Imagine Monkey D. Luffy

Thank you for the kind words! I’m slowly going to return to write short things on here as warm ups, and this one was the most requested!———————————————————————————————————

The first time Nami realises something is different about Luffy–aside from the obvious–is a calm day, when the seas are stilland the winds quiet. It happens over a goddamn chicken thigh, too. Of allthings.

His new “captain”, not that she’d call him that,is a weird guy. He calls himself a pirate but he acts nothing like it. They’veonly sailed together for a couple days now, and the only thing he’s hurtwithout cause is Nami’s wallet. Making that deal about paying for his food andZoro’s booze was probably the worst financial decision Nami’s ever done.

They’re in a dinghy barely big enough forthree, and Luffy’s hyperactive presence takes up enough space he might as wellcount for five people. It’s almost embarrassing it takes Nami so long to figureit out.

Because she manages to nab the last bit ofchicken for their dinner, and Luffy’s hat gets pushed off his head as hescrambles to steal Zoro’s portion, and a gale blows his bangs off his face justright, and–

She hasn’t looked.

Hasn’t wanted to,really, or hasn’t bothered. Because getting to know Luffy and Zoro would be tochisel them out of the moulds she’s carefully put them in, the ones made ofharsh beatings and past betrayals. Looking at them and seeing past theirbruised knuckles and bloodied clothes would be admitting that Luffy’s not lyingwhen he says he isn’t like those pirates. Like Arlong.

So she hasn’t looked, and she hasn’t seen.

“Your eyes…” Nami draws in a breath, andher chest tightens. Because Luffy always wears that hat that casts a shade overhis eyes, and his bangs are long and greasy and stick to his forehead, and moreoften than not he has either dust or dirt or blood or food on his face, and allof that means that Nami hasn’t noticed the opaque haze over his eyes, and thelight scarring that marks the skin around the top half of his face.

“What?” Luffy asks, now happily munching onthe chicken leg. Zoro had relinquished it as soon as he’d noticed Nami’s shock.He’s listening now, eyes peeled on Nami. Her surprise and horror aren’tmirrored on his face, and Nami realises that he’s beaten her to this–torealising that their captain is fucking blind.

He seems so happy, so carefree–entitled,almost. Like he thinks himself invulnerable, like he doesn’t care what happensto anyone or anything.

“You can’t see.”

Luffy nods. And he keeps eating. And Nami,beside herself, because she hasn’t cared—dared—to look past the smiles and thepunches and the raw strength. It was useful, to keep things that way.

And now she’s furious—with herself, notLuffy—at this stupid rubber—

“—idiot!Didn’t you think that’d be something worth mentioning?”

Luffy shrugs. “You didn’t ask. And I canfight fine, it’s not a problem.”

Behind him, Zoro smirks. It does nothingbut fuels Nami’s ire. She smacks Luffy on the head, his teeth clamping aroundhis tongue that he’d had outstretched to lick the last of the chicken juicesoff his fingers. He whines, like a puppy, and glares at Nami with thosesightless eyes.

“What was that for? It’s not a big deal!”

“Obviously it’s a big deal; what if you’dgotten hurt because you can’t see and that caused us to die? We could have beenin danger!”

“We’re pirates—”

“I’m not!”

Luffy continues as if he was deaf, notblind. “—and being a pirate is dangerous even if you can see. We could die anyday just because that’s how it is.”

The conviction in his tone shakes Nami outof her fit of frustration. Luffy has held his own—more than that, he’s fought menwho resemble mountains and shrugged off bullets, cannon balls, Nami’s harshwords. He’s strong. Nami knows this. Based on Zoro’s growing smile—it lookslike he should be growling, or maybe purring—a happy, slightly feral raccoon waitingto murder an unsuspecting onlooker.

Him and Luffy truly are made for each other.And they’ve not lost a fight yet.

“Fine.” She sighs. She tears a bit of her breadand hands it to Luffy; bribing, asking, “What happened, then? How can you stillfight?”

Luffy stuffs the bread into his mouthwithout chewing and cheeks bulging, he hums in thought.

“Some pirates grabbed me when I was a kid.”He says it so nonchalantly, like it’s nothing. He doesn’t keep going, either,and Nami watches in disbelief as Luffy swallows, and then digs a finger so farinto his nose she’s surprised it doesn’t peek out from his ear, next.

“Yeah?” she snaps, because Luffy can’t justdrop a bombshell like that and then pretend it’s nothing special. “Keep going,idiot.”

“Oi. Mind your own business, witch.”

“It’s okay, Zoro.” Luffy smiles. He sitswith his legs crossed, hands wrapped around his ankles. Swaying back and forth,he hums, and begins to explain.

“They were mad at me because I wouldn’ttell them where Ace and Sabo’s treasure was. And they hit me a bunch but itwouldn’t work because I’m rubber, you know? But then one guy punched me withknife gloves and when I still wouldn’t tell, he poured some stuff on my faceand it ate my eyes. Ace and Sabo were so mad!”

“Who are—” Nami starts, then cuts herselfoff. “How old were you?”

“Like seven, I think.”

“By the seas. Fuck.”

The wind from the east has grown in forcesince she started her interrogation. It’s going to push them four degrees toofar off mark, but the currents in the area might push them back if she givesthem a little nudge, later. It’s easier to focus on them being off course thanon the fact that this sunshine of a boy was so brutally hurt as a child.

“How do you fight?” Zoro asks curiously, then. “I’veseen your attacks. You don’t miss, and sometimes you attack when you don’t evenknow where to hit.”

