Luffy x isakai Girl

Tell me

     I stirred in my sleep. My stomach wouldn't stop growling. I tried to ignore it — the insatiable hunger. It felt like someone was drilling into my stomach, it was so empty. I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I yawned. Sorry, Luffy. I really need food. I shimmied past the mane of the Sunny's figurehead and slid down the back of its head onto the deck.

It was a little hard to see. The once clear skies were now dimmed with dark looming clouds. I walked through the deck, heading toward the kitchen, when something caught my eye. It was almost like a shadow... lurking... my eyes widened. A shadow?

Suddenly, a piercing pain drove like a corkscrew through my forehead. I screamed, grabbing my head as I fell to my knees. It hurts. My head hurts.

My stomach growled again. The same hunger pains that haunted me for those days I had been... damn it all. I reached for my scarf, my only form of comfort, but it wasn't there.

Suddenly, water filled my mouth, bursting out of my mouth and nose as I coughed and hacked. I couldn't scream. I was too busy choking. Sweat beaded on my body. My throat burned and my lungs crackled as I gasped for air. I couldn't tell what was worse. The pain in my head? The fear? The anxiety? The pain of drowning, over and over? Edging so close to death, so tantalizingly close. Tears pricked at my eyes.

"Misaki, this is becoming tiresome."

"Fuck off." I choked out. "Luffy—!" I looked back to the Captain's seat, only to see a silhouette of Luffy buckled over, coughing up water.

"Are you ready to talk?"

"Go to Hell." I said, returning my eyes to the figure in front of me.

"Talk, Misaki."

"Luffy...." I said, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Misaki, tell me what you know!"

"No way!" My head.

"Misaki!"

"Luffy! Please!" It hurts!

"Misaki! Tell me!!!"

"Luffy!"

"MISAKI!" My eyes snapped open. Luffy had his hands on my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "Tell me what happened to you already!" He said, his nose against mine.

"Luffy" I breathed a sigh of relief, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Luffy grabbed my hands in his, his eyes fierce.

"Misaki, enough is enough!" He said, making my eyes widened. "You're so pale, you look like a ghost! And you're shaking like a leaf!"

"Luff—."

"You have to talk about it!"

"I don't wan—!"

"No! You have to talk about it, or else you might never get over it!" He said, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. I grit my teeth.

"I... I can't..."

"Yes you can! You can talk to me!"

I tried to push him away, but I was too weak —drained by yet another nightmare.

"You can't keep going like this. It's been every night now! Just.... Talk to me, Misaki. Tell me."

I didn't know how to begin. How could I possibly tell him? The man who doesn't live in the past? The man who shouldn't blame himself for these nightmares, but is doing just that?

    "I... I...." I could feel tears beginning to spill down my face. I started hyperventilating and hiccuping. I wrapped my arms around him and held him as tight as I could, as if any instant, he would disappear. I held on for dear life.

   It's ok. I'm here. I'm here." Luffy said, placing a hand on my head. I couldn't stop trembling.

  "I was so scared!!!!" I wailed. I hated admitting it. I really hated admitting it. Especially to someone like Luffy.

   "You were so brave though." Luffy said softly, still holding me.

   "I had to be!" I cried. "I was all alone!"

   "What did he do to you?" Luffy said gently.

   "He... he made me feel like I was drowning... over and over... everything hurt. My lungs still hurt from it."

"Like you were.... Drowning?"

I nodded into his chest, sniffling. "Everything he did was physical and mental torture."

"Wait so... he didn't just make it feel like it...?"

I shook my head. "No, you're right. He controlled it, but he drowned me over and over." I muttered, muffled by his chest. "He did another thing..."

Luffy gulped, making me wince. "I... I'm here, Misaki... you can talk about it."

"He..."

    How do I even explain this??? I started blubbering, clutching Luffy's shirt as my voice waivered. All of the things I went through. All of the ways I kept from going insane. All of the feelings I had. All of the pain I suffered.

   "You're here now, Misaki. You're safe." Luffy said quietly as I sobbed.

   "Am I?" I whined.

   "What do you mean?!"

    "Part of me is still afraid. I'm so afraid that all of this now is just a daydream, and that I might somehow still be stuck on that table, getting slowly tortured into insanity." My grip tightened on his shirt as I cried. I couldn't help but be tormented by the thought. "Those dreams... the pain feels so... real.... I'm so afraid I will open my eyes and be right back there."

   "You won't be, Misaki." Luffy said, tightening his grip on me. "Because there is no way in Hell that I wouldn't find you before then, right?"

    "R...r..ighht"

    "This is real, Misaki!" Luffy said, pushing me back so I could look at him. "I'm real!"

    He grabbed my hand and placed it on his chest. I could feel his heart beat in his chest, and he felt warm to the touch. He then grabbed my scarf, which must have fallen off as I tossed and turned. He placed it firmly around my neck.

   "This is real." He kissed me on the forehead. "The food is real. It's all real."

    "So.... So is the pain." I squeaked out, tears pouring down my face. Luffy's breath caught for a minute before he continued.

   "It'll fade. Maybe there is some damage that's making the pain seem more real. You should have Chopper check you out." Luffy said softly.

   "I... I hadn't thought of that."

   "Once in a while, I can be smart." Luffy said, breaking my crying into laughter. "Heyyy." He wiped my cheeks, which were drenched in tears. "There's that smile."

   "Luffy?"

    "Hm?"

    "Thank you." I said, my bottom lip forming into a pout. Luffy grinned at me.

    "Do you at least feel a little better?"

    "I do."

     "Do you wanna try going back to sleep?" He said as I yawned.

    "Yeah.... I'm so... tired..." I said, relaxing into him. Luffy laid back, letting me rest on his chest as his arms stayed steadfast around me. My trembling had stopped, and I was utterly exhausted. With two days up straight and then several days of disruptive sleep patterns thanks to nightmares, I was absolutely shot. I sighed into Luffy's chest, feeling far more secure and at peace. Luffy kissed my hand before I fell heavily back to what would hopefully be a peaceful sleep.