Protectors [One Piece Fanfiction]

Best Friend in the Whole Entire World

Best Friend in the Whole Entire World

Actually, no, it was not that Irin didn't want to see Luffy, she just felt too ashamed to face him. Why? Well...

When the two were younger, they were best friends. He was her first friend and she was his too. They met before Ace was a part of their lives, Garp brought the abandoned Irin home, sheltered her and took care of her which, of course, meant that she met Luffy. He was the friendliest person she had ever met and she would still say the same thing at aged 19, there truly was no one friendlier than Luffy.

Irin always knew that Luffy wanted to be a pirate and she always supported him. They ran through jungles together, sprinted through fields and got lost together. Even after Garp left the two of them at Dadan's place and even after they met Ace, they were still just as close. They even met Sabo together! Luffy and Irin had all the fun in the world but one day, she suddenly disappeared. The Straw Hat boy cried for days, thinking she was kidnapped or that she fell down somewhere and was unable to escape. He thought she had died even after Ace tried reassuring him that she was probably fine.

Irin disappeared? No. She had left with Garp to train for the Marines. Being a part of the Marine's was her goal even though she admired pirates like Shanks. Irin had left without telling Luffy, not even leaving a note for him and she felt very bad for doing so. Ace, on the other hand, knew of Irin's goals because their age gap was closer and they spoke about their ambitions more than when she was with Luffy. So when Irin disappeared, Ace knew but he didn't know whether to tell Luffy or not. 'What if she had a reason for not telling him?' Ace thought. In the end, he never told his brother about Irin.

In short, the pink haired girl felt ashamed to meet Luffy because she left without telling him when he thought she had died all this while and that she was a Marine. Irin was afraid that Luffy would despise her because she left him so she could become a Marine. A Marine of all things she could've been.

Back to the current situation.

Luffy thought she was dead. He thought his childhood best friend, Irin, was dead but there she stood, well and alive. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly agape from when he gasped at the sight of her. Irin had grown. Her hair was a lighter shade of pink now, she was taller now and she just looked different overall, her face had matured along with her body. Though she was much different compared to how she looked as a child, Luffy was sure that this was the same person he used to chase butterflies with.

The two made eye contact and stared at each other wordlessly. Luffy took a step towards Irin and called out to her, "Irin...". His brows were raised, he couldn't believe his eyes. Írin opened her mouth to speak, "Luf-'' but she was cut off when Luffy was engulfed into a hug. Her eyes widened because she did not expect Luffy to hug her, let alone recognise her.

The boy held her in his arms tightly to make sure that she was real and not a ghost. Luffy's arms were wrapped around Irin's body, his head resting on her shoulder as his eyes remained wide while tearing up. Irin was tense in his hold because she had not expected Luffy to hug her. The sudden human contact and the fact that Luffy was hugging her was what made her tense but once she got used to the heat, her body relaxed. Irin slowly brought her arms towards Luffy's back and hugged him back. Her actions surprised the teary eyed pirate and he hugged her even tighter than he did before before he started to allow his tears to flow out. Luffy was so glad to see Irin alive and well.

 He was so happy she was alive. He missed her so much. He missed her so much that he couldn't contain his tears. This was the person he had ran in fields with, the person he grew up with, the person who encouraged his dreams, the person who always believed in him, the person he shared his meat with and the person he had longed to see again. She was right there in his hold, his best friend who he missed so very much.