#wait so luffy died

[inseobts]

hiiii!!! i hope you're having a good day 💖 i love your writing sm!! if your requests are open can i ask for a law x reader where reader used to date ace and was there when he died in marineford so she saw Law save luffy, so she joins the heart pirates as a way to thank him for saving Ace little brother. They slowly fall in love but won't admit it and when Law leaves to fight Doffy reader admits her feelings bc she's terrified of losing Law. They get together when they see each other again in zou

please please but it's okay if you can't or don't want to!!! 💖

Tides of Fate

law × reader (+ ace x reader)

a/n: this request was totally my kind of fav plots lmao thank you

words count: 5.9k

tags: slow burn, angst with a happy ending, marineford aftermath, emotional baggage

masterlist || ao3 || ko-fi

Luffy sits on the shore, his face blank. Too blank. The kind of emptiness that only comes after losing everything.

You know that feeling. It’s the same one you're feeling right now, that it's hard to breathe.

Tearing your gaze away, you turn toward the submarine where Law stands with his arms crossed, waiting. If you’re going to do this, you need to do it now.

Taking a deep breath, you step toward Luffy “Luffy.”

He doesn’t look up.

“I’m leaving.”

His fingers tighten around the bracelet, knuckles white “With them?” His voice is hoarse, raw.

You swallow hard “Yeah.”

Finally, he lifts his head, eyes bloodshot but focused on you “Why?”

You hesitate, because the real answer feels too heavy to say out loud. Because if I stay, I’ll break apart. Because the ache in your chest is unbearable, and you don’t know how to exist in this world without Ace in it.

Instead, you say, “I don’t have anywhere else to go... No one to go to.”

Luffy flinches, but you know he understands. He’s feeling it too.

His jaw tightens “You… you have me. You don’t have to go.”

You kneel in front of him, forcing a small smile “You have your crew, Luffy. They’re coming back to you. But me…” Your voice wavers, and you hate it “I need time.”

Luffy stares at you for a long moment before exhaling shakily “Ace really loved you, y’know.”

Your breath catches.

Luffy grips his hat and presses it to his forehead “So that means you’re like my sister-in-law,” he mumbles, voice thick with emotion “And I protect my family.”

Your vision blurs. You clench your fists to stop your hands from shaking.

“Luffy…”

He looks at you, his expression serious in a way you rarely see “You’re always gonna be my family. Don't forget it. You can come to me whenever you want and need to.”

The words nearly break you.

You force yourself to smile, even if it wobbles “Then you better take care of yourself, little brother.”

His lip trembles, but he nods “You too.”

You take a deep breath, memorizing the sight of him, before finally standing.

Law is waiting, watching silently as you step aboard. You don’t look back.

“That was dramatic” he mutters once you’re beside him.

You huff a weak laugh, hiding your tears “Shut up.”

He doesn’t push you for more, just nods toward the submarine’s entrance “Come on, Y/N-ya. We’re leaving.”

And with that, the Heart Pirates set sail, and you leave the past behind.

The Polar Tang is… different. Not in a bad way, just different. It’s quieter than the Moby Dick, smaller, and runs a lot smoother since it’s a submarine. The crew is nice enough, but they watch you carefully, like they’re waiting to see if you’ll actually stick around, and like they're afraid to say the wrong things.

You don’t blame them. You’re still trying to figure all that out yourself.

What you do know is that you’re not wearing that.

“Absolutely not,” you say, holding up the black and yellow jumpsuit like it personally offended you “There is no way I’m wearing this.”

Penguin grins “Aw, c’mon, it’s tradition! We all wear them.”

“Yeah, and you all look dumb.” You toss the uniform back at him.

Shachi snickers “She’s got a point.”

Bepo tilts his head “But it helps with unity!”

“I don’t care.” You cross your arms “I just lost my last family. I’m not replacing them by playing dress-up with you guys.”

There’s a heavy beat of silence. You didn’t mean to let that slip, but it’s too late now.

Penguin and Shachi exchange glances, suddenly looking unsure. Bepo’s ears lower slightly.

Before anyone can say anything, Law’s voice cuts through the air.

“She doesn’t have to wear it.”

You turn to see him leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His gaze flicks to the uniform in Penguin’s hands before settling back on you “As long as she follows orders, it doesn’t matter what she wears.”

You smirk, triumphant but still hiding the regrets of your previous words “See? Captain’s orders.”

Penguin groans “Man, you’re getting special treatment already?”

Law clicks his tongue “Tch. Don’t be stupid. She’s not getting special treatment.” He pushes off the wall and starts walking away “Now get back to work.”

The others grumble but scatter, leaving you standing there, still holding your ground.

Law pauses at the doorway, glancing at you over his shoulder “You really will be following orders, though.”

You roll your eyes “Yeah, yeah, Captain. You don't have to repeat it again.”

He watches you for a second longer before walking away.

You exhale, shoulders slumping. You still don’t know if this was the right choice. But for now, you’re here and that’s enough.

Days pass, then weeks. You settle into life on the Polar Tang, though settle might be a strong word. You’re still figuring out your place here, still deciding if this is home or just a temporary stop before the sea pulls you somewhere else.

The Heart Pirates warm up to you quickly, especially Penguin and Shachi, who have made it their mission to pester you at every opportunity. Bepo is a sweetheart, and you swear Ikkaku enjoys giving you extra work just to see if you’ll complain.

And then there’s Law.

Your relationship with him is… strange. He’s your captain now, and he makes sure you don’t forget it. He orders you around, assigns you tasks, and corrects you whenever you mess up. But he also lets you push back more than he probably should.

Like now.

“You’re not getting out of training, Y/N-ya,” Law says, arms crossed as he watches you from across the room “You’re part of this crew, which means you need to be able to hold your own.”

You sigh, sitting cross-legged on the floor, pointedly not moving “I can hold my own.”

“You haven’t fought once since you got here.”

“That’s not true. I threw a wrench at Shachi last week.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“It should.”

Law pinches the bridge of his nose “You’re impossible.”

“And you love it.” The words slip out before you can stop them, and for a second, Law freezes.

You don’t know why your heart starts beating faster. You don’t know why it suddenly feels like the room is too small, too quiet.

Then, he scoffs “Tch. Keep dreaming.”

You smirk, pushing yourself up “Fine, fine. I’ll train. But only because I choose to.”

Law rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue.

As you walk past him, you can feel his gaze lingering on you for just a second too long, and for some reason, that makes it just a little easier to breathe.

It's another day with them and dinner is as loud as always. Penguin and Shachi are arguing over who gets the last piece of meat, Bepo is calmly eating his food, and Ikkaku is scolding someone about their table manners. It’s chaotic, messy, and full of life.

You should feel comforted by it.

But then, Shachi laughs, almost losing another game “Doesn’t matter what happens, we’ll figure it out! That’s just how we are, right? We don’t let anyone mess with our family.”

It’s innocent. Just a casual statement made as a joke for a game. But your whole body freezes.

We don’t let anyone mess with our family.

The words slam into you like a punch to the gut. You’ve heard them before. Ace used to say them all the time.

“Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it!”

Your breath catches.

You see Ace in your mind so clearly, grinning, full of warmth and unwavering confidence. His arm draped over your shoulders, his voice always so sure.

“You’re stuck with me, you know. You’re family.”

The sound of laughter around you distorts. Your hands tremble against the table. Your chest tightens so hard it hurts.

Ace said those words all the time, and now he’s gone.

Your vision blurs.

You push your chair back so fast it screeches against the floor.

The room falls silent.

“Y/N-ya?” Law’s voice is cautious, but you can’t answer.

You stand abruptly, shoving away from the table as the weight in your chest becomes unbearable.

You hear Bepo call after you, but you’re already moving, already pushing out the door before anyone can stop you.

The hallway is quiet, but it doesn’t help. Your heart is pounding, your breathing uneven. The walls feel like they’re closing in.

You don’t know where you’re going, just away.

But then...

“Y/N-ya.”

Law.

His voice is calmer than it should be, given the fact that you just stormed out in the middle of dinner. You hear his footsteps behind you, steady and deliberate. He doesn’t rush, doesn’t demand you stop, but you do.

Because you don’t want to be alone.

You lean against the cool metal wall, staring at the ground, swallowing down the sobs threatening to escape.

Law steps beside you, close enough that his presence is solid, grounding. He doesn’t speak right away, just waits.

After a moment, you exhale shakily “Ace used to say that.” Your voice is hoarse “What Shachi said. About family. I know Shachi was joking, it's not his fault. My mind just started thinking too much, again.”

Law is silent, but you know he’s listening.

You blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay “Ace always said it like nothing could ever touch us. Like as long as we had each other, we’d be okay.”

Your voice cracks.

“But we weren’t. We obviously aren’t.”

And then, suddenly, you can’t hold it in anymore.

The sob breaks free before you can stop it, and then another. Your shoulders shake as you clutch your arms, as if holding yourself together.

Then you feel warmth.

A hand on your back. Firm, steady. Not pushing, just there.

Law doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t move away either. He lets you cry, lets you break, without judgment or expectation.

And when your knees nearly give out, he catches you, pulling you close, solid and steady, as if to say, I won’t let you fall. And for the first time since Marineford, you let yourself lean on someone else.

A few months passed…

Of course, things don’t magically get better. That’s not how grief works.

But they shift. Slowly. Subtly.

The crew doesn’t bring up that night you ran out of dinner crying, not directly. But you notice how they’re a little gentler now. Bepo always sits next to you. Penguin and Shachi tease you a bit less (but only a bit), and Ikkaku throws you extra portions without saying a word.

They don’t push. They don’t ask. But they see you.

And Law hasn’t changed. Not exactly. He still gives out orders like commands are oxygen, still gets that narrowed-eye look when you mess up during training, and still acts like emotions are an inconvenience.

But you catch him watching you sometimes. When he thinks you’re not looking.

And when you do catch him, he doesn’t look away.

It’s a calm evening, which is rare. The Polar Tang is surfacing for the night, drifting peacefully on the open sea. You’re up on the deck, sitting cross-legged and staring at the stars, enjoying the breeze on your face.

Law’s voice breaks the silence.

“Not hiding in your room tonight.”

You glance over your shoulder. He’s standing a few feet behind you, arms crossed, gaze unreadable.

“I like it up here,” you say, shrugging “it’s quiet. The stars help.”

Law walks over without asking and sits beside you, not close enough to touch, but closer than usual.

You blink “No book tonight?”

He smirks faintly “Even I get tired of reading medical journals.”

You hum and tilt your head back to the sky “Do you ever think about how small we are out here?”

Law doesn’t answer right away “All the time.”

Silence again, but it’s not uncomfortable.

You pick at a loose thread on your pants, then quietly say, “It still hurts.”

“I know.”

You turn to look at him “Do you think it ever goes away?”

Law’s eyes flick to yours, and for a second, his walls drop.

“No,” he says simply “But you get better at carrying it.”

You nod slowly. That makes sense.

You both sit there, the silence stretching, stars spinning above.

Then he speaks again, quiet and careful “You’ve changed.”

You snort “Thanks?”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

You glance at him, surprised.

He’s looking out at the ocean now “When you came aboard, I didn’t think you’d last a week.”

You raise an eyebrow “Wow. Inspiring confidence, Captain.”

He smirks again, but it fades fast “But you stayed. Even after everything.”

“Because of you” you say before you can stop yourself.

Law looks at you, startled.

You feel heat rush to your cheeks but hold his gaze “You saved Luffy. You didn’t have to. And then you let me on your ship. You didn’t have to do that either.”

His voice is low “I didn’t do it for thanks.”

“I know. That’s why it mattered.”

There’s a long pause. Something unspoken crackling in the air between you.

You look back at the sea, heart pounding, trying to ignore how much you want him to say something, anything that will explain what’s been growing between you.

He doesn’t. Not yet.

But he doesn’t move away either.

And when his shoulder brushes yours, just slightly, you don’t pull back.

Two years.

That’s how long it’s been since you joined the Heart Pirates.

And somewhere between near-death missions, long nights on the sea, and quiet moments you didn’t ask for. Something changed.

You and Law changed.

It’s not loud or obvious. Not something you could put into words if someone asked. But it’s there.

Like the way his eyes always flick to you when he walks into a room.

Like how you always end up sitting beside him at meals, even without meaning to.

Like how his voice softens slightly when he says your name.

He still scolds you during training. Still sighs like you’re impossible when you ignore protocol.

And when you’re injured? He’s the first one kneeling at your side. Every time. Without fail.

You don’t talk about it. He doesn’t either.

But it’s real. It’s there. And everyone else knows it.

“Okay, seriously,” Shachi whispers one night as he leans over the dining table toward Penguin, “did you see the way they looked at each other earlier? Like... looked. That was something.”

Penguin nods “They’re either in love or telepathically plotting a murder.”

“I’m going with both” Ikkaku mutters, sipping her tea.

Bepo sighs “We’re not supposed to bring it up.”

“Why not?” Shachi hisses “They’re so obvious, it’s painful.”

“Because of Ace” Bepo says softly “She’s been through a lot. We won’t pressure her.”

That shuts everyone up for a beat.

Until Shachi mumbles “Still feels like they’re circling each other in slow motion.”

Ikkaku stabs a dumpling with unnecessary aggression “Just kiss already. I’m begging.”

You catch them watching you sometimes, too many times to pretend it’s subtle.

Whenever you and Law share a look, the whole room seems to pause.

Whenever he lingers a second too long beside you, or his hand brushes yours, the crew’s collective poker face fails miserably.

But Law ignores it all. Just keeps moving forward, like it doesn’t affect him.

Like he doesn’t know that your heart skips every time he calls your name in that low, measured tone.

And you pretend not to notice either. Pretend your stomach doesn’t twist when he leans in too close. Pretend you don’t feel the shift every time your eyes meet.

But in the quiet moments, when it’s just you and him, you feel something hanging there between you. Like something is building.

The unspoken thing between you and Law has only grown heavier by time. Stolen glances, the rare soft tone in his voice when he says your name, the way your hand always finds the spot next to his at the table.

You’ve gotten used to reading him, how to tell when he’s irritated, when he’s tired, when he’s secretly impressed. But now, something’s off.

He’s quiet lately. More than usual. Locked in his quarters for hours at a time. Studying maps, muttering things you can’t hear. And when you ask, he brushes it off with a flat “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

Which, of course, only makes you worry more.

One night, dinner is unusually tense.

Shachi and Penguin whisper from across the table, not even trying to hide it anymore.

“She’s gonna find out soon.”

“She already knows. Look at her face.”

“She knows something,” Bepo mutters “But she doesn’t know it’s Dressrosa.”

You set your spoon down “What’s Dressrosa?”

The table falls into silence.

Ikkaku winces “Damn it.”

You stare at them all “What’s happening?”

Nobody speaks.

So you stand, chair scraping behind you, and walk straight out of the mess hall.

You find Law in the control room, his face locked over a table full of charts. Dressrosa is circled in red.

He doesn’t flinch when you walk in.

You close the door behind you “You’re going there.”

He nods once “Yes.”

“You weren’t going to tell me.”

Law straightens up, but doesn’t meet your eyes “It’s not your concern.”

“It is my concern,” you snap “I’m your crew too, just like the rest of them.”

He finally looks at you “That’s exactly why you’re staying with them.”

There’s a long beat of silence. Just you and him, staring, and the space between you suddenly feels like a chasm.

“You’re doing it again” you say softly “Pulling away. Trying to protect everyone by shutting us out.”

Law’s expression flickers with guilt, regret and frustration.

“I’m handling it.”

“No, you’re running. You’re scared.”

“I’m not scared.”

“You're not scared...” You step closer, voice breaking “You’re terrified of letting people care about you. You think if you keep pushing us away, it won’t hurt when something happens.”

You lower your voice “But it will. It always does.”

He stares at you, like he’s waiting for you to stop.

You don’t.

“You think I don’t see what this is between us? You think I haven’t felt it for a long time now?”

He says nothing.

You take a breath “You’ve given me so much, Law. You gave me a second life after Ace. You gave me something to live for again.”

Your throat tightens “And now you’re just gonna disappear into some revenge mission and pretend like none of this matters?”

His eyes darken “It does matter.”

You blink “Then say it.”

Law opens his mouth, then closes it again.

You shake your head, heart cracking open “Forget it.”

You turn to leave.

But before you touch the door...

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he says behind you “That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

You stop. But you don’t look back.

You don’t sleep that night.

You lie in your bunk, staring at the ceiling, replaying every second of that conversation. The look in Law’s eyes. The silence where his answer should’ve been. The ache in your chest that’s only getting worse.

When you hear footsteps above deck a little before dawn, you know it’s him.

You throw on a jacket and follow without thinking.

He’s there, standing at the edge of the deck, the sea wind catching his coat. Alone.

He turns slightly when you approach “You should be asleep.”

“You should be explaining yourself.”

His mouth twitches. A ghost of a smile. Gone in an instant.

You cross your arms “You were really gonna leave without saying goodbye.”

Law looks ahead again, gaze fixed on the horizon “Goodbyes make it harder.”

You take a breath “Harder for who?”

Silence.

You step beside him, close enough that your shoulder brushes his arm “I meant what I said yesterday.”

“I know.”

“And?”

He exhales slowly “You shouldn’t love someone like me.”

Your heart lurches “You don’t get to decide that.”

“I’m not who you think I am.”

“I know who you are,” you snap “I’ve seen you save strangers without blinking. I’ve seen you risk your life for your crew. For Luffy. For me.”

You pause, voice low “I love all of that. And if you leave now, and something happens to you—”

You look at him fully now “Don’t make me lose someone else I love, Law. Not without even getting to hold onto you first.”

His jaw tightens. He says nothing.

So you laugh, bitter and soft “Of course. You don’t say anything you don’t think you deserve to feel.”

You start to turn away, tears building, when he says “I do.”

You freeze.

He’s looking at you now. Fully. No mask.

“I do feel it. All of it.”

He steps forward, slow and certain, until he’s close enough that you can see the storm in his eyes and hear the quiet panic in his breath.

“Every time you laugh. Every time you sit next to me without saying a word. Every time I catch myself looking at you and don’t know how to stop. I feel it.”

Your lips part, but you don’t speak. You can’t.

“I didn’t want to,” he says, voice barely above a whisper “But it happened. And now I don’t know how to leave without feeling like I’m leaving part of myself behind.”

Your throat burns.

“So don’t,” you whisper “Don’t leave like that. Not with nothing.”

He hesitates.

Then, he leans in slowly, unsure, and presses his forehead to yours.

Not a kiss. Not yet. But it says everything.

“I’ll come back,” he promises “And when I do… if you’re still here—”

“I will be.”

A breath passes between you. His hand brushes your cheek like he’s still convincing himself you’re real.

Then he pulls away.

“Stay safe” he says.

“You too, Law.”

And with one last glance, he disappears down the dock, coat billowing, heart heavy, and not just with revenge anymore.

The moment your feet hit the ground of Zou, you’re paralyzed. The chaos of the crew bustling around you, the excitement in the air, everything feels too loud. It’s all too much. You’ve been bracing for this moment for what feels like an eternity, but now that it’s here, you can’t breathe.

You’ve heard the whispers that he’s finally back, felt the crew’s excitement bubbling up like they’re about to burst. But nothing could prepare you for the reality of seeing him alive. You knew they won, you knew he was out there, somewhere, but seeing him in front of you again… it’s different.

Your heart races. The crew is already moving forward, pulling you along because you’re too shocked to even move on your own. They don’t even try to hide it, they want to see this happen.

And then there he is.

The crew appears from the bushes and trees around him.

Law stands tall at the center of the clearing, his eyes scanning the crew as they move toward him, his usual cold demeanor barely cracked by the soft, almost imperceptible smile on his lips as he sees Bepo charging toward him before he could even find you with his eyes. The sight of him makes everything inside you freeze.

It’s not that you didn’t know he was alive, but now, standing here, seeing him with your own eyes, it feels real.

Bepo throws himself at Law, tears in his eyes as he cries out, “Captain!” The hug is tight, emotional, the kind of reunion you would have imagined, one that speaks of the bond between them, of loyalty and friendship. Law’s arms stiffen at first but then soften, holding Bepo close, the smile on his face genuine if not a bit awkward.

You stand there, caught in the wave of emotions that’s rushing through you. Relief, yes, but something else too...fear. Fear of what this means. You haven’t let yourself think about it that much, but now, with him standing there before you, something shifts. It’s the first time in two years you feel your heart thundering like it did when you first met him, when you started noticing those little things about him, the quiet ways he showed his care.

But now… he’s here.

Bepo pulls back, laughing through his tears “I’m so glad you’re alive, Captain!”

Before Law can even respond, someone else, maybe Ikkaku, maybe Shachi, pulls Bepo away gently, guiding him back to the group.

And then Law finally sees you.

There’s a moment, a breath of time where you feel like the whole world is holding its breath. You didn’t expect the distance between you to feel so large. You didn’t expect to feel so small.

You stand still, unsure of what to do, your legs suddenly heavy, like they’re made of stone. You know the crew, everyone, is watching, but none of that matters right now. You’re looking at him, really seeing him for the first time in so long, and it feels like everything inside you is falling apart.

He hasn’t changed. He still has that same unreadable expression, but something about the way he looks at you now is different. His eyes linger, and in them, you see the same thing you’ve always seen, quiet intensity. But there’s a softness now, a faint warmth.

You don’t move.

You can’t move.

It’s not fear. It’s… shock. You thought you were ready. You thought you were prepared. But seeing him here, right in front of you, it’s more than you can process in a single moment. The flood of emotions, the relief, the joy, the terror, all rush through you all at once, and it feels overwhelming. You never realized how much you needed this, how much you’ve missed him, until now.

And then, slowly, Law begins to walk toward you, his movements steady, calculated, like he’s taking his time, giving you space. When he stops in front of you, there’s a long pause. His eyes are searching your face, studying you, like he’s waiting for something. You’re afraid to look into them, to let him see how much you’ve been holding back.

And then, softly, he speaks “I didn’t think you’d be here.”

Your breath catches in your throat, and you finally look up into his eyes. You open your mouth to respond, but no words come. The relief is too much. The pain of missing him, of not knowing if you’d ever see him again, it all comes crashing down, and before you can stop it, a tear slips down your cheek.

Law’s eyes flicker to it, and without a second thought, he reaches out, his hand gently brushing it away “You don’t have to hide it” he says, his voice low and careful.

“I—” You try to speak, but your voice cracks. You can’t say what you need to. It’s too much. Everything is too much.

Law stands there, his hand still lingering near your cheek, and you can feel the weight of the moment pressing down on both of you. He doesn’t push. He doesn’t rush. He just stands there, waiting for you to breathe, for you to find your voice.

And when you finally do, it’s quiet “I thought I lost you. I—I didn’t know if I could—”

“You didn’t lose me.” His words are simple, but they cut through the noise in your head. He steps closer, his hand sliding from your cheek to rest gently on your shoulder, the contact grounding you “I’m here. I told you I would be.”

And in that moment, you let yourself believe it.

You don’t know what’s going to happen from here, but for the first time in a long while, you feel like you’re not standing alone anymore. Law is here, and he’s not going anywhere.

Zou is loud again.

After the quiet weight of seeing Law alive, after the press of his hand on your shoulder, after the whirlwind that followed, now everything is moving. New plans are forming. Straw Hats talking over each other. Heart Pirates buzzing about what’s next. Minks giving updates. It’s chaos. Familiar chaos. The kind you hadn’t realized you missed.

You find Luffy just outside one of the tree dwellings, scarfing down food like he hasn’t eaten in weeks, which, to be fair, is probably true.

“Luffy” you say, your voice unsure but soft.

He looks up, mouth full “Y/n!” He jumps to his feet and wraps you in the kind of hug only Luffy can give, tight, fast, and a little chaotic “You’re okay! You’re really here!”

You nod against his chest, your throat tight “You too…”

“Of course I am!” he grins like it’s the most obvious thing in the world “I knew we’d all meet again. I told you!”

He pulls back and beams at you “We’re gonna get Sanji back. Me, Nami, Chopper and Brook. You should come too! With me!”

You freeze.

Your eyes dart past the Straw Hats, past the Heart Pirates, until they land on him. Law is leaning near a shaded post, arms crossed, watching the scene from a distance. You can feel his eyes on you.

You start to answer Luffy, but someone else cuts in.

“She’s not going.”

It’s Law.

He’s walking toward you both now, slow and steady, like the decision was already made before this conversation even started.

Luffy blinks “Huh?”

Law stops beside you, his shoulder brushing lightly against yours “She’s staying with me. With the Heart Pirates.”

You look up at him, startled. You hadn’t even told him you would yet. But he’s not looking at you, he’s looking straight at Luffy.

Nami steps closer, eyebrows raised like she knows exactly what’s going on “Luffy, read the room…”

Luffy blinks again, slowly turning to you “Wait. What? Since when?”

You open your mouth, but the words don’t come.

“I—” You shake your head “I was going to tell you. I just… I didn’t know how.”

“Why not?” Luffy tilts his head, confused as ever “You like Law, right?”

Your eyes widen “Luffy…”

“It’s fine,” he says with a shrug “I mean, I get the way you’re looking at him right now. I just didn’t know it was, you know… like that like that.” He grins.

You stare at him, stunned “You’re not… mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” he says, blinking like the very idea is weird “You think Ace would be mad?”

You swallow hard, throat tightening at the mention of Ace’s name.

“I just...” Your voice cracks “I didn’t want to disappoint him. Or you. He… he loved me. And I loved him. And I didn’t think I’d ever be able to—”

“Y/n.”

Luffy’s voice is soft. Even softer than usual.

He smiles again, big and warm and bright “Ace would be happy. Really happy. Because you’re not alone anymore. He wouldn’t want you to be.”

You blink fast, trying to keep the tears back, but it’s no use “You really think so?”

“I know so,” Luffy says, tapping his chest “Because Ace told me you were the best thing that ever happened to him. He said if anything ever happened to him, I had to take care of you. You found someone who can take care of you even better than me, and I’ll always support you like my sister.”

