make sure they were free, but always his. (Because he’s selfish like that.))

The raging waters of her own heart were something she never thought she had to cross again, but she learned. Learned with the compass of her nakama’s laughter and love, and now…

Nami thinks she’s able to do well enough with herself.

But Luffy – her compass, or at least true north – has not.

He bottles it up in a bottle of optimism with a cork of smiles, and hides it behind a scarred chest. He hurts, and Luffy can’t lie but he can pretend nothing is wrong, but sometimes he doesn’t even do that (doesn’t he understand his fake smiles hurt more than daggers? Nami would know-) and instead looks so lost-

And his navigator has no chart to lead him by.

(But she hasn’t ever needed one before.)

-

Luffy has five bloody bullet wounds in one arm, twelve in the rest of his body and a collar around his neck – sea stone and near unbreakable. His chest is nearly caved in by a stray cannon ball, and it’s a miracle he’s still breathing despite the wounds scattered across his body, pale and unmoving.

It’s the worse Nami’s ever seen Luffy.

(She wonder’s if he was worse after Marineford, then dismisses the thought because of course he was.

Ace is dead after all.)

Nami’s hands are the only ones steady and small enough to help Chopper pick the lock around Luffy’s neck, and so she’s the only one allowed in the infirmary, only one besides Chopper allowed to see every little wound and every little pained gasp Luffy makes.

It makes her break a little inside.

Four hours later however, it’s over, and Luffy by some twist of fate is alive before her, breathing, as her bloody hands grip her pants.

Chopper tells Nami to wash up as he goes to bring everyone else in. Nami barely hears him, but she does register Zoro sitting beside her, ever the loyal first mate.

He has a straw hat gripped in his hands, but one look at her face, and Zoro plops it on her head.

She doesn’t question it – if Zoro does it, it means Luffy would have wanted it as well.

(She still wishes Luffy was awake to give it to her himself.)

-

Nami takes the third watch over Luffy. Chopper took the first and Zoro the second while Nami rested, but she doesn’t think she can rest anymore.

(The owner of the strawhat tied around her neck isn’t awake to claim it after all.)

It’s a day after the battle at this point, ship safely away from the Marine filled island, and captain sleeping away the battle fever (and torture) in the belly of their ship of dreams. There’s a pile of food beside the bed – Chopper says despite the wounds, Luffy should wake up sometime soon, so Sanji has been busy. Nami herself has a plate of sandwiches in front of her to snack on, and a few oranges to the side.

(One’s for Luffy when he wakes up – but only one. Nami can’t let her captain be spoiled after all.)

She is making notes about the log pose when she hears it – a soft rustling from the bed and a low, pained groan, in a familiar voice.

“Luffy!” Nami turns around, uncaring about the ink spilling about in her haste to see her captain.

But Luffy doesn’t see her despite the fact that his eyes are wide open. His eyes are glassy and hazy as he tries to sit up in bed, but his arm shake beneath him (7 total bullets had torn into his arms, regular but able to hurt due to the sea stone collar wrapped around her Captain’s neck (who only ever wanted to be free-)) and he collapses backward.

Nami opens her mouth to call out for her captain again but the words lodge in her throat as Luffy’s hand impossible drifts to his chest, where bandages cover up the scar.

He seems to panic at that, fingers gripping into the place where his scar should be, instead feeling only cloth keeping his chest together.

A scratchy sound, barely even a voice, whispers from his throat. “Ace…”

Nami stops cold in her tracks, feet as stuck as her voice.

Oh no – oh please no-

“Ace?” Luffy’s voice is still hoarse, but louder and more frantic. “Ace? Ace! Ace I’m here – where are you – where’s Ace?” He coughs, but that only makes him look down at his hands, which seems to trigger something even more horrific in his mind.

“No – No no nononono! ACE!” He tears at his hands, and that’s when Nami knows she can’t stay still anymore.

She dashes over, grappling at his hands to prevent him from pulling against the bullet wounds, to prevent them from tearing at himself, at his chest.

(His hands are calloused where they grip hers, only slightly bigger, but seemingly smaller with how fragile he feels right now.)

“Luffy,” She calls, voice firm and gentle as she sits beside him. There’s no tremor in her voice to betray the panic welling up inside her. “Luffy. Breathe.”

