Luffy x isakai Girl

Reconnect

I parked the truck in the driveway, feeling pretty well prepared. Everything was tucked neatly away in my camping bag. This meant that I would be free of any more preparation for the rest of my days here. Well, aside from one —

"Misaki!" Luffy said, making me jump.

I opened the door and looked at him questioningly. He looked pretty annoyed.

"You need to tell your mom." He said, shortly.

"Luffy, I don't want to have this conv—"

"—Shut up! These are the last few days you will see her, Misaki! Do you realize that?"

I tried to stutter out a response, but nothing really came out.

"Don't you want to spend your last few days with her not keeping a big secret?"

"I..."

"Are you really ok with that?!"

"N-no." I admitted.

"Then just go tell her already!"

"But I.."

"But what?" Luffy said, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"What if she just thinks I'm crazy, Luffy?"

Luffy smiled. "She won't. Let's go talk to her."

We walked up to the house and I froze right outside the door. Luffy looked at me, unflinching. I had nothing in my head — nothing to start with. I had no idea where to begin. Hey mom, I hopped universes by accident and now I've chosen to leave this one and everything in it to go back. Yeah. Sounded crazy. How was this supposed to work? There was no instruction manual for something like this. Anxiety crept up my back, making me reconsider. I wasn't ready to tell my mother all of this.

   Luffy rolled his eyes and opened the door. Are you always this pushy? He gave me a little push and I took a step in, pausing to take another moment to collect myself.

   "Momma?" I hollered.

   "Up here!" She said cheerily. Great. Now I'm going to ruin whatever good mood she is in.

   I walked up the stairs and made my way to the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch, her feet propped up on the ottoman, reading a book. She looked so peaceful and... just... she was my mom. My wonderful, brash, unstoppable, spitfire of a mother. I bit my lip, something lurching in my chest as I looked at her. My mother, whom I adore more than anybody else in this world. She peered over her reading glasses at me as I sat down on the ottoman. My mother, who I plan to abandon in this world. I looked back at Luffy and he nodded. Ok. Here it goes.

   "Mom?"

   "Yes?" She answered, closing her book.

   "Uh...." How do you start a conversation like this?! I took a deep breath. "You love me, right?"

   "Of course I do!" She said, smiling sweetly at me.

   "And you want me to be happy, right?"

   "Of... course I do..." She said, raising an eyebrow at me.

   "Well, I'm going to be leaving in about a week."

   "You mentioned." Her voice got sterner.

   "But I um. I left some things out." I hesitated, looking at my hands. How? I felt my eyebrows furrow, and my nose scrunch a little. "I was too afraid to tell you, because I thought you would think I was crazy."

   My mom put her book down and leaned forward, ready to listen to what I had to say. I took a deep breath, trying to find the best words to describe my journey. To describe the irreplaceable bonds I made. To explain why I was so happy being there. My heart was hammering in my chest, and my hands were trembling. I could hear my voice starting to get shaky and I started talking faster. My mom was sitting there, leaning forward, listening to every word as if it was the last words I would ever say to her.

   "That's not Lou Freeman. That right there is Monkey D. Luffy, and... it sounds far fetched... but I want to be with him when he becomes king of the pirates. I want to be free. He helped me to feel free. I want this. I want it so badly, it hurts. And I can only hope that you are ok with that." I sat up straight. "I plan to go back to the world with the One Piece. And that means I may never come back."

   My mom waited. She listened fervently to everything I had to say. I could feel tears pricking at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.  Instead, the words continued to spill out, like a fountain.

   "And that doesn't mean I don't love you guys. And it doesn't mean that you didn't make me feel at home here. I just... I just..." I couldn't find anymore words. Everything came spilling out up until then. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping I could portray what I felt. Just then, I felt a hand cup over my face. I could barely open my eyes. My vision was blurred by the tears, but I could make out my mom smiling at me.

   "You need to go home." She said, her green eyes sparkling as she spoke. "I understand."

   Damn it. The tears I had been forcing back began to spill over. We stood up and hugged each other as tightly as we could. This was the person I would miss the absolute most.

   "It's about time you told me, mini-me!" She said, squeezing me. "Let's make these last days count!"