That breaks something in you. You cover your mouth with your hand, trying not to cry outright.

Nami steps up beside Luffy, resting a hand on your back “He’s right, you know. We’ve all known for a while now. About you and Law. After we met Law and Luffy asked him about you, it was pretty obvious even if the man here has the most unreadable face. It’s just Luffy that is always too oblivious.”

Law, still at your side, hasn’t said a word. But his presence is steady, anchoring. His eyes stay on you.

Luffy grins and throws his arm over your shoulder, dragging you into another hug “I’m happy for you, Y/n. And Ace would be too.”

You press your face against his chest again, this time not hiding the tears “Thank you.”

Law leans in slightly, his voice low near your ear “You didn’t have to be scared.”

You glance up at him, smiling through your tears “I know. But it still scared me.”

“I get it,” he says “But you don’t have to worry. And you can talk to me about your fears, I won’t leave you alone.”

And somehow, for the first time, you believe it.

The sun is dipping behind the massive trees of Zou, painting everything in golden light. The others are gone now, off to find Sanji. The moment they disappeared over the horizon, the world got quiet again.

Too quiet.

You sit at the edge of the overlook, watching the sky shift from orange to deep indigo. The wind brushes through your hair, soft and cool. You hug your knees to your chest, letting yourself breathe for what feels like the first time in days.

And then you hear his footsteps behind you.

“You’re always out, watching the sky when it gets dark” Law says, voice even.

You don’t look at him, not yet “It’s peaceful. Beautiful. Easier to think.”

He stands beside you for a second, silent, then sits down next to you with a small sigh. The space between you hums. Not touching, but not distant either.

You glance over. His hat’s off. That always does something to you. Makes him look realer. Softer. More… him.

“You really told Luffy I was staying with you” you say, a small smile tugging at your lips “Didn’t even bother ask me.”

“You were going to stay anyway” he replies, tilting his head toward you.

“I might’ve,” you murmur, teasing “Might’ve said no. Might’ve gone off on my own. Who knows.”

He looks at you, dead serious “You wouldn’t.”

You meet his eyes “How do you know?”

“Because you’ve looked at me the same way I look at you. You wouldn’t want to separate again.”

Your breath catches.

The silence after that is thick, like the air itself is holding its breath with you.

“I was scared,” you whisper “Of what it meant. Of what it felt like. After Ace… I didn’t think I was allowed to feel this way again.”

“I know,” Law says, just as quietly “That’s why I never pushed.”

You look down at your hands “But you stayed.”

His voice is steady “I wasn’t going to be another person you lost.”

That’s when your heart cracks, but in a good way. The dam you’ve been holding back breaks just a little. You turn to him, really look at him. The way the fading light touches his face, the faint worry in his brow, the way he’s looking at you like you’re everything.

“Say it,” you breathe “Just once.”

Law doesn’t hesitate “I love you.”

And you’re already leaning in by the time he says the last word.

The kiss is slow and gentle. His hand cups the side of your face, thumb brushing your cheek. Yours clutches his coat, grounding yourself.

It’s not desperate. It’s relieved.

When you finally pull back, your forehead rests against his, both of you a little breathless.

You whisper “I love you too.”

He smirks “You were worth the wait.”

Your smile widen and just as his small smile/smirk.

“FINALLY!”

You both flinch apart like you were struck by lightning.

Law whips around, eyes narrowing “What the hell—”

From behind a cluster of bushes near the edge of the clearing, three heads pop out in rapid succession: Shachi, Penguin, and Ikkaku. Bepo follows a second later, way too big to be hiding, but he tries anyway.

“We knew it!” Shachi shouts.

“I said it would happen today!” Penguin crows, fist-pumping like he just won a bet.

“I told you she was gonna make the first move” Ikkaku says smugly.

“You literally did not” Penguin says.

Bepo tries to look innocent “I was just... uh... making sure they were okay…”

You bury your face in your hands, heat flooding your cheeks “Oh my god!”

Law groans, dragging a hand down his face “How long were you there?”

“Long enough” Ikkaku grins.

“To hear everything” Shachi adds.

“I hate all of you” Law mutters.

“Don’t lie to us, Captain,” Penguin says, smug “You’re glowing.”

“I am not glowing.”

“You kind of are” Bepo mumbles.

You let out a breathy laugh, cheeks still flushed, but honestly, it’s kind of perfect. This dumb, messy, ridiculous crew, you didn’t know how badly you needed them until they showed up in your life. Until he showed up in your life.

“Alright,” Law snaps, pushing to his feet and brushing off his coat, “You saw what you wanted. Now go. Before I use Room.”

That gets them moving fast.

Shachi and Penguin scramble like cockroaches, dragging Bepo behind them while Ikkaku throws a wink over her shoulder “You’re cute together! Don’t screw it up!”

They disappear, giggling like kids.

You turn back to Law, trying not to laugh “So… that happened.”

He sighs, but there’s the faintest smile tugging at his lips “We’re never gonna hear the end of it.”

“Nope.”

A pause.

“…Still worth it?” you ask, teasing.

He glances at you. And then, softly “Always.”

[donvampiro]

hello! I was wondering if you could write something with the monster trio+law with a clairvoyant reader where she can’t tell ghosts from real people and she sees ghosts on there ships and just starts freaking out cause they still retain the look of when they died. Please and thank u!

hii Anon! hope you’re doing well :) this is a very interesting concept! i really enjoyed writing these HCs. careful though because, as stated in my rules post, it’s max 3 chars when it comes to requests. but maybe you’re new to my blog so it’s totally fine Anon, don’t worry ❤️ i still added Law because i feel like this request really fits him indeed hehe. in any case, hope this post will meet your expectations! Love <3

MASTERLIST - Welcome

***

'Shadows of the past'

Monster trio & Law x (clairvoyant) fem!reader

Warning: mention of death & mourning, physical injuries & blood. contains some spoilers (Marineford ; Dressrosa) as well btw

Monkey D. Luffy

tbh i think Luffy would find your powers kinda cool at first, like he wouldn’t immediately get the measure of your concerns and the harm that your visions might cause you, particularly in their tragic, even traumatic nature

every time he'd hear you scream or saw you shudder, seized by fear because you thought you were meeting a “real” person whose body was more or less in good condition, he’d quickly comfort you, offering you a big smile and patting your back or your shoulder with a gentleness that is always reserved for you.

‘c’mon, (y/n), no need to be afraid! think about saying hello to those people instead. oh! say hello to them from me too!’

Luffy’s carefreeness about your natural gifts wouldn’t last forever though. it would only be after a very concrete event that he’d realize the weight on your shoulders that your power can be on a daily basis. in short, he would need a kind of trigger.

maybe it would happen while you’re both sitting on the deck of the Sunny, taking some time for yourselves and stargazing after a nice meal, a little celebration, who knows. smiling, Luffy seems somewhat lost in thought though. his hand is soft yet slightly calloused as it envelops yours in a comfortable silence; but as you’d turn to him, you couldn’t hold back a gasp, more vocal than you’d have liked, and Luffy would instantly turn to you, alerted.

‘(y/n)? what’s up with ya? everything’s okay?’

it was the first time you saw that while looking at your captain for some reason. you saw him, yes, next to Luffy — this bloodstained individual, covered in wounds, and whose cheekbones, although magnificently freckled, could not, however, soften the sight of his fiercely pierced abdomen. his mouth is dripping with blood but his smile is peaceful as he looks at Luffy, before your eyes meet.

your own heart drums facing his stopped one. you know who he is. of course you do. how could you not know? Luffy has told you about him so many times, in that voice that now made you question whether to answer, tell your captain what you're seeing or not. but your ragged breath, bulging eyes, and the light film of sweat coating your face leave you little room for hesitation as Luffy grabs your shoulder and shakes it lightly.

‘hey (y/n). are you seeing things again? tell me.’

reveal the truth in a low voice and you’ll see Luffy’s eyebrows furrow, in an expression that mixes all the emotions in existence. his eyes are lost in the void of his thoughts for a second before looking all around him, searching and calling his brother, finding you.

‘he’s here?! like, where? behind me? can you talk to him? wait, do you think he can still eat like, real food? or ghost food? i’m sure Sanji knows how to make ghost food anyway. i mean, we could have another meal so he can be with us! oh, and tell him that i—’

he talks a lot and his eyes are glassy, ​​with a tearful glint that doesn’t escape your gaze despite his huge smile. you stifle your own sobs, feeling the weight of Luffy’s grief as you see Ace’s ghost disappear into the starry night, in a painfully soft gaze. you shake your head in a sorry sigh, and your captain almost automatically stops speaking. his smile fades away — there’s no need to say more. he contemplates you for a moment, before lowering his head slightly and caging you in a long, silent hug.

that night, Luffy understood the weight of your powers, understood your fears. the ashes of the past were indeed frightening.

Roronoa Zoro

really, Zoro can’t help but be puzzled every time he sees you freaking out like this, shouting about how there’s such and such corpses wandering on the deck of the ship or the streets of some island where you and the crew made a stopover. the swordsman would never delve too deeply into your emotions when they’re negative; not that he’s not interested, but that he prefers to keep things simple between you two and avoid making you overthink.

still, he would always try to reassure you, and he’d do so assertively — without digressions or innuendos — but always wanting to make things easier for you and so that you’d no longer have to worry about seeing these deceased people, more alive than ever in your eyes though.

‘there’s no reason to be so scared, (y/n). these guys are no longer among us, they won’t hurt you. i wouldn’t let them anyway.’

his tone was gruff, but you knew better. Zoro was always protective of you, and you were grateful, but it wasn’t that simple. meeting lifeless gazes, looking at bloodied, weakened, sick or whatever bodies — you were seeing bereavement and pain personified all around you, almost every day, and you couldn’t shake your fears, despite your best efforts and the swordsman’s reassuring words.

this is why your sleep would be regularly stolen by these bloodstained specters wandering around, and today would be no exception, even if you’re snuggled up to Zoro — who seems deeply asleep. it was he who had suggested a nap together, to calm you down, but obviously the task was more difficult than expected.

despite your eyes being firmly closed, sealed so as not to see these presences you were feeling, you couldn't help but fidget, scared. in order to calm yourself down, you decided to get up and go get a glass of water in the kitchen. you stepped out of the cabin and the air was mild. everything was (very) surprisingly peaceful, and you took the time to enjoy the moment as you filled your glass, before slowly heading back to the cabin.

but as you open the door, you’re greeted not by Zoro’s sleeping figure, but by a bloodstained and destroyed body, which finally passes through you to continue on its way. terror makes you drop your glass and it crashes right into the cabin entrance as you scream.

the swordsman is jolted from his sleep and instantly turns to you, his gaze alert as he reaches for his swords — but you stop him, pointing at the broken glass dotting the floor; and your shaky voice immediately makes him understand what happened.

Zoro sighs and leaves the bed for a moment to come and get you, dodging the shards of glass before finally picking you up and carrying you, so that you both collapse on the bed, never breaking your embrace. he can feel your heart pounding in your chest as he whispers in your ear.

‘saw sordid stuff again?’

his voice is calm as your respective eyes meet. his gaze is stern, focused, attentive. you nod, and it’s in a — sweet, only for you — whisper that he concedes that it can’t be easy every day. maybe you need to talk about it more than he thought, after all. Zoro tightens his embrace around you, petting your hair as he lets a comfortable silence settle, before questioning you in a solemn yet uncertain tone.

‘hey, by any chance… have you ever seen, like, in your visions… a young girl with a sword?’

Vinsmoke Sanji

Sanji would be a great listener and always there to reassure you when your visions frighten you. he would empathize and understand the weight your powers can represent; so you can count on him to give you all the affection and consideration you need.

he is supportive. his goal would be to make sure that you don’t feel alone in the middle of all these more or less bloodstained ghosts, so that, whenever fear seizes you, he can be there to comfort you and bring you back to the world of the living.

in that sense, it would probably lead you to be more comfortable with your powers and to be able to talk about them more openly. you would be less afraid. and it’s sitting in the kitchen while Sanji is busy at his stove that you’d talk about this and that, your voice a sweet melody for the attentive ears of the cook.

‘you know, i’ve already seen ghosts around you.’

– ‘ah? they should be more interested in you, (y/n)-chwan, you’re so much prettier.’, he’d reply, and you could hear the smile on his face.

you couldn’t stifle a laugh. with Sanji, things always seemed less dramatic, less scary. it was as if you could face all the troubles in this world but you could always get back up.

your laughter was nevertheless cut short by the presence you felt. you couldn’t help but shudder slightly and your eyes, riveted on the cook’s busy hands so far, eventually lifted towards a ghost behind him. this very ghost was also watching with great interest the recipe being prepared, all the while smiling tenderly.

‘there's one behind you right now, by the way.’

– ‘really?’, he chuckled, without taking his eyes off the vegetable he was cutting. ‘and what do they look like? not too… damaged, i hope.’

– ‘it’s a lady. a very beautiful lady.’

Sanji slowed down his cutting, his mind troubled for a moment. he certainly knew how to appreciate women, all women, but something inside him told him that this woman was different. what interest could the ghost of a dead woman possibly have in him? Unless…

‘(y/n), could you please… describe her?’

he had put down his knife, and the uncertain tone of his voice encouraged you to respond positively to his request; nodding then describing as best you could the woman standing next to him, looking at him with a soft smile.

as you spoke, the cook’s features tensed up, and you could see that he was holding back just about everything that came up to him. words, tears, everything. so you ventured to ask a few questions.

‘do you know this person?’, you’d ask timidly.

and maybe it was now up to you to lend an ear to Sanji’s sensitivity.

bonus:

Trafalgar D. Water Law

talking to Law about your powers would be complicated at first. in fact, he would have a hard time understanding why you would be so moved by every vision you have when it’s “just” part of your abilities. he would have a hard time understanding why you would continue to be afraid even though you’re aware of these powers of yours. everything would seem so… irrational to him.

You were coping with the situation as best you could — if he couldn’t understand, you weren’t going to force him. still, that was before you noticed this person. an individual that, as usual, you had taken for a living person, before noticing their bruised appearance and their spectral nature. this person who followed Law almost everywhere.

it was embarrassing, frightening at times, because this ghost’s presence was unpredictable and random, so you often found yourself jumping out of your skin and screaming in the middle of a conversation when they appeared, with Law looking at you in perplexity.

so you had decided to avoid Law a little, just to spare yourself a little, and to avoid having to broach this subject which you already had the feeling he wouldn’t be very receptive to.

however, Law, for his part, was actually very receptive to the fact that you were avoiding him. he saw it perfectly, and also felt that there was something you wanted to tell him, but didn’t dare to, or something like that. he felt lost about it: you knew you could tell him anything, right? or, had he done something that made you no longer feel comfortable talking to him?...

Law would confront you directly about it, not wanting to beat around the bush; and his heart was beating a little faster than he anticipated as he saw you searching for words.

‘well, i… i see… i often see a tall man around you, his face made up, with a large black coat, he’s very injured, with blood all over his face and… so… it makes me…’

– ‘“it makes you” what? what am i supposed to do?’

something snapped in his mind and his reply came out on its own, in a way harsher tone than he would have liked. Law’s grip on his nodachi tightens as he frowns. he looks hurt by this information over which you actually have no control. you shake your head — you knew he wouldn’t understand anyway, that he would only see your visions and fears as irrational, as always. you look away.

‘... nevermind.’

you start walking away, and Law runs his hand over his face with a heavy sigh, trying to process what just happened, and realizing his words were far too harsh. facing the loss of those who matter to us is already a trial. but seeing death walking around every day, even in moments that should give us rest… yeah, he too would freak out facing those kinds of visions eventually.

‘(y/n), wait’, he calls, catching up with you quickly. his voice remains monotonous, but you still hear the softness he always reserves for you. ‘i worded my question poorly. i… yeah, i think we should indeed discuss all this.’

you turn to him, your respective gazes seeking each other, and in his eyes lay torment as well as the apologies he can’t seem to voice. you nod, and he mutters.

‘i will try to understand.’

[arixella]

Hello! First of all– I love your writings sm and how everything is so beautifully written no matter what genre, And second– if you're free and alright with it, may I request an luffy x reader, where the reader ate a devil fruit that made them immortal but luffy had no clue about this and only knew when reader died, then miraculously woke up a few minutes later. Still badly injured, but is alive and not well. Due to the fact that they can still feel pain.

Only if you're fine with this kind of stuff, and thank you for your hard work!

You Died, But You Didn’t

╰┈➤ pairing: Luffy x gn!reader

a/n: sorry I feel like this is bad but I hope you enjoy😭 <3

summary: After watching you die in battle, Luffy is devastated—until you miraculously revive, revealing your immortality from a Devil Fruit, and leaving him reeling with love, anger, and the fear of losing you again.

wc: 1.8k

contains: angst to fluff, hurt/comfort, romance,

The world was spinning.

Your vision blurred, pain painting your every nerve raw. You were barely holding on, barely breathing. And then—

Darkness.

“(Y/N)!”

Luffy’s voice tore through the chaos, hoarse and frantic, louder than the crashing waves and the screams of battle. He didn’t hear the others calling after him, didn’t care about the blood soaking into his sandals, didn’t care that the enemy still stood behind him.

All he saw was you, crumpled and broken on the ground.

His hands trembled as he dropped to his knees beside you, arms wrapping around your body. You were still. Too still.

“Hey,” he whispered, voice cracking. “Come on. Get up.”

You didn’t move.

He shook you gently, then harder. “Hey! Don’t mess around—get up! You’re okay, right?! You always get up!”

There was no response. Blood ran from your mouth, your side, your chest. Too much blood. His hands were stained with it. His voice started to break.

“No, no, no. Not you. Not like this.”

Zoro yelled something from behind him. Chopper was sprinting over, but he already knew—this was beyond even Chopper’s miracle medicine.

You were gone.

He felt like the air had been ripped from his lungs. Something inside him cracked, splitting wide open, raw and screaming.

Luffy didn’t cry easily. Not in front of people. But now he held your body to his chest and sobbed, fingers digging into your clothes, desperate to keep you close. The crew watched in stunned silence—none of them had seen him like this. Not even when Ace died.

“I was gonna tell you something,” he mumbled into your hair. “I was gonna tell you I love you. I waited too long.”

And then— Your fingers twitched.

Luffy didn’t notice it at first. Too lost in grief.

Then your chest rose.

A breath. Shallow. Struggling.

“Chopper!” he screamed so loud his throat tore. “They’re breathing! THEY’RE BREATHING!”

Chopper nearly fell over himself trying to get to you. “What?! That’s not possible! Their pulse was gone! They weren’t breathing!”

But you were.

Your body shuddered, a broken, gasping breath rasping through your throat. Your eyes cracked open. “Lu…ffy?”

He stared at you like you were a ghost. “You—you died.”

Your lips barely moved. “I… I always come back.”

Your voice was hoarse, weak, but real. Alive.

Luffy grabbed your hand, wide-eyed and stunned. “What? What do you mean?”

Chopper was already digging through his bag, frantic. “Don’t talk! You’re still really messed up—we need to stabilize you now!”

You whimpered as Chopper pressed bandages to your side, and your entire body flinched from the pain.

Luffy leaned in close, holding your other hand, thumb brushing over your bruised knuckles. “What’s going on, (Y/N)? You died. You died. I—” His voice broke again. “I thought I lost you.”

You looked at him through half-lidded eyes, full of guilt. “I ate a Devil Fruit… years ago. Before I met you. The Fukkatsu Fukkatsu no Mi.” You coughed, blood staining your lips again. “It makes me… immortal. I can’t die. Not completely.”

“What?!” Luffy’s voice cracked like a whip.

You nodded weakly. “My body shuts down sometimes. When it’s too much. I… I die. But not forever. I always come back. But it still hurts. Everything hurts.”

Luffy looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. “You’ve been through that before?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t have to.

Chopper was still working, still trying to stop the bleeding, his hooves shaking. “Their vitals are improving. Somehow. They’ll live, but they’re going to be in pain for days.”

Luffy sat there in silence, gripping your hand like it was the only thing anchoring him to the world.

When Chopper finished and stepped back, Luffy shifted, pulling your battered body gently into his arms. You groaned, but you didn’t resist.

“I should’ve told you,” you whispered.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “You should’ve.”

You flinched. “I didn’t want you to look at me different. Or worry all the time. I just wanted to be with you.”

Luffy stared ahead, jaw tight. “I watched you die.”

“I know.”

He looked down at you, eyes wet but hard. “I don’t care if you can’t die. That doesn’t make it better. I still felt like I lost you. You were cold. You weren’t breathing.”

Your lip trembled. “I’m sorry.”

He exhaled sharply, forehead pressing against yours. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“I… can’t promise that.”

He barked out a humorless laugh, a tear slipping down his cheek. “Right. You’re impossible.”

You managed a faint smile. “You still love me?”

Luffy pulled back to look you dead in the eye, fierce and unshaken now. “Yeah. I do. I love you, (Y/N). Whether you die a hundred times or never at all. I love you.”

Your throat closed with emotion. “I love you too.”

He kissed your forehead gently, like you were made of glass. “Next time you die,” he murmured, “I’m punching you when you wake up.”

You chuckled weakly. “Deal.”

The night passed slowly. The crew settled down, the battle won but the emotional toll lingering.

Luffy didn’t leave your side.

He sat beside your cot, one hand in yours, the other resting on the hilt of his hat pulled low over his eyes. Every so often, your breath would hitch, or your fingers would twitch, and he’d sit up instantly—just to make sure.

You were alive. Not okay, not yet. But alive.

You’d told him the truth now. And he wasn’t going anywhere.

You were his. Even if death tried to take you, Luffy would always be the one to pull you back.

♡♡♡

© 2025 arixella | please do not plagiarize or translate any of my work without my consent.

[zorostitties]

Intertwined; 4

⤕ Luffy and you were like two sides of the same coin: opposites in every way, but similar in what mattered the most. Tied by a vow made with the purity of a child's heart, life keeps trying to tear you apart - but the vow that intertwined your destinies would not be broken so easily. Or, Luffy promised to marry you someday when you were kids. This is how he keeps his promise.

pairing: monkey d. luffy x (f) reader

genre: childhood friends to lovers, slow burn, arranged marriage, fluff, angst, eventual smut

warnings: violence/blood, explicit language, toxic family relationships, death/grief, when i say slow burn i mean it

rating: 18+

word count: 11k oof

A/N: HELLO Y'ALL!! A little something I haven't explained yet - this story will be divided in 4 sections/parts. Part 1 which covered their childhood ends with this chapter. So next chapter, we're setting sail to pre timeskip times... where love will actually start blossoming 🤭 Also, I finally made a playlist for Intertwined!! I listen to these songs a lot while writing. I know these songs might be too upbeat or random considering how fucked up MC's life is all the time, but I couldn't make a SAD playlist for a fic involving mr. JOYboy himself 😭 Anyways!! Enjoy <3

⤕  Masterlist  ⤕ Also on AO3 ⤕ Playlist

➛ 11

You were eleven years old the first time you almost died during a commission.

The target was the leader of a criminal organization. They weren’t too well known, or too respected, or too powerful, but had caused enough trouble that someone was willing to commission his death. Boss Hamazaki was his name. He wasn’t a fighter. He didn’t have a Devil Fruit ability or any combat skills.

But he had bodyguards.

And you underestimated them.

That was a deadly mistake. Up until then, you hadn’t really struggled; your targets were like Boss Hamazaki, had no significant skills. You’d usually camp around them for a while, wait until they were alone, strike too fast for them to understand what was happening… and flee with a guaranteed payment. Truth is – you were an assassin, not a fighter. Not yet.

So when one of his bodyguards noticed your presence and stormed into the room…

Well.

Oops.

You got shot.

You had time to move slightly away from the trajectory of the bullet, but not fast enough to completely miss it. The projectile pierced your stomach. Adrenaline assured you to not feel immediate pain when it hit, so you managed to get a certified kill anyway. But… yeah. It hurt a lot. And bled. And you’d definitely had passed away if Landon wasn’t around to proceed with the first aids.

It sucked. Not because of, you know, the fact that you almost died – but because you didn’t remember seeing Crowley get seriously injured like that. Which meant he had an advantage over you.

And you hated it.

Competition within the family was highly stimulated. It was part of the tradition after all. The better assassin got a bigger percentage of the payments, more prestige, more privileges… and at the end, the better assassin would become the head of the family. The one to command Scarpia’s future and businesses wasn’t the oldest, but the best.

It made a lot of sense, since Urso – the oldest – was a useless. He had no ambition at all; to make him the head of the family would be an abysmal mistake.

So it was up to the rest of you to fight for more recognition.

Except… the fact that you were betrothed to Vinsmoke Ichiji already excluded you from the game, since you’d leave the family sooner or later; you’d have to carry your future husband’s last name.

Or, at least, Crowley thought so. He concluded that you were no competition – which meant you’d have to prove him wrong again, and again, and again, as many times as necessary, until he’d finally shut the fuck up.

The shot sent you a few points back in the board, though. It made you so angry at yourself that you couldn’t even turn that half of your brain off.

It was unbearably hot for some reason – and you should already be used to the heat and humidity of Mt. Colubo’s forest, but sometimes it was still too much. You sat on a big chopped log with your legs crossed under the shadow of a tall tree, scribbling furiously and biting the inside of your cheek. How could you better Crowley? What was his main technique at the moment? What was his best skill? What was his current kill count?

Luffy’s screams and grunts of effort were just background noise.

“Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!!”

God. How many times had he repeated that? You lifted your eyes momentarily to watch Luffy stretch his arm and try to punch a boulder approximately ten meters away from where he stood – but, as you had noticed, he didn’t quite control the stretching of his members. It seemed that they had a tension limit, like a regular rubber band. It made you wonder for a moment how far Luffy could stretch without ripping off…

Luffy fell back on the grass and groaned. He took two seconds to get up again and get in position again, eyes tightened.