He doesn’t – instead his breaths get even shorter as he struggles to voice his desperate calls for his brother and his hands struggle further to get to his chest, to do what Nami doesn’t know but she doesn’t want to find out.

“Ace, Ace, Ace, Ace where are you ACE-“

“Luffy!” She regrets shouting as soon as she says it but at least Luffy’s words have stopped. “Breath. You’re on the Sunny, you’re in the infirmary. You’re safe, Luffy, you’re safe, we wont ever let something like that happen to you again, please, Luffy – “ She takes a breath and gathers her own composure.

She can’t help Luffy if she can’t help herself.

“Luffy,” Nami lifts Luffy up so he’s rest against her, able to feel her chest go in and out in big exaggerated movements. “Breath – c’mon, do it with me. In – 2, 3 – Out, 2 3. That’s it Luffy.”

And ever so slowly, Luffy’s hands stop gripping at his chest, stop pulling at his wounds. Ever so slowly, Nami helps Luffy navigate his way back home, back to himself.

Ever so slowly, Luffy comes back, until he gazes around with a confused look. “Na-Nami?”

“Yeah, Luffy,” she swallows back her sigh of relief. “It’s me. You back with me captain?”

It’s a long silence before he responds. But Nami’s patient, She allows Luffy to play with her hand in his, allows him to affirm that yes, she’s real and no, he isn’t back there. It’s a slow process, but

“I think so?”

It’s worth it.

-

Nami doesn’t talk to him about it the day of, or even the week after. Instead, she ambushes him on his first day allowed back on deck without supervision (medical supervision that is – Luffy’s a devil fruit eater with a penchant for trouble. Its good to make sure there’s someone there to shout “Man Overboard!” at all times.)

Most of the bandages are off at this point – rubber is wonderfull for healing stuff, and the future world’s best doctor does greatly help matters – all save for the swathe of bandages around his chest.

“Hey Nami,” Luffy greets first. “Wanna sit?” He pats the place next to him on Sunny’s head.

“Of course, Captain.” Luffy laughs as she stumbles on her way up, but scoots closer as she settles down.

Looking out at the sea, Nami understands why Luffy loves this spot. The light of the sun over the ways now, at dusk, makes the world seem like a fire of molten gold.

It’s beautiful.

But nothing gold can say, as that old book goes, and their silence is broken.

“Don’t scare us like that, okay Luffy?”

“Mmhmm.” He only hums in response, so Nami takes that as the okay to breach the territory they haven’t ever dared venture.

“Luffy… when you woke up for the first time, do you remember that?”

“Yeah…” His voice is suddenly ten times quieter, and the waves seem almost overwhelming in comparison.

“Were you thinking about Marineford?”

“… Yeah.”

“Mmhmm.” Its Nami’s turn to hum now, letting Luffy set the pace, letting Luffy stop the conversation if he wants.

(This is new territory, things yet to be charted. One misstep and her captain could be hurt, but Nami’s been mapmaking since she was born, she can do this, help her captain figure it all out.)

“Do you wake up like that a lot?”

“…Sometimes..” Nami doesn’t expect Luffy to speak much after that, and is surprised when he goes on. This time, his legs are hugged up to his chest, face resting on his knees as he looks out to see. Its almost as if he’s forcing himself not to touch his scar. “When I got out of Marineford, I was on Torao’s ship, all bandaged up. I didn’t know what was going on only that – that Ace wasn’t there and my chest hurt and felt too tight and there was pain everywhere and –“

“Luffy – Breathe.”

Luffy takes a deep breath, one that would be comical if the situation weren’t so serious, and continues. “And it hurt. And- And now sometimes I get reminded, and I don’t like it, and it feels like I’m back at Impel Down, and – and – and-” He gives up on trying to get the words out and buries his face in his knees, so uncharacteristically meek it hurts.

(It reminds Nami of herself, trapped in the map room at Arlong Park, terrfified that she was going to be crushed under the weight of the world.)

“Luffy – it’s okay. You’re not there anymore, okay?”

“BUT IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE THAT!” Luffy shouts, then rushes to hide his head again. He doesn’t like to shout at his crew in anything but joy, not since Water 7.

“And we will help you Luffy- You just have to let us. We can help make those feeling stop, okay? Okay?”

