STOP- Major spoilage ahead. If you have not read Ch 597 drop what you are doing and read NOW! I will not be held responsible.
Oda is a genius (bastard)... I cant believe he did this. Someone please tell me I'm dreamin. (pinch myself) Ow... dang, definately not a dream. Alright this is a short fic I wrote out pretty quickly to kinda stop myself from going into shock though my world has already been thrown for a loop. It's just some random thoughts from Luffy as he waits for his nakama to return after the 2 yr meeting time. EDIT: Thanks to Neko of Death for pointing out that Perona was wrong calling 3D2Y a tattoo.
Ok I want to hear your thoughts on the recent happenings in the OP world. I gotta know that I'm not the only one freakin out here.
Disclaimer: Not mine if it were this would never happen!
Two Years
It was sunset, the sun was just beginning to sink into the ocean's waves. The sky above was being painted a brilliant array of reds and oranges as a cool breeze blew. The massive group of mangrove trees that formed the Sabaody Archipelago shifted and swayed in the wind. Near Grove 41 in a small inlet sat a ship that had not sailed for two years. His crew was scattered to the winds so there had been no reason for The Thousand Sunny to again face the open waters of the Grand Line.
Today was different though. This day there was a comfortingly familiar presence that had stepped aboard the lion-headed pirate ship. As the evening drew closer to night and the sky began to darken little by little a young man relaxed against the rails as he stared out into the sea. The Thousand Sunny felt happiness again, it had been far too long since the captain had set foot on his decks.
Luffy leaned back against the rail taking in the comforting feel of being reunited with Sunny again. It had been such a long time since he last saw this ship or his nakama. "I wonder how much they've changed? How strong have they gotten in time apart?" His signature straw hat hung loosely around his neck as he ran a hand through his hair. It was longer than it used to be, he really need to get it cut again, he didn't like long hair. People back in his village said he looked like Ace when his hair got longer like this.
The air was turning cooler with the coming of night and Luffy couldn't help the slight shiver at the nip in the air. "I should change." He mumbled to himself not moving to do so as he looked down at his clothes. A simple red tank top and blue jean shorts were all he wore, even his feet were bare. Luffy sighed expanding his haki again to see if he could find his crewmates coming toward the ship. No luck. Luffy unconsciously began to stretch the arm band he wore to give his nakama the coded message. The 3D2Y mark was faded and a bit ragged but Luffy couldn't bring himself to just throw it away. What if something was preventing them from coming back. Two years after all was a long time without your nakama.
The Strawhat captain frowned at the doubt of his nakama's strength. Just because he had nearly died several times since being separated didn't mean all of his crew was put into such danger. They were late though, Luffy had been waiting for the last two days for any sign of his crew but not one had shown up yet. Shaking the worry out of his mind Luffy took a glance around the deck of the ship. He could tell someone had tried to keep up on the maintenance over all this time but it was only very little. He didn't know who it could be, maybe Shakky would know, he would have to ask when he went back for the evening. The grass was slightly overgrown and there was dust and cobwebs in places. "Franky's not gonna like this." Luffy chuckled lightly, imagining the blue haired shipwright's expression upon seeing his dream ship in this state.
"Damn, I miss those guys." The pirate captain pouted, yes he was now nineteen years old, but he could pout if he wanted to. The training with Old Man Rayleigh had been intense but Luffy's childish stubbornness on some things refused to fade away. Luffy had to smile remembering the tough training he went through on that deserted island. He had said at the start it was going to be an adventure, he had never been more right. The old man barely gave him a day to rest. For two years it was all training, sparring, collapsing in exhaustion near death, recovering, and starting over. It was more than worth it though. Now he had more control over his haki not to mention he actually understood what haki was but there was still much he hadn't learned, stuff that Rayleigh had said he needed to discover on his own. He had also improved on his devil fruit ability. He had created strong new attacks both with and without his haki infused in them, he was confident now that he could protect his nakama against anything the New World would throw at them. If he wasn't strong enough Luffy was sure his crew had improved their abilities as well so that together they could go all the way to the end. To Raftel.
Luffy glanced at the sky again it had gone from the reds and oranges of sunset to the deep purples and blues of twilight with the first faint little stars starting to peek out. There was still plenty of light to see by so he decided to stay out here for just a bit longer. This time of day was always the most difficult back on that island, training was done, and dinner was being cooked. There was nothing to do but sit and think. He thought about a lot of things that during the day would be pushed from his mind. Ace, the Marines, what would happen once past the Red Line, but mostly he thought of his crew. His family.
Would Zoro be able to find his way back, as lost as the green haired man could get, that worried Luffy. Was Chopper going to be alright, he was pretty young to be out there alone, though Luffy didn't doubt if push came to shove the little reindeer could watch out for himself. Sanji didn't worry him all that much, he was just as strong as Zoro, and had a better sense of direction. He was sure Robin was safe somewhere, she was used to being on her own, she knew how to take care of things. Brook was also used to being on his own and him being a walking skeleton would scare most people off anyway. Could Ussop make it, even Luffy knew the sniper was a big fraidy-cat at the best of times. Franky was strong though and there was no way he would leave his precious ship in the hands of Luffy and the others, well maybe Nami or Robin. What about Nami, she was as stubborn as Luffy on most things and he knew she wouldn't just up and die now. Not after coming so far with them.
Luffy took a deep breath of the cool air then something tingled at the edge of his awareness. Something familiar. Something he had been waiting to feel for two years. His dark black eyes widened as the feeling came closer. "Oi, Luffy?" The captain whirled around at the voice that called out to him. Running to the other side of the ship Luffy looked down the shore where the small inlet curved away from sight.
"Luffy you there?" A different voice but Luffy was still just as happy to hear it. He felt as the joy from hearing his nakama's voices again filled the hole in his heart he didn't even know was there until that moment.
"Hey, Zoro, Nami I'm over here." He yelled waving frantically at the two figures that just walked into view. Even from this distance he could tell their differences but they had probably changed just as much as he had. Nami started to run toward the ship, Luffy could hear her laughter as she came closer. Zoro was calmly walking and if he were anyone else Luffy would have said there was a bounce to his step. The captain's grin widened as the rest of his crew followed the first two around the bend. Ussop and Chopper started running, following after Nami when they came in sight of the Thousand Sunny. The older crew members smiled and laughed but followed Zoro's example and walked the rest of the way.
His family was back together again. After being through so much and then going their separate ways they were reunited once more. Hearing Zoro and Sanji start bickering down the shore and seeing that Ussop and Chopper had caught up to Nami at the side of the ship Luffy finally felt like he was complete again. After two years of being apart and in strange lands there truly was nothing like coming home.
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Ok remember, tell me I'm not the only one who wants to strangle Oda right now.