“Gomu Gomu no…”

“Pistooool,” you said absently under your breath with him, with much less excitement. Your eyes glued back to the sketchbook on your lap. The snapping sound and his loud groan indicated he had failed again.

You already knew what was coming before he even did it.

“Heeeey! Four Eyes, you’re being boring! Get up and come train with me!”

You didn’t bother looking up.

“I already said I can’t move that much.”

It wasn’t a lie. It had been a month since the shot; you were still in the process of recovery. Usually, the Scarpia children wouldn’t have this much time to get a full recovery… but your parents wanted to be sure that you’d always be the healthiest so you could reproduce in the future.

Ew.

Luffy was crouched down in front of you in a second.

He pouted angrily. He was covered in sweat, the hem of his yellow tank top was drenched. Luffy didn’t look tired despite the fact he’d been training his attack since early in the morning.

“Boooo. Weakling. You’re a weakling, that’s what you are.” He poked your sides and your arms and your cheek repeatedly to call your attention. “Weak. Weak. Weak. Weak. Who the hell gets hurt like that? You’re just being dramatic.”

“If you poke me again I’ll crack your skull open.”

“Weeeeak.”

He tried to stick his finger in your nostril.

You flipped.

And then Luffy was running away from you, laughing hysterically, while you chased him around the forest with fire steaming from your eyes.

Luffy always got what he wanted one way or another – usually by being terribly annoying. The fact that you fell for it too was a bit embarrassing… but you ended up having fun anyway, so most times you let it slide. Not always though. He tried to stick his finger in your nose. He had to pay.

That is – until an agonizing twinge in your stomach made you halt.

You groaned, gripping your shirt, and leaned on a tree. Crap, I shouldn’t have moved so much.

The sound of Luffy’s sandals skidding on dirt floor echoed. He wasn’t laughing anymore. Taptaptaptaptap. He ran back to where you were.

“Hey– what happened?!”

“I told you that I’m hurt,” you said between gritted teeth.

“Eh… Hm…”

It looked like Luffy didn’t really know what to do at first, and he showed a rare expression: guilt. The straw hat boy put your arm over his shoulders and helped you walk back to that log you were sitting previously.

“D’you need something? D’you want water? You wanna eat? There’s bananas there– I can grab some–“

“N-No. I’ll be fine.” But damn, that hurt real bad. It seemed that your guts were rearranging in a strange way.

You were probably making a funny expression, because Luffy was starting to get pale.

“No, you’re not okay. Stay right here, aight? I’ll– I’ll call Ace–“

You grabbed his wrist firmly.

“I said I’ll be fine.” You grunted again.

You closed your eyes momentarily.

Luffy watched you in silence – which was a bit of a miracle.

The pain. The pain.

That place in your stomach. On the left side.

Does it have anything to do with the shot?

No. It’s the abdomen. It’s the muscle. Muscle strain. Hurts bad. But not serious.

So stop aching. Stop. Stop. Stop.

Your features softened. The pain was gone.

You took a deep breath and stretched your arms.

When you opened your eyes, Luffy was staring at you… very confused.

“So, uh… what just happened here?”

“I got better.”

“...I’m not that smart, but I don’t think that’s how things work.” He scratched his head. “You just made the pain go away?”

“Kinda.”

“How?”

Oops.

You weren’t supposed to tell him that.

Scarpia secret training. All that bullshit. You were so used to this technique that it didn’t even feel like a technique anymore; one of the earliest teachings, something each of you were trained to do the moment you learned to walk. You sincerely forgot this wasn’t normal… and most importantly, you forgot this was secret.

But Luffy already knew your secrets… so who cared?

You held your chin and tightened your eyes at him.

“...I think it’d be useful for you, to be honest. You don’t really control your stretching, do you?”

Luffy sat on the grass and crossed his legs. It was a bit funny, how you were sitting on the log and him on the ground, almost like a teacher and a student. It was also a bit strange how interested he got. Despite his never ending playfulness, Luffy took his training seriously.

“I control it. Until I don’t.” He grabbed his own pointer finger and stretched it until the tension limit, as if to illustrate. “How can this thing be useful?”

You hesitated for a moment. Your father’s voice echoed in your mind… The true jewel of the Scarpia family is our training. That is our advantage against the world, and that is why it must be excelled and kept in secret–

Ugh. Shut up. I don’t caaaaare.

“In my family, we call it Heavenly Control.” You started in a quiet voice. Again, unexpectedly, Luffy was paying attention. Had he ever sat down and payed attention in silence to anything before? “Like the name says… it’s the ability to be in absolute control over every layer of your body. Blood, muscle, bones… even feelings. You always know what’s going on inside of you, you’re always aware, therefore you can control it. And… you can get some results… like this.”

You made your nails grow and sharpen like blades.

Luffy’s eyes widened.

“Woooooah! That’s sick! I thought you weren’t a Devil Fruit user!”

“I’m not. It’s Heavenly Con– were you even paying attention to what I just said?!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He shook his hand dismissively. “So you can sharpen nails and make pain go away. How could this help me?”

“If you had absolute control over your body, you could stretch however you wanted. Even longer than you do now. Past the tension limit.”

“Past the what?”

“Past this.” You pinched his cheek and pulled it. Luffy groaned. You pulled and pulled and pulled until the skin visibly strained and you had to let go with a loud snap.

“Oooh.” He said while caressing his cheek.

“Also, it can be useful in battle. You can turn your emotions off to fight better.”

Luffy frowned and crossed his arms. “Uh… why would I do that?”

“Because it’s useful?”

“But it’s not fun.” He opened a mischievous smile. “When I find a strong beast, it’s fun to feel your heart pumping and your legs getting cold. It’s the best part!”

Oh.

You never thought of things this way. But, well… Luffy didn’t fight for money. When you had millions of berries at stake, you didn’t have time to have fun like that.

Luffy rubbed his hands excitedly. “But this sounds cool! How do I learn it?”

It was your turn to scratch your head hesitantly. “...I don’t know if you’ll want to learn it. Involves a lot of meditation.”

“And how’s it?”

“You sit still for a loooong time.”

Luffy scowled as if he had sucked on a very sour lemon. “Boooring.”

“Yeah.”

“But there’s no other way, right? So, come on! Teach me.” He punched his own palm and opened a determined smile. “I have to become stronger!”

There it was again. The way Luffy managed to surprise you. He hated anything boring, he despised being still in the same spot for more than two minutes… but he took his training seriously. More than anyone you knew. More than you, even.

It made you want to help him.

You smiled.

“Okay. But I don’t wanna hear complaints, got it?”

“Yeah, whatever.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Let’s go!”

He did, in fact, complain a lot.

Not that you weren’t expecting him not to. He, in fact, seemed unable to sit still for more than five minutes. Anything and everything caught his attention – a bug, the wind, a leaf, a fart that would therefore break your focus and you’d have to smack him while he giggled.

You taught him the basis of the technique. Three days you had – and three days you spent trying to teach him to the farthest length of your patience. To be fair, there were moments when he actually seemed focused in the meditation process… the longest he stayed still was ten minutes. A miracle!

There’s no way he’d learn everything in three days, of course. Heavenly Control could take years to be mastered. You only did it so easily because you had been trained to do it at a very, very young age.

It was the last day of your stay when you learned once and for all that Luffy was not normal.

Not that you didn’t know it already to some extent. He wasn’t a normal boy. He lived in the woods being raised by a group of criminals. He killed giant beasts for dinner. Him and his brother invaded High Town weekly to steal and fight adults just because it was fun. No, Luffy was not a normal boy.

But you hadn’t noticed his true abnormality until that afternoon.

Luffy was training as always. You sat on that same log and made a last sketch before leaving – a green ladybug! –; the tiny insect walked slowly on the edge of the page. You did your best to not disturb it so it wouldn’t fly away.

Luffy screamed the name of his attack as always.

You decided to lift your gaze to him for some reason. Luffy rotated his right arm many times, his fist tightened.

“Gomu Gomu no…”

He took impulse and launched his arm.

“...Pistoool!”

It stretched. And stretched. And stretched.

Your eyes widened slowly.

It stretched more.

It stretched past the tension limit.

His fist hit the boulder this time – it didn’t destroy it, just cracking the tip of the rock. But that was the least of it.

His arm retracted with a sonorous snap. Luffy grinned and jumped.

“Yahoooo! I did it! Did you see that, Four Eyes?! I did it!”

Your jaw was on the floor.

To Luffy, he had just landed a punch on a target he wanted.

But you understood the gravity of what had just happened.

A target approximately ten meters away from where he stood. A distance he couldn’t reach only a few days before. A stretch he couldn’t quite control then.

He did it now – and it wasn’t a strike of luck. It had intent. It was a calculated blow. It… It was controlled.

Luffy mastered a secret technique from the Scarpia Family in three days without even practicing much. A technique you took years to truly master.

That afternoon, you saw the shadow of what Luffy was going to become for the first time.

I’m gonna be the King of the Pirates. I’ll be the most free. I’ll find the One Piece.

He repeated that over and over and over again. Any adult would judge it as the delusions of a kid that dreamed too much. And… well, at first, you thought he was being delusional too. You knew the seas; you belonged to the New World. Millions and millions set sail in the hopes of finding the One Piece. How many failed? How many had their hopes ruthlessly crushed when they crossed the Red Line and realized that they were just grains of sand against true pirates? How many didn’t have the will to continue? To persist?

But Luffy was there. Laughing and doing cartwheels to celebrate. The boy from the middle of nowhere who just mastered Heavenly Control without much effort in three days.

Luffy was going to become a beast.

You knew it.

You believed in it.

You mirrored his smile and clapped, making Luffy’s chest fill with pride. Your friend’s future was going to be wonderful.

You couldn’t wait to witness it.

➛ 12

You needed a weapon.

It’s something you didn’t think you’d need. Your own body and strikes were enough since you started your career. Sure, you received formal training on many types of weapons: swords (though they weren’t really your thing), daggers (these were useful sometimes), guns (not really your style)… you liked to work with your bare hands, however.

This opinion changed drastically over the past year.

Your commissions weren’t that easy anymore. Your success rate was still 100%. Which meant your prestige was increasing. Which meant your percentage in payments increased, too. Which meant commissioners were starting to book you specifically.

The White Wolf is how you were being called by some.

Which meant you were being assigned with less commissions, but more difficult targets.

Actual fighters. Devil Fruit users. Just attacking them by surprise wasn’t enough. They could defend themselves and fight back.

Just your body wouldn’t do; even Heavenly Control and its hardening technique wasn’t enough. You were still too short and too weak against adults that actually knew how to fight.

So, yeah. You needed a weapon. But which?

The Scarpia arsenal was a gigantic bunker with every weapon one could think of – all pristine clean, being kept inside glass cases, perfectly organized, not a grain of dust in sight. Swords. Sabers. Katanas. Spears. Daggers. Guns. Cannons. New model weapons stolen directly from Marineford. Paradise for people in the wrong side of life.

None of that interested you.

The twins fought with daggers. Saqr was becoming a sniper – and a good one at that. Crowley chose a scythe as his weapon (soooo edgy and forced, oh my God). Urso used brass knuckles.

What weapon could be useful to you?

One that could be used for both melee and ranged combat. You weren’t that tall compared to your brothers; you needed something that could be protective as well… but also fast. What could fulfill all of those needs?

To protect and attack… Close and distant… Fast and light…

Hmm…

...You thought of Luffy for some reason.

His stretching. The way he could whip his limbs around. He could fight from close up or from a distance.

...Oh.

You took a tiny Den Den Mushi from inside your jacket and dialed.

“Yes, Young Mistress?” Landon’s voice answered promptly.

“I need a chain prototype. Make it with Seastone. As light and thin as possible.”

“How many meters?”

“Let’s start with three.”

“As you wish, Young Mistress.”

It took four prototypes to get to the perfect weapon.

The chain was light; only four centimeters in diameter, but that was thick enough to actually hurt when a blow successfully hit. Forged in a mix of Seastone and iron: the iron for malleability, the Seastone for hardness. At the tip of the chain, there was a spiked ball the size of an apple to add weight and balance. It was a shiny silver because you liked pristine things.

It took a week to master its use.

You swung the chain around like a whip. Each fast whiplash was a guaranteed wound. You could swirl the chain around your body and it’d act as a shield, rebounding any projectile or attack. The spiked Seastone ball could be used for heavier blows. You had already learned how to wrap it around objects to pull them, to use each end in different situations. And you could just wrap it around your hip to make it a cute belt when you weren’t using it.

Just perfect.

You cleaned the sweat from your forehead with the back of your hand, recovering your breath. Chunks of destroyed training dolls were scattered over the entire floor. You looked down at the chain resting in your hands; now, they’d have to be covered in gloves all the time to avoid bruises. Yes, this prototype was perfect. So easy to use, so durable… the engineers did a great job.

You noticed Saqr and Crowley giving quick glances at you. You loathed the fact that they were training at the same time, though all of you refused to talk to each other. You knew they were assessing your abilities, probably finding ways to defeat you. But… you also knew that they had already admitted to themselves that this weapon was very effective, otherwise they would’ve mocked already.

The heavy doors of the bunker opened behind you.

It’s funny how you recognized your father’s presence without even seeing him. He was silent. His steps never made any sound regardless of how heavy or tall he was. And yet, whenever he entered the same space as you, immediate chills would run your spine.

You turned around and straightened your back. Saqr and Crowley did as well.

“Father.”

He walked straight towards you with his hands behind his back. His suit, always perfectly ironed. His beard, always flawlessly trimmed. His expression… always blank.

Drachen looked at the destroyed dolls on the floor. The chain in your hands.

For a second, you thought he’d mention your efforts. Your new weapon. Your progress. A compliment would be too much… a simple acknowledgment would be enough. A hint that what you did was being seen.

What left his mouth wasn’t disapproval either – and yet, it was so abysmal that you’d rather have him cuss you out.

“Did you have your first period?”

You froze.

It was like someone dropped ten tons over your shoulders. You felt pressure from all sides, crushing your body as if you were in the depths of the sea. Your face and neck burned.

Why… How…?

Three days ago.

You woke up to see blood in your panties. It’s not like you didn’t know what that was; and yet, it felt strange. It felt disgusting. It felt embarrassing. You didn’t tell your mother because you thought she wouldn’t care. You asked your maid for a pack of pads, but you were too embarrassed to ask her how to use it, though you quickly found out by yourself. You used Heavenly Control to try to ignore the cramps. You tried not to walk like a penguin every time you felt the awful sensation of a liquid dripping from your insides with no control over it. You obsessed over your hygiene, scared that anyone else could feel the smell of that.

It was all new and strange and so so gross.

Why is he asking me about that?!

How did he even know? The maid told him? But– But why him? He was your father. He was a man. You didn’t have the courage to tell mother about it; you could barely look at that maid in the eye. So… why was he…?! Of all people?!

In front of Saqr and Crowley?!

You couldn’t look at him anymore.

You just nodded.

Drachen crossed his arms.

“Go see the doctor today. We need to know if your reproductive system is healthy. Vinsmoke Judge wants reports on your health.” Silence. “Did I make myself clear?”

“Y-Yes. Yes, father.”

He nodded, turned around and left.

You just… stood there.

It’s like your body suddenly weighed too much to be moved. Like your ears were muffled.

You looked down at the chain, the weapon you had mastered so fast. The weapon you were proud of.

It was all useless in the end, wasn’t it?

Every effort. Every successful commission. Every training.

All that mattered was if your ovaries and uterus were working.

Your brothers were laughing hysterically.

They found a quick way to defeat you, after all.

➛ 13

Luffy’s straw hat didn’t look too big for his head anymore.

And he didn’t sound like a baby duck anymore, either. Which was… weird. Every time you visited, you could pin point the differences in his and Ace’s appearances, since people can change a lot in a whole year. Ace looked completely different from the boy you met five years ago. Well, he didn’t look like a boy, quite frankly. He got super tall of sudden. And muscular. And his voice got deep. And… well, he wasn’t a prick anymore, which was nice. He got used – unbothered – by your presence on your third visit (thank God; you were already so emotionally wrecked due to the engagement back then, if he decided to be an asshole, you’d have killed him).

Luffy still looked like a boy. But he was… changing.

He still was a solid five centimeters shorter than you, though, which made you happy for some reason.

You looked at him from over the sketchbook and sent him a challenging smile. “I’m almost finished!”

Luffy bit his tongue, his brows furrowed in a focused expression, while he scribbled something in his own piece of paper. “I’m almost finished, too!”

He was obviously lying.

Luffy always repeated that your drawings were good, but his were sooo much better – though he had never showed any. So you decided to challenge him: you’d have to sketch each other in five minutes. The best drawing would win. You sat in front of each other with a sketchbook over each other’s legs.

You still had a minute. The pencil slipped rapidly over the sheet to complete the details in his hair. The black strands of hair looked a little longer than the last time you saw him. Was it on purpose, or he just forgot to cut his hair? Could very well be the latter. His face… it wasn’t that round anymore, either. His chin looked more pointed. His cheeks, less chubby; his collarbones, more prominent.

You just had to add the scar under his left eye and you’d be done. You peeked at him one last time.

He was biting the tip of his pencil in a focused expression while analyzing his own sketch.

And for the first time in your life, a word popped up in your head.

Cute.

Your eyes immediately darted down again.

Woah woah woah. What the hell?!

The watch on your wrist marked the fifth minute.

“Time’s up!” You yelled. “Drop your pencil!”

Your heart racing is just because you’re excited about the competition. That’s all. Yeah.

“I’m sooo sure mine is better than yours.” Luffy grinned mischievously. “Ace! C’mere!”

The oldest brother appeared from around the corner, absently munching an apple. His hair was a mess. Had he been sleeping the whole afternoon?

“Y’all done?” He asked with little interest.

“Yeah. Be our judge.” You said, holding the sketchbook against your chest. “Me first. Ready?”

You turned the sketchbook around – and it was satisfying to see their jaws drop. Even disinterested Ace.

“It looks great!” Luffy exclaimed. Yeah, of course it did – even if you only had five minutes. A very realistic portrait of him.

“Yo, can you draw me like that later?” Ace asked with his mouth full.

“For a grand.” He gasped and frowned.

“Mercenary.”

“Alright, alright. My turn!” Luffy smiled and straightened his back. “Get ready!”

He showed his paper sheet proudly.

You and Ace stared at it in silence for some seconds. Then–

Ace cackled.

“What the–?!” You looked from the paper to his face angrily. “It doesn’t look like me!”

“’Course it does! It’s exactly like you!”

You almost couldn’t believe that.

Luffy drew a dog with round glasses and a skirt. Or it looked like a dog, but it was supposed to be a wolf… drew by a five year old. This? Seriously? And he kept bragging of how much better of an artist he was?!

Ace patted Luffy’s back while still laughing. “You won, Luffy!”

“How?! That’s not fair! You’re just saying that because he’s your brother!”

“Just accept defeat already, Four Eyes.” Luffy giggled mischievously. “I draw muuuch better than you.”

You wanted to punch the both of them.

Why did you even bother?

You already knew the forest well at that point.

It was funny, because you only visited once a year for a few days… but these trees, these trails were already so familiar. They felt like home much more than your actual home… though, being honest, you didn’t really have a home by then – not one that felt like it.

You avoided being at the Scarpia Island as much as possible. The family had many houses and hiding places around the world. You purposefully decided to stay as close to the East Blue as possible when you weren’t working, away from the New World, especially during the months that preceded your birthday; that way, you’d make it to Goa Island quicker. The rest of the year… you’d still avoid Scarpia Island like the plague. There was no reason to stay there if you didn’t have to be there.

Sometimes, you thought of maybe making Goa Island your own hiding place so you’d have an excuse to visit more often. But… no, that’d be too risky. Would put too many question marks over the place. Goa was far from anywhere important. They’d start asking why would you chose to be there. And Landon… he never left you alone for a second. He’d report back to your parents the second he found out about your friends.

So… this was as far as you could go – even if you felt that a week wasn’t nearly enough.

How many sketchbooks had you already filled? Pages and pages of insects, animals and even some plants. Goa Island always had something interesting to offer. It felt as if you could spend a lifetime there and it wouldn’t be enough to capture all of its beauty. They even had this strange bee species that you didn’t find in your Insect Encyclopedia. Maybe your book was outdated? Or have you discovered a new bee species–?

“Ooooi, Wolfie!”

You frowned and looked up.

As Luffy was taking a nap, you decided to wander into the forest alone to see if the beehive was still in the same place you found last time. Coincidentally, the beehive was near an area you usually avoided since that thing happened years ago.

So it was definitely surprising to look up and see Ace waving at you from the tree house he forbid you from getting near.

Huh… why was he waving? Was he rubbing in your face that you couldn’t climb up?

“Ain’t you curious to know what the view looks like?!”

You stared up in shock.

“...You serious?!”

“Of course I’m serious.” It didn’t look like he was trying to prank you. He gesticulated in a welcoming way. “Come up!”

He didn’t need to say it twice.

You immediately ran to climb the stairs. They looked pretty unsafe, but you didn’t care. Oh, it was impossible to not feel all giddy. If you said you had no interest in seeing it you’d be lying; you even thought of visiting the place in secret, but that’d just be rude.

After meters and meters of climbing one of Mt. Colubo’s giant trees, you were finally there.

The structure was circular, completely made of wood. Lime already covered part of the walls and roof; there were some holes on the floor. The wooden boards creaked beneath your feet. By the height of the ceiling, it was clearly made for kids – Ace had to lower his head to stand there. He leaned on the “balcony” with a relaxed expression; wind played with his dark locks.

You approached him. There was an old wooden helm by his side. You absently rolled it.

“You guys built it all by yourselves?”

“Yeah.” Ace looked ahead to the landscape. “Luffy, Sabo and I.”

Your stomach felt a little cold. Luffy almost never mentioned Sabo; you’d never heard Ace talk about their deceased brother until that moment.

That felt strangely special.

You leaned on the balcony beside him as well. The view was breathtaking; you could almost see the sea by that point.

“It’s pretty impressive.” You rested your cheek on your palm and quirked an eyebrow jokingly. “Why’d you invite me up here? Gonna confess your feelings or something?”

Ace chuckled. “Kids ain’t my type.” You stuck your tongue out, to which he just rolled his eyes in response before looking ahead again.

“I won’t be here when you come back next year.”

That took you by surprise.

Oh… you remembered. Luffy talked about it before; how he’d set sail at seventeen years old… and Ace was sixteen.

Surprisingly – the idea of not seeing Ace’s annoying older brother face made you feel a bit sad.

“So… you invited me here to make a last sweet memory?”

“Oh, God. Shut up.” He punched your arm jokingly, making you giggle. “And it’s not like we’ll never see each other again. I’ll probably end up bumping into you in the New World.”

You stared at him in silence.

He stared back.

“Luffy told you.”

“ ’Course he told me.”

You cussed him under your breath while Ace laughed. That stupid bigmouth!

“What’d you expect? Telling Luffy a secret is like giving bananas to a monkey and expecting it to not eat them.” Yeah, but he didn’t tell me your secret, a bitter voice in your head groaned. “Also… you were never really normal, Wolfie. It wasn’t that hard to guess there was something sketchy about you.” He patted your back. “But relax, I actually won’t tell anyone your little secret.”

You avoided his gaze for a moment. “So… you don’t care? About what I do?”

Ace shrugged. “None of my business what you do.”

Like Luffy, Ace’s reaction to your true background was nonexistent. Yeah. Both of them were coo coo crazy.

He closed his hand in a fist and rested his chin on it; his expression got a little more serious. After some seconds of silence, he spoke again in a softer voice: “...You know, Luffy is an outgoing guy, but he doesn’t have a lot of close friends. It might sound obvious, but… it’d be cool if you keep showing up… so he doesn’t feel that lonely without me.”

So… that was the reason. Yes, his “request” was a bit obvious, since you’d keep showing up anyway. But it made you feel funny. Maybe because you were reminded once again that, despite Ace’s hard exterior, he was a good older brother. And because as much as you’d deny it to yourself… deep down you felt jealous of what they had.

You massaged the back of your neck sheepishly. “Well… I only visit once a year for a few days. Does it even make that much of a difference?”

Ace scoffed. “Of course it does. Luffy counts the days for your visit every year. And he doesn’t even know how to count that well.”

Oh.

...That made you feel funny again. In a different way. In a weird way.

You avoided Ace’s gaze, looking down for a second.

He was already watching you when you looked up at him again.

He had a… strange, tiny smile in his lips. A bit mischievous, maybe?

No.

A bit knowing.

“...You have no idea, do you?”

You frowned.

“What?”

Ace chuckled again. He put both hands in the pockets of his shorts and started walking away.

“You should see the crow’s nest. The view up there is even better.”

“Wait– What are you talking about? Ace? Ace?!”

He just walked away, laughing and shaking his head slowly.

➛ 14

“Hey, hey, d’you see that?! Ace already has a crew! And a bounty!”

It was impossible not to see, as Luffy was pretty much shoving the newspaper in your face. You tried to smile with your mouth full of rice. Just the fact that Luffy was doing anything else other than eating the entire table during lunch was very shocking.

“Luffy, let her eat in peace,” Magura scolded, but he didn’t seem angry at all, a small smile never leaving his lips.

“I’m sick of you saying the same thing over and over. We all saw the newspaper!” Dadan groaned under her breath, to which Luffy just stuck his tongue out in response.

You couldn’t help but just smile at Luffy’s enthusiasm, even though you already knew about Ace’s adventures before you even arrived. He was making a lot of noise… albeit his bounty was still a humble 50 million. It was a bit strange to see his face plastered over a wanted poster and to know the entire East Blue probably already knew his name. Had he already entered the Grand Line, you wondered?

You eyed Dadan. The redhead woman showed a tough exterior as usual, but you didn’t see genuine annoyance in her eyes… much the opposite.

“Did Luffy cry a lot when Ace left?” You asked her jokingly.

“Hey! I didn’t cry!”

