One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ The Death of Luffy ❯ The Death of Luffy ( Chapter 1 )

The Death of Luffy

Nami shuddered, and reached out blindly in the dark. Sitting up, she gasped, breathing heavily through her cold sweat and trembling before she realized that she didn't remember what was wrong. Swallowing, she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths before she surmised that it had only been a dream that she couldn't recall upon awakening. She patted her nightstand in the dark, searching before she found a match to light the candle sitting there, and rose with it to walk out into the hallway.

Pausing at Luffy's room, she almost knocked on the door before she shook her head, and kept walking. As she had half-suspected, she found Luffy in the kitchen, trying to pick the lock with some of Usopp's tools and any other small miscellaneous items that he got his hands on. When she sat at the table to watch him, he smiled at her, and then went back to work.

“Hungry?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You?”

“No, I just can't sleep.” He looked at her again as if she would explain herself, and she played with the hem of her nightgown, pursing her lips. His eyes drifted down to where her hand was, but then back up to her face once more - quickly and with a twinkle in his eye as if he had finally unlocked Sanji's fridge. She smiled lightly at that, and said, “I think I had a bad dream.”

Luffy seemed to consider which he should deal with first - his quest or his girlfriend - before he apparently thought the quest was the lost cause of the night, and he went to sit across from her, “About what?”

Nami took the time to think, hoping she might remember something to tell him, but said, “I don't remember.”

Scratching his nose, he said, “So why can't you sleep?”

She mulled over his question, tipping her candlestick and letting some wax drip before she said, “What if I remember it?”

“I can come sleep with you,” he said, and she fought a deep blush.

“Well,” she said, “I was hoping that we could just talk about it …” No, that's dumb. What's there to talk about when I don't even remember it?

Tilting his head to the side, Luffy inspected her before he grinned, and got up to walk onto and then over the table to sit beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Nami relaxed, closing her eyes with a sigh, and he said, his breath moving her hair, “I had a dream about you once. I don't know if it was bad or not though … but it was a nice thought.”

“How would it be a nice thought if it's a nightmare?”

She looked up at him, and he blinked before he shrugged. Luffy said when she didn't look away, curious about how he had chosen to say it, “We were on a beach … The water started rising, and then it swallowed us, and knocked you out.” Nami laid her head back against his chest, craning her head to watch his face as he spoke, “So I picked you up, and tried to push you to the surface, but all I could do was stand in the water, holding you up.” He stopped there for a while, staring ahead as if he could still see it, and she saw the dream of him in his eyes, lifting her up at the bottom of some dark, strange sea, “And I thought that you had to live, no matter what.”

“That's kind of sweet,” she said, and he grinned widely.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Nami said.

Bending down at an odd angle, he kissed her firmly, and she smiled at the chaste touch, loving the smooth sensation. She shifted to sit in his lap, beaming as he fastened her into his arms. After a moment, she touched his chest, hearing his heart beating through it, and lifted her eyes to his, but Luffy wasn't looking at her any longer, his eyes closed with a smile.

“Luffy?” He murmured a questioning sound, and she said, “Did you want to come to my room?”

His eyes shot open, and he gaped at her before he nodded rapidly as if she might take it all away and refuse his entrance. He said, “Sure, sure.” Waving a hand, he almost shouted out, “If you need me to, I mean.”

Feeling a smile take over her face, she nodded, kissing his cheek, and then stood to grasp his hand. His eyes focused on her intently, their palms sweating as she gently tugged him to the exit. They left the kitchen behind in a quiet hush, Usopp's pack of tools still beside Sanji's locked fridge as Luffy shut the door, and he followed Nami down the hallway. She squeezed his hand, and Nami began to giggle nervously, realizing that she wouldn't mind if - and it was only an `if' because he was so unpredictable in everything that he did - he touched her just a little bit. Almost quickening her steps in excitement, she was just barely held back by his hand tightly clasping hers.

Luffy grinned, and she laughed, tipping his hat so that it fell to rest against his back. His smile appeared nearly roguish with the hat gone, and she swallowed nothing hard, a blush creeping onto her cheeks while he continued to advance slowly. She felt his coarse, rubbery thumb knead her palm, smoothing down to her wrist before it came back up again, and then back down all in a slow, long oval. Something caught in her throat, and she bubbled with a giggle, almost dancing down the hallway to get him to join her faster.