“But – I’m the captain, and –“

“Luffy. No. Look at me okay?” He looks at her, and Nami knows what she will say next won’t be enough, because Luffy doesn’t believe in words without actions, but it will be a start so they can help. “You don’t know how to navigate. You don’t know how to cook anything but barbecue meat, or swordfight, or snipe, or play the violin or build a ship or heal wounds or read poneglyphs. That’s why you have us, okay? And we’re here to help, Captain, help you reach the top and we won’t think any less of you if you need help. Let us help you Luffy, we want to – we can all see how you’re hurting.”

His face goes through an odd sort of emotion, but Nami can see what he wants. It’s good as yes anyway.

So she spreads open her arms, and her captain squeezes the life out of her.

(She doesn’t mention how her shoulder is wet.)

It’s different, Nami thinks, leading her captain back to the infirmary, already talking about ways to make all the pain ease up - (Making sure the bandages aren’t pressing, pain medication to ease pain in the chest and telling him where he Is when he wakes up – things to make him stop thinking of the aftermath of Marineford, just as they let Nami have her own cache of belli stored away, just as they give Robin a cup of warm tea after a fire on an island. Ways to fend off nightmares – Zoro wouldn’t mind another bedmate, moron that he is, and Usopp stays up late anyway.) – navigating for this captain. His waters are treacherous and his winds stormy, but behind all that is a steady smile of sunshine.

But if she’s able to guide him through it, maybe, just maybe, she can help her captain find himself again.

[charlienozaki]

Hi May i ask for you to rank the strawhats in terms of intelligence and alcohol tolerance? Thank you

Anon, you sent this like last weekend—I’m sorry I’m just getting to it now! 💀

Intelligence is kind of difficult to rank tbh, because we know the Straw Hats are all smart in their own special ways and pretty much geniuses/prodigies in their various areas of expertise. So I feel bad ranking intelligence when it comes in so many different forms. But I guess, if we’re talking like…book smarts/test score-wise, then it would go like this…(I’m gonna tack alcohol tolerance on too)….

1 - Robin. I mean the girl is scary knowledgable (emphasis on scary 😂) about most things in the world, so she’s gotta be number one. 

Alcohol tolerance ranking: 3 (out of 10 Straw Hats). I’m puttin’ her pretty high. I think alcohol would affect her. I can see her getting kind of giggly and cute after a few drinks. But I think she’s super self-aware, so she wouldn’t show the effects as outwardly as some of the other crazies on the crew. She is a dignified goddess of darkness at all times.

2 - Chopper. Also scary smart when it comes to medical things. I was tempted to rank him lower though, because otherwise, he can be pretty naive. But ultimately, I’m not sure I would equate his sometimes childish behavior with being unintelligent. He’s still our lovable little nerd. 

Alcohol tolerance: 9. HORRIBLE. And he’s underage! Keep this boy away from the booze. Holy hell. 

3 - Nami. Arguably the most all-around sensible member of the crew, until money comes into play, but even then, she’s budgeting and managing shit constantly. Honestly I think she could easily be equal to or even switched with Chopper. I’m only gonna put her lower simply out of respect for Chopper’s studying efforts and dedication. Nami’s put a lot of time into her craft, of course, but she seems to be more of a natural talent to me. 

Alcohol tolerance: 4. I think she can handle her liquor, but when it gets to her, BOY it gets to her. But only after a lot.

4 - Jinbe. I mean, Uncle Jinbe’s older so he knows his shit about the world, and he’s proven to be very tactically proficient. I wanna see him interact with the crew more….like how will he fit in during day-to-day life or when they’re all just goofing off during their adventures? I still think he’s intelligent, but I really wonder what kind of personality he’ll display once he’s a fully integrated member. It’s still kind of hard for me to imagine at this point, tbh.

Alcohol tolerance: 2. He’s a fish, but he’s hUge so I think his tolerance would be pretty high. Second to ONLY ONE…. (o_+);;; (gee, I wonder who…)

5 - Sanji. He’s a smart dude when he’s not being an IDIOT. But no, he can be a crafty bastard when he wants to be or when he’s not distracted in various ways. He is very emotionally driven though, so sometimes I feel like he doesn’t always make the smartest decisions, but he’s definitely aware of what those decisions are.