Dogura giggled and side eyed you. “Luffy didn’t cry-nii… But Dadan–“

She punched him in the head.

“Shut up! Where’s the respect?!”

She blushed furiously.

You swallowed your laughter along with the rice, afraid of being punched by her, too.

Mt. Colubo without Ace felt… weird.

Of course, you were happy that your friend was achieving his dream. Just like Luffy, Goa Island would never be big enough for Ace. And yet, his absence was noticeable at all times, something you just couldn’t ignore. He wasn’t there to make sarcastic comments, punch Luffy or laugh at you…

It felt empty.

And it was a bit sad to realize that if you were feeling like that, Luffy was feeling it tenfold worse.

He didn’t shut up. Not that he was someone to shut up on a normal basis, but now? The straw hat boy talked nonstop. He wasn’t even someone to talk too much about the past, yet you caught yourself listening to him babble about everything that happened in the weeks before Ace’s departure and everything he’d been up to since. Luffy wasn’t even focused on his training as he used to. He followed you around like a shadow. You wondered if his throat was dry from talking so much.

Ace’s request made much more sense now.

You were used to loneliness. You even learned to enjoy it to some extent. Luffy… wasn’t. More than that – he obviously hated it. So you could see why it was so tough for him being alone for the first time. Of course, Dadan Family was right there; he could go down to Foosha to see Makino whenever he wanted. But it wasn’t the same, was it?

So when Luffy dragged you to their tree house, you just accepted it. You didn’t make questions. You knew it was his little way of feeling close to his brother somehow.

Did it piss you off when a storm fell and there was no way of going back to spend the night on a warm bed? Definitely.

But you resigned yourself to not complaining out loud.

“We used to live here, you know?” His voice came from some corner, though you were too focused on trying to patch a leak on the ceiling to look back. The ceiling was so short that you didn’t need to stand on anything to reach it. “For a while.”

You gulped. By we, he was talking about Sabo as well. There was always a strange knot in your stomach in the rare moments Luffy mentioned him.

“Seems like a fun place for a bunch of kids to live in.”

Luffy giggled. “Yeah.”

His silence meant he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

You finished the patch and turned around.

Luffy had brought two thin mattresses, pillows and rags as covers. They were visibly very old, probably hadn’t been used in a long time… and kid sized. He placed them side by side and sat over his with crossed legs.

You sat in front of him.

The rain was loud out there. Luckily, it wasn’t followed by wind, so it wasn’t that wet inside the tree house. Kinda. The only source of light was your small lantern on the floor beside you two. It cast weird shadows on Luffy’s face.

He became… quiet all of sudden. He took his hat off and tried to scratch a stain from the red strip with his thumb. Shoulders dropped, head hung low.

Luffy looked less and less like a boy.

There was something a bit uncanny in seeing him so serious.

You crossed your arms and coughed. “What d’you wanna do? I got a deck of cards in my bag. We could play a game.”

Luffy pouted. “I’m not that great with card games.”

“You could learn.”

“You don’t have that much patience to teach.”

Bullseye.

“Uh… what about a guessing game?” Luffy didn’t answer, still focused on his hat. Weird weird weird. That’s so not him. I’m typically the one to be silent. Honestly, I’d rather hear him talk nonstop like he was doing before than this. “So what? We just gonna sit here and stare at each other?”

“It’s funny to see you try to cheer me up. Usually it’s the other way around.”

You were taken aback.

...Bullseye. Again.

Luffy had these moments sometimes when he blurted out stuff that showed he was not dense, even though he seemed to be. In fact, he payed a lot of attention to a lot of things – things that he found interesting, at least. And he’d blurt these things with a straight face, too.

He finally looked up and opened a kind smile.

“Thank you.”

Yeah. He… he looked less and less like a boy.

You looked to the side and frowned, hoping it would mask your embarrassment. “Why is it that whenever one of you bring me here, you get all emotional?”

Luffy giggled and finally put his hat aside before yawning. “Sleep in a rainy night is the best. Imma turn this off, okay?” He turned the lantern off before you could complain. Luffy laid on his mattress with his back turned to you. “Night.”

“Good night…”

But he was already snoring.

He dragged you to a place where you had nothing to do and slept.

Great.

You laid there, your back turned to him, for a long time. It wasn’t exactly pitch black; you could see weird shadows on the walls caused by the tree branches around. The endless pitter patter of the rain or a leak somewhere else in the house. The sound of Luffy turning around every five minutes. It seems he was hyperactive even in his sleep. It was a bit chilly due to the rain, but that cover was too short for you, which made you curl like an armadillo. You wondered how many insects were lurking in the shadows… if there were maybe snakes too looking for cover.

No sign of sleep whatsoever.

I should put the lantern under the cover and read a bit. Will he wake up with some light? Shit… the rain isn’t going away at all. I’ll catch a cold like that. Is he moving again? How can someone move so much sleeping–

Your entire body froze.

Every muscle. Every nerve. Even your lungs. Everything froze.

Arms wrapping around your waist.

His entire torso glued to your back.

And his face– his face was pressed on your neck. Right on your neck.

Wh– What?!

If that part of your brain wasn’t turned off, your immediate reaction would be to fight back. But it wasn’t on. That was Luffy. You’d never be able to hurt Luffy.

Even so – what the hell was he doing?!

Your heart raced violently as if it wanted to run away from your body; your breath came fast and short. Oh my God. What is going on? What?!

“L-Luffy?!” You managed to whisper somehow.

The answer came in the form of a soft snore.

Chills chills chills. He was breathing on your neck. It was cold then; now, it was steaming hot. His skin was always warm for some reason… but at that moment? Literally glued to you?

“Luffy?” You tried again, too scared to look over your shoulder. His hair tingled the back of your neck.

Another soft snore.

Sleeping. He was really sleeping.

Thinking back on it… you’d seen how Luffy usually sleeps. When he’s not sprawled over the bed like someone who just got shot, he’s hugging his pillow.

Oh.

So unconsciously… he found a pillow.

That made you calm down a bit – well, at least it wasn’t on purpose. Because it’d be strange if Luffy simply decided to… huh… cuddle. Not that you weren’t used to his hugs or the way he didn’t mind physical touch, but that was different. Very very very very different.

If I move away slowly… maybe he won’t wake up…

Yet, you didn’t move.

You stayed there. Still. Like a statue.

You weren’t brave enough to move away.

...You didn’t want to move away.

Luffy’s snoring wasn’t loud or annoying. His warmth… was comfortable. Shielded you from the rainy night. His grip wasn’t too tight. The slow movement of his chest against your back was calming.

To admit you were enjoying this would make you a weirdo?

Have you ever been this close to anyone before? No. Obviously no. You didn’t remember ever receiving a hug from your parents. They weren’t the type of people you could run to when you got a nightmare; they wouldn’t accept you into their bed and give you a comforting hug.

Yeah.

Perhaps being alone hurt you as much as it hurt him. More than you wanted to admit to yourself.

So slowly, your body relaxed. Slowly, you felt sleep getting heavy in your eyelids. The rain and Luffy’s calm breathing were your lullabies. Slowly, you fell asleep.

You woke up the moment he disentangled from you.

The sun already shone above the forest. He didn’t move away abruptly, but his lack of warmth was already enough to bring you back to consciousness.

You laid there, eyes closed, and waited to see what would happen.

There was silence for a while. Luffy didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound. You wondered what expression he was making. You wondered if he felt uncomfortable or weird. You wondered if letting him wrap his arms around you was inappropriate.

Finally, Luffy poked your cheek.

You turned around.

His hair was a complete mess. His face all puffy.

“Morning.” His voice was husky from sleep. “Let’s go down to Foosha.”

He didn’t mention what happened.

So you wouldn’t, too.

Foosha Village didn’t have a lot of kids anymore.

Makino still baked cake for the Mayor every year, albeit the parties became smaller and quieter. The Mayor himself didn’t seem to mind, as he had already said these birthday parties were more towards the kids than to himself; but he still enjoyed a good chocolate cake anyway. Who wouldn’t?

The bar was empty in the evening. You’d already helped Makino put the chairs over the tables to sweep the floor. Now that it was all cleaned and most people left, she brought the second cake. She always baked a second cake to prevent Luffy from eating everything by himself.

It was just you, Luffy, Makino and the Mayor eating cake, sitting on a round table.

“I’m glad Ace made new friends out there.” Makino confessed, smiling sweetly. You had noticed how she – and the other three – just mentioned the name Ace after the bar emptied. It put a question mark in your head, as it always did.“I bet he’s having fun.”

“Having fun?!” Woop Slap choked. “Makino, he’s a criminal now. There’s nothing good about this.”

“D’you see his bounty photo?! He looks so sick,” Luffy completely ignored the Mayor, speaking with his mouth full of cake. Makino giggled. “And in three years, it’s gonna be me. I’ll have an even better bounty photo!”

The Mayor sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “You still want to be a pirate?!”

“The King of the Pirates.”

“My God. This generation is doomed.” He scratched his head tiredly. “You should try to knock some sense into your friend’s head, aye, Wolfie? Since you seem like a good kid.”

Luffy scoffed. “Yeah. Tooootally a good kid.”You kicked his leg under the table. “Ouch.”

These moments were always nice. Just sitting around a table, eating cake and talking about anything that came to mind. The setting sun put orange shades over everything. The air felt lighter, fresher after yesterday’s storm; it smelled of chocolate, soda and salt. The weather was comfortable. Your heart, strangely at ease.

It’d be nice, you thought, if life had more moments like that.

The Mayor thanked Makino and said his goodbyes eventually. Makino, as usual, rushed you two to climb the mountain before it got dark.

“I gotta take a leak before we go,” Luffy said. You scowled.

“Rude.”

“Can I use your bathroom, Makino?”

“Sure.” The straw hat boy ran out of the bar, as Makino’s house was just beside it. The green haired woman looked at you. “I’ll take the basket in the kitchen for you, okay?”

The picnic basket, as usual. You nodded, and she disappeared behind the door.

You sat there, your back facing the front doors with your arms crossed, and let your mind wander back to what happened past night for the first time. Luffy was acting like nothing happened. Well, maybe in his mind, it wasn’t that important, as most things weren’t. Maybe he was right. Maybe you were looking too much into something unimportant.

...Why did, suddenly, you felt like it’d be difficult to be alone with him from now on?

Difficult in what sense? You couldn’t even explain why. The sudden embarrassment to look at him for too long. The… the weird thing in your stomach. It was all strange and stupid. You already knew Luffy for a long time, right? So there was nothing to be embarrassed of.

Makino appeared from behind the kitchen doors again, holding the picnic basket. “It feels weird to not put Ace’s slice this time… but I guess the others will be happy to have more food.”

Then, she looked ahead towards the doors.

Her eyes widened slightly.

“I’m sorry, sir… we’re already closed.”

There was someone else in the bar? When did they get in? How didn’t you notice them?

At that exact moment – the air froze.

It was like time moved in slow motion.

Your heartbeat thundered in your ears. You could see every grain of dust dancing in the air as sunlight hit them. You became aware of everything, your senses sharpened to the maximum potency.

The scenery around you wasn’t painted in orange tones anymore. It became blue. Freezing cold blue.

All because of the presence behind you.

You already knew who it was before you turned around. Yet, for a second, you tried to deny it to yourself. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be.

But your senses never failed you. Not even once. You were trained to recognize immediate danger before you learned to speak. It was ingrained in your body and soul.

You turned around slowly. Immediate danger would normally make you take a fight instance in the spot. But that was useless against who stood by the door. The sheer pressure of his power. It crushed your senses, oppressed you, made the air knock out of your lungs. You wished for a second that it’d be anyone; a powerful Marine, someone wanting to kill you for whatever reason…

Anything would be a better option than who stood at the entrance of the bar.

And yet, when you made eye contact, all of your thin hopes were crushed. Everything was crushed.

Scarpia Virgus.

He looked at you in silence.

The man stood with his impeccable posture as always, his hands behind his back. He wore an elegant black suit with a deep purple tie. His long beard and hair, as white as snow.

He was not wearing his owl mask.

He was not blinking.

You couldn’t breathe. You couldn’t breathe. You couldn’t move.

It’d better to have a warship with all its cannons aimed at you. It’d be better to have an entire batallion of Marine troopers to face. Anything would be less dangerous than his mere presence, the single fact that he was not wearing a mask.

And Makino saw his face.

No no no no no. Please do anything to me. I don’t care. But don’t hurt Makino. Don’t kill Makino.

Finally, you gathered the strength to get up.

“This is my grandfather, Makino.” You said without taking your eyes off him for a second. He could kill her in the blink of an eye. He could bring this entire bar down with a single strike of the katana he held behind his back.

And yet, you found a way to sound somewhat normal, to not let Makino understand how close to death she stood.

She made a surprised face and looked from you to him. “Oh, really? It’s a pleasure meeting you, sir.”

He looked at her for the first time and your whole body tensed. Don’t look at her. Don’t look at her. Don’t look at her.

All he did was open a serene lip tightened smile in response.

“Can we talk in the kitchen for a while?” You blurted out. “Privately?”

Once again, Makino looked from you to him repeatedly. “Uh… sure.”

She stepped aside and opened the counter’s door so you two could walk into the kitchen. You trembled when moved into the bar. Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt her.

When he walked past Makino, he bowed his head respectifully for a second.

You followed him shortly. Locked the door as soon as you closed it.

And then, you were alone with your grandfather.

He moved slowly, analyzing the area, as he always did. There was a small round table in the corner. Virgus sat down and put his long, black sheathed katana over the table.

He signaled for you to sit in front of him with his finger.

You obeyed.

The silence was excruciating. He was excruciating.

This was your worst nightmare. The thing you took every precaution to not let happen. The reason why you were so obedient for all these years, the reason why you trained and took commissions without a single complaint: so you wouldn’t be followed. So you wouldn’t be discovered.

But there he was – Scarpia Virgus, sitting in Partys Bar small kitchen. Your two worlds clashing. The one you hated, and the one you loved.

Grandfather wasn’t looking at you.

He took something from the inside of his suit: a small black velvet sack where he always kept his runes. Virgus shook the sack slowly. You could hear the sound of the small pieces of carved bones clacking against each other.

And when he spoke for the first time – your blood went cold.

“Monkey… D… Luffy.”

He dropped the runes over the table.

You closed your eyes for a moment, feeling panic and defeat wash over you. He knew about Luffy. He knew everything.

Grandfather analyzed the runes in silence for some seconds. You never understood what those symbols meant and you didn’t want to. He caressed his beard and hummed.

“He’s the son of a dragon as well. I understand why you were naturally drawn to each other.”

You didn’t know what that meant. All you could do was try to control your body, try to not shake. Not Luffy. Anyone but Luffy. Please, don’t hurt Luffy. Please.

You gulped.

“How did you find out?” It was hard to control your shaky breath. Your voice was small, uneasy, compared to his deep firm tone. “Was it Landon?”

“It was Crowley.”

Once again, the air was knocked out of your lungs.

Crowley?!

He found out about Goa Island and Luffy? How? When?!

And then, for the first time, another feeling mixed with your panic.

Anger.

Hatred.

Crowley. That demon. He pried into my life. He put Luffy in danger. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

Virgus intertwined his hands and rested them above his stomach.

“You’re angry. He played dirty. Crowley is ambitious… he wants to be the best.” He quirked one eyebrow. “But you broke several family rules.” You avoided his gaze, way too ashamed to keep looking at him. “How many people know about you?”

Lying would be pointless. You didn’t want to put a target on Luffy’s head, but to lie would be to condemn everyone else, too.

“Just Luffy. B-But he doesn’t know our family name…”

“That doesn’t make it any better.”

You gulped again. Even trying to put your emotions on autopilot was useless; not with him right there, what he represented.

“B-But Luffy is just a boy from the East Blue. Even if he knew… even if…”

“That simple boy is Vice-Admiral Garp’s grandson.”

That was enough to make you swallow whatever argument you had.

Vice-Admiral Garp?!

What?! No – that couldn’t be true. B-But– Luffy barely ever talked about his grandfather; he just said he was an annoying old man. You’d never met him. His grandfather was a Marine legend?!

Scarpia Virgus scoffed. “You didn’t know that? I’m very disappointed. You decide to reveal your true identity to someone and don’t even bother to know about their background.” You felt yourself becoming small. Small, small, small, smaller under his piercing gaze. “You know our family have some sort of freedom to do whatever we want. But Garp… he’s not the type of Marine that can be bribed. If he finds out his grandson is friends with a Scarpia, we’re all doomed. Do you understand the danger you put us all through?”

You looked down at the table. Fear, anger, shame. It was all crushing.

“Does my f-father know?” Your voice became even quieter than before,

Your grandfather collected his rune pieces slowly. “If he knew, this whole village would already be reduced to ashes. He would let the boy alive to not bring us any trouble… but not everyone else, to teach you a lesson.”

Virgus put the sack inside his suit again and leaned his intertwined hands over the table. His movement, getting even a bit closer to you, made you tremble.

“Your father is intransigent. He should be, as the head of the family. He won’t understand that you’re young, and youngsters make mistakes.” He paused to let his words sink in. You knew what the unspoken part meant. Punishment. Grave punishment. Months worth of punishment. “But I do.”

Your eyes darted up to him once more.

Grandfather caressed his beard again.

“Your parents want to take you out of the business completely... so you’ll be in perfect condition for your marriage.”

“What?!” You blurted out.

They wanted to keep you locked away at Scarpia Island until the wedding? Like a prisoner?!

That’d be worst than death.

“I don’t want that to happen as well. So this is what you’ll do from now on.”

You held your breath. Was he proposing a deal?

“You’ll become my personal pupil. I’ll train you beyond the child’s play Landon has been teaching you. But you’ll leave this island right now and never come back.”

You froze again.

Leave and never come back?

Leave Luffy?

No. No, no, no. I can’t. I can’t leave the only place I’m allowed to be myself. I can’t let my small island of peace forever.

I promised Ace I’d keep showing up. I… I can’t.

I can’t leave my only friend behind.

You tightened your hands into fists. Your heart raced violently.

“I-I… I don’t want to,” you managed to speak somehow in a shallow, weak voice.

Virgus scoffed – and you realized you committed a mistake. He’d been very calm until that moment; now, he sounded angry. The least thing you wanted was to annoy him.

“You’re in no position to not want anything.” Small small small the size of a grain of salt. “The rule of our family is the rule of the strongest. And you are weak. You’re weaker than your butler; you didn’t even notice my presence until I was behind you. You don’t want to obey me? What are you gonna do about it? Do you think you can fight me?”

“N-No. I can’t.”

“Yes, you can’t. You can’t fight anyone and win, because you’re naive. You haven’t understood yet that you’re a Scarpia; life will never be kind to you. Do you hate your brother? Do you seek revenge for exposing your secret? Do you want to confront your father? Do you hate this betrothal and want to get rid of it?” He leaned slightly closer. “Then be stronger. Be the strongest. Only then your voice will matter to anyone in this family.”

Virgus got up from the chair and took his katana again. “Say goodbye to him. I’ll be waiting in the harbor. If you disobey me… your father will know about this whole situation. And he won’t be as comprehensive as me.”

He started to walk away.

You gathered some courage.

“W-Why are you helping me?”

Helping. He was shattering everything that truly mattered to you.

But you knew he was right.

That was the rule of the family. The way out he offered was still much more merciful than what Scarpia Drachen would ever be able to offer.

He stopped.

“Because I see your true potential. And because you are my dear granddaughter.”

He left.

You sat there for a long time, staring at the table, until Makino walked in and asked if you were alright.

You weren’t.

You are a Scarpia; life will never be kind to you.

You would never be.

The climb up was silent.

Luffy babbled nonstop. You couldn’t speak anything. You couldn’t even look at him. Every step seemed heavy; with each of them, you felt as if a piece of your heart was dropping in the way.

You didn’t want to say goodbye.

But you couldn’t want anything. Not when Luffy, Dadan Family, Foosha Village would all be in danger.

It was all your fault in the end, wasn’t it? You weren’t careful enough; you were so sloppy that Crowley found out about your whereabouts. Crowley. I’ll kill him. I will actually kill him. This is not a joke.

Because of him, you’d never go back to Goa Island.

Because of him, you had to say goodbye to your only friend.

And it was stupid of you to wait until you were on top of your hill, that same place you sat down to eat watermelons all those years ago. The place you asked him if you could come back again. The same place where Luffy made his absurd promise.

It was stupid. It was silly. It was naive, as your grandfather called you.

But it felt appropriate.

You stopped walking.

Luffy looked back.

“Yo, Four Eyes, what’s wrong with you all of sudden?” He scratched his hair in a confused expression. “You constipated?”

Four Eyes. This stupid nickname. You weren’t even wearing glasses at that moment.

You gripped the handle of the picnic basket tighter.

For the first time, you looked up at him again.

The last rays of sun kissed his olive skin. Made his usually almost black eyes look dark chocolate. The wind hussled the trees around, played with the strands of hair on his forehead. You tried to memorize his slightly confused expression. You wanted to remember the face he’d make before you told him what you needed to tell, the last time he’d look… normal.

“Luffy, some… some things happened.” I can’t believe I’m saying this. Each word struggled to come out, as if you had swallowed sharp nails. “I received a call. I’ll… I’ll have to go back sooner.”

Luffy looked surprised for a second.

Then, his shoulders dropped.

Don’t make this face. Please, don’t make this face.

“Oh. That sucks.” He massaged the back of his neck awkwardly. “You leaving tomorrow morning?”

“I’m leaving right now.”

Don’t make this face. Don’t make this face.

“Ooh. It must’ve been very serious, huh?” It was his turn to look down. He somehow managed to smile again. “That means next year you’ll have to stay double more days to pay for now.”

You could say you’d come back, just so you wouldn’t have to go through all this pain. But that’d be way too cruel – and you couldn’t be cruel. Not with him.

You handed him the picnic basket.

“I’m… I’m not coming back next year, Luffy.”

He gasped.

His smile immediately dropped.

“...What?”

You looked down again, feeling your entire face and neck burn.

“M-My family is moving to the New World. It’s… it’s very, very far. I’m… not gonna make it here. Not anymore.”

That was the best excuse you came up with. You couldn’t tell him the complete truth. You couldn’t look at him. Just couldn’t.

Luffy put the basket on the floor.

You were startled when he put both hands over your shoulders.

And–

And he was smiling.

But it was a weird smile. It looked strained. Had he ever smiled like that before?

“No biggie!” His voice sounded strained, and strangely high pitched, too, as if there had a lump in his throat. “I’ll set sail in three years. I’ll get a crew and a ship. I’m gonna find you there this time!”

Oh crap.

There was a lump in your throat, too.

The final orange rays of light made it look like he was genuinely shining. His eyes were shining. You tried to ignore what that meant.

“You’ve been going through all this trouble of coming to visit me every year, right? Because I’m still weak and I don’t have a ship. B-But it’s alright! I’ll be even stronger in three years! Nothing will stand in my way!”

Then you were putting your hands over his shoulders too.

“No, I’m the one who’s weak.” You shook your head. “I’ll get stronger, too. I’ll work hard, okay? So no one will stand in my way.”

“Right!”

“Right!”

“This is a promise!”

“Promised!”

You hugged him.

Usually, you wouldn’t be the one to initiate any sort of physical touch. But how could you not at that moment, when your chin was trembling and you felt like you were holding back a dam? You hugged him tight, gripped the fabric of his shirt. Luffy hugged you back right away, offering no resistance; he never minded hugs anyway.

Shit, you didn’t want to let go. Even if you met each other again in three years – it was still three years, and you didn’t know if you could survive three years without him or Goa or the peace everything brought.

But it was your best shot anyway. Luffy’s safety was beyond your wishes. Even if it’d hurt.

Finally, you stepped back. Luffy coughed, scratched his nose with the back of his hand. His eyes were shining, but not in a happy way. His chin was trembling. God, his chin was trembling.

“Can you… hm… can you say goodbye to Dadan and the others for me?”

Luffy nodded. “They’re gonna miss your annual rent.”

You laughed and stepped back.

“So… I’ll get going.”

“See ya.”

You hesitated before turning around.

Your steps were heavy and slow; your shoulders were dropped, head hung low. This hill, this trail you already knew like the palm of your hand. All of these trees and bugs from the island that brought you so much comfort. You were saying goodbye to all of that. What if you had never climbed Mt. Colubo at 8 years old? How lifeless and colorless your life would be? You wouldn’t even know what fun meant.

What friendship meant.

You turned around abruptly.

He was still standing there, watching you go.

Your heart throbbed. Your hands were sweating.

“Luffy!”, you called.

He smiled and waved from far.

Your fists were tightened. You knew he wouldn’t hear if you didn’t yell. So you gathered all the air in your lungs for what you were about to say.

“Thank you for being my friend!”

Your voice echoed through the woods.

Luffy widened his eyes in surprise.

And then – he was ugly crying.

“Aw, come on, man! Why you gotta get emotional all of sudden?! Shut up!!”

You laughed. How could he make you laugh even in a situation like that? “I’m emotional? You’re the one crying!”

“I’m not crying!” He wiped his face with his forearm. But he was smiling through the tears, too. He laughed with you, too. “Get the hell out of here already!”

You sent him a last glance. A last look to keep in your memory. Luffy waving goodbye, grinning, at the top of your hill.

Finally, you turned around and walked down.

Then you were running.

Then you were crying.

Only when you were far enough. Only when you knew there was no chance anyone would see it. You crouched down in the middle of the bushes, hugging your own stomach, and cried. Quietly. Painfully.

You are a Scarpia; life will never be kind to you.

Your grandfather was right. Maybe you should’ve known it sooner. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so bad if you had already known.

But it hurt anyway.

No rain fell over the Goa Kingdom the night you said goodbye to your best friend.