“Gramps taught me some mystery thingy thathelped me see without eyes. He said it’ll make me a good marine, but he was sowrong.” Luffy snickers, like it’s a funny joke. There’s chicken in his teethand seaweed drying on his shoulder from when he fell overboard earlier. “Sometimes I can tell what’s going to happen before it happens, because of it.”

“Okay.Well, you seem to be able to hold your own with that ability.” Nami smiles. Shethinks of home, of Nojiko’s bright hair and the deep blue of her tattoos andthe endless orange of their tangerine grove.

Luffy will never see any of it.

“My hair is orange. And I have freckles.Brown eyes. Zoro has green hair and three swords, two black and one white.”

“Wow, you sound pretty!” Luffy looksrelieved, somehow; a tension Nami hadn’t even noticed draining from his frame. “IsZoro pretty, too?”

“Oi, I—”

“Oh, yeah. Zoro’s super pretty.”Nami smiles, grinning at their swordsman. He looks annoyed, but Nami thinks sheisn’t imagining the faint blush spreading on his neck and cheeks.

“Shut up.”

“Luffy needs to know, right?”

“You didn’t have to say it like that!”

They continue bickering for a while, and Luffylistens to them, laughing that bright peeling laugh of his.

(Some days later, when Nami is alone in a wealthysick girl’s mansion, she will sit and think of how it felt to be seen by thisodd blind boy. How comforting it was to be encapsulated in his aura, to know thatthe safety he exudes will shield from all harm. Like being watched by the sea,something that can’t be changed or moved against its own will. Luffy feels likethat, sometimes. A force of nature.)

On the dinghy, on the seas that have thegrowing east wind pushing on their sail, Luffy grabs Nami and Zoro’s attentionwith a single hum.

“Nami, do you trust me even if I don’t have eyes?”

“I don’t trust anyone, blind or not.”

Luffy shrugs. “Alright. Just remember what I said, then?”

“What? You say a lot of things,” she challenges,questions; almost afraid of the answer. And Luffy smiles—that stupid smile ofhis that makes Nami feel warm inside and makes her think everything will beokay.

“You’re my navigator.” Luffy takes herhand, his reach sure and strong. He squeezes her fingers, cocking his head abit, and then he’s looking right at her with his stupid sightless eyes thatstill drill right into her and peer into her soul. It feels like no one hasever seen her like he sees her right now. “I don’t need to see where we’re going,because you’ll always be by my side.”

And damn the seas and currents and east windsand stupid grinning pirates, because Nami wants that to be true so hard ithurts.

This one kind of ran away from me, and I doubt it’s what you originally had in mind anon. I hope you like it regardless!

The firsttime he’d taken off happened with a dinghy that’d threatened to sink with eachwave that hit it. He’d had no beries to his name, no infamy and nothing but abarrel as his shelter when he’d been hit with a whirlpool that’d led him to hisfirst.

His swordsman, his off-the-record first mate, his Zoro.

He can’twait to have them all back.

The firsttime he’d done this, he’d set sail without a course or a compass - meanderingaimlessly with a strong conviction that the right people and the rightopportunities would find him if he didn’t find them.

Thistime, he sets sail with a clear path, marked on maps he’s had to learn to readwhile his navigator’s been – unavailable.

He setssail from the beginning of the Grand Line, working his way backwards. He stillwants to start from Goa - a part of him wants to go see Makino and Woop Slapand Dadan, but that part is far older than his body’s seventeen years, and thatpart has a message whispered with the dying breath of a man who is still verymuch alive. And Luffy intends to keep it that way this time around, which meanshe doesn’t need to deliver messages to anyone.

Nonetheless,the fact remains that he’d woken up in Sabaody and the rest of his crew isscattered in the first part of the Grand Line and the East Blue. And Luffywon’t accept anyone but his nakama as his crew, so that means he has tobacktrack a bit.

Thistime, he finds Brook first. He finds him like last time, in the FlorianTriangle; trapped in a cage death could have freed him from, living a life that isn’t a life anymore. He sails there in a small fishingboat, faring the Grand Line’s dangers in something that could hardly holdin water. But Luffy refuses to get a ship before he can sail under his Jolly Rogeragain, and he refuses to hang up his flag until he has his crew again.

Brook isstunned to see the young man jump to his ship, all grins and shouting about areunion. The kid looks like he’s hardly even sixteen, and Brook hasn’t metanother living human - not that he’s all that alive, either - for the pastfifty years or so. Meaning that there’s no way he could have ever met this kidwith a straw hat?

Except,there’s a tug in his heart, not that he has one, and a peculiar tinglerunning up his spine - it’s like the air around the boy is electrified. Had he hadskin, Brook was sure it would have been pricking up with gooseflesh. He followsthe tug in his heart out of curiosity, embracing the tingle and the weirdfamiliarity that rings with the boy’s words.

“Oi,Brook, it’s so good to see you again! Say, wanna join my crew?”

He’sheard those words before, in another life. And just like then, Brook smilesand laughs with more emotion than he has since he was standing with anothercaptain, all half a century ago. And, like last time, he says:

“I’d love to.”

And Luffyhas his first and his last back again.

It painsLuffy beyond measure that he has to leave Brook in the Florian Triangle, but hecan’t face Moriah as he is. He doesn’t have his entire crew back - yet - andhis teenage muscles aren’t strong enough nor is his skin as durable as itused to be. His haki needs work and his attacks need somerekindling and practice before they can be utilised. He can’t really take onGekko Moriah and his zombies just yet.

