Freedom & Fate | One Piece x Reader

Chapter 57 | Strange Place

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The sound of your heartbeat resonates against Luffy's back. A wave of adrenaline rushes over him as he becomes overly aware of your presence. Blood must have rushed to his face because Sanji is now staring at him.

"Everything alright?" he asks, wondering if the strange weather somehow affected his captain's wellbeing. "You don't look too good. Should we switch?"

"NO!" Luffy immediately shouts, sending Sanji tumbling backwards into the snow.

Annoyed, he stands up and brushes the snow off his pants. "Alright, geez. If you want to carry her that bad. Let's get going."

Trying their best to ignore the fact that the snowflakes are standing still, they continue to march towards the tall mountains. The layer of snow on the ground reached up to their knees and the staleness they took in with every breath still remained.

But with every breath, they also took in the beauty of this winter wonderland. And without realising it, the snowflakes started descending from the sky again. Suddenly, Sanji looks back, trying to catch a last glimpse of the scenery frozen in time but it was already gone. Lost in the winter and melted into this white canvas.

Each step Sanji takes gets smaller and smaller until he is almost standing still. He was digging thoroughly through his memories, trying to link together the bits and pieces of the old tale. When he thought he caught onto a thread, it immediately slipped through his fingers. He theorised that the story of the twelve legends is connected to your powers. If he could only remember the details, maybe he could have treated the after effects too.

Thinking about this tale awoke a long lost fascination in his heart. 'Where does Y/N come from? How did she gain these abilities? How does she control them?' Many questions swirled through his mind. Without realising it, his legs sped up and he almost caught up to you again.

Luffy is trying his best to only concentrate on his breathing and marching forward. He thinks that if he gets distracted and is conscious of the fact that you are on his back again, he will go crazy. Of course in his mind, he still knows that you are there but he is trying his hardest to not think about it and focus on the task at hand. But with you moving your head or body from time to time made it almost impossible.

You are in a drowsy state, not able to open your eyes nor speak. Even though you were not sure if you could feel your hands, you tried to hold onto something. You did not know how, but you felt someone else moving you. That should have been enough of a concern to rip you out of your daze but there was a strong sense of trust which kept you relaxed.

Sunken in their own thoughts, they soon reached the bottom of the mountain. Luffy looks up and sees that the top is not visible. The snowstorm is getting heavier by the minute and the only way to the doctor right now is to climb this steep and cold wall in front of them.

With bare hands and feet, Luffy and Sanji begin their straining ascent. After several hours of cruel weather conditions and facing the danger of falling to their death, they had the gigantic castle in sight. At this moment of happiness, the strength in Sanji's fingers leaves him and he loses grip of the wall. Screaming, he plumps into the abyss as a rubber head quickly catches him. Full of exhaustion, they reach the top and collapse headfirst into the soft snow.

A little creature noticed the movement from inside the castle and came hurrying to the edge of the mountain. It looms over the two of them as it hears them mumbling the words 'doctor' and 'Y/N' over and over again. The creature carries you all with its strong arms to the warm and safe castle.

"Doctorine! We have new patients!"

ஐ

You glance up at a woman wearing a pale summer dress. Her white hair is shimmering in the sunlight. You could not feel anything even though she is holding your hand tightly. But your heart aches when you realise her face is blurry.

'Is this... a dream?' your thought echoed through the gigantic empty room. Only a grandiose piano was standing in the middle of this place. Everything feels so big compared to yourself, a feeling you haven't had in a long time.

When you look closely at the piano, you could see someone playing it. A little boy... or so it seemed. The moment you blinked, he disappeared.

The white-haired woman kneels down in front of you. Although you cannot recognise her face, you know that she is someone important to you.

"Time to wake up, my-"

Panting, your eyes rip open. You are looking at an unfamiliar ceiling, lying in an unfamiliar bed. Careful not to make any hasty movements, you sit up and look around this strange room filled with books, pots and strange machines. The decorations chosen for this place is more than questionable which makes it hard for you to stay calm.

Your eyes dart around looking for an exit but suddenly you freeze when they land on a fluffy little creature. It stares back intensely, leaning onto the archway of the entrance. You are not sure if it is trying to hide from you.

After a moment of silently staring at each other, the small reindeer relaxes from his tense posture. He curiously walks up to you and looks at you questioning.

"Are you feeling better human?" he asks with a cute voice. "You are... a human, right?"

You give him a confused look. "I'm pretty sure I am." He stares at you with his round eyes. "Oh, and yes, I feel a lot more energetic now. Thank you."

"It's just strange that I don't feel cautious around you at all," he confesses. "I usually sense a hint of danger from strangers since I'm a reindeer. But you don't give off anything at all."

For a moment you think about what just happened. "Wait... you can talk?"

✘

Hello, everyone!

I'm sorry it took me so long to release a new chapter... I was adjusting to high school again and since I am going to graduate this year, things will start getting a bit serious.

Of course, I am still going to continue writing but keeping to a regular update schedule will be more difficult. I hope you can understand!

I also wanted to say that I read all your wonderful and hilarious comments all over the chapters haha! I'm so happy you are enjoying this story and I appreciate every one of you~ You readers give me the motivation to write after all~

Well then, until next time...

~ Rin