COAST - Luffy x Reader

CHAPTER TWENTY

OHOHOHO what do we have here?? 

This is the chapter that we've all been waiting for, COMMUNICATION!!

I AM SO EXCITED U HAVE NO IDEA. We're making progress in the relationship, guys!!

ENJOY!! <33

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My lungs pinch and squeeze with every ragged breath. Filling with the humid, muggy air of the temperate woods; the organs clog while I wheeze. Luffy's stick lies firm in hand, my fingers wound tight around the rough surface, sure to embed splinters in the skin. I'm surprised it hadn't broken already, considering my less-than-careful treatment of the thin piece of wood.

An enormous explosion erupts from behind, coming from the same direction that I was running from; I urge my already strained legs to push faster, farther. I needed to get to a safe spot, hide somewhere, and wait for Luffy to come get me. He would come get me. I hadn't felt a single bit of pain aside from my own, implying that he was winning the battle with the Guerilla, so all I had to do was follow his instructions.

KABOOM!

The noise nearly sends me sprawling, heart pounding at how close it sounded in spite of my attempts to move further away. I thought I was pretty fast, in most cases; though my injuries were probably slowing me down. Maybe that was just a stronger attack? Or were they moving closer in the midst of their fight?

I tangle my own legs trying to launch myself over a rogue stone, a mix between a grunt and a whine surfacing as I bash my knee into the hard surface. The tears burn my lash line. I try to ignore the feeling, and keep running.

The seconds pass by, disguised as minutes. I scramble aimlessly, still not hearing any sign of ceasefire as I do, and there has yet to be a place that looks both safe-and-obvious enough for Luffy to find me when it's over. At this point, I've since slowed due to my collision with the rock, and the adrenaline isn't aiding the pain anymore. Remnants of Chopper's medicine are all but gone from my system, the rest of which are in the reindeer's backpack; and who knows where he is now.

Limping seems like the only option I have left, kneecap throbbing, tender with every crook of the joint with each step taken.

SSSHRRK...

The noise of a massive tail dragging through the dirt is the only tell that it's still there.

A familiar sound which reverberates in both ears and legs, a reminder of how dangerous this forest really was. I don't move, hands clasped over my lips that exert heaving breaths, trying not to make a peep within its presence; trembling as I finally spot the dull-blue slither between the tree stems.

I stay stock-still, wanting to hold my breath but exhausted and unable to, pulse racing in my eardrums. Hopefully the beast hadn't noticed me yet, but if it had, then I was screwed.

Was the thing drawn here by the sounds of the fight? It didn't matter, if it spotted me I was as sure as dead; it was fast, absurdly fast for a creature as gargantuan as it was. There was no chance of me getting away with the current state of my injuries. A flash of spiny fangs and violet fluid swims around my skull, further fueling my terror.

The snake groaned, a low roll that sounded like thunder in a far-away storm, before sliding along the forest floor after its brief pause. I take that as my cue to try and hide somewhere, out of sight. A careful step to the side, and another, and another... It still doesn't seem to take any notice. It's a mix of horrified-amazement to see the unending span of the snake's body. No matter how long it seems to pass by, I can't find the tail-end. It doesn't seem possible for an animal to be so enormous in such a place.