A/N: THAT WAS SAD :((

so basically, "heavenly control" = rokushiki with another name (the thing the cp9 members b doing if you don't remember). i imagine the thing about being hyper aware and in control of your body would be the basis for rokushiki before u learn the hardening and idk flying like sanji.

assassin teenager that fights with chains?? WELCOME BACK GOGO YUBARI

all that shit happened right when my girl was developing her crush lol :((

as i said previously, next chapter we'll finally get to pre timeskip!! how will they meet each other after so long?? what'll be their reactions?? I DON'T KNOW!!

As usual, feedback is MUCHHH appreciated! If you read until here please don't forget to leave a comment <3 See you!

[todomochi-uwu]

About last night | R. Z

Pairing(s): Roronoa Zoro x reader Genre: Angst, fluff Warnings: This content is for a mature audience Synopsis: What are we? Author's notes: It seems all I can write are self-indulgences, enjoy. Masterlist If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee ☕

Once again, the crew was celebrating a victory. 

Nami and Robin were dancing together; Luffy was chomping down every single bite left of the buffet; Usopp and Chopper were goofing around the island; Sanji was surrounded by a bunch of beautiful ladies; Franky was in the middle of arm wrestling some poor loser; and Zoro was, as usual, downing bottle after bottle of sake. You were content seeing each of your crewmates have fun and relax after the rough days you’d gone through, but there was an empty feeling in your chest.  

You looked at him and wondered if the same questions ran around his head. Did you ever cross his mind other than when you were in bed together? Did he ever want more? Or was it just you? 

Whatever you two were seemed to be enough, in the beginning. Now, the nights you used to crave so much seemed turned insipid. Not to say Zoro wasn’t a great lover, of course not, but once the act itself was done, all his warmth died down, quick to ask if you were okay, and proceeded to snore almost right away.  

Admittedly, it was no one's fault but your own for allowing yourself to fall for the swordsman. 

Your heart, body, and soul ask for more, not only for his body to embrace you but also for his entire being to give you the same passion with which he fights, with which he drinks, with which he lives.                           ...but that would be asking too much from someone who doesn’t love you. 

So now, your punishment is to wait and see if he’ll ever. 

"Hello, love, is this seat taken?” 

“All yours, Sanji.” You gave him a small smile. Trying to hide what’s already written all over your face. 

He lit a cigarette and turned to look at you. "My god, you are gorgeous." He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. " Why don't you go dance with the girls? They are having fun. Maybe that’ll cheer you up.” 

“M’okay.” You whispered, looking at your feet. 

Yeah, you had gotten all dolled up. A cute, and kinda risky dress (courtesy of Nami’s closet); some small heels; shimmery makeup and a quick bun with some face-framing hair pieces. Robin said you looked gorgeous, that anyone would be a fool not to notice you. Yeah, well, apparently, he was.  

"Come on, love. I can’t stand seeing you dress to the nines only to spend all night glued to a chair.” He caressed your cheek. Why couldn’t you fall for Sanji? It would be a thousand times easier, I mean yeah, he might be a perv and a whore, but at least he was honest and transparent with his feelings. Always paying compliments and showing his love through food, no puzzles, no mental games, just plain and painfully obvious love. Must be nice. 

You leaned against the warmth of his skin, "You know why I’m like this, Ji.” 

He scoffed, “Don’t remind me, still can’t believe you fell for that fucking marimo, he’s beneath you, princess.” He lit up another cigarette, taking a deep drag as he looked at where the source of all your troubles remained. Wasted. Dishevelled. Relaxed. "You deserve everything good in this world, and yet you settle for someone like him. I don’t get it.” 

“Sanji.” You gave him a sad smile. He didn’t mean the things he said about Zoro, but he would always try to protect you. 

"Dance with me." He took your hand in between his, sweetly stroking the back of it. Just as you were about to get up, wanting to end your pity party, an uproarious crash turned everyone’s heads. Boisterous laughs and the flapping sounds of sandals running down the corridor. 

“Give me a second, beautiful.” He gave you a bright smile, before running off to the kitchen (you guessed), where Luffy was probably tormenting some poor cooks. “Goddamit, Luffy, why are you like this?!” 

You simply laughed.  

“He’s not wrong, y’know?” You flinched. Where in the fuck was he hiding? “You look drop-dead gorgeous.” 

You just blushed. How does one accept compliments again? 

He extended his hand, “...” The guy from the bounty poster, the one Nami had been gushing about when you first arrived at the island; wait, what was his name? “Saw you fighting back there, you have some impressive moves.” 

“Thank you.” You chuckled awkwardly. Oh god, you and your incompetence against social skills.  

“Care for some company?” 

“Sure.” 

He sat next to you, taking a sip of his drink, "Thank gods you said yes, I spent like two hours trying to grow a pair just to talk to you.” 

“Really?”, you giggled, “why?” 

“Why? Do you really have to ask? I don’t think you know how beautiful you are.” 

"Oh." You looked down, your face hurt. 

“Let’s see if I get lucky one more time.”, he extended his hand, “would you dance with me?” 

“Umm...”, you looked at Zoro one more time, hoping he at least was looking your way, but no. Too busy drowning himself with sake and ale along with some of the other warriors to notice you, “yeah, why not?” 

The next hour you spent beside him on the dance floor. He told you all about his crew, how they had ended up at that island and the things he’d done that earned him that bounty price. He was as much of a good dancer as he was a storyteller, making you forget about your sorrows, at least for a couple of hours. 

Nami and Robin were sending looks your way, whistling and throwing kissy faces. You simply laughed and shook your head.  

His movements were precise, spinning you and pulling you at the right pace of the music, his fingers ran up and down your back, grazing your waist, sending shivers down your skin, the way his mouth would whisper against your ear made your poor heart jump. If only a certain man wasn’t in the back of your head, you might have let yourself fall, just for tonight. 

At some point, you had asked him to step out with you, the heat becoming too much. You sat on the balcony, looking at the scenery, the moon and the stars, the soft ocean waves, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp being chased down by Sanji. Everything was okay — at least on the outside.  

-

“Look at our beautiful seamstress, doing the walk of shame, heels on one hand and makeup smeared all over that pretty face." Nami said, giggling, just as you approached the Sunny, "had a good night, princess?" 

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." You flashed her the middle finger, "fuck you." 

“My god, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Or better yet, do you suck co..:” 

“Shut up!” Cheeks bright red. 

Hell of a night you had. No, you hadn’t gotten laid last night, much to your dismay. After declining your companion’s advances, you had gotten wasted and passed out on the grass somewhere on the island;  mosquitos did have their way with you and left bites on your neck, shoulders and legs; one of your heels had snapped so you took them off, and, because you stepped on a stone, you were walking funny; you also wouldn’t stop crying so you had mascara smeared all over your face. So much for a victory celebration. 

“I’m going to bed, please, please, don’t bother me. All I want is to die right now.” 

Both girls looked at you with sympathy; they knew your heart was broken, and theirs broke because of that. If only the culprit weren't such an idiot. 

Robin stroked your back, "We are just kidding, babe. Want me to get you some tea?" 

"No, I just want to lie down. Need to rethink some life choices.” 

“Of course, I’ll check on you later.” 

You hummed, going straight to your cabin.  

-

“Has Y/n come back? I didn’t see her last night.” 

"Wait, she didn't sleep here?" Sanji said, alarmed. 

“Don’t worry, she’s back. She went to bed; she was exhausted." Robin sipped her coffee. 

“Poor thing didn’t get an ounce of sleep last night. She was... busy.” She grinned. She spied on Zoro out of the corner of her eye. He had woken up, now trying to look indifferent, but she knew he was very alert. She had seen him checking the deck every couple of minutes, waiting for a certain girl to come back; she was sure he was about to go out and look for her when she showed up. 

“Oh, right! I saw her talking to some guy last night, he had white and black spiky hair, tall and buff, yeah, he seemed nice.” Usopp said, eating his lunch. 

“This guy?” Robin conveniently pulled out the bounty poster.  

"Yes! Oh, wow, look at his bounty, that’s a nice number.” Nami gasped, it was an overkill, but she knew the marimo head wouldn’t notice. 

“It’s not that big of a deal. Mine’s bigger.” The targeted man said, jaw clenched and teeth grinding. 

“I mean, it’s quite big, either way. Plus, cute and a high bounty, it’s any girl pirate’s dream.” 

His face turned a deeper shade of red. 

Sanji laughed loudly, “Stupid marimo", before realising what was going on, "Wait, Nami-swan, you think this guy is attractive? He looks so bland! Ugh, his face makes me want to throw up.” He continued making gagging noises. 

“Well, I think he’s cute, but our dear seamstress deemed it nice enough to sit on it.” Usopp choked on his food, coughing and reprimanding the navigator on her vulgarity, while covering Chopper’s ears. 

“Huh? What does that mean? Why would Y/n use his face as a chair?" Luffy said, tilting his head, "Is his face comfy? I don’t think it can be, can it be Zoro?” He pulled on the swordsman’s sleeve, wanting answers. Precious and naive Luffy. 

"It's nothing, Luffy," Sanji said, cheeks bright red. 

“No, but what is it?” The captain continued, “Hey, someone answer me.” 

Nami simply ignored him, "Must have been one hell of a night, she could barely walk straight.” 

Zoro’s right hand now wrapped around his sword; the left one was tightly gripped around his mug. Fumes coming out of his nostrils. It’s almost hilarious how easy he was.  

Crack! 

Franky knew exactly what she was doing, and while at first, he decided to just lean back and enjoy the show, his natural instincts barged in. “He had some great moves on him." He got up and started moving his hips suggestively, "he was so smooth, I was almost jealous... of her” 

 He was also tired of the tugging and pulling that the boat’s sweethearts had, and (though he would never admit it) he loved gossip. 

“She looked so gorgeous yesterday, my heart almost stopped. Well... if I had one.” Brook broke into giggles, then took a sip of his tea. Whether he knew what was going on is unknown, but he always had great timing. “I wonder if he got to see her panties.” 

Crack! 

“Did she dance all night? Is that why her legs hurt?" Luffy continued. 

Crack! 

"Well, they sure did a lot of work, oh, and her hips must be killing her, all that grinding and thrusting, music sure was intense last night.” Yeah, that was enough. 

Crack! 

The ceramic had finally given in. White dust and bits of it now lay on the table and floor. Zoro got up, snapping the back of his chair in the process, he stomped his way down the corridor. 

Robin giggled, placing her face against her palm, amused by the scene. Nami could only sigh. Finally. 

“Hey, Zoro! Don’t go around breaking things!” Usopp yelled. 

“What’s going on? Where’s he going?" said Luffy, not catching a single clue. 

-

He didn’t even bother knocking, straight up slamming the door. 

“Where were you last night?” 

Completely disoriented. “Huh?” Your eyes could barely open. 

“Where. Were. You. Last. Night?” 

“What? What do you want, Zoro? I’m tired.” You turned to your side, burying your face in your pillow. 

Air abandoned his lungs. Purple marks... deep purple marks covered your neck. Mascara running down your cheeks. The hoarseness in your voice. A vision he knew all too well, Nami was right. 

His mouth dried up like Yuba, he felt like screaming, throwing up and running away all at the same time. His feet were cemented to the ground; millions of questions roamed around his head. Were you still his? Please, please tell him that no one had put their hands where he did most nights, that no one pulled noises out of you only meant for him to hear, that you hadn’t allowed anyone to see you in ways only he had. 

Your eyebrows furrowed. What's up with him? “I was at the party; you saw me there.” 

“After that, where did you go? You didn’t sleep here? Where were you?” He pushed, hating how desperate he sounded. 

“Zoro...” 

He glared at you.  

A toxic brew formed in your chest: heartache, a hangover and lack of sleep, don’t make a good combination. “What’s it to you?! Fuck, Zoro why are you acting like this?” 

“I have every fucking right to know!” Now full-on yelling. 

“No, you don’t! Who the fuck do you think you are?” You sat down on the bed, glaring directly into his eyes.  

“I want to know who the fuck my girlfriend spent the night with!” 

...

 

His what? 

“What?” You whispered, the pounding in your head now in sync with the one in your chest. 

“Who did you fuck last night?” His fists tightened at his sides, bile spitting out of his mouth.  

Your brain could barely process what was going on. His girlfriend? Fucked someone last night? Huh? 

“Don’t play dumb, Y/n, the rest of the crew saw you. Getting all cozed up with that lowlife.” 

His eyes didn’t waver, waiting for an answer, demanding it. Any confirmation that you hadn’t betrayed him, but he got none. So, he did what he always does best: he put his walls up. "Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore.” He turned to leave, stomping his way out, not wanting you to see him this vulnerable. Panic flooded your chest. You couldn’t let him go now, not like this, you were quick to grab him by the arm, "Let me go, woman.” 

“No, we have to talk about this.” 

“What’s there to talk about? I don’t tolerate disloyalty, no matter how drunk you were or who it was with.” 

“I didn’t sleep with anyone.” 

He turned to look at you; you knew he didn’t believe you by the look on his face. 

“Zoro, I swear.” You begged. 

He didn’t say anything. 

“I passed out drunk on some hill, completely alone.” 

He scanned your face and voice, searching for any traces of lies. "You have marks all over your body." 

“I do?” You looked at your skin, noticing small red splotches all over your shoulders; your fingers touched your neck, tiny bumps covering it and itching, “Yeah, I think bugs had a great time last night.” 

You could see him hurting, but you were just as confused as he was, “I’m not lying, Zoro.” 

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. He looked at the floor, not daring to look you in the eyes. 

“Yes, I’ll admit I was dancing with someone,�� his frown deepened, “but I rejected him, nothing happened.” You touch his chest, moving up to his neck, making him look at you. You were sincere, he knew that now, but he was still aching. 

“Now, I need you to tell me something.” Your voice got really quiet. "What are we?" 

“What do you mean?" he gave you a puzzled look. 

“Us. What are we doing? What’s this?” You gestured between you and him. 

His eyebrows arched, "We are dating, aren't we?" 

“I don’t know. Are we? You never talk to me, Zoro, I never know what’s going on in your mind.” 

“I assumed we were together because we... sleep together.” He scratched the back of his head, his cheeks turning red. 

“Oh...”, well shit. 

“What? Do you think I just go around sleeping with anyone?” 

“No, no, but you never said anything to me, never gave me a sign or a label or anything.” 

“Sex isn’t enough of a sign?” He snorted. 

“Well... no, Sanji always talks about...” 

He groaned, shaking his head, "Don't talk about him, not right now or ever." 

“Okay.” You bit your lip, not knowing where to go from there. 

"Stop overthinking, you always do that." He stepped closer, pulling you into his chest, "Is that what this is about? Was yesterday's tantrum because of this?” 

“It wasn’t a tantrum! I was genui..." The green haired man cut you off, tugging your chin in between his fingers. 

"You are such a baby. Why didn’t you just talk to me?” 

“I don’t know how to.” You looked away. 

“Fair, I don’t know how to, either.” 

You both fell silent, not knowing what else to say. You blamed Zoro for his lack of communication and clarity, but you were just as bad at it. Minutes went by, simply spent in the comfort of each other's arms,  

“Look, we don’t have to solve everything right this second, okay? Just... okay?" He placed a small yet firm kiss on your lips. 

“Okay.” 

[syrupfog]

Maybe in another world the poison Sanji’s mum took didn’t work on Sanji, or at least not in the same way. 

A child with black hair and dull eyes, and like his brothers he’s made to be a solider who follows orders. 

The difference is that he follows his mum’s instead of Judge’s. 

She’s distraught that the poison wasn’t enough, but she raises Sanji as best she can to be someone free, even if he can’t really be. 

He learns to cook because she asks him to (she wonders if she’s fooling herself when she sees just a glimmer of excitement in his dull eyes).

He guards her like a dog as she grows sick, this six year old who can’t even see over the counters. But he’s strong and can fight and all he knows is that what his mum says is what he does. 

And when she’s dying, she tells him to run. Says whatever happens, get away from Judge.

And when she dies, that’s what he does. Because he’s an emotionless machine, but he’s following her orders. She told him to be free from Germa, and to seek friends. He doesn’t understand the second part (“friends are a weakness” Judge had said) so he ignores it, but he goes.

He finds the Orbit at age seven and he already has cooking skills (and he’s super powered— he’s good at what he does). They’re creeped out by him, most of the cooks just try to ignore him or slink around him, this terrifying little kid who can dice hundreds of onions in an hour.

He doesn’t interact with them either— his mum said to be free, and he assumes this is “free”. He assumes these aren’t “friends”, at least they’re not like in the books she read him. No one has fought for him or offered to share their things with him, so these must not be them.

And then, of course, the Orbit is hit by pirates, and then hits a storm. Sanji ends up stranded with Zeff on that cliff. Why’d Zeff save him? Maybe it was the way he stood emotionless in front of him with those dead eyes. Said he had to get back to cooking like nothing mattered.

Maybe it was the way everyone else looked at him like they were scared of him, this little ten year old unaware of his effect. 

Maybe it was the almost imperceptible way he flinched when another cook came near him, like he was waiting for the next attack. 

It doesn’t matter now.

What matters is that Sanji’s on the island with Zeff and they’re starving, but Zeff gives him food. Zeff loses his leg for Sanji. These things are adding up, Sanji thinks this might be what his mum wanted him to find. 

He’s not sure. 

Uncertainty doesn’t fit well with him.

But his mum said to find a friend and Zeff fits what he knows, so he devotes himself like a soldier. When they get off the island, Zeff can’t get rid of him no matter what he tries (he doesn’t try too hard). 

They get a restaurant. 

Sanji works like a machine in the kitchens.

Zeff puts him on food prep for years and Sanji does it without complaint. No one is as good as him at finely dicing, at weighing and measuring to the letter. He even does the dishes when they’re behind, and only breaks one before he figures out not to grip with all his strength.

Zeff makes him a full fledged chef at fifteen. 

He always feels a little… conflicted about making Sanji work. The boy doesn’t have friends and doesn’t seem to desire them. He doesn’t have emotions. It feels wrong to make him work when he doesn't have the fight to object.

But Sanji’s his responsibility for some reason, and he’s accepted that. 

And once, just once, when Sanji is seventeen, Judge comes down in the middle of the night to find a full five course meal prepared. It’s nothing the Baratie makes. It smells of unfamiliar lands.

He doesn’t mention it to Sanji, and there’s no trace of it the next day. 

He wonders, though. 

When Sanji is nineteen, Luffy arrives with a cannonball through the wall. 

Zeff’s not too happy about that, but Sanji’s on red alert. He goes after Luffy with a vengeance.

Because that’s ZEFF, and if Sanji knows one thing it’s that he has to PROTECT ZEFF. 

Luffy’s enamoured with him immediately. He wants Sanji. He wants this man who cooks and fights with his feet (Zeff taught him that, Sanji added it to the rules— no hands, be free, find friends).

Sanji’s dull eyes barely blink as he tells Luffy no, that he’s here for Zeff. 

But then Luffy says the magic words. 

He introduces Sanji (who stopped fighting at Zeff’s directive) to his crew and says, “this is my new friend Sanji! He’s going to be our cook!”

It’s confusing in a way few things are. Sanji lives in black and white— but Luffy says they’re *friends*. His mum told him to find friends. But he can’t leave Zeff, who is also a friend. 

Sanji stumbles a little. 

And then the green haired swordsman mocks him for it. The smallest flame of anger lights in his belly, a single momentary spark. 

But that doesn’t matter because right now in this moment Sanji is processing having TWO friends. 

That processing comes to a halt when Zeff yells at him to leave. 

It’s simple again. 

He follows orders.

He joins the Straw Hats. 

He cooks. 

He fights. 

Luffy talks all the time about being free, and Sanji doesn’t get it but he figures Luffy will tell him when they manage to become “the most free”, something he has no metric of.

Also, Zoro is there. 

Zoro is a complication. Sanji’s not sure if he’s friends with everyone or just with Luffy. He THINKS it’s everyone. He doesn’t like living in greys. 

And Zoro likes to fight. 

He tries to rile Sanji up, every time. Makes comments about his food or eyebrows.

Sometimes it… well it doesn’t *work* but it makes that little spark hit deep inside of him again, and for a split second the world is brighter. And then it’s gone. 

Then Zoro pulls out his swords, which means they’re sparring, and Sanji is good at sparring.

They add more crew members. They go from island to island. Sanji protects his friends because that’s what he’s supposed to do, and he cooks, because he’s supposed to. 

And then some time around Water 7 he starts to dream. 

He’s never dreamed before.

He dreams of his mum and her warm smile. He dreams of his sister and her complicated expressions that he could never understand. 

He dreams of Zoro and the grin that stretches over his face and the way his earrings dance. 

He doesn’t get it. There’s no point to dreams.

What does it, what finally lights the spark inside of him, is Thriller Bark. It’s “nothing happened”. Zoro pushes him out of the way, stops him from doing the one thing he’s MADE to do, and then Sanji wakes up and realises what’s happened. 

And a whirlwind alights inside of him.

The world has colors and depth it didn’t before, as he’s flooded with ANGER, that Zoro would do that, WORRY, that Zoro won’t make it, PAIN and HEARTBREAK for his mum, and a new sort of loyalty, deep and unending, for his crew. 

He watches Zoro sleep as he processes.

And when Zoro finally wakes, when that worry abates a little, he YELLS at him. SCREAMS that he was a SELFISH ASSHOLE and HOW DARE HE and he’s IMPORTANT. 

And through it all, Zoro stares at him, wide eyed and probably high on pain meds.

And then, when Sanji finally exhausts himself, Zoro grins. That same grin from Sanji’s dreams, and he says, “I knew you’d make it.” 

Which is DUMB and makes Sanji EVEN MORE MAD because what does that fucking MEAN and he YELLS SOME MORE and by that time all the Straw Hats have gathered in shock outside the infirmary door. 

“Welcome to the crew, Curls,” Zoro says and Sanji wants to KICK HIM but he’s on death’s door already and Sanji knows how strong he is. 

So instead he collapses onto him and weeps, his emotions a confusing mess inside of him.

And eventually the door creaks open and Chopper slips in because he HAS to check Zoro’s vitals and then Luffy BOUNDS in and wraps his arms around Sanji and says “SANJI, MAKE ME MEAT” and Sanji SNAPS that he’s BUSY and Luffy LAUGHS and says “Okay but AFTER YOU’RE BUSY, MEAT.”

And later that night, after he’s made a MISTAKE in the kitchen because he got EMOTIONAL chopping vegetables, he sits in the infirmary again, forcing Zoro to drink broth. And he says, “I don’t know what happened. It’s like there’s too much of me inside me now.”

And Zoro says yeah. “That’s what living feels like,” he says. 

“I don’t like it,” says Sanji. 

“You ever disliked something before?” 

“No.” 

“Then congratulations.” 

Then Zoro reaches out and grabs his hand. His grip is weak still, shaking.

He says, “this is the point. You have to find things to live for, now.” 

And Sanji thinks. “I’m supposed to live for friends,” he says. “And freedom.” 

“The you’re on the right ship,” Zoro says. “What else?” 

And Sanji remembers a book his mum used to read. A long time ago.

“Have you heard of the All Blue?”

[one-idea]

Here's an idea: time travel fix it, but the time traveller is Zeff.

Casually fixing what he can for his Eggplant's future Nakama, like bribing Mihawk with a nice wine to mention what Arlong is up to to Jimbe.

I love a time travel fix it with an unlikely hero. Because the Strawhats have a lot of information about what needs to be fixed. Their time travel fix it’s make sense. But the fun ones are their allies who know major events but don’t know everything.

(I saw someone try this with Mihawk and like the man only knows major events that the strawhats get into. Also he’s way more likely just to show up and watch the chaos while drinking wine.)

Zeff being sent back is so fun. 1) he’s a great character who obviously loves Sanji and would want to do what’s best for him. But also 2) he has no idea what half the inciting incidents are! How will he ever know what to stop?

He does have some information though. So let’s say he gets dropped 21 years in the past. He’s still a pirate. Ohara was just burnt last year and Rodger died 3 years ago (fact check me)

Most importantly Sanji is about to be born. His little eggplant is about to be born into one of the worst family on the sea. Well not if he has anything to say about it. He’s still Red-Leg Zeff, the pirate captain.

He knows they can’t do a full frontal assault but some sneaking around gets him to Sora. And a quick “how do you feel about taking all the kids and running?” She’s in. Anything to get them away from Judge.

And it’s stupid easy because they are babies who are only a few days old. Judge only cares about their test results he isn’t watching them. So Zeff and a few of his crew just nab Judges wife and kids, and quite a bit of loot.

Zeff is booking it out of there. But not without kick judge through at least one wall durning the escape.

He makes the decision to quiet the pirate life early. He’s got Sora and the kids to worry about. They open the Baratie early. He knows exactly which cooking staff he’s hiring.

As he separated from the crew he tells them that if they run into a girl named Nico Robin to bring her to him.

He starts establishing the Baratie as a location for all to dine in. But this time he’s focused on making connections. Keeping his thumb on the pulse of both pirate and government movement.

Raising the five kids he’s acquired along side Sora, the genetic programming takes but without it being supported as they grow eventually gets out of their systems. Sanji being the most in touch with his emotions followed by Reiju. Their brothers struggle with emotions but are a lot better and more adjusted than they are in cannon.

About two years into this restaurant one 11 year old Nico Robin is delivered by his old crew. The girl is super freaked out but he sits her down and tells her that’s she’s safe, he’s got ears everywhere and will know if the governmental coming after them, and he won’t let them take her. Plus who’s going to be looking for her at a high class restaurant. It also helps that he’s got a gaggle of children already so she can stay off the floor hanging out with the kids. Sora also dyes Robin’s hair purple and that with age is enough to make people not immediately recognize her from her bounty poster.

5 years later the red hair pirates a bouncing around the East blue and Zeff waits. Waits until one day Shanks comes in one arm short and bragging about his son. (It helps that Sanji and his siblings are helping out so Shanks and Zeff are just casually talking about their kids.) He grabs the captain and pulls him to the side and tells him that Luffy is in danger and that there is another little boy on that island, a boy who is the son of his old captain. Shanks thinks he’s crazy at first but he knows things about Luffy. The scar under his eye, and other things.

