Pieces of Horror

The Man Who Can't Breathe (Prologue)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Insidious. This is a fan-made fiction.

Summary: He has never heard about it before nor thought of it as possible but when Luffy starts having bruises and acting strange, Law decides to throw away all common sense and confront the unknown.

++Prologue++

Law's P.O.V.

I used to share the apartment with my cousin Sanji before he eventually moved in with his significant other. It was nice to have all the space to myself but I soon found myself having minor financial problems since I was now alone in paying for a family-sized apartment.

I was thinking of leaving, skimming though ads in the newspaper as well as searching over the internet for cheap living spaces nearby.

But to be honest, I didn't really want to go. The apartment was near my workplace and I've already gotten used to the area. If I had to go, I would miss getting free drinks on the bar next to our building.

My worries were forgotten when Sanji told me his and his boyfriend's mutual friend was looking for a place to stay in the city. He assured me that he's a pretty decent guy and they both owe him a great deal. I wasn't going to agree at first but considering that I wanted to stay and he had been recommended by my cousin, I conceded.

I'm not sure whether it was one of the worst or best decision I've ever made. Doesn't make sense? I don't get it either.

Luffy did seem like a normal and decent guy when I first met him. An opinion that did not survive the next minute. Overly energetic, loud and too touchy feely for my liking, just interacting with Luffy drained me.

At first, I started putting more hours on my job which just entailed me hanging out there longer as there weren't really a lot of people who wanted to get inked those days. It was childish but I wasn't prepared to deal with him. Or that I just didn't want to. That was until Luffy befriended my boss by some fucked up coincidence.

Now Luffy was even often at my workplace, chatting casually with Cora-san.

I figured it was no use avoiding my housemate when he was everywhere (he managed to befriend the whole block). And it was really stupid to have attempted so. It was then that I realized he wasn't that bad and his smile makes him real cute. He seemed carefree and innocent, pulling people into his circle, into his pace – like the sun. I stopped my thoughts there.

It took some time getting used to but I guess he was a pretty likeable guy.

It was one Friday night, however, that made me rethink Luffy.

I had been writing an article late at night as I did content writing as a side job and ran out of coffee. In my way to the kitchen, I noticed him sitting by the window, hugging his knees. He was looking outside but I think he was crying – I heard sobs. I walked away silently and went to get my coffee.

I was curious. Luffy never did seem sad when I'm with him or when I see him anywhere else. But why was he crying that night? I wanted to know but I didn't asked about it. It's not like I'm telling him anything about myself either. Asking for someone's sob story often lead to that.

I found myself observing Luffy, looking for clues to answer the unimportant questions that had been eating me. He was a contradiction in my eyes. I felt that I both understand and not understand him. But time spent with him made my days a bit better.

Without realizing it, I had become his friend.

We often buy groceries together – him buying a lot of meat and me burrowing my eyebrows with expiration dates. While we often go out for meals, there were more times that I just made a meal at home (Luffy can't cook, he says) and watched movies at some nights. In other days, I just get dragged to a new place somewhere by an enthusiastic Luffy.

However, it was when I had a little accident with the oven that I learned about Luffy's brother Ace and how he died.

Both of them were firefighters and Ace died protecting him on the job. Although he never shed a tear while telling me about it, he eventually broke down when I felt like placing my arms around him. It was just a spur of the moment but I think it made us both feel better.

Luffy eventually got a job at the local fire station after a month of staying in this city, which surprised both Zoro and Sanji. But they were both happy for him for moving on. I think I also feel the same way as well.

Without being aware of it, we were spending a lot of time with each other.

Be it going out for a walk in the park or dropping by in a beach on whim. Along the way, Luffy managed to convince the landlord and me to adopt a dog in the shelter. While the others teased us for finally starting a family, I think Luffy is just a really, really good friend – a friend that I'd like to...

Life seemed really great and for the first time, I felt like actually living each day – not just going through it. I thought things would go this well for a long time.

Three months after he moved in, Luffy got into an accident. And it changed everything.