Love Is Blind | ZoLu

30

⚠ TRIGGER WARNING: SELF HARM ⚠

~~~

Sitting still in the empty bathtub, Luffy's body began to tremble as he continued to run his hands throughout the layers of his soft and stretchy skin.

"I'm made of rubber... It won't cut me deep."

He thought, fidgeting with the light silver chalice blade in his fingers, growing accustomed to the security its touch gave him as he held it slightly tighter.

By now, his thumb and index finger were sliding carelessly back and forth throughout the razor as if they were playing a game of tag with each other: Whoever ended up with the first cut would win this sick and twisted challenge Luffy had created for them.

Taking in a deep breath, the mentally unstable Captain was now one slice away from finding out if his rubber skin would be damaged and permanently scarred, or if its elasticity was strong enough to survive what he was about to put it through.

At the pinnacle of the unguarded man's deadly decision, his actions were interfered with by his darkened mind that was trying to break free from the abyss it found itself within.

Instantly, he grasped tightly onto the sharp object, appearing to hide it the best that he could in the palm of his unsteady hands.

To help free him from those annihilative thoughts that held him hostile where he sat, were melancholic visions from the past that broke into his mind with no warning for preparation, whatsoever.

What he encountered next, lead the brunette to believe that he might not be as alone as he thought he was.

Perhaps the window above the rustic bathroom walls was left opened, or his bedroom was becoming colder because of the window that the Captain himself had lifted up, a while before making his way to his current location.

What ever may have been the cause, the young man wondered if that could begin to explain why a sudden gust of cold wind had passed right by him, strong and eerie enough to make his skin crawl.

Following the unexplained wind gust, Luffy jolted out of sheer shock, prepared to exit the bathroom as if someone had turned the shower on, despite the faucet remaining off.

His reason for wanting to leave wasn't because of a mere scare, and neither was it that he finally developed enough common sense to not cause irreversible damage to his body with the blade he had in his hand.

In reality, what snapped him out of his trance was a memory that appeared so clearly in the back of his mind, the Captain was almost convinced he had recovered his vision because of how vivid it felt to him.

But alas, like the many other times he's had farfetched dreams that make him awaken to the disappointing reality he now has to live with, he could only hear said lucid memory, never view it or physically feel what was beside him.

Even the most hypothetical or logical explanation could not prove him wrong. The Captain was set on one belief and no matter what, he wasn't planning on changing his mind about it: A spiritual presence was roaming around him.

Some people can often feel whenever something otherworldly is among them.

Be it the change of temperature within a room they walk into, or a high-pitched ringing sound in their ear that lets them know an entity is trying to communicate with them from the spiritual world, the ghost of a human being that has passed on will always make its presence known.

But while most have the instincts to capture these certain habits from spirits, some rarely get to see apparitions, and let alone communicate with them.

It appears that in Luffy's case, however... He was one of the lucky ones who could see and feel the spirits that were around him, without the need to see it with his eyes.

The presence was strong enough for Luffy to sense it amid the horripilations that were multiplying all over his skin.

Judging by the eerie bumps that were spreading like a rapid forest fire throughout his anatomy, the boy held the blade in his hand with more force than before as an act of protection towards it so that it wouldn't slip through his grip and be out of reach for him.

A shadow was cast upon his eyes, reminding him of when his vision was beginning to blur and fade away before being diagnosed as a blind man by Chopper.

The outline was less visible for him to see than the entity itself, so at an attempt to get a closer look, Luffy turned his head ever so slightly and could feel the wind growing colder against his face.

Shifting his strands of hair from side to side, the young man had the impression that the wind was trying to be playful towards him when his hair brushed against his nose, tickling him.

The boy's ears started ringing to gather his attention given that something was trying to get a message across him.

If his chest wasn't visibly rising up and down through his shirt, many would say Luffy had stopped breathing when he became deadly silent.

Two individuals were sitting on either end of the tub beside him, but Luffy could tell they weren't real.

To remind him that they weren't, he began to recklessly swing his hands, expanding them outwards, feeling nothing but the emptiness of the spacious tub.

“I know Luffy's a bit much to handle, but please, continue taking care of him.”

A voice to his left spoke with pure joy as the first tear descended from Luffy's cheek upon hearing it.

He dismissed it and continued to throw punches at the air, breathing unevenly and feeling his chest sink deeper than before while the walls began closing in on him.

"I know Luffy's a bit much to handle, but please, continue taking good care of him."

The presence that sat on his right repeated after the first voice spoke, adding barely noticeable changes from their sentence to the voice that had spoken to Luffy, on his left.

Two identical phrases, and only one answer as to who the sayings belonged to.

Covering his ears, the boy smiled through his pain, apologizing to the voices as their presence disappeared shortly afterwards.

"I'm being taken care of, now more than ever..."

Before letting something descend to the bottom of the tub from his hand, Luffy's grip tightened when he heard someone mention his name outside of his bedroom.

"Where are these ants coming from? And where did Luffy go?"

~~~