His grip tightened, and he said with a chuckle, “What are you doing? We're just going to sleep.”

“A girl can tease,” she said, smiling when his cheeks also darkened. He began to walk with a lighter gait as well, and when they reached her door, he was the one that leaned past her to grab the door handle. Trapped between Luffy and the door, her lips were abruptly put on demand, causing her to melt back against the door before he gradually pushed it open.

When the door shut behind them, Nami felt as if all of her bravado had been left in the hall, and she clutched at his hands.

He only kissed her forehead though, and said, “Okay, let's sleep.” She smiled, watery and quavering, and she nodded, pulling him to the bed as he allowed her. Nami lied down first before she released him, scooting to the edge of the bed nearest the wall to give him room on the mattress. He said after he settled himself inside, “A little tight in here, huh?”

Blushing at the connotation, she just leaned toward him, and rested her head on his shoulder, “Then we'll sleep closer so you don't fall off.”

Nodding, he rolled to face her more, and she inched closer while he wrapped his arms around her loosely. After a moment, the two laughed nervously. “This is nice,” he said then, and she smiled. His head tenderly butted hers, and Nami giggled while he said, “Why didn't we do this sooner? We should have sleepovers more often.” Grinning widely, he elaborated when she continued to laugh, “We could make s'mores before we come in, or maybe have a midnight snack.”

“Courtesy of Sanji's locked fridge?”

“Yeah,” he said with a huge nod. “Do you know where he keeps the key?”

“I wouldn't tell you even if I knew, Luffy.”

He sighed forlornly, and said, “It was worth a shot.”

When it was just their smiles on their faces, and the mirth of the moment had died, they settled in cozily at last. Luffy reached over to put out the light of the candle, and pulled up the bed sheets. Nami closed her eyes, and didn't dream.

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“Luffy!”

Luffy's eyes jolted open, and he sat up with a gasp when he heard someone running down the hall. The footsteps passed Nami's door, and he heard someone bang on his door at the end of the hall.

“You shit for brains! You were trying to unlock my fridge again!” The door was opened, and there was a short, confused silence before he heard Sanji say, “Luffy? Oi, Luffy!”

Rubbing her eyes, Nami groaned, and sat up, “What's all the noise?” She blinked sleepily at him before she flushed brightly, and then eased over him to go to the door, peeking out.

“Nami-swan! Have you seen Luffy?”

“No, Sanji-kun,” she said sweetly, giving a little wave to him.

Hearing Usopp next, Luffy glanced around the room when Nami made a shooing motion to him - a bright smile on her lips. “He was using my tools too! He left them all out on the kitchen floor. Oi, Zolo, wake up! Did you see Luffy around last night?”

Grasping the windowpane, he slid it open, and managed to grasp Sunny's railing, pulling himself onto the deck. Zolo's answer was muffled sounding when Luffy was abruptly caught in the act of escaping Nami's room in the morning, “I ain't seen nothing. Now lemme sleep until breakfast. It's way too early for anyone to be awake.”

“Good morning, captain,” Robin said with a small smile, eyeing the place from which Luffy had come onto the deck. “Isn't it a little early in the morning for you to be in trouble already?”

“Ah,” he said, “well, you see …”

“There you are!” Luffy jumped at the sight of Sanji stomping up the stairs to where he and Robin were. “How many times do I have to tell you? You're going to ruin my wonderful lock that's keeping all of us fed!”

Puckering his lips, Luffy said, “It's not keeping me fed. You should keep it unlocked.”

“That lock is to keep you out,” he said. “It's to save all of us from starvation before you shove our rations down your gullet.”

Glancing at Robin, he wondered if she would say anything to the cook about the window he had popped out from, but she seemed content just to watch them bicker, and she sipped her coffee. He said then, “I'm the one that's starving all the time.”

“So cook your own food. You catch it already. Why don't you try to cook it yourself for a change?” Sanji said, looking for his cigarettes.