So heleaves, but he leaves with a promise to return with the crew Brook nowremembers as his. He promises to pass Brook’s love to Laboon, too, and themusician breaks into tears and song when Luffy envelops him in a bone-crackinghold of rubber arms that wrap around his skeletal frame multiple times.

He looksat the Rumbar Pirates’ ship as it gets smaller and smaller, and he sails fartherand farther until his nakama is but a dot in the horizon.

He sailsto Water Seven, where he finds Franky. He jumps on Franky’s shoulders without acare, out of the blue, and shouts his greetings with a blinding grin. AndFranky looks at the stranger on his shoulders just to realise that he isn’t astranger at all. He breaks down in tears, exclaiming his joy at seeing hiscaptain again, and Luffy just laughs and hugs his shipwright and laughs some more.

Then hehas Franky, and he will soon have a ship. He can’t wait for the Sunny to beready, however, because he’s on a bit of a schedule - somewhere in the EastBlue, one of his nakama is about to be executed and two others’ homes are aboutto be torn apart by pirates.

So heleaves, once again with the promise to return. (Franky does give him a boat,however; acting like he’s personally insulted Luffy has been sailing in agoddamn dinghy.)

He knowsRobin is in Alabasta, but it takes him some time to find her. She’s hiding inRainbase, trapped as Mr. Zero’s partner just as she had been when Luffy hadlast been in Alabasta. When Luffy reaches her, he waits until she’s aloneinstead of jumping her with smiles and laughs like he did with Franky. It makeshim sad to see her like this again - to see that she’s frozen her heart and pulledmasks on top of masks to hide her true self. This isn’t the Robin he’s comefor. This is Miss All Sunday.

Luffygives a total of not a single crap about that. He leaps down from the rooftophe’s been waiting on when the last of Crocodile’s men leave Robin be, and heapproaches his nakama with an inviting smile. He’s welcomed back with a handfisted around his neck and a hissed question.

“Whoare you and how did you find me?”

He grins,not at all bothered or hurt by the cold shoulder, and he tells her his name ashe meets her eyes. The hand disappears from his throat in a flurry of petals,and Robin gasps loudly as the memories rush in her eyes. The next morning,Crocodile’s been poisoned in his sleep and Vivi’s kingdom is saved. Robinleaves with Luffy.

They pickup Chopper in Drum, and head to Whiskey Peak, because that’s where Luffy knowshe’ll find one more nakama. He catches Vivi as she’s about to leave, havingheard the news of rain returning to her country. She grins when she remembersand thanks Luffy for the second time in two lifetimes, and she invites himand his crew for a feast when they’re all together again.

Luffygladly accepts and proceeds to clean every last pantry and plate in WhiskeyPeak of food before he gives the order to set sail again. The ship Franky gavehim somehow braves it through Reverse Mountain.

Luffy gives Laboon hismark, which now encompasses not only his promise, but Brook’s as well. Laboon wailswith joy when they leave, and Luffy grins all the way through Logue Town. He’sgetting close to having his family back again.

They beatup Arlong with no less ferocity than the last time, while Nami watches from thesidelines with a look of confusion and awe. It’s fitting, as Robin points out,that it was a different half of their crew that got to kick the ever-loving tarout of the fishmen terrorising Nami’s home the last time. This way, they all get their chance to punish the monsters hiding in Nami’s nightmares. It seems likejustice.

Nami hastears in her eyes when she faces the mysterious teenager who’d saved hervillage without any apparent reason. She starts crying openly, soft sobshitching in her throat when she realises who her saviours actually are. Luffy has his navigator back again.

(Genzo makes him promise to protectNami again, and he does. He’ll make sure not break that promise during their second round.)

There’sonly three left, and Luffy is overjoyed. They all are; equally eager to seizethe opportunity to start their journey anew.

They find Sanji on the Baratie. This time, they’re abit early, so there’s no fight with Mihawk and no Krieg - just a shared lookand a newly re-joined cook fawning over Robin and Nami’s incontestablesublimity, making endless apologies for ever forgetting them. They can make itback in time for Krieg’s men to arrive, Nami estimates; this time they havemore people and no days wasted on two idiots getting lost on their way toOrange Town.

Usopp meets them on the shore, like he did before. Heraises his slingshot and holds his little speech but, instead of intimidatingthe pirates like he’d hoped it would, all it does is bring stupid, happy grinson each of the Straw Hats’ faces. And like that, Usopp joins again. This timehe takes Kuro down himself well before the man’s plan is set in motion, justlike the brave warrior he is. Luffy is bursting with pride and glee.

One moreand they can go back.

Kaya rewards them with Merry and, while the reunion isa tad bittersweet, it’s exactly how Luffy had envisioned it to be. He’sbouncing all over the caravel while they sail to Shells Town, earning a coupleof kicks from Sanji and punches from Nami.

Thistime, he finds Zoro last, and just like with all the others it’s verydifferent and yet exactly the same. One look is all it takes - all it’s evertaken - to get Zoro to understand, to remember, and then he has them all back.And demolishing a marine base has never been as fun as it is with his crew backtogether.

WhenMorgan is defeated and Coby’s future with the Navy is ensured, the Pirate Kingof both the past and the future cocks his head far back and laughs, shouting adeclaration to the wind.

“We’reback!”

Theysmile with him and fill Ririka’s tavern with laughter and song. Luffy hugs themall, listens to Usopp’s boasting and Sanji and Zoro’s bickering, and eats untilhe’s bloated to the size of small bananawanis. He’s happier than he has beenfor quite some time. He has them all back.

