COAST - Luffy x Reader

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

As requested... Here is a chapter in Luffy's POV! It's communication time again!!

LOTS of ups and downs in this one, somewhat bittersweet (I love angst ugh)... Luffy is still getting used to the whole soulmate thing, and so is MC. Just a quick forewarning, though; I kept it in third person, so it's still him, but it's not written in 'I/me/my' form. That's primarily what the MC's dialogue is written in, so I didn't want to cause any confusion ykyk

Lmk what you think!! I had a super difficult time with this one. I always do my best to not portray Luffy as too OOC, but I was a little nervous writing a whole-ass chapter from his point of view. Y'all already know I edited this like two or three times to be sure LMAO so sorry if it seems late!! I even had to enlist my bf to read part of it, I was so nervous lol (he approved, so we're good).

Happy reading!! <33

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Tiny hands struggle to hold the chopping knife steady, a plethora of ingredients glare at the girl from the side as she shakily moves to slice the first in line, impatient for their upcoming turn. She cuts once, twice before the blade nearly slips from her hands.

"Here," A soft voice beckons, more little hands join the cutting board. Both pairs bear different colored pastel-bandaids. "Like this, or else you'll cut yourself."

"You shouldn't be asking for help." The woman's voice severs the welcome advice. "I've told you a thousand times before how to do it right."

There's nothing to say. The tiles on the floor are glowering, too.

"And you," The other girl is addressed. "You shouldn't sacrifice your rewards helping a lost cause."

A rare instance of bravery from the first girl, defending the second. A mistake unfortunately made.

"What did you just say to me?"

SLAP!

"Don't talk back to me." The woman berates, and then offers a lighter, kinder hand to the second child. "Only obedient, useful children are allowed to have nice things."

A door shuts. The rats race around the girl with a wide girth, tails tied together as they scurry to get their dinner. Her stomach growls in disappointment – even her own body seemed to dislike her.

"(Y/n), aren't you hungry?" A small voice calls to her, the breeze from the open window icing the tears on her cheeks. "I grabbed this for you."

A sole slice of garlic bread, slightly stale after stowing-away through the long hours of the night. "Ashlyn... what if they find out?"

The tough carb gets stuck between the gaps in her teeth. Her mouth waters all the same. A hand replaces the food when it's gone, holding tight.

"They keep saying you're useless..." The only one she could call family sighs sadly, black hair tousled from a lack of being brushed. The background noise of the city served to hide their hushed whispers from sleeping rodents around. One squeak would mean big trouble. "They might... send you back. I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to leave you," The hungry girl sobs, her only source of comfort in the other's arms. "But they hate me..."

A lone scoff.

"But you did leave."

"Ashlyn?" The girl cries, arms hanging limply in the empty air. There was no warmth, no shoulder to cry on... nothing there to keep her steady anymore. Where had she gone?