Alcohol tolerance: 8. SHIT TOLERANCE, at least in my mind. But he just strikes me as the type to fall apart after one wine. Especially when ladies are involved. Get him some water and send him to bed. Or just knock him out. For his own safety. 👋

6 - Usopp. Ugh, I feel bad ranking his intelligence this low because he’s NOT DUMB. He’s really brilliant and he certainly has some of the best common sense and self-preservation skills on the crew. But I think his intelligence is a little quirky and unconventional, so by traditional standards, others on the crew would be higher.

Alcohol tolerance: 7. I don’t think he could handle too many drinks before it sets him into his ultra cool manly mode and puffs up his bravado in silly ways. Keep him away from tall cliffs and make sure he remembers he can’t fly.

7 - Franky. Again, technically brilliant at his craft. Of course you need intelligence to build fucking ships and all the weaponry and machinery he designs. I think he definitely sees the world through that one lens though. If there’s a problem, his mind isn’t necessarily going to jump to the most straightforward or streamlined method of dealing with it. Oh, the fridge is broken? I’ll fix it, but how ‘bout I also mod it into a fighter jet that can walk on water and serve you breakfast in bed?…. There’s a time and a place, Franky. 😉

Alcohol tolerance: 5. Pretty good. But is that really alcohol in his mug? Methinks it is cola. 🤔

8 - Brook. “He’s not unintelligent!” I continue to scream as I justify ranking these last few so low…. But for real. He’s obviously got the life experience to trump all of his crewmates. No one could survive as he has if they didn’t have something going on in their brain—-except he doesn’t have one. Yohoho. I think his loyalty and emotional attachment to the crew and the comedic extremes of those emotions sometimes hinder any outward displays of intelligence we could get from him. So, compared to others, here he is, at number 8.

Alcohol tolerance: 6. Just prop him up at the piano when he gets too loud and obnoxious. Let him channel that energy into song. 🎶

9 - Zoro. Now this child really is dumb. That’s all I have to say about that. 😘 (Kidding, of course. I love him……………..but come on…)

Alcohol tolerance: 1. Heyo though, he’s the world’s greatest boozeman, so congrats on that!!!!! 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺

10 - Luffy. And our captain comes in DEAD LAST. Loof, you’re the best, but if thinking hurts you this much, then you just keep doing you and burst into shit without a plan. 🤷 It literally works more often than not. 

Alcohol tolerance: 10. Also sticking him at DEAD LAST for this. I actually think it’s a rarity that he drinks. Give him meat and he’s good. This boy though….he’s a wild child every second of every day. If he did drink, would there be much of a difference? I can see him becoming a lot more wiggly, just limbs everywhere. Like those tube man things they have outside of car dealerships. Now there’s something Japan should get on tbh. Give me all the Straw Hats wobbling around outside of Tokyo Tower. I digress.

Anyway, there you have it. 😎

[petite-neko]

Stability - 2

Fanfiction: Stability Story Summary: It wasn’t because he was self-conscious or ashamed. No, it was because he was afraid. His greatest fear was being alone after all. Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Nami, Ace, Sabo, Law Pairing: Eventual LawLu Rating: T Warnings: Swearing, AU/UA, canon-typical violence, angst A/N: Here’s part 2. When I’m coherent I’ll work on part 3

.xxx. = Time/scene skip

.+++. = PoV change

Read on Ao3

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

“These are for you Luffy.”

Vivi was smiling at him, her outstretched arms holding a few wrapped items.

Luffy blinked, tilting his head. “For me?”

That smile widened and Nami came up behind Vivi as well. She had that somewhat scary smile on her face – that one that knew everything. But, in this case it wasn’t that scary. They both nodded.

So he didn’t wait any longer, taking the gifts and tore off the wrapping. Clothes. They were clothes of some sort – like sleeveless shirts but… short.

Nami came up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You can use these instead of the bandages. We asked Chopper, and he said they’re fine and to use them like you use your bandages.” She was smiling at him. “So don’t wear them all the time. And you can put them on yourself, instead of coming to one of us to do it.”

And Luffy just stared at the gift.

Vivi was still smiling down at him. “And if you break all of them, just send me a message, as I know you fight all the time.” She said with a soft laugh. “I can always get you some more somehow.”

“Thank you!” He laughed, feeling tears in his eyes and wrapped the two of them in his arms.

.+++.