Robinasks him how he’d been able to find them - how any of this is possible. Luffylowers his eyes, puts his hat on his head so it shadows the top half of hisface for a moment, and then looks up with the widest grin any of them have seenon his face since Raftel.

He thinksthe answer is obvious, even if he doesn’t really know it himself. “Becausenakama is forever,” he says instead, like it explains everything. “Iguess we didn’t get it right the last time, huh?”

And thatdoesn’t answer jack shit, but none of the Straw Hats particularly care. There’s a feastto be had, havoc to be wrought and all five seas to be conquered, after all.

Luffy woke up to quiet chatter. His body thrummed withaches and pains, and he could feel soft blankets covering his body as he lay inwhat Luffy knew was the infirmary cot. He could tell that his body was wrappedin bandages, and there was something sticky on his throat. His throat hurt alot, actually.

Unknowingly, Luffy furrowed his brow in annoyance,still halfway asleep. What happened? The last thing he remembered was fightingagainst a group of bounty hunters that were after his head, and then facing offwith their leader, but… his memory blanked.

Luffy wanted to know what happened, if everyone wasalright. Besides, he had no idea how much time had passed since he lostconsciousness, and he was really hungry. What if he’d missed a meal?

Sleep felt tempting and his eyelids heavy, but Luffyforcefully dragged himself from the dregs of unconsciousness and tore his eyesopen with sheer willpower. The infirmary was lit dimly with only a fewlanterns, and Luffy realised that it must have been the middle of the night. Heblinked slowly, fighting the urge just to give in to sleep, but he could feelsomeone’s eyes on him.

Luffy pushed himself up to lean on his elbows, a grinon his face. Zoro was sitting beside his bed, letting Chopper wrap up some cuton his shoulder, and the swordsman’s sole eye met with Luffy’s.

“Morning, Captain,” he said, nodding to Luffy. “Goodto see you awake.”

Chopper had already spun on his heels and jumped onLuffy’s bed. Luffy grinned and opened his mouth to greet his friend, butChopper slapped one of his hooves on his mouth before as much as a peep cameout. “Don’t talk, Luffy,” Chopper ordered, “Your throat was injured in theattack, there’s a lot of bruising.”

Bruising? But rubber men didn’t bruise, not unless it was -

“Sea stone,” Zoro confirmed. “One of those bastardshad a whip laced with the stuff. Do you remember?”

Luffy shook his head. No. Chopper gave him astern look, and then let go of his mouth, and Luffy kept quiet. He lifted onehand to his throat, feeling the sticky slime that coated his irritated skin. Heraised his hand, now covered with the goo, and stared at it - it was green andhad a weird texture to it, and it didn’t taste good at all. He cast hiseyes up from his hand to look at Chopper inquisitively. What is this stuff?

Chopper seemed to understand. “It’s a salve to get theswelling down,” he explained, handing Luffy a tissue so he could wipe the salveoff his fingers. “It’s going to take a day at most to take effect, though, anduntil that I need you to keep quiet. Can you do that for me?”

Luffy opened his mouth with a grin - yes! -before he remembered what it was he was promising in the first place. He closed his mouthslowly, his face twisting in a puzzled frown. How was he supposed to talkwithout talking?

Zoro had left by then with the excuse of letting therest of the crew know their captain was awake and okay. Chopper put some moresalve on Luffy’s skin to cover the area Luffy had swiped clean with his fingersbefore, and Luffy let him work in silence. He kept thinking of something to sayand opening his mouth to speak, but Chopper seemed to be able to read his mindall of a sudden because he kept sending looks Luffy’s way every time he as muchas thought of speaking!

Chopper finished making sure Luffy was as healthy ashe could be, and he reminded Luffy to stay silent once more before he turned tohis desk to mix some more of the green goo.

Luffy frowned. He hadn’t been awake for even a fullten minutes, and this whole silence thing was already getting really boring.His throat didn’t even feel that bad, and he was allowed to ask for food,wasn’t he? He was starving.

“SAANJ-“ Luffy attempted to call out. It was a badidea. Barely any noise came out and there was a sharp pain in the back of hismouth that made him slap both his hands on his throat. “Ow,” Luffy whined,unhappy.

Chopper turned back with a look of resigneddisappointment. “I told you to keep quiet, Luffy! Good thing I prepared a lotof that salve beforehand.”

Luffy grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his headand getting the green paste all over himself in the process. It was then thathe noticed that something was missing. Urgency flashed in his features and Luffywaved his hand in attempt to get Chopper’s attention, but the doctor was busiedwith crushing some leaves in a mortar.

Luffy searched the infirmary with his eyes, and soongot up when he came up empty. Chopper voiced his protests only to be promptlyignored. Luffy gestured to his head and then to the room. Hat! Is it safe?

Chopper didn’t understand him, and his furry browsfurrowed in confusion. “What do you mean, Luffy? Does your head hurt?!”

Luffy kept pointing to his head, refusing to sit downand let Chopper examine his head. He tried to say what he meant, but all hegained was a weak croak and another pang of pain in his throat. This wholesilence thing was really getting difficult.

The door to the infirmary opened, and a disembodiedarm pressed something on Luffy’s head. Luffy pulled his hat on his head, hisearlier worry dispersing just from the comforting feel of woven straw againsthis head. He grinned his thanks to Robin and flashed Chopper a thumbs up - I’mokay!