“Last time I did that, I accidentally used gunpowder to season the fish, and set half the kitchen on fire.”

Sanji gaped, his cigarette falling from his wide-open mouth, while Usopp ran up, and pointed his finger at him, “So that's what happened to my gunpowder!”

“You're the reason Merry had those scorch marks in the kitchen?” Zolo asked as he wandered up with a loud yawn, and he sat next to Robin, staring blearily at the coffee mug that her bloomed hands procured for him. After a moment of some indecision, he grunted, and took the cup to drink it with a grimace.

“Shitty captain! Don't touch my cooking utensils!” Sanji kicked Luffy in the face, sending him headfirst into the railing. He picked up his cigarette from the deck to attempt lighting it again, glaring at Luffy as it flared to smoky life. With a long drawn out sigh of smoke, he then shrugged, walking down the stairs, “Luffy's not allowed to touch my stuff. Kill him if he's anywhere near `em.” The sea cook abruptly jerked into a dancing pose, and shouted, “Mellorine! Nami-san! You look marvelous this beautiful morning. If the sun could weep, I'd be burned alive with its tears of jealousy over you!”

Grinning, Luffy sat up, “Morning, Nami!”

As the others - sans Robin who only smiled brighter - blinked at him actually greeting her for a change, she said, “Good morning, Luffy, Sanji-kun.”

Using their confusion as an opportunity to escape, he bolted past Sanji and Usopp with an enormous grin. However, his getaway was thwarted when Nami grabbed his forearm, and then kissed him. When she released his arm, Luffy missed a step, and fell down the stairs, crashing into Franky's legs.

“Ah … I'm going to make s'mores!” He grinned at her suddenly pink cheeks, and then darted down below, laughing when he heard Sanji run down after him.

“Oi! Don't touch my cookware, shitty captain!”

He also heard rain and thunder, and the two skidded to a halt just as they reached the door of the kitchen, turning back down the hall at a dead run. They glanced at each other, and Luffy had the sudden idea that they had just entrusted one another with something precious in that sole look, but then the thought was gone. Covering his eyes from the blinding rain when they exited, he blinked at the sight of the clouds overhead before he looked to his navigator.

“Luffy! Sanji-kun! Pull up the sails!” Nami pointed down at the side of the ship when they ran to climb the masts and ropes. “Franky! Chopper! Zolo! Prepare Channel 0!”

He had just secured the aft sail, and was climbing down the mizzenmast when he heard her shout. Looking down, he grunted as he watched a wave sweep onto the deck. It crashed over her and Robin, engulfing the two women in its wake, and he leapt down only to relax when he realized that Robin had grasped onto Nami with multiple hands to secure her while also gripping the railing. Realizing that Sanji was having trouble with the square-rigged sail, he stretched his arms up to grab the gaff, and pulled himself up, grinning at him when the winds assailed and jostled their precarious location.

They had just tied up the course sail when Franky and the others had Channel 0s prepared. Balancing more securely on the gaff, he watched as the oars dropped into the turbulent waters. Nami pointed toward port, and shouted over the winds and waves, “Watch out for the rocks on the port side! Head toward the starboard bow!”

Zolo looked up, “What!?”

“Turn starboard bo-” A wave crashed over the railing and onto the women in the center of the boat again, and Robin's grip was broken. Thus, when the wave swept back into the ocean, it carried Nami along.

“Nami!” Robin sprouted several hands in an attempt to catch the navigator, but the rough water forced her from her hands, and she fell over to port and toward the rocks.

Luffy pushed himself to his feet, running down the spar, and dove into the ocean without a thought. Stretching his arms out before he hit the water, he seized her form, snapping her body to his before rolling into the waves. As he sank backwards into the water, he tried to extend his other arm to the ship, but his strength dwindled quickly in the frothing sea. Squinting through the waters, he could do little else but clutch to her, and hold his breath.

Inspecting Nami, he grunted when he saw that she was trying to hold in air, bubbles already flying from her lips either due to his treatment or due to the sea's. A glance to his back revealed that - though he had saved her from initially crashing into the rocks instead of himself - the two were still rapidly advancing toward the craggy reef.