They always ensured to just let each of their new crew members know eventually about everything. Mostly it was because they kept getting into more and more dangerous situations, and they couldn’t afford to risk a shocking discovery in the middle of a battle. Of course, everybody took it with ease. Nobody had a problem with it.

The general populace never knew. There were a select few people that knew, such as those who knew Luffy before he set out to become a pirate (Ace, the Redhair Pirates, Luffy’s hometown), and then there was the doctor from Nami’s hometown. Vivi and Carue knew as well, being there when Luffy had admitted it to the crew. (Not to mention Vivi was unofficially a Strawhat, even if she couldn’t be with them.) Bon Kurei, too, knew. But mostly that was because of his devil fruit, and he made no comments or judgements on Luffy either. Nor, did it seem, did he reveal Luffy’s secret, even when they were enemies or captured by the Marines.

And, in Water 7, they found out that Luffy’s grandfather also knew. And supportive to boot. Just not in the case of his piracy.

If they found anybody who had been opposed to their captain – well, the Strawhats would ensure that they paid.

.+++.

He woke up, finding himself surrounded by women. He could hear them mumbling things, but he didn’t quite understand it. His head hurt…

…Where was he?

“…doing here?”

“…mushrooms.”

“…she doing alright?”

“Oh, she’s waking up.”

Luffy sat himself up. What had happened? …Wait a minute

He was naked!

“Where are my clothes!”

He quickly brought up his knees to cover himself. Shit. Shit. Shit. A bunch of strangers just…

(He could hear them, all talking about him. No. Not him. Her. they said. She they whispered. That girl.)

“Shut up! Shut up!” He demanded, covering his ears.

Finally, somebody brought him a blanket and covered him up. He was trembling, and all he could hear was those words. Those words that described somebody that he wasn’t.

“G-Give me my shirts back. Please.”

“What’s wrong, young one?”

Luffy looked up at the only one that hadn’t referred to him incorrectly. Her voice was thick with an accent, and she made some sounds that resembled a cat.

“Give me my shirts back!” He demanded. And his pants too. But his shirts first.

The old woman gestured with her staff and a single shirt was brought over. It wasn’t the outer layer, but the inner one. Well, that one was the most important one at least.

“Your other one was destroyed and in tatters.”

Luffy quickly snatched it before putting it on, letting the blanket cover his lower half.

(There. That was better. Much better.)

“You seem calmer now.” The old woman noted.

Yes, yes of course he was. His top was dealt with. Not to mention these women around him had stopped their chatter and whisperings. And so he nodded.

“Hmm….” And then the old woman leaned in, closely looking at his face. Her head tilted, hand going up to her chin. “So, tell me what brought you here.” There was a pause and she continued to look at him. “Girl.”

Luffy flinched and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not a girl!”

(All the women around him were talking again. Saying stuff like how and why and what and just asking questions all to themselves.)

The old woman held her hand up, clearing her throat.

“Boy, then, is it?”

(There were gasps all around, but a stern gaze from the old lady stopped them from talking even more.)

“That’s right! I’m Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!”

And after that, all of the women in the room just… jumped him.

.xxx.

The next thing he knew, he was in a prison cell, a blanket still covering his lower half – but, hey, at least they kept his undershirt on.

His head was starting to hurt less. And he was starting to remember now.

Kuma. His nakama…

He wrapped the blanket around his waist awkwardly and walked up to the bars.

The women were outside of the cell, staring at him.

His clothes were mostly missing. Apparently his shirt was ripped. But what about his pants? And Rayleigh’s vivre card! And his hat! And Ace’s vivre card!

“Where’s my hat?”

When Luffy looked through the crowd of women, he found one that was wearing it. “Ah! There it is! Give it back!” The bars were going both ways, but he could still stick his hand through it. With a grin, he stretched out his arm, snatching his hat back. Ah, yes. Much better. Undershirt, check. Hat, check. Some more clothes would be nice too…

(This time these women were whispering better things about him. Him. His. That boy.)

Yes, this was much better.

“Oi, do you know where my pants are?”

They said his shirt was tattered, right?

“Ah, your pants were ruined too. Here, we made you new ones.”

(Okay, scratch that, this wasn’t better at all.)

Frills. Flowers. Girly things.

“I’m a guy, dammit!”

And, just like that, the women became aggressive again.

“As I thought. Typical.”

That woman looked like a guard.

“We save your life, and you show no gratitude?”