The rest of his nakama filed inside the smallinfirmary, all of them beaten up to some extent. It must have been way pastmidnight, and yet none of them were asleep, worried for their friend as theywere. Luffy cracked another smile at the thought, a delighted snicker rumblingin his chest.

Chopper grinned back with relief plastered on hisface. “Oh, you just wanted your hat. I thought I missed an injury orsomething!”

“I’m impressed,” Nami said from where she was sittingon one of the cots. “You’re actually quiet. What did you say to shut him up,Chopper?”

“Just that he needs to stay silent for now,” Chopperreplied. “His voice box needs to heal for a bit before he can talk.”

“That must be hard for you,” Robin saidcompassionately. Luffy sat back on his bed, crossed his arms and nodded, thebeginnings of a grade A pout on his face.

“I guess we’ll just need to do the talking for you!”Usopp declared, eager to light the mood, “I know a bunch of cool stories tocheer you up!”

“Yeah, Luffy-bro, I can tell you about my newinvention!” They heard Franky yell outside. He couldn’t quite fit in theinfirmary when it was already so full, so he’d agreed to steer the Sunny in themeantime. The soothing lilt of Brook’s violin carried from the deck as well,and Luffy felt himself relax just from hearing the familiar melody of Bink’ssake.

Sanji handed him a cup of hot tea and Nami gave him ablanket to wrap around his shoulders. Zoro sat at the foot of his bed, cleaningWadou, and Chopper and Usopp crawled into Luffy’s bed until Luffy wassandwiched in between them. Sanji left with the promise to return with more teaand some snacks, and Usopp began regaling his ailing captain and their friendswith a tale of how the Great Captain Usopp had once taken down an island fullof mutated turtles.

Luffy took a sip of his tea, enjoying the way itswarmth dulled the ache in his throat, and held Chopper when the little reindeergot too caught up with Usopp’s stories.

He only forgot about not speaking a couple of times,caught up in the moment. Each time, Nami would chide him, Sanji would remindhim he couldn’t eat something as hard as meat until his throat was healed, sohe’d better stay quiet, and Chopper would patiently check the coating of salveon his neck.

After Nami got fed up with Usopp’s lies, the othersstarted talking. They told Luffy about the bounty hunters and how they’d foughtthem off after Luffy had been attacked, and how Robin had heard about a largenest of Sea Kings near the next island. They told scary stories, happy stories,sad stories - telling each other about things that were usually left unsaid.

Luffy kept listening and drinking his way through twopots of tea, the grin on his face ever-present like it was glued to his lips.Being unable to speak didn’t feel like such a big deal anymore now that hewasn’t alone in his silence.

This continued until the sun was about to set andLuffy’s head lolled on Usopp’s shoulder, fast asleep. His loud snores werenearly in sync with Usopp’s, and Chopper was curled in a ball in both theirlaps. There were trays of tea cups and empty plates scattered here and there,and the lanterns’ light was about to die, replaced with the budding sun’s rays.

Nami and Robin were resting in the other bed and Sanjiwas sitting in the chair beside Luffy’s bed, an unlit cigarette held looselybetween his lips as he slept lightly. Zoro had left at some point of the nightto take the later watch, and Brook was now keeping a vigilant eye - not that hehad eyes - on his slumbering crew while Franky slept right outside theinfirmary.

Luffy jerked awake as the ship lurched slightly afterhitting some strong waves, and before he fell back asleep, he noticed Brook inthe corner. He waved a sleepy hello to his musician before his eyes fell on therest of his snoring crew.

“You should go back to sleep, Captain,” Brook saidsoftly. “We’ll be docking in by noon, and you need your rest.”

Luffy’s eyes fluttered shut long before Brook hadfinished his sentence, the corners of his lips still curved upwards in apeaceful smile. Right before his world faded to the warm, comfortable buzzsleep brought with it, Luffy could hear the first notes of a soft song comingfrom Brook’s violin.

Um, you mean one of those Character x Reader kinda fics? Like where that other person’s name is just S/O, like “Luffy shook S/O’s hand” etc etc?

Yeah, I am not a fan of those fics, so I choose not to write them. Nothing wrong with people writing and reading them, they’re just not my cup of tea. Thank you for asking, I totally forgot to mention that, but it will be added to the faq.

It was a disaster.

That’s all Sanji will ever say on the matter, shouldanyone be stupid enough to ask him about it. A complete and utter disaster evenon the Straw Hats’ scale (and with the level of bullshit they’ve gotten used toexpecting from their reckless captain, that’s saying something).

“Oi, crap cook,” Zoro says as he steps into thegalley. “Where is he?”

No names are needed for Sanji to know who Zoro istalking about, and he sighs wearily. It’s not even noon yet and he alreadyfeels like he’s been awake for two weeks straight. “He was outside the last Isaw him.”

Zoro mutters a curse as he leaves, but Sanji decidesto read it as a caveman’s thank you and sets back to preparing lunch. He onlyhas the time to take out a cutting board and a knife when he hears a loud crashand someone laughing maniacally.

He takes out the carrots next. Nothing to see here.

Not a minute later a small explosion reverberatesthrough the Going Merry. Sanji hears Usopp shout something that sounds an awfullot like a threat to their captain’s health should he not proceed to promptlysit his ass down and stay put for two damn seconds.

Sanji stops, takes a deep breath, and gets back tocutting the carrots into neat, evenly measured slices. Cut, slice, cut. Cut, slice, cut. Rinseand repeat.

There’s a loud splash outside. Sanji grinds his teethas he hears Zoro jump in after their wayward captain for the eight time thatday. Maybe they should start keeping sea stone around just in case it mightput a dent into Luffy’s energy. Realistically speaking, Sanji doubts even seastone would stop Luffy as he is now, but it’s worth a shot.