With what strength he had left, Luffy pinched Nami's nose shut, and closed his mouth over hers to force air into her lungs. When she realized what he was doing, she struggled in his abruptly unbreakable hold, and her eyes widened in terror. He blew again, using up what reserves he had in his lungs before he shoved her away from himself, letting her form become taken by a current that made her spiral away from the rocks, and he saw a large man dive in near to where she was heading.

Just as he recognized the man as Franky, his head smashed into something hard, and he saw no more.

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When she and Franky broke to the surface, she gasped, coughing up some water before she shouted, hitting Franky's shoulder, “He's down there! Stop, Franky! Franky! Save him!”

Ignoring her for the time being, the cyborg pushed her up to Zolo whom was held up by a multitude of Robin's outstretched, secure arms. While Robin pulled them both up, he said, “Where is he!?”

She sobbed, saying through her hands and fingers as she covered her face, “The rocks! He hit the rocks!”

“Shit!” The weather took that moment to clear up as Franky dove down once again for their captain.

Once she was pulled up, Nami stumbled to her feet, and ran to the deck railing, sometimes coughing up specks of water as she searched for Franky and Luffy. She flinched when someone touched her back, and she looked up to see Robin beside her. Nami said, clutching her hand, “He smashed against the rocks, Robin. He gave me his air!”

Releasing a short gasp, the older woman could only nod, and rub her back, “He'll be all right. If you were the one that hit the rocks, I don't think you'd be alive right now. Luffy can take that kind of hit.”

“So I picked you up, and tried to push you to the surface, but all I could do was stand in the water, holding you up. And I thought that you had to live, no matter what.”

“Luffy,” she said, her hands pulling at her own hair while she stared hard into the water.

He smiled, “You know what's funny though? I don't think I'd care about sinking. I think I'd try to follow you in, and drown anyway.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she nodded when Robin said, “He saved your life. I think he knew what would happen to you if you struck those rocks. Don't worry so much about him. He'll make it.”

“I know,” she said. “He was just saying some things last night, and … Robin, he hit the rocks so hard …”

Running over, Usopp inspected their drenched states, and he said, “Are you two okay?”

Robin smiled for him, but Nami watched the waves, “We'll be fine. Nami-san is just a little shaken. Once the captain's found, she'll be even better.”

Nodding dubiously, he leaned over the rail as well, and pulled down his goggles to try seeing through the water. He said after a long moment of silence between the three, “I think he's got him!”

When Franky surfaced with the young man across his shoulders, he said, “Oi, Chopper! He got a bad beating against the rocks!”

Starting in dread, Nami realized that some of the red in the water wasn't from Luffy's shirt, and she ran to where Zolo and Chopper were about to pull him onto the deck. When he was laid onto his back, the reindeer relaxed after checking his pulse and breathing. Nami hung back with the others, watching as Luffy's chest sank and rose shallowly. He suddenly gasped for air, arching slightly before he flopped back, and choked on water before he coughed it out himself when Chopper turned him onto his side.

Once he was still, Chopper checked for his breathing again, and then he nodded, “I'll take him to the sick bay. He has a nasty gash on his head. Can someone support it for-?” Immediately coming forward, Nami cradled his rolling head into her hands, and he lifted his torso while Sanji stepped up to help deal with his dangling legs. The three were careful to keep him in a mostly horizontal position before they reached the sick bay. Chopper said when Luffy was on a stretcher, “I'll take it from here. He'll be fine as long as he doesn't wake up.”

Nami looked up sharply, “What?”

“If he wakes up, he'll want to move around, and he'll mess up my bandages,” Chopper said nervously. “It's better if he's resting anyway. I'll tell you when we can move him to his room.”

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There was a searing pain just above his forehead, and he gritted out a moan, clasping at what felt like paper on metal, “Nnnm … Nami …?”

“She's okay. Just go back to sleep.”

He would have nodded, but his head felt too heavy and bloated, so he just eased back with a smile, closing his eyes.

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“Nami?” She looked up from the hat in her lap, and he grinned at her upset face. Luffy said, “What's wrong? You're not crying, are you?”