Wait – wait… “You saved my life?”

But they didn’t want to listen. Even though he apologised.

“Men are forbidden from stepping foot on this island.”

…An island forbidden to men? What kind of place was this?

“Elder Nyon says that, even though your body is that of a woman, your spirit is that of a man. And that makes you a man. And, by being a man and setting foot on this island is a crime.”

He tried to apologise some more. Tried to insist that he didn’t mean to be here. That Kuma had sent him flying here. He didn’t know.

But they just held their arrows at him, not giving in.

“Just let me go! I made a promise to my nakama!”

Damn it all. Looks like he just had to run.

.xxx.

Impel Down had been chaos.

But now they were on their way to Marineford, on their way to the war.

Luffy was disheartened to learn that Bon had stayed behind to get them free, but he understood it. It wasn’t fair though.

But the thought of Ace kept him going. He needed to save Ace.

(He remembered, too, something that Bon had said to him: Iva. The miracle worker. “Hey! Maybe she can help you out Mugi!”)

Luffy placed his hand on his chest. His undershirt had melted away from Magellan’s poison. The only thing keeping it in place was bandages…

He glanced back to Iva, and he remembered when Iva had…

"Iva?"

"Yes Mugiwara-boy?"

"Do you think you can fix me? I wanna be myself, and Bon told me that you could help me with that.” Luffy looked over to the sea and hugged himself. He remembered his friends and their smiling faces. Vivi’s laughter and her present. How many did he have left on the Sunny?

“Bon-boy did mention someving like vat.” Iva had nodded thoughtfully.

Luffy blinked. “What do you mean?” Bon had…?

“He said to make sure vour upper body was covered and vrapped. Tightly. Combined with the fact vat vour clothes had all been burned away, and how he referred to you, it vasn’t too hard to figure it out Mugiwara-boy.” Iva flashed a smile at him. “Very vell, it may be uncomfortable given your circumstances but Vi’m certain you are more than villing. Hormone Injection!”

The stab in his side was a pain he had been becoming familiar to, unfortunately. There was more pain. Here and there. As his body changed. It wasn’t just pain either but… strange sensations as well. Shrinking and growing. “A-Ahh! Weird. I feel…”

His voice was changing, getting deeper… coarser.

His face felt funny. As did his neck. No. Everything felt funny. A weight was lifted from his chest, but something else happened lower.

“I-I…” He was dizzy after all of it. His voice – it was similar but different. It wasn’t quite that of a stranger, but he wasn’t used to it.

“M-My voice.”

He lifted his hands up to this throat – feeling a pronounced bump there. He felt his face – wider, it wasn’t like before. And then his chest.

“Gone! They’re gone!” The weight that was lifted from there wasn’t just literal either. No, it was symbolic too. A weight that no longer held him back or pushed him down. Gone! They were gone!

He laughed, wrapping his arms around himself.

(He could hear Iva laughing softly in the background.)

And then he pulled open his pants to look down.

“Shishsihi!” He laughed.

Complete. Whole.

This was who he was.

“Thank you Iva!” He said, and just jumped onto the Queen, wrapping his arms around them.

.+++.

“Luffy!”

Why? Why was that bastard here?! Such a reckless idiot! “Don’t come here! This is my mistake! Don’t go butting into my business!”

That damn fool! Why couldn’t he have minded his own business?

“I don’t give a damn about any of that! You’re my brother!”

…There just was something about Luffy’s voice right now. It was different. Maybe it was just the war. Maybe it was just the fact that it was Luffy’s voice that was the only one he could truly hear right now. That it was his voice that stood out in all of this chaos…

Whatever it was though, it sounded different.

(He could still hear other voices and understand their words however. But it was like a muffled buzz. Confusion. Astonishment. What? Ace’s brother? No way? Roger had another son?)

And now it was Sengoku’s voice that boomed out for all to hear. “Don’t be fooled! These two are foster siblings! Luffy’s father is not Roger, but Dragon the Revolutionary! Both of these siblings carry cursed blood in their veins! Don’t let this rookie take control of the war!”

Well, at the very least Sengoku wasn’t that heartless to reveal Luffy’s biology to the world…

(If he had, everything be damned, Ace would have tried attacking the bastard.)

“You idiot!” Ace screamed out to Luffy. Damn it all. If Luffy hadn’t….