Focus. Cut, slice, cut.Cut, slice, what the -

Sanji’s hand almost slips when Luffy comes flying intothe galley. Literally. He lands roughly against the far wall, hard enough to leave a small depression in the wood, and still Luffy bouncesback up as if he never felt or noticed the impact. Probably didn’t, Sanji musesabsently as he sets down the kitchen knife. He wouldn’t want to accidentallypoke a hole into his captain, no matter how much he likes to entertain thethought.

Damn Usopp and Chopper and… Sanji cuts that train ofthought short, for all that Robin was with Luffy when they’d visited the lastisland, it surely hadn’t been her fault that the rubber idiot haddecided to devour an entire cotton candy stand with the other two knuckleheads.

An eating contest, Usopp had explained once they’d returned to the Merrywith their even-more-annoying-than-usual captain who was busy jumpingaround at the speed of light.

Just for fun, Chopper had tried to feebly argue, his fur mattedwith caked sugar and some frosting. It probably had been fun at first, Sanjiwill admit that much, but there’s a reason he never lets Luffy eat dessert atthe same pace he devours meat. A very good reason.

Luffy’s the last one laughing, as he has a habit of doing. He’s jumping up anddown in his place, singing some tuneless mockery of a song that would hurtSanji’s ears if he wasn’t so keen on ignoring the teen. Luffy ignores him atfirst as well; too caught up with some crack in the wall and the rest of his song.

His eyes all but bulge out of his head when he finally noticesthat Sanji is in the kitchen, because Sanji in the kitchen means that there areno locks on the fridge. Sanji swears he sees meat flashing in his captain’seyes, and he only has a split second to raise his foot and aim a kick toLuffy’s head when Luffy pounces.

Luffy clambers to his feet, left completely unfazed bythe attack that could have caved in any normal human’s skull. He’s all butbuzzing with energy and Sanji will be damned if he gives Luffy any more fuel.

“Get out, I’m not giving you anything until lunch,” hesays harshly. Luffy deflates, but his eyes never leave the meat Sanji hasmarinating on the counter. He latches onto Sanji’s side like an overly-energetic leech.

“Sanji, meat!” Luffy caws, and Sanji decides that he’dtake a leech over a hyperactive Luffy any day. At least leeches are a loteasier to get rid of. Then again, when is Luffy not hyperactive and annoying asall hell?

Memories of the days after Crocodile’s defeat come tomind, for one, and Sanji suddenly comes to the conclusion that he kind ofprefers this overly energetic version of his captain over the feverish andpained one. It’s the little things.

Luffy mouths something incomprehensible into Sanji’ssuit, but Sanji doesn’t need to hear the sound to understand the words. “Cut itout, shitty captain!” he snaps, tapping the heel of his shoe against theMerry’s wooden floorboards. “And let go of me already.”

Luffy slumps to the floor with a sense of melodramathat would make Robin proud, but he doesn’t stay still for long. He jumps uphigh enough that the crown of his hat brushes against the galley’s ceiling, andhe doesn’t stop.

If Sanji had thought that his captain’s incessant - andloud - chattering grated his nerves on a normal day, it’s just about athousand times worse now that Luffy’s all hopped up on sugar.

“ThatlookscoolSanjiwhatareyoumakingcanIhelpcanItasteitcanIeatitalreadywhenareweeatingohwhat’sthatthatlooksshiny…”

Sanji tries to tune it out and fails miserably. Hethrows Luffy a carrot just to shut him up for at least a second, but the rubberman swallows it in one bite.

Usopp opens the door to the galley and retreats thesecond he sees Luffy’s inside. The door closes and the sniper’s message iswordless but crystal clear; Sanji’s off the bench and back on Luffy-patrol.

Well, he’s been hiding in the kitchen all day, so he supposes that it’s onlyfair. Doesn’t mean he likes it one bit.

“If I let you help, will you sit still and do what Itell you?” Sanji asks. He takes a cigarette from his pocket and puts it inbetween his teeth, but he doesn’t light it. The smoke might ruin the taste ofthe fair ladies’ meals, after all.

Luffy nods excitedly but there’s a blank look in his eyes that tells Sanji he hasn’t really heard a single word. Sanjihadn’t really expected him to, either, so he just passes the teen some carrotsand hopes for the best. He doesn’t give Luffy a knife. He isn’t stupid.

Luffy tries to karate chop his carrots into bite-sizedslices and winds up eating them all instead. Sanji is contemplating whether ornot locking Luffy into the pantry would be worth losing all the food he’sstocked there.

He ducks under a carrot Luffy has decided to brandishas a sword - “three carrots style! oni giri!” - and leans roughly on thecounter. It’s not even noon yet and he already needs about three packs ofcigarettes and something for a headache.

Later that day finds Sanji resting on the deck. Allthe meals have been cooked, his crew is fed and the kitchen is spotless. He’sdone for the day and, by all logic, he should be relaxing or maybe serving lateafternoon tea to Robin and Nami.

He’s not. Instead, Sanji is drying himself off aftersaving Luffy from drowning for the umpteenth time that day. He didn’t even geta thank you for his efforts. Then again, it’s possible that Luffy did thankhim; it’s hard to tell actually meaningful words apart from the questions andstories that seem to flow ceaselessly out of Luffy’s mouth. Sanji’s pretty sure he saw Nami wearing earplugs earlier.