Enough to make shanks curious enough to turn around and find Luffy and his TWO new brothers. He quickly collects three children and returns to the Baratie. (Kicks door open while holding three children “you were right!” Zeff surprised by the third child but not mad) (I don’t think he knows about Sabo)

Luffy and Sanji get on like a house fire with Luffy loudly declaring that Sanji will one day join his crew as his chef. And Zeff is standing there watching them with a proud smile, because somethings are just meant to happen.

Meanwhile Shanks as turned to look at Zeff

“anything else I should know about?”

Zeff just snorts “a lot. You still friends with Hawkeyes or have you to made it official yet?”

(With the Baratie around earlier he had to witness young Shanks and Mihawk flirting, it was painful)

Shanks gets sad “he’s mad about well you know…” the missing arm. And Zeff feels bad about that but he had no clue how the man lost it in the first place so there was no way he could stop it.

“If you run into him tell him there’s a crazy kid in the east blue gunning for his title. If he wants to keep things interesting he might want to train him.” (The Baratie is Mihawk’s favorite establishment Zeff could also tell him but he has a feeling the swords master would listen to Shanks over him.)

This is how Mihawk shows up at a dojo where a 10year old Kuina and 9 year old Zoro are training. (A year before Kuina’s death) he sees their skill and hears Kuina’s father’s opinion about females and training. He knows it’s an opinion that is also popular in Wano where this man is obviously from, but it’s not the way the rest of the world works. He approaches and offers to take over the training of the girl “who won’t make anything of herself” and the “feral gremlin using sword handles for teething.” Kuina’s father isn’t to sure about all this but he can’t really refuse the greatest swordsman in the world nor will Kuina or Zoro stay once they hear about the offer.

Mihawk has now obtained one verbally polite girl who will break every rule the moment his back is turn and one backpack leash gremlin.

He and Shanks are regulars at the Baratie for parenting advice. Luffy meets Zoro’s and again claims him as part of the crew. Years later Zoro and Sanji argue over who will be the first official member (Sanji: Luffy asked me first! Zoro: but I was the first one to physically join the crew!)

But currently the three run a muck on the Baratie pulling pranks on their older siblings (Ace, Sabo, Kuina, and Reiju are all the same age) or just Sanji brothers (they are still learning emotions and will sometimes join in on the chaos, other times they are a rival faction but if they ever get to mean Luffy and Zoro put them in their place)

but eventually Luffy runs into Robin (she tries to stay out of the way as much as possible to not get the Baratie in trouble. Zeff tells her she doesn’t have to but Trauma is a thing) Luffy loves her instantly. She quitely reading a book and Luffy joins her for story time and she never gets mad at his interruption and is so patient with him. He looks at her with a grin of a small sun and tells her “when I’m captain you’re going to be on my crew!” Robin is a little freaked out because she doesn’t want to bring the world government down on this little boy. But Zeff talks to her later and tells her that Luffy isn’t a force that can be stopped. It takes time but in the next ten years Robin comes around to the idea of being on Luffy’s crew with Zoro and her little brother Sanji. As soon as Luffy claimed her he told the others. Sanji was pumped! Zoro just accept it but he comes around to really love Robin.

At the same time that the boys are all being adopted Zeff is making some calls and contacts. The Baratie has been open for over 9 years he’s got some high connections. He eventually gets a hold of Jimbei and tells him that Arlong is in the East Blue and causing trouble. (Arlong has just started in the East blue, Zeff has no clue of the time clock) he points Jimbei in the direction of Cocoyashi.

Jimbei gets their right at the time of Arlong raid in the village. He walks in right as Arlong and Bell-mére are having their confrontation. I don’t know exactly what happens (I haven’t met Jimbei yet) but he’s able to stop it.

Bell-mére asks how he knew they were in trouble and he tells them about the Baratie. The village wants to thank the man who alerted Jimbei so Bell-mére goes (she is a retired Marine and probably the best sailor.) and takes Nojiko and Nami with her. Of course Shanks is visiting with the boys and Luffy and Nami instantly hit it off. “This is my Navigator!!!” Shanks is laughing because the kids going to have a whole crew before he has a boat.

Once Luffy is ready to set sail he meets up with Zoro and the two head to the Baratie to pick up Nami, Sanji, and Robin. Zeff points them in the direction of Suyrup village to “get a ship” where they pick up Usopp and save Kaya. (This absolutely does not make Usopp’s feeling of inferiority worse by the time they get to Water 7. No way. It’s not like everyone else on the crew until Vivi and Chopper have known each other for 10 years. He’s not the odd man out in any way.)

Zeff doesn’t have a lot of information about their adventures so he can’t truly stop anything but he does know some thing. (Nami leaving the crew. Luffy and Zoro being from the east blue and having connections with Shanks and Mihawk (Mihawk totally goes the the Baratie to drink during the time skip. Zeff knows Zoro is his kid) he knows Ace is Roger’s son and that he dies. But he doesn’t know anything that isn’t in Sanji’s letters or the news paper (which is full of lies)

He makes the best decisions he can for Sanji.

He saves Sanji from Zeff as soon as possible

Accidentally saving Sora, Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji

After Sanji set sail Zeff decides to expand the Baratie. It’s a chain

Patty and Carne take over the East blue branch

Reiju runs the one in the grandline.

Ichiji runs one in the west blue

Niji runs one in the south blue

The north blue doesn’t get one until Judge is dead they all agree on that

Yonji bounces from place to place helping as he is needed

Zeff and Sora open one in the New World.

Zeff might not know everything the Strawhats went through but he knows the major events and by having a home base in almost every sea he’s got ears everywhere. His old crew is still out there acting as ears for him and bring him news.

Anything he can help the Strawhats avoid or remove from their path he sends word

He tells Shanks about Ace.

Accidentally getting Luffy, Ace, and Sabo adopted

Saving Sabo from the Celestial dragons

Giving all three boys the chance to train with the Red Hair Pirates and learn Haki early while also getting a feel for the Grandline and New World

Ace’s death is prevented because he knows about Blackbeards plans and tells Ace to watch out for the man and to not trust him. It helps that Ace grew up with Shanks who never liked Blackbeard at all.

He tells Mihawk about Zoro

Kuina is accidentally saved

Both get to train with Mihawk far before their adventure. Mihawk loves it because the two are “trying to kill him” but they are also competing with each other and it’s MESSY they are so dramatic in their own weird way and he’s living for watching this gremlins fight while he drinks wine. When Perona shows up he finally has a goth child who wants to dress presentable and drink wine while making his other children. The family is complete.

He puts out feelers for Robin having no real hope she will show up

Accidentally gave her a loving home and help her feel safe while also preparing her for the adventure ahead.

He points Jimbei in Arlong direction. He has no clue what Arlong is truly up to.

Accidentally saves village

Saves Bell-mére’s life and kick starts the Strawhats.

The Strawhats still have a lot going on but because of advance trading some received as children and the stronger bonds.

He can’t do anything to Chopper, Franky, Brook or Usopp because their trauma is already passed Franky/Brook or he doesn’t know their stories well enough to intervene, Usopp/Chopper.

But he does make the safest home possible for his little eggplant.

[mydearlybeloathed]

── 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐑… 𝐍𝐎. 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 ¹

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you were once a feared name on the sea--once, but not anymore. your downhill life takes a turn when you decide to rob a pirate ship, and it happens to belong to one of your big brothers.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: luffy's sister!reader x strawhats

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3k

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: smoking, mysterious backstory ooooo ahhhh, fluff and minimal angst, not enireeeely satisfied with this but its left off kinda open-ended so ill likely return to this scenario later

𝐎𝐏 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

Now, the Strawhat Pirates were used to not knowing much about their captain’s past. He has a brother with flame powers? Sure thing. A Marine Vice Admiral for a grandfather? Okay, that’s fine. Monkey D. Dragon is his father? Whatever, they’ve heard crazier. 

But really, at this point, they might want to just sit him down and get all of it out in the open. 

Usopp wandered through a busy marketplace, Luffy’s shirtsleeve in his tight vice. Sanji tailed them as an extra precaution, one eye on his supply list and the other on the ready-to-bolt captain. 

Luffy huffed indignantly, tugging at Usopp’s grip. “I wanna explore.”

“And we want to get out of here in a timely manner,” Usopp quipped back.

And they just might have done just that, if not for the hooded figure running right through Luffy and Usopp, parting their hands. A street vendor shouted curses after them, shaking a fist. “S-Stop! Hey!”

It was no use; the thief was too far away, and the man was too old to have the energy to chase them. He slumped his shoulders and pinched his brow, raising his gaze to find the stares of Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp zeroed in on him. “What? You plan on robbin’ the old man too?”

Sanji removed his cigarette from between his teeth with a shake of his head. “Sorry. What’d they steal? Maybe we can get it back for you?”

The old man shook a dismissive hand, frown deeply set on his face. “Agh. Don’t bother. You kids don’t get yerself wrapped up with her.” That was all it took for their prying curiosity to close in on him, and suddenly the man was surrounded on all sides. “Hey, now…”

“Who?” Luffy demanded first, head cocked to the side. 

Lips agape, he shook his head and jabbed a thumb at the wanted poster pinned up to the wall beside his fruit stand. “That’s her, if you’re so curious. Been robbin’ us blind all month! The marines tried to catch ‘er, but no one can touch the bitch.”

Usopp rushed over and swiped the poster down, skimming it over with a hum. “Doesn’t look too tough. I bet we can take ‘er.”

The man rolled his eyes. “That’s what we all said.”

Sanji peeked over the sharpshooter’s shoulder as he let out a puff of smoke. He blinked, cheeks growing warm the longer he gazed at the woman pictured. “She’s… beautiful.”

Usopp squinted at the slightly faded writing scrawled under the picture. “Wanted dead or…” He snorted. “Nope, that’s it. Just dead for 40,000,000 berri.”

“Lemme see!” Luffy sidled up to Usopp and stared right at the poster’s center, recognition settling in instantly. You looked older, but that wasn’t the biggest change—joy had returned to your smile, your beaming expression showcasing a side of you he hadn’t seen since before Sabo died. 

An unbridled laugh left him as he took the poster roughly, shoving Usopp aside. “Hey! That’s my little sister!”

“Oh,” Usopp hummed, taking a moment to process before his brows vaulted and he shot Sanji a look. “WHAT?!”

જ ⁀ ➴

You slinked through the streets toward the docks, hood hung low over your face, cheshire grin shrouded by shadow. You rolled a slice of mango around your tongue, sighing now that your hunger was satisfied. 

You wanted to pay the guy—honest! But being an enemy of the state didn’t exactly pay well, and a mercenary’s gotta eat. 

Waiting for a donkey cart to roll past, you bolted over to the wooden boardwalk just in front of the port. Nobody paid you any mind, assuming you to be one of the street urchins that made up the local gangs. You only meant to play a small joke on the young sailor you’d grown acquainted with, make his life just a bit more difficult, when your path was halted by the sight of a new ship docked at port.

It was a pretty caravel, a little rough around the edges from weather and climate, with a masthead of a goat peering out at the city. A pirate ship, for certain. A grin itched its way up your face. A pirate ship meant treasure, and there wasn’t much in this life you liked more than treasure. 

Well, there was one thing, but unfortunately, your brothers were scattered across the sea—two alive, one not so much. The thought had you stumbling over your own feet, righting yourself swiftly before you headed for the caravel. You mumbled pathetically to yourself, like you had been since you left your home village some years ago. The life of a mercenary is a lonely one. 

“Wonder what they’ve got, huh, Sabo.” Gazing up at the clouds, you grinned. The wind whistled through your hair, and your coping mechanism fell through. It’d been doing that a lot lately. Sighing out your troubles, you shook out your shoulders and crept up the gangway. 

A girl stood watch, facing the sea on the other side of the ship. At the helm, a swordsman lay sleeping. Other than that, it was empty. Just a skinny-limbed girl and a lazy warrior. Perfect.

You slipped on board without a sound, living up to your title as The Silent Death. Well, nobody had called you that in a few years, not since you were twelve and stormed Marine Headquarters looking for your grandfather. You hadn’t found the Vice Admiral, but you had given them a reason for renovation. You possessed the Terra-Terra Fruit, and the earth rumbled at your command. At least you still held the name Earthshaker.

Your first wanted poster had been a shot of you sailing away, laughing in the face of the destruction. A force of nature, they called you. Hired by pirates, warlords, and royalty to do their less than noble deeds. But that was a long time ago. Now, you were nothing more than a petty thief, loneliness and grief taking its toll after so long repressing it.

But never the matter! After this last loot, you’d have the money to buy back your ship, get off that godforsaken island, and finally restore yourself to your former glory. Then Ace would never call you on your little snail transponder and laugh at your series of failures.

“Hey.” You glanced up from where you were crouching behind a barrel, locking eyes with the girl as she blinked surprisedly. Her hand itched toward a weapon at her side. 

“Shit.” You cursed yourself and your inner-monologuing tendencies. “Bye!”

You darted up and made for the edge of the ship when a sword whizzed past your faze, narrowly missing your chin. The swordsman rose, alert as ever, two more swords ready at his side. You scoffed, huffing, “Why do you need three?”

Three… Two… One.

Eyes widened, you realized you knew that lazy swordsman (whose swords probably overcompensated for something) just as he started to recognize you as well. He jumped down to the deck, approaching warily as the girl came to stand beside him. 

Roronoa Zoro muttered your name like a curse. “What’re you doing here, huh?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” you murmured back, genuinely curious. “What’re you doin’ on a pirate ship, pirate hunter?”

“Change in career path,” he snapped. “We don’t appreciate stowaways. Especially not a backwater odd-job dog clinging to her glory days.”

You tsked. “Now, now. I was just having a look around. No harm done.” You swept a bow, flicking your wrist as you searched out the sea floor far down below. “I’ll be going now.”

With your head bowed, they didn’t catch your growing smirk until it was too late; the oceanic crust spread across the floor, magma exposed to the salty sea at an unnatural speed. The water rocked the ship and all those around, the nearby sailors murmuring worriedly.

“Hey, I may be a loser,” you admitted, picking at a cuticle as their glares shifted to concern. “But I’m still the Earthshaker, Roronoa. Now, how about some financial compensation for my bruised pride, before I capsize this sorry excuse for a boat.”

The girl scoffed in reply, brows vaulted. “Yeah, no thanks. We’re very attached to our beri.”

“You are,” Roronoa yelped. “Give her something before we lose the ship!”

Lips pursed, the girl looked ready to either attack you or give up, so you worsened the sea’s uproar just to give her a scare. A relent was on the tip of her tongue when her gaze darted over your shoulder, relief flooding her features. “Luffy!”

The sea floor closed up in an instant, the color leaving your face. “Luffy?”

A body flung into your back, tackling you to the deck. You bit back curses, wriggling free, when that laugh hit the back of your neck. A million repressed memories surfaced like the magma you controlled, and you were suddenly twelve years old, leaving your last brother in the dead of night to set off on an adventure you thought would fix everything. 

Falling still, you slowly shifted to roll on your back, staring up at the beaming face of Monkey D. Luffy. You pushed up on your elbows, blind to the careful stares of those around, and gulped down some air. “Luffy?”

He chuckled gently, murmuring your name in turn, and you lurched forward to wring your arms around his neck. A tiny piece of your heart was put back in place (only a third of it, and you figured it would only be whole when you died and rejoined the brother lost). 

Leaving home so young was a shitty miscalculation on your part. You’d fled Dawn Island some time after Ace, and some time before Luffy. Your not-so-big-more-like-twin brother always said you’d set out together, that one day he would be Pirate King and you would all be happy. But you left without ever saying goodbye, joined up with a crew of mercenaries, ate a devil fruit, and searched out Grandpa Garp for some answers about where you came from. And years passed and you could never admit your mistake—not until you spotted Luffy’s smiling face in the wanted poster he always thought you would share. 

You leaned back and caught his eye, scurrying to sit on your knees. You wiped at your eyes as embarrassing tears started to well up. “I… I dunno…”

He knocked his head against yours, eliciting a sharp ow! from you. Luffy grinned cheekily as you nursed your temples. “You owe me an apology. So you can start there.”

And the fire sprang up in your throat all over again. Pathetic, you choked it all down with a nod. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. With S-Sabo gone and Ace gone… I thought for sure you’d be gone too soon enough… so I left you before you could leave me.”

You looked away sheepishly, rubbing at your arms. Luffy just flicked the side of your head and offer you the same bright expression he always did; it was the expression that gave you hope your life wasn’t totally screwed over, not yet anyways. “It’s okay—S’ long as you know it was stupid.”

You rolled your eyes and stood as he did the same. His hand never strayed far from your shoulder, holding you there like you might bolt away. Luffy gave a laugh and turned to face his friends, and only then did you remember you weren’t alone. You pivoted to face them all, locking eyes with a less-than-pleased Zoro.

“What’d going on, Luffy?” Zoro grunted, and if possible Luffy’s smile grew.

He took both your shoulders and shook you a little. “This is my little sister!”

You scoffed. “Little my ass! We’re the same age!”

Luffy held up his palm to his own height, then dipped it down to around your collarbone. “But you were always little-er, and Ace got to call you little!”

“Because he’s older than me!”

“Wait,” Zoro butted in just as you prepped to launch yourself at Luffy. “Sister? You never mentioned a sister.”

Luffy nocked his head to the side, lips pursed. “I didn’t?”

“No.”

“Huh.” He laughed it off. “But this is great! We saw Ace a while back in Alabasta, y’know.”

Nodding, you twined your hands behind your back and rocked on your heels. “Yeah, I caught ‘im a few months ago.”

The reunion met a halt when Luffy asked, “What’re you doing here, anyway?”

Nami jutted out a hip and settled you with a look. “She threatened to take down the Merry if we didn’t hand over our beri.”

Luffy’s brows vaulted, lips a thin line as he turned to you. You chuckled awkwardly. “That is something I did, yes.”

But that wasn’t what occupied him. “How did you nearly sink the ship?”

“Oh.” You swirled your palms, gathering the granules of rock and dirt scattered around the deck and collecting it all in a tiny twister. “I got the Terra-Terra Fruit a few years ago.”

His eyes brighetend like stars. “That’s so cool!”

Usopp faced Sanji with a slack jaw. “What is it with their family and devil fruits?”

“Hello?” Nami waved a hand between you and Luffy. “She tried to rob us, Luffy.”

You inched away from her with a small smile. “Sorry about that. Desperate times, yeah?”

Despite the frowns set on everyone’s faces, you had a good feeling you would win them all over. You were just too charming, after all. Casting a look around, a familiar ache gnawed at your stomach. “Uhm, have you got any food?”

જ ⁀ ➴

The crew quickly decided that Ace was their favorite of the family. 

While Ace was polite, generous, and charming, you and Luffy were cut from the very same cloth. Messy and loud, the only difference was that you were slightly more aware of your surroundings than your brother.

“Yeah, she and Luffy were always tied at the hip,” said Ace, his voice crackling to life from the transponder snail Sanji pulled out one late night. “Just… don’t be too harsh on her. She’s had a rough few months.”

Sanji had no clue what that meant, but he almost wanted to find out, not just because you’re pretty. A shadowy look always eclipsed your face, no matter how big your smile got. Over the few weeks you’d spent on the Going Merry, Sanji tried to get to know your story, but you never answered more than a few sentences before disappearing the whole afternoon.

“You knew her from before,” he said to Zoro one morning, stopping the swordsman as they traded spots for the night watch. “Do you know anything?”

Zoro adjusted his swords at his hip, chewing at his cheek. “All I know is a couple years ago, she was one of the most wanted mercenaries on the East Blue. Now, she’s a shadow of that person on the Grand Line. Isn’t that just what this place does?”

“Maybe…” But Sanji knew better. Maybe he was so concerned because he knew that sometimes, on days darker and gloomier than the rest, he had that same look in his eye. So he caught you one night watch when you had no choice but to lean against the ship rail and deal with his company.

He took a long drag from a cigarette, preparing what he’d say, when you nudged him and reached out to take the smoke from him. Sanji scoffed a laugh as he handed it off, watching you inhale deep and expel it in a puff, your eyes heavy. “Wanna talk about it?”

“About what?” You took another drag.

“Whatever it is you thought of.”

From the way your face darkened, Sanji thought you might stub the cig on the deck and leave him there to take your watch, but you only stood there, head hung between your shoulders. You gave him back his smoke hesitantly. 

“For the longest time,” you sighed, “I wanted so badly to know where I come from.” Sanji tilted his head in unspoken question. “Me and Luffy aren’t reallys siblings. We’re adopted, I guess.”

“Ah.” That made all your similarities a little more uncanny, but it made sense. You didn’t really look like Luffy anyway. “And… you found out?”

You nodded shortly, picking at a splinter in the rail. “Not to long ago. I always imagined that my parents loved me, and that we got separated by some tragedy that left me on Dawn Island.” Your voice broke off hollowly. “But that’s not it at all.”

He didn’t say anything when you started crying, and he didn’t ask what exactly plagued your past. Sanji just… stood there, offered you a cloth from his pocket, and waited till you compeod yourself to give you his cigarette. 

“Thank you,” you whispered as the sun peeked up over the sea. 

“No need. I’m here if you want to talk. All of us are, really.”

You doubted that, but you sent him a smile and descended to the girl’s cabin for some sleep. Nami and Robin remained sleeping softly as you slipped into bed, staring up at the ceiling wide awake. Your slammed the heels of your palms to your eyes, silently screaming into the air. 

“Why,” you hissed. “Why did I cry?”

Sheets rustled across the room, and suddenly Robin’s eyes glinted at you. “You were crying?”

“Who’s crying?” Nami yawned as she pushed up on her elbows.

You just about buried yourself in your blanket and suffocated yourself, face warming over. “No one! Go to sleep.”

“Can’t,” Nami snapped back. “You practicality stomped in here. I’m thoroughly awake.”

“Same here.” Robin and Nami shifted to face you from their beds, sleepy eyes hooded as they gazed upon you. “What’s the matter?”

You sat quiet as a mouse, eyes wide and caught, until you flopped over on your side and pulled your blanket up to your chin. “Sorry I woke you.”

The two Strawhats locked eyes, brows equally raised. They’d been conspiring to figure you out ever since you joined their adventures, and this certainly added fuel to their investigative fire. Because as much as you laughed and played and made messes everywhere you went, a great shadow lurked behind you—and everyone could see it.

Like a lingering ghost of a past you’d rather forget, something haunted followed your every move. From the way you cast glances over your shoulder at every port to how you fell into frightening silence at certain points in conversation, the entire Strawhat Crew felt the way darkness pulled at you.

And they would find out why—Whether you liked it or not, they would find a way to help you.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

@100520s

[irisintheafterglow]

the first time opla!zoro says he loves you, he's not even sober.

"just so you know, i'm never dragging your drunk ass out of a bar ever again. this is a one time thing," you huff, breathless from dragging the muscled, unofficial alcoholic half a mile down the hill toward the harbor. "and you better leave me some of those tarts from sanji as payback for lugging you home."

"you're so fuckin' pretty when you're mad," he drawls, eyelids heavy as the dirty boots on his feet. "even prettier when you're fighting in those fancy clothes we got from...where did we get 'em from?"

"that's a nami question, zoro. i have a bad memory. for instance, i don't remember why the fuck i came out here to get you in the first place," you groan, shoulders aching and legs sore from constantly steering your crewmate away from falling into the gutter. "heavens forbid one of our enemies catches you off guard; we wouldn't hear the end of it from luffy if you got your ass kicked while you were out drinking-"

"i can't wait for the street to stop spinning so i can tell you a secret," he grins stupidly and you recoil slightly, unfamiliar with the sappy expression on zoro's face. the wood of the ship's deck creaks under your feet and you pray no one wakes up to question what you're doing.

"what's the secret?"

"the secret is that i'm in love with you, but i can't tell you 'cause it's a secret," he states as matter-of-factly as a drunk could and you suddenly feel lightheaded, like you were the intoxicated one and not him. "yeah, i really am in love with you. it's kind of bad, honestly."

"and why is that?" your mind is running at two hundred miles a minute, wrought with confusion and laughing at the irony of how loose alcohol makes a guy who usually has a stick shoved as far up his ass as it could go.

"because it's a secret and i can't tell you that i'm in love with you. promise you won't tell anyone my secret?"

"i promise, zoro, but sober you and sober me are going to have a long talk in the morning," you say gently, helping him into his hammock and making sure he doesn't tumble out of it.

"am i in trouble?"

"no, but you're gonna get me in trouble." you sigh and he frowns like you'd told him someone had died.

"fuck, what'd i do?"

"you made me fall in love with you too, stupid."

"oh! well, now that's not so bad, is it? i promise i won't tell anyone. trust me, i'm great at keeping secrets."

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[sassypantsjaxon]

So I'm watching one piece, and the episode with Zoro's tragic backstory made me realize that he didn't really seem to realize how important Kuina was to him until after she had died. And then it occured to me that it's probably the same with Sanji. So he's spent all this time in this rivalry with this guy, constantly fighting together, pushing each other to be better, and he just...never realizes how similar it is to what he had with Kuina.

And then the time skip happens, but since he's away from the whole crew and he's fighting someone else, he doesn't realize anything about Sanji specifically. And then Whole Cake and the wedding. And he's like 'yeah, sure. Cook thinks that's what he wants, let him go.' And he thinks he's fine without him.

Except meals are different. They're fine. But they're different, and he can't figure out exactly why.

Except when he eventually finds his way to the kitchen, there's no onigiri waiting for him as a snack while he's on watch. Except there's no one to gripe about him sneaking alcohol even as he unlocks the cupboard for him. Except when he practices his swordfighting with any of the Heart pirates, they don't already know all his moves. Except they're afraid to taunt him if he slips up. Except they can't even tell when he slips up. Except when he tries to pick a fight with anyone because he's bored, the Heart pirates don't know what to do with that, or Usopp will start to freak out or Robin and Franky just won't rise to his bait.