Smiling back, she said, “I should punch you, you big jerk.” He snickered, and reached out for his hat to set it on his head as he sat up. She said, pushing his shoulders, “You need to lie down. Your head is bashed pretty bad.”

Tilting it slightly, he said, “It feels fine now.”

“You got stitches, you idiot!”

“Really?” He felt through his hair until he found the place with a little wince, “Oh, cool!”

Huffing, she leaned back into her chair, crossing her arms as she glowered at him. She said, “Oh, fine. Having stitches is cool. Getting slammed against a reef during a storm is cool too, I bet.”

“It is if you're okay,” he said, but then he blinked at the tears coursing down her cheeks, and he grabbed her hand. “Nami? You are okay, right?”

“I'm fine,” she said, and she covered her mouth. “All I could think about was what you said though. Before that too, you that said you would drown just to be with me. Luffy, don't say things like that anymore. I don't think I could take it if you got hurt again.” Frowning, he released her hand, looking out the window. She said, “Don't say things like that ever again, Luffy, please.”

“No.”

Jerking upright, she stared at him, and said, “What?”

“I meant it. Everything I've ever said to you. I won't pretend that I didn't say anything, and I don't want you to forget it either.” Leaning against the wall, he gazed back at her evenly, “I'm going to get hurt again, Nami. I'll get hurt a lot.”

He watched as she openly gritted her teeth before she just dropped her head. A short while passed before she nodded, and said, “I know you will. You just shouldn't risk yourself so much for me. Promise me you won't get hurt over me. Promise me you'll stay safe.”

“I won't make that kind of promise.”

“Please, Luffy!”

His teeth grinded together, and he clenched a fist into the sheets, “No.” When she stared at him, still uncomprehending, he said, “What kind of captain would I be if I let any of you get hurt? You're special to me, but you're also a part of my crew. If I make that promise, that's just one more step closer to making that promise to everyone else. I can't lose any of you, Nami, and I'll never make a promise like that. I can't.”

Closing her eyes, Nami said, “It just kills me - now more than ever - when you get hurt. When you gave me that air, I thought … For one second, I thought that might be the last time I saw you alive.”

Easing his legs out of his bed, and sitting to face her in a chair she had pulled up, he nodded, and said, “It's okay to worry about me, Nami.” After a moment, he smiled at her, and said, “I'm fine now, right?” He punched his own chest, “I feel great.”

“Yeah,” she said, and then she laughed shortly as if uncertain if it was appropriate. “I couldn't wait to see you wake up again.”

“And watch me eat?”

She blinked at him before giving him a deadpan look as his stomach suddenly roared, “Ah, I see.”

Grinning, he got up to dash toward the kitchen, “Sanji! Food!”

“Luffy, wait,” he stopped at the door, his hand on the doorknob as he looked back, waiting. She said, taking out a little bag with something gooey looking inside, “Didn't you want s'mores?”

Blinking before he grinned, Luffy came over to sit on his bed in front of her, and slapped his knees in excitement. He said, “Nami, you're the greatest!” He opened his mouth, expecting her to feed the s'mores to him herself, but only received a fist in his face for the effort. “Oi, Nami, what was that for!?”

“What the hell do you think I am? Your nanny?” She tossed the bag into his lap, “Honestly. You're a big boy. Feed your own mammoth of a gullet.”

Opening the bag, he pulled a s'more out before he upended the contents of the bag into his mouth. When she gaped at him, he smiled with a mouthful of the marshmallow goodness, and tapped her lips with the s'more he had taken out first, letting her take it from him. After swallowing, he said, “I just remembered something that'll make you feel better.” She raised an eyebrow dubiously at him, but he grinned, “You don't have to worry about me at all. I've already told you once that you're going to be the death of me.”

Smiling pleasantly, she grabbed his pillow, and smothered his face with it, “How's that supposed to make me feel any better, you jerk!?”

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THE END

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:D A longer one-shot for everyone! I've had this one sitting around for … a couple weeks, and only just this week sat down with a plot in mind. In the beginning, I didn't think they would actually leave the kitchen, but then it turned into this, so … yay? Review, please!

Also, chronologically-wise, this is sometime after Luffy's Fish Tank, but before I.O.U.

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