“There’s an island in the horizon!” Usopp calls outout of the blue, and all hell breaks loose because Luffy hears him. He’s onUsopp in flash of blue and red, yelling into the sniper’s ear about islands andadventure and whenwhenwhen.

He doesn’t wait, of course, but that surprises no one.As soon as they’re close enough to the island, Luffy stretches his arms backand then he’s airborne and flying toward dry ground with a shout of gomu gomuno rocket. Sanji only narrowly manages to lunge away from Luffy to avoidbeing dragged along for the ride.

The Straw Hats are all on deck in no time, their eyesfollowing the steady path of destruction Luffy leaves in his wake.

“How much longer is he going to be like this?” Namigroans and pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation. Sanji makes a mentalnote to kick Luffy over the head - again - for vexing his beloved Nami so needlessly.

Chopper scrunches his nose in concentration. “It’shard to say when it comes to Luffy because he metabolises everything sodifferently in comparison to regular humans. I only ever need to give him halfa dose of all medicines, too, because his tolerance for them is so low and hisbody allows him to use everything he’s given to its fullest potential.”

Sanji doesn’t like the sound of that, and Usopp stealsthe words right out of his mouth when he voices what they’re all dreading. “Soit’s… it’s not the same when it comes to sugar, is it?”

They hear a crash and the screeches of some wild animalcoming from the island, and the formidable pirates fear for the worst. Zorofingers Wadou’s hilt in deep thought. Like every obstacle, he takes this as achallenge; a training exercise.

Chopper clears his throat nervously. “I don’t know. Itcould be.”

“How long can we expect for him to remain so energeticthen, Doctor? If you were to make an estimate,” Robin says with a smile. She’sthe only one who can still find the entire thing somewhat amusing. “What’s theworst case scenario?”

“Twenty-four hours,” Chopper says, the tone of hisvoice grave and despondent like he’s announcing someone’s nearing death.

A tree is spontaneously uprooted and flung into thesea, and the waves carry Luffy’s laughter all the way to the Merry. Acollective sigh of deep resignation ripples through the Straw Hats.

“Well, we should probably go after him before hetraumatises the local ladies,” Sanji says. He lights his cigarette and puts hishands in his pockets. “That shitty captain never gives us a day off, huh?”

Ahh thank you, I had so much fun writing this!

Luffy jumps over two fallen trees effortlessly, a hand on his hat and a grin on his face.

They’d managed to dock just in time to take shelter from a huge storm, business as usual on the Grand Line. Nekomamushi had told them that he’d heard of a small crew camping on the uncharted island they were now on, which in itself was nothing noteworthy. The blue flames the mink had also heard about, however, could only mean one thing.

This island is where they would find him. Marco the Phoenix.

Luffy doesn’t remember much about the man, and he prefers not to think about the day they met. Even if he tries, all he can recall from the War is seeing blue flames and feeling the man’s impressive strength. The rest is… Fuzzy.

In any case, Marco is a part of Ace’s crew, and they need his help to take down Kaido, so Luffy decided to brave the storm. It’s an adventure, he’d told his crew, amused by their outrage; it will be fun. And no matter how loudly his crew grumbled and griped, a captain’s word is law, so no one had really objected the order. They are all too well aware of the gravity of the situation.

So now Luffy’s running to the other side of the island; swinging himself from tree to tree and bouncing over boulders.

He hears a roaring thunderclap a split second before lightning forks above him and the sky appears to split open. Raindrops as big as Luffy’s fist begin to pelt the ground mercilessly, and the pirate captain’s laugh carries far with the whistling wind.

There’s a steep rock wall in front of him, blocking the way. The wall is moulded by elements, left rugged and worn. Perfect for climbing, Luffy thinks. He stretches his arms and takes a firm grip on two rocks, ready to fling himself up.

Luffy makes sure all of his friends are still keeping up with his pace - which, admittedly is a feat in itself - before he launches himself into the air. He lands on the ledge, briefly flailing for balance when the slippery gravel gives under his sandaled feet. He quickly jumps back on firmer ground.

Luffy shields his eyes with his hand and smiles at the storm clouds that dominate the dark sky. He’s getting close. He can feel it.

The others are still at the foot of the steep hill, preparing to climb. He can hear Usopp moaning about how unfair it was that some of them could just rocket themselves up, and Luffy lets out a little snicker at that. He’s almost tempted to jump back down to offer his sniper a ride, but he knows how that would turn out - “Are you nuts? I’ll climb!” - and Luffy doesn’t really feel like waiting, either. He doesn’t hesitate when he takes off running to the other side of the island.

After he’s ran for a while and his crew has only just reached the top of the hill, Luffy gets bored. The island is big and the storm hadn’t given them the luxury of docking close to their destination, instead forcing them to leave the Sunny to the first cove they’d come across lest the storm would damage their precious ship. There’s a long way to go before they reach the remainders of the Whitebeard Pirates.

None of that bothers Luffy. He slows down to a more leisure pace, giving his friends a chance to catch up. Raindrops gather on the brim on his hat, dribbling down on his nose, and Luffy takes his hat off his head to brush the water off his treasure.

But before he realises what’s happened, a strong gust of wind catches on the straw hat and tears it from Luffy’s hand.

“Hat!” Luffy cries in surprise, and he takes of running without thinking. The wind toys with his hat; spinning and twisting it in the air, and all Luffy can do is follow it. The wind blows the hat toward a ravine deep enough to make it seem bottomless, and Luffy runs faster against the pouring rain. He throws his hand forward and manages to grab his hat just in the nick of time.