And then he remembers Koshirou telling him that he pushed Kuina to be better.

And he realizes that's what Sanji is to him.

And it's fine. It's fine. Luffy will bring the Cook back, and everything will go back to normal. Except Nami was really freaked out by Sanji leaving. Except what if he really does get married? Except what if he doesn't really come back? And Zoro just doesn't think he can go through that again.

But of course Sanji does come back and he's different and he's trying to pretend he's the same. And now Zoro knows. And he's got all of these feelings that he's suddenly become aware of, except he still has a negative amount of emotional intelligence, so he's still just picking all these stupid fights because he doesn't know what else to do.

And everybody else is like 'well, Sanji's back, and everything's the same' and Zoro's the only one going 'No! everything has changed!' because he's still the only one aware of his feelings, and he just...doesn't know what to do with them?

[hauntingblue]

LUFFY!!!!!!!!! I HAVE BEEN CONVERTED!!!! LUFFY BELIEVER FULL TIME!!!!! LET US WORSHIP THE SUN!!!!

[inseobts]

Heyyy. Can I request a part two of "Luffy's sister" where she met then meet Sabo?

Luffy’s ‘sister’ pt.2

sabo x fem!reader

part 1

a/n: I tried to use the anime canon events so it could contain spoilers for these who didn't watch dressrosa arc yet! also I tried my best to explain that you're not their sister lmao

tags: dressrosa arc spoilers, sabo spoilers?, emotional reunion, memories, humor, slow burn (really really slow)

words count: 5.3k

masterlist || ao3 || ko-fi

You’ve never been good at sneaking around.

But today, you’re a ghost... hood up, steps light, slipping past the guards with your heart pounding in your ears.

You weren’t trying to get involved. You just wanted to see Luffy. Make sure he’s okay. Make sure the plan hasn’t blown up in his face again.

You find a small side passage near the Colosseum’s underground tunnel. It leads to an open area behind the stands, away from the crowd’s eyes. You peek out carefully.

And there he is.

Luffy.

You exhale in relief, until you see what he’s doing.

He’s on top of someone, arms wrapped tightly around the man like he’s trying to crush him.

Your eyes widen.

“What the—?” you mutter, stepping out into the open “Luffy?! What are you doing?!”

He doesn’t even flinch.

You hurry closer, panic rising “Oi! Why are you fighting outside the arena?! Who is this?!”

You try to pry him off the stranger “Let him go! He can’t breathe—are you crying? What is happening?!”

Luffy stays stuck, unmoving, his grip unnaturally tight, rubbery and impossible to break.

You groan “Oh, come on. Of all times to use your stupid Devil Fruit…”

You plant your foot and yank again, finally pulling Luffy backward just enough that the other guy can breathe. Luffy’s arms stretch as you drag him off, his face still teary.

You stand up straight, panting “Jeez, dramatic much? Why are you even trying to kill someone like that...”

You don’t turn around yet. You’re too busy scolding him.

“Honestly, I thought you were here to blend in and keep a low profile, not body slam strangers underground. You’re gonna blow the whole—”

Luffy suddenly grabs your hand. His grip is warm and shaking.

“Y/N...” he says in the middle of his sobbing.

You blink.

“What?”

He doesn’t say anything.

He just pulls you toward the man behind you.

You turn slowly and freeze.

The man standing before you looks older than the boy you remember... taller, broader, his blond hair messier than ever. There’s a jagged scar running down the side of his face. His eyes are softer now, but familiar. Too familiar.

You stare.

Your mind tries to say it, but the name won’t come out.

Your body doesn’t move. You don’t speak. You just look at him, your expression unreadable. Nothing on your face gives you away. Not shock. Not anger. Not tears.

Just silence.

Luffy is quiet too. He watches both of you carefully, like he knows this is your moment.

The blond man steps closer, slowly, cautiously. His voice is calm, but low, like he’s afraid of breaking something fragile.

“...I was hoping I’d find you too.”

He pauses.

Your hands hang limp at your sides.

He takes one more step “It’s me. It’s Sabo.”

Nothing.

A flicker passes through your eyes, but your face doesn’t move.

Sabo lowers his head a little, voice softer now “You probably thought I died.”

Still, you say nothing.

He almost smiles painfully “To be fair… I thought I did too.”

A wind moves through the tunnel. Quiet. Heavy.

You just stare.

No tears. No yelling. Just a stillness so sharp it makes Luffy shift uncomfortably behind you.

Sabo doesn’t push. He just stands there and waits.

The silence stretches.

Sabo is still standing there, a few feet from you, eyes steady and soft. He’s giving you time. Space. But your body feels frozen, like it hasn’t caught up with what your eyes are seeing.

He’s alive.

He’s real.

He’s right there.

But you can’t process it.

You blink slowly, once.

Then you turn… not to him, but to Luffy.

Your voice is quiet. Too calm.

“I’m going to wait outside.”

Luffy flinches a little “Huh? Wait—Y/N, don’t you wanna—?”

You’re already walking.

“I’ll be outside” you say again, not turning back.

You don’t look at Sabo. You don’t look at Luffy again either.

You just leave.

The tunnel bends, and the second you’re alone it hits you.

Your knees buckle.

You catch yourself against the wall, but it doesn’t matter. The sob breaks out of you like a punch to the gut. Then another. And another.

You slide down to the ground, hands trembling.

He’s alive.

He’s alive.

He’s alive.

And you said nothing, you just left.

The tears come fast, hot, quiet, unstoppable. You bury your face in your arms, biting your lip to keep the sound in. But your body shakes anyway. Your chest aches with everything you never got to say. Everything you buried.

You’re not even sure what hurts more, losing him before, or seeing him again now.

You don’t know how long you sit there but you don’t move. Not yet.

Footsteps echo down the tunnel.

You wipe your face quickly, trying to steady your breathing, but your eyes are still red. Your shoulders still shake.

You know that rhythm. You don’t look up.

“...Luffy.”

He crouches in front of you. Doesn’t say anything at first. Just watches you with quiet eyes and a small frown, like he doesn’t know whether to pull you into a hug or sit silently until you ask.

Finally, he says, “He didn’t know you were gonna be here either.”

You flinch—but only slightly.

You look away “Don’t.”

He tilts his head “But—”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

He stays still.

You wipe your eyes again, harsh this time, like you’re trying to erase the weakness. You breathe in through your nose and push yourself up with stiff legs.

“We’re here for Ace’s fruit, for Doflamingo etc” you say, voice flat, like nothing just happened “That’s the priority.”

Luffy stares at you. You don’t meet his eyes.

“I get it,” he says softly, after a beat “But you don’t have to—”

“I do.” Your voice cracks just slightly “Because if I don’t focus on that, I’ll fall apart again.”

Luffy looks like he wants to say more, but doesn’t. Instead, he just nods.

You finally glance at him, your expression calmer now, but your eyes still tired. Still swollen. You offer a shaky smile.

“Let’s finish what we came here for.”

The chaos has slowed for now.

You’re seated on a stone ledge just outside one of the old Dressrosa corridors, away from the crowd and the noise. Law is nearby, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. His eyes are half-lidded, but you know he’s alert. Always is.

You sit quietly for a while, the silence not awkward… just thick with things unspoken.

And then, like it sneaks out of your mouth before you can stop it, you ask “...What would you do, if years ago, you saw someone you love die right in front of you…”

Law’s eyes open just a little.

“…and then one day, out of nowhere, they show up alive. Like nothing happened. Like those years of grief didn’t even exist?”

He looks at you.

He knows exactly who you’re talking about. And you know exactly who he’s thinking of too.

Law doesn’t answer right away. He looks off to the side, like the wind carries memories he hasn’t let himself face in years.

Finally, he says, quietly “I would do nothing.”

Your chest tightens.

He shifts just a little, as if that confession cost him something “If he walked in front of me right now… I wouldn’t speak. Wouldn’t move. I’d probably think it was a trick.”

You swallow hard.

“I don’t think there’s a right way to react,” Law adds, glancing at you now “Grief... changes the way you see the world. Coming back from it doesn’t happen in one moment. Not even if they return.”

You nod slowly. For the first time since seeing Sabo, something inside you… softens.

Maybe your silence wasn’t wrong.

Maybe your reaction was your answer.

You look down at your hands, voice barely above a whisper “Thank you.”

Law just hums quietly “Don’t thank me. Just give yourself time.”

The silence settles again after Law's last words. You're not crying anymore, just sitting there with your arms resting on your knees, the ache in your chest finally dulling.

Law glances at you sideways.

Then, deadpan as ever, he says “Are you sure you’re Luffy’s sister? You look… normal.”

You snort, caught off guard “Wow. Rude.”

He smirks, just barely.

You shake your head “I’m not his real sister, anyway.”

Law raises an eyebrow.

“When we were little,” you start, your voice softer now, “Luffy, Ace, and Sabo made this whole brotherhood pact thing. You know—swore on sake cups, made it official, the whole dramatic act.”

Law nods once, silently amused.

You roll your eyes a little “I wasn’t there when they did it. They didn’t invite me. Said it was a boy thing or something dumb like that.”

Law gives you a dry look “That tracks.”

You grin faintly “I was so mad. Didn’t speak to any of them for days. I even bit Luffy when he tried to apologize.”

Law’s eyes flicker “You bit him?”

“Hard,” you say proudly “But you know Luffy. He just kept showing up, acting like nothing happened. Then one day, out of nowhere, he tells someone I’m his sister. Said I was there when they made the promise, and I’ve just ‘forgotten.’”

Law blinks “He�� rewrote history?”

“Loudly and convincingly,” you say with a laugh “Ace just ran with it. After a while, they both acted like I was part of that pact from the start. They even started getting mad at me when I didn’t call them my brothers.”

You exhale “ But Sabo never got the chance to go along with the lie.”

There’s a long pause “…I’m kind of glad.”

Law watches you closely now, sensing the shift in your tone.

You look away, your voice quieter.

“Because I don’t think I could’ve handled hearing my crush call me his little sister.”

That surprises a chuckle out of him, soft and sharp “Makes sense.”

You give him a sideways glance “What does?”

“Why you looked like you saw a ghost and got punched in the heart at the same time.”

You groan “I did not—”

“You absolutely did.”

You cover your face with both hands “Ugh. I hate this.”

Law, surprisingly, just says, “It’s fine.”

You peek at him through your fingers.

“It’s not like he called you his sister yet,” Law adds with a shrug “There’s still hope for your embarrassing feelings.”

You shove his shoulder but you're smiling now.

Dressrosa is a battlefield.

Buildings cracked in half, marines flooding the streets, chaos unfurling like smoke. But you’re already deep in it, your body flickering into flowing strips of fabric that twist and snap like whips. You stretch your torso around a collapsing wall, harden the strands like steel, and knock out three soldiers in one elegant motion.

“Always dramatic, aren’t you?”

The voice drops from above.

You roll your eyes before you even see him “You again.”

Sabo lands beside you, spinning his staff lazily “Don’t act like you’re not thrilled.”

“I was, until the part where you showed up.”

He grins “You used to be nicer.”

“No, you used to be less annoying.”

But your mouth twitches. You hate that it feels normal again, bickering with him like nothing happened. Like there weren’t years of silence and grief between you.

The fighting pulls you back into rhythm.

You move fast, wrapping a strand of your now-hardened fabric around a marine’s leg, yanking him off balance. Sabo intercepts another with his staff and a burst of flame. You duck under his arm as he swings, your body briefly unraveling into long sheets of cloth that snap back into place behind him.

“Still showing off” he mutters.

“You’re the one on fire.”

“Jealous?”

“You wish.”

Your fabric slams into the ground beside him, cracking the earth and knocking back a group of enemies. His flames chase the shockwave, torching the air in a clean arc.

You’re mid-battle, wrapping around enemies, flipping them off their feet. You're swift, focused, a total force.

But your damn hair won’t stay out of your face.

You keep blowing strands away, grumbling between punches “Stupid wind—stupid hair—get out of my face!”

Sabo’s voice cuts in from behind you “You never fixed that, huh?”

You glance over your shoulder “Fixed what?”

He ducks an enemy’s attack and then jerks his chin toward you “Your hair always did that when you fought. Thought you’d have learned by now.”

“Excuse you—my hair is a strategic distraction.”

Sabo laughs “You used to say that exact line.”

You freeze for a half second.

That tone. That smile.

Suddenly

Flashback You’re back in the woods. Same old gang, same old forest clearing. You’re younger. Sweaty, annoyed, trying to keep your hair tied back as the boys spar with sticks. It keeps falling into your face. You hiss under your breath, yanking it into a terrible knot. Sabo notices from across the clearing. Later that day, he shows up with a long, fraying strip of ugly, faded blue fabric. You frown “What is that?” He shrugs, trying to sound casual “Something to keep your hair out of your face.” “You made me something?” “Shut up. It’s not a big deal. I just don’t want you blaming your losses on bad hair.” You wear it every day for months. At the time, you thought it was just friendly teasing.

Now, mid-battle, back in the present, your hair still flying wild and his eyes still on you like he remembers every version of you, and you realize it wasn’t just a scarf.

He glances sideways at you, eyes warm “You really haven’t changed.”

You smirk “I upgrade. Learn the difference.”

When the final marine falls, you harden your leg into woven steel and deliver a clean spinning kick to finish it off.

Silence settles in.

You’re both standing in the middle of the ruined street, breathing hard. Sabo spins his staff once more and slides it onto his back.

You raise a hand, palm up “Not bad. I’ll give you a C-plus.”

He raises an eyebrow “C-plus?”

“C for ‘Could’ve-done-it-myself.’”

But you’re smiling genuinely, for the first time in a long time.

He laughs, then high-fives you without hesitation.

The contact is quick but his cheeks color the moment your hand slaps his.

You pause, blinking at him.

He’s still smiling, but it’s softer now. Maybe even shy.

Realizing what just happened, you quickly drop your hand and turn away, mood snapping back into place.

“Whatever,” you mutter “Let’s keep moving.”

But he doesn’t let the silence linger.

He steps up beside you, voice lower “We need to talk.”

You don’t look at him, but your answer is quiet. Solid.

“Later.”

He watches you for a moment, and for the first time today, he doesn’t feel like you’re slipping away again.

The little safehouse is quiet, tucked in the hills after the battle. Everyone’s exhausted. Robin pours tea, Franky’s patching his arm, and Usopp is dramatically recounting a battle no one asked about. Luffy’s already halfway through his third plate.

You’re leaning against the back wall, arms crossed, trying to ignore the way Sabo keeps stealing glances at you across the room.

It’s almost peaceful.

Then Usopp opens his mouth.

“So this is your brother, huh, Y/N?” he says, nodding toward Sabo with a big grin.

You whip around and punch him in the arm.

“NO.”

“OW—WHAT?!” Usopp yelps, clutching his arm “What’d I do?!”

Sabo blinks, genuinely confused “Wait… you’re not…?”

You sigh, rubbing your temples “I’m not their sister. I was never part of their little brotherhood pact.”

Luffy’s mouth is too full to answer, so he just grins guiltily.

Zoro raises an eyebrow “But Luffy keeps calling you his sister, you even introduced yourself that and told us you were in the pact.”

“Yeah,” you mutter, “Actually those three idiots didn’t want me in the original pact. I wasn’t ‘boyish enough’... I sulked for weeks.”

Sabo pauses, eyes widening a little “Wait… I was the only idiot. I asked them not to invite you.”

The room goes silent.

Your heart skips a beat “You what?”

“You… hated me that much?” you say, voice suddenly quieter, tinged with something raw “You didn’t want me to be part of your family?”

Sabo’s eyes go wide “What? No! I didn’t hate you. I… I told them not to invite you because…”

He rubs the back of his neck, looking incredibly awkward now, flustered, even.

“…because I had a crush on you. And I didn’t want my crush doing a brotherhood pact with me. That’s weird.”

You blink. Hard.

Flashback You’re all sitting around a fire after stealing food from the town again. Luffy’s asleep already, curled up like a cat. Ace is leaning back on his elbows, smirking. You’re messing with a broken dagger you found, cleaning the rust off with a cloth and not really part of the conversation. Sabo is beside you, stealing glances. Too many glances. Ace notices. Of course he does. He nudges Sabo with his elbow and whispers just loud enough, “You’re being obvious, lover boy.” Sabo nearly chokes on his bread “I’m not—shut up!” You look up “What are you two whispering about?” Ace grins “Nothing. Just telling Sabo he’s dreaming too big.” Sabo scowls “I said shut up!” You narrow your eyes “Why? What’d he say?” Ace just shrugs with that smug look “Told him you’re way out of his league.” Sabo turns even redder “AACE—” You freeze. Your hands go still on the dagger. “…You guys are mean,” you mutter, standing up quickly “Don’t joke like that.” Ace blinks, caught off guard “Hey, I was just—” But you’re already walking off into the woods, pretending your face isn’t hot. Pretending it doesn’t sting. You thought they were teasing you. Mocking you for daring to think you could be anything but “one of the boys”. That maybe you weren’t pretty enough. Strong enough. Good enough. You had no idea Sabo was blushing for a different reason entirely.

You realize Ace wasn’t being cruel that day.

Sabo wasn’t embarrassed for you, he was embarrassed because of you.

You didn’t mishear them.

You just didn’t believe it could be true “…Come again?”

He avoids your gaze “To make them go along with it, I promised Ace and Luffy that… uh… I’d make you their sister-in-law instead.”

The entire room freezes.

Sanji drops his cigarette. Nami almost chokes on her tea. Even Zoro raises both eyebrows.

Flashback You're running toward the clearing where Ace, Luffy, and Sabo are whispering, clearly plotting something. You’re grinning, excited to finally be part of one of their “important meetings”. “What’s going on? Did you find treasure? Are we stealing meat again? Count me in!” They go quiet. Ace gives Sabo a long look, and then sighs “It’s not about meat.” Luffy squints at you “It’s not for you.” Your smile falters “What?” Sabo hesitates “We’re… making a brotherhood pact.” You blink “So? I’m here too.” Ace rubs the back of his neck “It’s a brotherhood. You’re not a brother.” Luffy crosses his arms “Yeah. You’re not even tough enough.” That one stings. You ball your fists “I’m tougher than all of you!” They don’t answer. The silence says enough. You storm off, cheeks burning, not from rage, but from humiliation. After that you avoid them for days. Then weeks. You sleep in different spots. Train alone. Refuse to talk to them even when they try. They’re clearly lost. Ace tries bribing you with dumplings. Luffy leaves a weird drawing of the four of you fighting a sea king (you’re drawn tiny). None of it works. Sabo watches you with guilt in his eyes but never approaches. Until on morning, when you're sitting alone by the river, skimming stones and still furious. Sabo shows up, hands in his pockets. Doesn’t speak for a long time. He sits beside you, quiet again. He doesn’t bring up the brotherhood. Or the fight. Or the fact that you cried when no one was looking. Instead, he hands you something small. A rusty key on a string. “What’s this?” “It’s the key to my secret treasure chest.” You squint “What treasure?” “Can’t tell you. It’s a secret.” You narrow your eyes “How do I know there’s anything in it?” He shrugs “Guess you’ll have to find it someday.” You roll your eyes “Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Sabo smiles, just a little “It’s our promise. If you ever find it, you can keep everything inside.” “Even if it’s full of bugs?” “Then I’ll owe you a treasure better than anyone else’s.” You look at the key again, trying not to smile. You tie it around your neck without saying a word.

Sabo rubs his neck, looking like it physically hurts to admit “I didn’t want you calling me your brother. I had a crush on you. I couldn’t do that promise with you there. I panicked. I was a kid, okay?”

Silence again.

You stare at him, face slowly turning red “You WHAT?!”

Sabo’s ears are red now “It made sense at the time! I was nine!”

“WAIT A SECOND,” you shout, whirling around to Luffy “YOU KNEW?!”

Luffy keeps chewing “Mmhmm.”

“AND YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING?!”

“I forgot!” he grins, crumbs flying “But yeah, Sabo said he’d marry you or something, so we didn’t let you be our brother.”

You bury your face in your hands.

Usopp whispers, stunned, “So… wait… you were engaged and didn’t know it?”

Franky slams the table “THAT’S SUPER!”

“Luffy,” you growl, still covering your face “We are having words later.”

Sabo scratches the back of his neck and finally, softly says, “So… does that mean I don’t need to avoid the conversation anymore?”

You peek through your fingers at him, expression unreadable.

“…Later.”

And Sabo smiles because this time, he knows you mean it.

The safehouse is still too quiet after Sabo’s confession. The crew is frozen in various degrees of “What did we just witness?”

You’re still trying to process the idea that Sabo, your childhood thorn in the side, your years-long ache, the boy you grieved, apparently planned on marrying you before he even learned how to write cursive properly.

Your face is burning.

He looks just as flustered, sitting stiffly like he doesn’t know if he should run or hide.

Then, of course, Luffy happens.

“Well then,” Luffy says through another mouthful of food “Why don’t you tell him you had a crush on him too? That way you’re even!”

Dead silence.

Your entire body freezes.

Sabo chokes on his tea.

You snap your head toward Luffy, eyes wide with sheer disbelief.

You walk over and punch him in the shoulder hard “Luffy, shut up!”

“Ow! What?! I’m just helping!” he whines.

“I don’t need help!”

Zoro smirks from the corner “You kinda do.”

You ignore him.

Your heart’s pounding in your ears, hands twitching with nervous energy, and you can feel Sabo’s eyes on you, uncertain, hopeful, soft.

So before anyone else can speak, you walk straight over to him, grab his wrist, and say, “Outside. Now.”

Sabo blinks, startled, but lets you pull him to the door.

Sanji whistles under his breath “Someone’s about to get a love confession or a fist in the face.”

“Or both” Nami mutters.

The door slams behind you.

The air outside is quieter. Cooler. Still buzzing with post-battle energy, but calm enough that your thoughts start to catch up with you.

You let go of his wrist.

He doesn’t speak yet.

Neither do you.

Until you finally turn around, arms crossed tight.

“You’re seriously telling me… all those years ago, you didn’t let me be your sworn sibling because you liked me?”

He runs a hand through his hair, chuckling nervously “It sounds dumb when you say it like that.”

“It is dumb.”

“…Yeah.”

Pause.

You stare at him “You meant it?”

He looks at you now.

Clear-eyed, warm, and with the kind of steady patience that says "I’ve waited years already... I can wait another minute".

“I did.”

Your voice is smaller now “So what now?”

Sabo steps closer, hands in his pockets, smile soft “Now… you can either say Luffy was right—”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“—or you can tell me to forget it all and we go back to awkward eye contact and pretending to fight about things that don’t matter.”

You hesitate.

Then you exhale “...I did have a crush on you. Back then.”

His expression shifts, something like awe and relief.

“And now?” he asks quietly.

You roll your eyes and glance away “...Still kinda mad at you.”

Sabo grins.

“So… I’ve got a chance?”

You finally smile, barely “Ask me again when Luffy isn’t listening.”

The sun has dipped low behind the hills, casting the small safehouse in a warm gold glow. Most of the crew has drifted into sleep or taken watch. The quiet hum of insects and the distant crash of waves fill the night.

You’re sitting on the back porch steps, watching the sky turn from orange to violet, your arms loosely wrapped around your knees. You know he's behind you before he speaks.

Sabo doesn’t ask if he can join you.

He just does.

You don’t look at him right away, but you don’t move away, either.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” you ask softly, “or were you just trying to be poetic in front of an audience?”

He chuckles lightly “I meant it. All of it.”

You glance at him out of the corner of your eye.

He’s looking up at the sky now, the firelight from inside catching his features, older, worn, but still him. There’s a calm to him now, but it feels earned, not effortless.

“I wanted to tell you… what happened to me” he says.

You nod, settling in without interrupting.

“I don’t remember the shipwreck. Not really. Just flashes. Pain, water, fire. Then… nothing. I was with the Revolutionaries. Dragon found me. Saved me. They told me who I was, gave me a name, a life. But not my memories. Not really.”

His voice is low, steady.

“I kept having these dreams, though. Faces I didn’t recognize. A little boy with freckles. A loud kid with a hat. A girl with bright eyes who threw a sandal at my head once.”

You smile faintly.

“I didn’t know what they meant. Just that I woke up missing something. Missing someone.”

He finally turns to look at you.

“And then, when I saw that article about Ace… it all came back. Like someone cracked my chest open. Every memory. Every promise. Every dumb plan we made.”

You swallow hard.

“And I realized,” he continues, voice softer now, “that I missed you three all this time. But not in the same way.”

You glance over at him, and this time, your gaze lingers.

“I missed Ace like a brother. I missed Luffy like the idiot best friend he always was. But you…”

He breathes in, slow and steady.

“You were different. There was always something in my heart that felt too heavy, something that wouldn’t let me move on. And now I know why.”

Your pulse skips.

Sabo leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, hands clasped.

“I’m glad I listened to that weight every time it slowed me down. Because now… I got a chance. With you. After all these years.”

Silence stretches between you, warm and electric.

You don’t speak right away. You just lean your shoulder into his, lightly, gently. No dramatics. No tears.

Just quiet understanding.

“…Good,” you murmur “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

He smiles, slow and sure, and for the first time in years, that heavy part of his heart finally feels light.

Now Sabo preparing to leave. The chaos of Dressrosa is winding down, but the ache in your chest is ramping up.

Sabo is leaving...

Again...

You knew it would happen. You told yourself it wouldn’t hurt. You promised yourself you wouldn’t cry.

But here you are, standing with the crew near the docks, arms stiff by your sides, lips pressed tight together, and that familiar burn rising in your throat.

Sabo is saying his goodbyes, quick, easy, all smiles and handshakes.

Then he turns to you and your eyes meet.

And something in you breaks.

Your breath hitches. Your eyes sting. And before you can stop it, before you can hide behind sarcasm or anger like usual, your face crumples.

The first tear falls before you even realize it.

Then another.

And another.

Until you're full-on crying in front of everyone.

You gasp softly and try to turn away, embarrassed, but it's too late. The damage is done.

