when one looks back to their childhood, one remembers the vivid springs of laughter, climbing trees and reaching out for the stars, and making flower crowns in fields of flowers. but when [name] looked back at her youth, it was void of those colorfu...
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chapter 79.carrier of dreams
[ you have the right to be upset ]
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rusukaina was a wild place even when the sun was out, but at 2 am, it became something else entirely.
an orchestra of chirps, growls, and rustling leaves that made even the bravest animals hesitate. but not [name]. nope, [name] was out here, barefoot, hair damp with sweat, boxing wraps still tied around her hands, stalking through the jungle like some half-crazed bounty hunter. why?
because [name]'s captain, monkey d. luffy, had vanished. again.
"captain!" [name] called out, startling something in the trees that might've been a monkey, or something with more teeth. where did he go...?
ever since silvers rayleigh decided to "adopt" [name] and luffy as his trainees, life had been... organized chaos. the man was a legend, no question. his sword could cleave through anything, his haki lessons could make [name]'s head spin, and he could catch either of them off-guard like it was nothing.
but emotionally? the man had the warmth of a weathered rock.
nice enough, sure, but never coddling. he'd watch them both stumble, grin like he'd seen it a hundred times before, and say things like, "you'll figure it out."
(emotionally unavailable father coded).
and he did not cook.
that had been proven after one tragic attempt at stew where luffy ate it anyway ("it's not that bad!" he said, face green) and [name] had deadpanned because the pot was basically ruined. since then, food gathering had been [name]'s job and luffy's, with monthly supply drops courtesy of boa hancock and her pirate crew. [name] hunted, cooked, cleaned; luffy mostly hunted and taste-tested everything like a fearless poison detector.
(even though she was the one immune to poison. but who are we kidding? luffy used to eat meat raw anyways).
but tonight wasn't about food or training. her captain had been gone the whole day. and sure, he was luffy, wandering off was his thing.
but not an entire day.
...especially not after they'd only been here for three months, and he still woke up drenched in sweat from nightmares.
"did you see him anywhere?" [name] had asked before she left to find luffy.
but rayleigh only shrugged, unconcerned as always, "he's probably out making friends again, don't cha think?"