Luffy cheers triumphantly, spinning around to see if his crew had seen him rescue his hat. In his hurry, he takes one step too many and suddenly the ground disappears from under his feet. Luffy yelps as he falls.

His crew shouts his name as he falls down to the ravine, some in exasperation and some in poorly hidden worry. He’s not too far from the ledge to get back up - he falls off the Sunny often enough to have the motion come to him like a reflex - and Luffy only grins at the danger. He’s just about to stretch his hand to get back onto the ledge when he’s enveloped in azure flames.

Luffy stiffens for a moment before his brain makes the connection, but he gets over his surprised stupor in no time. He was falling just a second ago, and somehow he’s now sitting on what looks like a giant bird’s back. The pouring rain sizzles as it hits the bird’s wings and the heat turns the rainwater into steam. And yet the flames are cool and welcoming against Luffy’s skin.

He might not remember much about his last meeting with Marco, but he still recognises him instantly. There aren’t that many phoenixes even in the New World, after all.

The phoenix is looking at Luffy with one eye, and the teen thinks that it looks amused. He grins from ear to ear and puts his hat firmly back on his head.

“Pineapple guy!” he beams. The phoenix blinks in acknowledgement. “It sure is great to see you, we’ve been looking for you! Thanks for saving me!”

He waits for an answer for a while, but none comes, and Luffy absently realises that Marco probably can’t speak in his mythical zoan form. “Oh. You can’t talk bird?” he muses, and even though he can barely even hear his own voice in the eye of the storm, he thinks he sees the phoenix roll its eyes.

“That’s fine, we can talk when we land,” he says, and he laughs with delight as the phoenix screeches in agreement. They get out of the ravine and keep going. Luffy throws his hands in the air and lets out a loud cheer.

“Higher!” he prompts, and Marco obliges him. The phoenix soars higher and higher, unconcerned and unbothered by the raging storm. Luffy waves at his crew.

The rest of the Straw Hats seem completely unfazed by the fact that their captain fell down to a ravine and has now returned unscathed on the back of a phoenix. Nami is shaking her head in disbelief and Usopp is marvelling the sight with Chopper. Luffy hears a ‘suuuper’.

They land in front of his crew, and Luffy jumps to the ground. “I found him, everyone!” he chirps and smiles widely, pointing to Marco.

Nami opens her mouth to say something, but then there’s a flash of soft blue light and the sound of crackling flames as the phoenix disappears and Marco appears. Nami promptly forgets what she was about to say.

Marco looks just like the pictures Luffy has been shown, save for the dark rings under his eyes. He gives the Straw Hats a lazy wave and an even lazier grin, but the look in his eyes is sharp and focused. “Jumping down into a ravine, Luffy?” he starts with a hint of humour. “I wouldn’t expect any less from Ace’s brother, yoi.”

“Well, the wind took my hat so I had to go get it,” Luffy reasons, like it’s obvious. “I would have been fine, but flying was really cool! Can we do it again later?”

Marco shakes his head and chuckles. “Perhaps. We have a lot to discuss.”

“Shishishi, fine, fine,” Luffy laughs. He takes on a more serious expression and looks at Marco. “I’m glad you’re okay. After all that happened and you going into hiding, I wasn’t sure.”

Marco’s smile falls by a fraction. “We’re fine. But I appreciate your concern.”

“Where’s the rest of your crew?”

“Down the hill, on the other side,” Marco replies, “I agreed to guide you to them.”

“Good,” Luffy says. “By the way, you’re going to help us kick Kaido’s ass, right?” he asks, eloquent as ever.

Marco only laughs in good humour. “Wouldn’t miss it, yoi. Can’t let myself get rusty, right?”

“Right!” Luffy snickers as he shakes Marco’s hand, cementing their alliance.

The rain’s starting to ease up as they get back on track toward Marco’s camp, and it’s down to a slow drizzle by the time they reach the base of the hill. Luffy walks beside Marco with his hands behind his head, full of enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to meet Ace’s crew,” he says with a grin. “I want to hear everything!”

Marco smiles as well. “From what I gather, you’ve had quite the exciting journey here, too. I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell.”

“Yeah,” Luffy says proudly. They walk in silence for a short while until Luffy hums in thought. He looks up at Marco, waiting until the other turns to meet his gaze. “Hey, Pineapple? Will everyone be at the camp?”

“The other commanders are here with me, yes; along with some others. Why is that important, yoi?”

Luffy’s smile softens. “I have a message for you. From Ace.”

If Marco is taken aback by the news he hides it well, although the next step he takes is more unsteady than the last. He sounds almost wistful as he speaks. “Alright. We’d better hurry back, then.”

Luffy just grins. Later, when he recounts his brother’s last words to what remains of Ace’s crew, he grins again, knowing he’s fulfilled Ace’s last wish.

I’m starting this blog after being inspired by the thing of beauty that is @imaginemarcothephoenix. My blog will mostly work on the same principle as theirs, meaning that this isn’t an askblog. Instead, you can send me prompts that include Luffy, and I will do my best to fill them with fics and the occasional drawing.

Please keep the following prompting guidelines in mind when you send in an ask:

Try to start your prompt with the words “Imagine Luffy.” (For example imagine Luffy dieting or imagine Luffy talking to his father.)

The prompt can be anything you’d like; AU or canonverse, present of future, shipping or nakamaship/gen.

I will not fill prompts that contain OCs, crossovers, smut, graphic depictions of rape/non-con or offensive themes.

Filling a prompt might take some time, so please be patient!