“Ace! Stay there! I’m coming!”

And came he did.

.xxx.

“Hey, hey, that’s my little brother you are attacking there.”

After the two of them dealt with the swarm that came at them, Luffy had just… pounced at him, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

“Ace!”

…Wait a minute… Something was missing! And Ace pulled Luffy away and took a long, good look at him. No way! No way!!

“Luffy!” He was beaming down at his little brother. “You’re—”

“I know, right?” And Luffy was grinning up at him with sparkling eyes. “Iva fixed me up! I even have–”

“Luffy! Watch out!” Ace grabbed the arm that tried to slice his brother in two before blasting the offender away. “Let’s get out of here. Tell me all about it later.”

And Luffy continued to grin up at him before nodding and laughing.

To think, Luffy finally was in the right body…

God… he was so happy right now…

.xxx.

…Where was he?

(Explosions. Screams. Agony. Loss. Pain! Oh God! The pain!)

There was frantic beeping. People yelling. Hands on his shoulders.

“Calm down. Calm down. It’s alright. You’re alright…”

The beeping was settling down now. And his head… it was foggy... It wasn’t enough for him to lose consciousness yet.

“Wh-Where am I?” He croaked out. (Why was his throat so dry?)

“I’m Trafalgar law. A surgeon. You sustained major injuries, but I was able to resuscitate you. You’re currently on my ship…”

That voice drifted off and he couldn’t decipher the words anymore. Injuries? Was that why he remembered those sounds? Memories began to flood in now.

(”Leave! Get away from here my children!”)

(”Ace!”)

(”Die!”)

Ah… shit…

Luffy… Luffy… Luffy was…. (For some reason he couldn’t even muster the energy to panic about his brother.) “Luffy…” Even his voice was weak. Tired. Exhausted. “Luffy… where’s Luffy?” The world was spinning. He could barely think… “…And the Old Man? Where is he…?”

Those hands were on his shoulders again.

“Mugiwara-ya is recovering in the next room.” The same voice spoke calmly to him.

Oh, Luffy was safe. Ace felt his lips curling into a smile as relief flooded over him. Good… Good….

.+++.

Law sighed as he sat at his desk. Dealing with these two brothers was exhausting. He needed to keep both of them heavily sedated, and they were each concerned about the other’s wellbeing.

Luffy had been the first to recover, and he would constantly look into the window to Ace’s room. And, since Ace would regain consciousness from time to time, Law had to keep the man under constant sedation. Well, at least until Law was certain that sudden movements wouldn’t tear or rupture anything.

Thankfully he didn’t have to really worry about that with Luffy. Sure, he had to tell the idiot to not overexert himself, but moving around was fine.

(Although there was that time when Luffy had finally begun to move around on his own that made him question himself. Did he mess up on the dosage he had last given Luffy? Certainly, it was plausible considering how tired he was and that he was treating multiple patients. For one of the first things out of Luffy’s mouth – aside from inquiring about Ace’s condition – was: how do I pee? And, as Law thought about it more, it only made him believe more and more that he had probably accidentally given Luffy Ace’s dosage of sedative and painkillers. Which produced a rather unfortunate scenario for him, as his crew had left to check up on Ace and he was the only one there to answer Luffy’s awkward question. So, woe he went, since his obviously high patient was rather insistent on lacking the knowledge of just how to empty his bladder.)

Eventually, Ace had become fit enough for Law to take him off of the sedatives.

When he had come to, it was apparent that Ace remembered the few moments that he had been conscious and when Law had to calm the man down until the sedatives kicked in.

Tears were flowing down his cheeks.

“The Old Man… he’s dead, isn’t he?”

Law could only nod solemnly.

Thankfully, it was Luffy who came in to support his brother, so Law didn’t have to attempt to do anything else.

.+++.

“Luffy – you’re… you’re…”

Luffy was beaming at Nami who was staring at him, her eyes wide in awe.

“I know right!”

Nami hugged him. And Usopp, and Brook, and Franky… Robin used giant arms while Chopped was hugging Luffy’s head. In fact, the only two had hadn’t joined in on the massive groups hug was Zoro and Sanji. But, when Nami spared a glance behind her as they began to walk, she could see the two men placing their elbows on Luffy’s shoulders, smiles on all three faces.

It made her smile as well.