Everyone freezes.

Even Luffy looks stunned, eyes wide with surprise “Y/N…?”

Sabo’s entire expression shifts, from shock, to concern, to something impossibly soft.

He steps forward and cups your face gently in both hands, thumbs brushing your cheeks, wiping the tears you can’t stop.

“Don’t cry,” he says quietly “I promise we’ll meet again soon.”

You sniff, voice catching “You said that last time…”

“I mean it this time,” he whispers “And I won’t let anyone, or anything, stop me from coming back to you.”

You lunge forward before you can think.

Your arms wrap around him tightly, fiercely, your first real hug since he came back, and it shakes with everything you couldn’t say until now. Your fingers clutch the back of his coat, and you don’t let go.

He hugs you back instantly, like he’s been waiting for this exact moment.

He leans down, lips near your ear.

“When I come back,” he murmurs, “we’ll go on our first date.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, arms tightening around him. You nod but you don’t look up.

You can’t. Not yet. Not when your chest still feels like it’s breaking.

But his heartbeat is solid against yours. His warmth is real.

And this time, his promise feels real too.

The crew is quiet after Sabo’s departure. Too quiet.

You’re sitting on the deck, knees pulled up to your chest, staring out at the waves. The salty wind brushes your face, cooling the sting left by tears you didn’t plan to shed.

You’re still hugging your arms around yourself, trying to feel normal again.

The crew watches you from a respectful distance.

Then they start moving in.

First is Sanji, with a tray.

“I brought snacks,” he says gently “And tea. It’s sweet.”

You take a sip. It is sweet... too sweet. You gag.

He immediately fumbles “Wait—okay—too much honey—I can make another—”

Then Chopper waddles up with a blanket.

“I brought something soft! It’s warm and smells like medicine!”

You blink “…Why does it smell like medicine?”

“Because it’s mine...” he says proudly.

You pat his head anyway.

Then Usopp sits beside you and, very seriously, says, “If it makes you feel better, I cried for two hours when my goldfish died.”

“…You had a goldfish?”

“…No.”

You blink.

And you burst out laughing.

It slips out of you like a hiccup, and suddenly your shoulders shake, not from sadness, but from the absurdity of your friends trying so hard to comfort you in the worst ways imaginable.

You’re still wiping your eyes when your gaze locks onto Luffy across the deck.

He’s crouched on a barrel, chewing meat, acting like nothing ever happened, and suddenly your laugh dies.

Your expression flattens into cold fury.

You stand slowly. The crew senses the change and clears a path as you stalk over.

“Luffy,” you say sweetly “You wanna explain to me why, for years, you insisted I was your sister but never once told me Sabo had a giant crush on me?”

Luffy blinks up at you, meat hanging from his mouth.

“…I forgot?”

“YOU FORGOT?!” you roar, grabbing him by the collar.

“I THOUGHT YOU LIKED ACE!” he shouts, flailing “I DIDN’T THINK YOU NEEDED TO KNOW YOU WERE BREAKING SABO'S HEART!”

Zoro, from the side “He kinda has a point.”

“STAY OUT OF THIS, MOSSHEAD!”

Usopp whistles low “There she goes. She’s back.”

You let Luffy go with a growl and storm off, cheeks burning, but this time, it’s not from tears.

It’s from the tiniest bit of hope starting to grow in your chest.

Because now… Sabo has a promise to keep.

[opbackgrounds]

It’s agreed, right? That even if they had successfully gotten Ace out of Marineford he would’ve gone on another death-wish hunt for Teach as soon as everyone’s back was turned?

I don't think so. Ace had a similar change to Robin over the course of the arc and had come to terms with allowing himself to be saved. What kind of character development that would have lead to after the fact is unknown, but even if Ace stayed exactly the same, the course of history would have been changed.

If Ace and Whitebeard both live, Teach does not make it out of Marineford alive. His own crew acknowledges the risk, and Shiryu and the other Level 6ers would not have stuck around.

If Ace lives and Whitebeard dies, chances are Ace takes over as captain. He was being groomed for the position anyway, and was respected by the crew. Even if he's not made captain right away, he's sticking with the remnant of the WB Pirates. In that case, recall that BB specifically went after WB's crew and territory during the time skip. Ace would not have to go hunting for Blackbeard, Blackbeard would come hunting for him. In this scenario I think there's a good chance Ace dies anyway, which would be a big kick in the balls for Luffy, but at least he'd have a better understanding of who he's up against.

And who knows. Maybe Garp teams up with Ace to take down Blackbeard like he did with Roger during the Rocks incident. It'd be a decent apology for standing around waiting for him to be executed at Marine for, and Garp would be highly motivated to take the bastard down

[cozage]

CONGRATS ON 2K!!!!

For the request idk what I want really but I don't wanna miss out 😭

But as a dedicated Luffy simp could I get some sort of soft smut? It's fine if not but I saw your post saying something about wanting to do more of those <3

A/N: I had a very similar request for Sanji so were just going to do the monster trio for this one 🙂

Characters: reader x Luffy, Sanji, Zoro Cw: NSFW Minors pls skedaddle, orgasms, the usual sex stuff I don't think they’re too freaky Total word count: 900

Unspoken Words Finally Said

Luffy

You and Luffy had been friends from the moment you met him. At first, you thought there might be something more between the two of you. 

But he was your captain. And Luffy was…Luffy. He was just overly friendly with everyone. 

The celebration from Dressrosa had everyone in good spirits, and the alcohol had Luffy a little more clingy than usual. But you found yourself leaning into his touch. 

And when it was just the two of you still awake, you found yourself leaning into his lips. 

It was a shocking revelation for both of you, and you found yourself smiling in relief when he pushed his lips back against you. 

“My room,” he mumbled into your mouth. He wrapped his arms around you and picked you up, carrying you across the deck. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”

And he had no idea how long you had waited for this, either. Every stolen glance, every little smile, every brushing touch; it hadn’t been your imagination. 

He proved his love and devotion the only way he knew how: through his actions. The way his hands gently caressed your body, how eager he was to finally be inside you. 

He moaned out your praises, how good you felt, how pretty your moans were, and he did not give you a moment's rest until he collapsed next to you on the bed, both of you well spent. 

And as you curled into him and fell asleep, you couldn’t help but be thankful for every moment that finally led you to this. 

Sanji

Sanji was a flirt. His sweet comments and adoration weren’t exclusive to you. You knew that. 

You were a flirt too. Your spunky attitude wasn’t something that only the cook got the pleasure in being a part of. He knew that. 

And yet, the two of you went around and around, working hard to catch the other off guard and get one another flustered. 

The first time you had shot back with a flirtatious remark, Sanji had almost died. But he had built up a sort of tolerance to your comments and soft touches, until one night the two of you jokingly offered up a friendly game of strip poker. 

And now here he was, balls deep inside of you as tears pricked at the corner of your eyes. He felt so good inside of you, his long, slender cock hitting all of the right places. 

“Sanji,” you whimpered. “I’m going to-”

You didn’t get to finish your sentence, a wave of ecstasy washing over you and causing you to moan out in pure pleasure. You could feel yourself clenching around Sanji, so tight that he couldn’t even continue pumping himself inside of you. 

“Marry me,” Sanji babbled. “Oh god, marry me right now.”

His hips jutted, a final push to get himself as far inside you as he could manage, and you could see his eyes roll back in his head as he was brought to the feeling of pure pleasure. 

Now that you had him, you never wanted to let him go. 

Zoro

You hadn’t meant to end up in Zoro’s room. Or in his bed. And you certainly hadn’t meant to end up face down, moaning into his pillow as he slammed himself inside of you. 

“Zoro-” your moans were cut off as his hand pushed your head back into the pillow, trying to get the arc of your back just right as he slammed his cock inside of you. 

“Shhh,” he hissed. “Someone is going to hear you.”

But his speed and vigor picked up, and you smiled to yourself knowing that he liked the idea of getting caught. He always liked to live on the edge. 

After both of you finished, Zoro collapsed on top of you, trapping you underneath him. You managed to turn over so you wouldn’t suffocate into the pillow, but Zoro laid firmly on top of you, his head resting on your chest. Soft snores told you that you wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Spending the night here wouldn’t be so bad, even if it might lead to questions later from the crew. You ran your fingers through his mossy green hair and slowly drifted off to sleep. 

You and Zoro had been friends ever since you joined the crew. He was comfortable in his sexuality, and so were you, which led to a lot of fun conversations. But you had never expected this impromptu one-night stand to happen with him. It had all just been casual conversation…even if you had been a little curious. 

In the morning, you carefully tried to get out of bed without waking him, but you failed miserably. He stirred the moment you moved and raised his head, groggily looking around. And then he froze when he realized you were underneath him. 

“So that really happened last night, huh?” He gave a little smirk. “I thought it was a dream.”

You raised your eyebrow. “Do you dream about me, mosshead?”

He usually hated it when you called him by Sanji’s nickname, but today he only hummed in delight. “Maybe sometimes. The real thing was way better than any dream, though.”

[l-in-the-light]

"I'm sure he's got nothing to do with me!" says Luffy and I was waiting for him to say it. For him to hear all of this Nika lore and declare that, nope, I don't care, I'm not Nika, I'm not a liberator. It's just such a Luffy thing to do. But I know many fans actually will be shocked with Luffy's answer here or will just dismiss it. I have seen many opinions before that Luffy was always a liberator by choice, so becoming Nika is just natural course of events for him and he will have no problem embracing his role in the bigger scheme of things. Some even complained they hate that Luffy is Nika because they don't want Luffy to be the "fated hero" but instead a "from nobody to the king of the world" trope. But nope! Luffy just noped all of this himself.

Luffy is not a liberator and he's not an altruistic hero, he doesn't go from island to island aiming to save people, and if you think he wanted to, then please remember Fishmen Island and how unhappy he was with the idea of being a hero:

And now if you think Luffy changed since then because Dressrosa happened, then please remember what he asked of Momonosuke in Wano:

Yep, that's right. Luffy still *doesn't have any interest* in becoming a hero. If you think he's alright with that and changed his mind, then you're just not paying attention to him, sorry to say that. Luffy has been pretty consistent about this too and now he declared it yet again in Elbaf. It's the third time already.

You just think it's not a big deal because he so easily changed his mind in Fishmen Island, but it happened only because he had an actual reason to do that. Jimbei promised Luffy all the meat he wants. He gave him a *personal reason* to act like a hero, which is why Luffy agreed. And he did the same in Dressrosa. He wouldn't liberate that country if he didn't get attached first to Law and Rebecca (yes, in this order), and his crew to tontattas. They always do it for someone particular, for their friends. It's the same in Wano too, Luffy's constant motivation is Tama, Momo and Kinemon. He wants them to be happy, most of all, and he even says as much when he defeats Kaido: "I want a world where all of my friends can eat as much as they like".

There, he doesn't do it altruistically because he hates oppresion and villains who thrive on pain of common people and he can't stand seeing it. Yes, he probably thinks it's unfair, but he also grew up in Goa Kingdom, the very definition of unfair regime. He saves oppressed people only when they are his friends or has some other personal interest involved. He defeats the Marine base in Shells Town for Koby (and Zoro, later). He defeats Don Krieg so he can repay his food debt to Baratie. He defeats Arlong for Nami. He fights Wapol for Chopper (who saved Nami) and who he already considers his friend because of that. He fights for the Giants (Little Garden) and Vivi (Alabasta), Conis (Skypiea), Robin (Water 7 and Enies Lobby), Brook (Thriller Bark), Hachi (Sabaody) etc. Though, he does make friends rather easily, so usually it's not that big of a deal. But he isn't going out of his way to places he reads about in the newspapers that need to be liberated, he instead cares more for his own dream. He doesn't enter a certain island with the idea in mind that goes like "if I see some injustice here, I'm gonna bring this shit down". It's the other way around. He makes friends and realizes they're unhappy.

He wants them to be happy again and to live without regrets, and that's why he brings the shit down, whatever it is that makes people he cares about feel so unhappy. Because he thinks this is at least something he can do for his friends. Luffy doesn't think he can do a lot of things, he can't do much at all, but he can do one thing: beat up a guy when needed.

He knows how regret feels like ever since he believed Sabo died, he's not gonna sit there and do nothing next time something like this happens. That's why it's so important for him, to make sure his friends are happy. And that's why he beats up people and liberates countries. It's not for justice, he simply wants his friends to be happy.

But wait a moment, Luffy also wants freedom. Yes, he does. He wants to be the King of the Pirates, because for him it means to be free. And that's how he actually speaks about Nika as well:

He wants the freedom for himself. Isn't it funny that he thinks he already achieved it though?

And before you're disgusted by how selfish Luffy actually is, hear me out: Luffy is simply not a martyr. He won't die or sacrfice himself for the world to liberate it. He will instead die for the world if he thinks that will make his friends happy. Preferably though, he would want to survive and eat that meat with them, and be happy together.

Still, if you want him to be a liberator of a whole world it is actually possible, you just need to make it personal for Luffy, like I suggested. For example, put a person or multpile people who want to save/destroy the world (whichever option you fancy) on Luffy's crew. Luffy always cares for dreams of his crewmates and will always support them (because fullfilling their dreams will make them happy), so he would become a liberator if that helps them. But he would do it for them, not for the world.

Luffy is not a hero because he has a golden heart and a strong sense of justice. He's a hero when his friends are in danger instead, because instead of a golden heart, he simply has a big heart and makes friends wherever he goes. A martyr-like hero who sacrfices himself for people without caring for his own wellbeing is noble, but it's also not a healthy mentality, believe it or not. For starters, if you never care enough for yourself and are ready to throw your life away for a concept, what will happen with people who love you and care for you? Is it fair towards them to throw your life away without caring who you're leaving behind and how they will feel about it? Do you even care then for their feelings if your pursuit of greater good is more important to you? You can save the world and make people you love sad and unhappy, and like they don't even care anymore to live, because you were the one who made them happy and now you're gone. Did you save the world for them or destroyed it for them instead, as the result?

Luffy has his own interest in saving his friends too: so he's not alone again. Humans aren't selfless beings, but it doesn't automatically make us bad people either. And sometimes, while pursuing selfish things, we do something that appear to be extremely selfless. But at the bottom of it: we also do it for themselves, even if it kills us.

Tokyo Babylon taught me that every act is selfish, even if it appears like we do it for someone else: we simply want to feel better about ourselves then. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as we don't lose the sight of other people's feelings on our way. We can always share, after all, and that sharing is the bridge between the lone islands that people are.

Luffy, if he dies, will also say, just like Seishiro: "I didn't do it for you. I did everything by my own choice". For myself. Despite the fact it is also true he does it to make his friends happy. Being selfish and being selfless is like two sides of the same coin and both choices can end up actually hurting people. In the first case, because you care too much about yourself and too little about feelings of others, and in second case because you care too little about yourself and still too little about feelings of people that love and care for you. Can you spot the thing in common here?

[joedirtymadre]

Angst+fluffy Luffy x reader where the reader almost dies! Like, after a battle reader faints and luffy gets worried sick cuz he remembers of Ace death

Doctor!

LUFFY X READER! FLUFF + ANGST!

“Come on (Y/N)!” Luffy grinned as he dragged you towards the island’s main plaza. “Luffy, we're supposed to be undercover… Nami warned us how this island is one of the Navy’s bases,” you warned as you continued following your boyfriend.

But he continued on towards the main plaza, hoping to find a food cart. “We’ll be fine, plus you’re with me! I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he smiled as he grabbed your hand. “Plus you’re just as strong as me, so we’ll be fine!” He added. You playfully rolled your eyes and nodded.

“Finally! The plaza!” He smiled. “Oh look, they have ramen over there. Or takoyaki there! Or cotton candy there!” He said excitedly as he scanned the different food carts. “Did you even bring bellies?” You asked. You quickly noticed him freeze up. “I’ll take that as a no…” you sighed.

You watched as he slowly turned to you with the biggest puppy eyes. “Luffy…” you sighed. “Ok then I guess we can go back to the ship,” he moped as he walked past you. “Oh shut up, you know I’m gonna buy you something,” you rolled your eyes. You watched as his mood changed in an instant, “Thanks! That’s why you’re the best girlfriend in the world!” He smiled as he pulled you into a tight hug. “Yeah, yeah… you owe me Straw Hat,” you smiled. “I’ll give you one of my takoyaki!” He smiled as he dragged you back to the carts. “Just one?” You asked yourself.

…

After you watched Luffy eat 2 bowls of ramen, 4 orders of takoyaki, and 1 bag of cotton candy… because you didn’t want to deal with a sugar rush. It was finally time to head back to the ship.

“That was good,” Luffy burped, as you both walked down the path. “Yeah, the ramen was pretty good. But I think I’ll always prefer Sanji’s,” you replied. “Yeah, that’s true!” Luffy smiled. You soon arrived to the cliff where the crew hid the ship and noticed it was gone.

The ship’s hiding spot was now filled with soldiers, and Navy ships.

“Did we go the wrong way?” Luffy asked. “No, this is the spot. Maybe some soldiers found them and tried to trap them,” You told him, worried for your friends. “Do you think they escaped?” He asked. “Franky, Brooke, and Usopp stayed behind, I’m sure that Franky was able to escape from them. Plus they’re probably waiting here, hoping to catch one of us who stepped into the island,” you explain. “Well let’s go look for them,” he said.

“No, we should go back into town,” you said, stopping him from running off. “Why? The ship is missing!” He shouted. “Because what if the others don’t know that the ship was found. That means the Navy knows we’re here, so they’re probably looking for them. We have to warn them, we have to find them before any soldier does,” you explained. “But…” he trailed off.

“Come on Luffy! Plus Franky has gotten us out of a bunch of bad spots, I’m sure he did it again! We need to find the oth-“ you stopped yourself. “(Y/-“ you quickly placed your hand over his mouth. “Shh,” you whispered as you heard some faint footsteps.

But it was too late. “Well, well, well… I thought I saw something on top of this cliff,” you heard a booming voice from the trees. You looked over and saw a large bald headed man in a suit. With around 10 soldiers behind him. “Crap…” you muttered. “It’s fine (Y/N), we can handle the- HEY!” Luffy yelled as a net shot at him.

“Luffy?” You called out and noticed your boyfriend struggling inside the net.

“Sea prism net, it works great when someone’s not expecting it,” the bald headed man laughed. You rushed over to Luffy without thinking, “I-I’ll get you out!” You stuttered. “(Y/N) no! Behind you!” He shouted weakly.

You quickly turned your attention back to the group and realized they were closing in on you two. “I’m sure bringing you two in would promote me to Vice Admiral,” the bald man said. “(Y/N) please run,” Luffy begged. You shook your head, “I got this, we’re ok when we’re together,” you said determined as you rose up and turned your attention towards the troop.

You were a weaponist, but all you had was a small knife. You pulled it out and the soldiers began to laugh. “That’s it? You’re planning to take us all down with that?” The man laughed. “Yep,” you said softly, before charging at one soldier who was still laughing.

You sliced him up and kicked him towards a small bunch of soldiers. Causing them to be knocked over. “Fire! Fire!” You heard one of the soldiers shout. You leapt into the air and avoided any gunshots.

You landed on another soldier and sliced up his face. You continued to cut up as many of them as you could while knocking others into one another. “How are you men still having trouble with this girl?” The tall man yelled. You raced towards Luffy and began cutting at the net, but it won’t budge. “(Y/N)… behind…” you heard Luffy say. Before you could turn around you were quickly grabbed from your hair and yanked up.

“You’re a lot of trouble for a little girl,” the man growled. “D-Don’t touch her…” Luffy said weakly as he slowly thrashed under the net. “Like you can talk! Like I said… you’re a lot of trouble, so I’m dealing with you now before you can get loose again,” he said menacingly. You squirmed and thrashed, trying to rip yourself out of his grasp, but nothing worked.

“Well good thing the flyer says alive or dead,” the man said as he lifted his sword. Before he could hurt you you jabbed the small knife into the hand that held you. The man screamed and you rushed towards Luffy.

“(Y/N) please… run,” he begged. You shook your head, searching for the strings that kept the net tied. “You bitch!” You heard. You ignored his words and finally found the knot to the net, you sliced at it with your knife and opened the net.

You smiled as you were finally able to free your boyfriend. “Luff…y,” you gasped. You felt a sharp pain pierce through your torso. “(Y/N)!” You heard, but your hearing was slowly being taken over by a sharp ringing.

Luffy’s POV

I stared in shock, but before I could think I landed on the guy that hurt her. My fists pounding on his face, until he’s unrecognizable. Before I become too caught up on him I quickly turn back to (Y/N).

She’s laying on her back holding onto her wound. I rushed over and slowly picked her up. “(Y/N)! Hey, I’m here, I’m here. You’re ok now, I-I just need Chopper. He’ll fix this! S-So don’t worry… fuck!” I panicked as I raced towards the plaza. I need a doctor, any doctor. She can’t die, I won’t let her. I thought as I raced through the forest.

I made it back to the plaza and scouted the area for

Chopper or for anyone. “I-I need a doctor…” I choked out. People began to stare at us with worried looks. “I need a doctor!” I screamed. “Please! Anyone! Please!” I cried out. Residents stared at me with panicked looks as I ran around, hoping to find someone to help. But no one stepped up, they all just stared.

My legs felt weak, and I fell to my knees, still holding her. My vision is too blurry, “Please anyone! I’m begging you! I can’t let her die!” I begged as I pressed (Y/N) closer to my chest. She can’t die, she’s supposed to be with me forever…

“Follow me!” I heard a voice call out. I snapped my head towards the voice and noticed an older man in front of a building, motioning over towards him. I jumped up and raced over, “Can you save her? Please tell me you can save her!” I shouted. “It seems she’s lost quite a bit of blood… but hurry and set her down inside! We can’t waste any more time!” The grandpa demanded and I ran inside and placed her on a small white bed that was inside the tiny office.

I watched the man rush over to (Y/N) and began placing pressure on her wound. “Hold this, she’s going to have to do an emergency surgery. I need to get ready!” He instructed and I rushed over to take his spot. After a few minutes he was back with gloves and tools. “I can take it from here, go wait outside,” he said. “No! Let me-“ he interrupted me. “I said get out! I need total concentration!” He yelled. I hesitated, but forced myself to go outside.

I sat outside and stared at the dried blood on my hands. “I should have protected her! What kind of capt- what kind of boyfriend am I?” I cried out. “It happened again! Someone I care about… I couldn’t save them…” I said as my hands snaked. “Luffy!” I quickly looked up and saw Nami, Sanji, and Chopper. “Y-You guys…” I said softly. “We saw the Navy ships, and- i-is that… blood?” Nami asked. “Where’s (Y/N)?” Chopper asked worriedly. “S-She, I… I couldn’t-" I was interrupted with a kick, sending me flying back.

Sanji grabbed me by the collar, “Where is she? If something bad happened to her…” he trailed off. “Sanji!” Nami called out.

“Now I’m not sure if this rowdiness is the best thing for your friend right now…” a soft voice said. We all turned and saw the old doctor standing at the entrance of his office, wiping his hands. I shoved Sanji off of me, and raced over to him. “How is she? Is she ok?” I asked. The doctor stared at me for what felt like a century. “She’s… she’s fine my boy,” he said as he patted my shoulder.

I lunged onto the grandpa, “Thank you… thank you for helping her. I thought I would lose her,” I cried. He patted my back, “Well she’s a tough gal, a little too tough,” he smiled. “She’s already awake,” he said softly as he pulled away. My eyes widened, “Can I see her?” I asked. “Hmm… well I’m sure a quick visit wouldn’t hurt…” he said softly as he led us into his office.

As soon as I walked in, I rushed over to her. She was sitting up, looking out the window. “(Y-Y/N)?” I choked out. She jumped from my voice and slowly turned towards me, she then smiled once our eyes met. “Luffy,” she said softly. I rushed over to her and collapsed, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I should’ve done better, I’m sorry, please don’t leave me…” I cried onto her lap. I felt a soft hand play with my hair, “Stop acting like I’m dead, I’m fine. Just a little scratch,” she giggled. “I love you,” I said softly. “I love you too,” she smiled as she wiped my tears.

“(Y/N)!” Chopped cried as he hopped onto her. “Hi guys,” she smiled. “Are you ok?” Nami asked as she shoved me out of the way. “I’m fine, just a bad scratch,” she smiled. “Well good, or else I would’ve killed your boyfriend,” Sanji said. “So, let’s go back to the ship?” (Y/N) asked. “We found it on the other side of the island!” Chopper said. “Well I’m not so sure she should be moving yet,” the grandpa said. “I can carry her,” I said. “Well… the Navy is looking for you now…” he muttered. “I’m a doctor as well, and I know this isn’t the best thing for the patient right now. But if anything happens I can take care of her!” Chopper explained. “Well alright then,” the grandpa said. We all nodded and prepared to safely transport (Y/N) back to the ship.

… Nighttime…

I never left (Y/N)’s side, as soon as we arrived at the ship she fell asleep and hasn’t woken up since. I even missed dinner to make sure she doesn’t wake up alone. After a few minutes she slowly opened her eyes. “Luffy,” She smiled. “(Y/N)!” I smiled back. “Have you been here all this time?” She asked me. “Yeah, I didn’t want you to wake up alone. I also… wanted to make sure you were ok,” I said softly. “I’m sorry (Y/-“ she interrupted me. “Stop, I wasn’t careful enough. I’m ok, I promise,” she said as she cupped my cheek.

“I know but I was so scared, I thought… I thought I was going to lose you like-“ I cut myself off. “I know and I’m sorry for scaring you, but you found me a doctor right?” She asked. I slowly nodded. “So you saved me, and I’m very grateful,” she said as she pulled me into a soft kiss. “Just… always keep your weapons bag on you at all times,” I say. She laughed and nodded. “I’ll keep an extra set of weapons on me too, just in case,” I said. “Sounds like a deal,” she smiled. “I love you,” she said. “I love you too,” I said as I gently pulled her into a kiss.