COAST - Luffy x Reader

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I wanted to reemphasize that the discord server is up for everybody to join! Last chapter I ended up using a link that expired. This one should be infinite, so if anybody had trouble joining it's all set now!!

I am struggling with this arc, it's rough out here. There's gonna be a lot of skipping around, so chapters will vary in length (hence why this one is so short). Hopefully it's not too confusing!! I was planning on getting into the whole 'groggy ring' fight where Zoro and Sanji participate, but I've decided to make it easier on myself by skipping over it and focusing on the games where MC specifically participates.

With all that in mind, just know this chapter is more about filler and feelings, where we unpack the problems reader and Luffy had last chapter real quickly. It's not where I intended for everything to go, but it worked out lol.

Next chapter will be much longer, and more action-packed (probably).

Happy reading guys <33

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"No– No! I don't wanna go, no– Stop it, put me down!" Chopper cried as the opposing team dragged him away, flailing his tiny hooves in petrified unwillingness.

"Oh no, Chopper!" Nami cried with an outstretched hand, but halted the movement before she could instinctively snatch him back to us. This was part of the rules of the Davy Back Fight, and they were unchangeable. There was nothing we could do but watch as Chopper was dragged away from us.

We lost.

Despite everything – including our navigators' swift thinking when faced with the rapid currents of the coral reef, and Usopp using an impact dial for a quick getaway – We lost.

In the pirate captain's desperation as Nami, Usopp and Robin successfully thwarted the man's ploys to distract them throughout the course, Foxy eventually took matters into his own hands. Just as our team would have crossed the finish line, the vile captain showcased his trump-card mere moments away from a clean victory. The secret that split-head had withheld from us was his devil fruit, one that contained the power to emit pink beams of 'slow-mo photons,' which effectively froze the trio in their places long enough where Porche and her 'Cutie Wagon' could cross the goal. The rest of us watched in horror while it all unfolded, confetti flying through the air as our enemies mockingly celebrated around us.

Chopper continued to wail as Foxy, along with Porche, picked the little reindeer up into their arms and nuzzled against his soft fur. They gushed over his dismay, completely disregarding his dislike for the contact or for the situation entirely. I frowned, the saddening droop of my heart intensifying as Chopper begged for us to take him back.

I moved wordlessly from our own captain. Luffy was calling Chopper's name in anguish, and I was unable to stand between him and Sanji anymore. Annoyance plucked the hairs from my head as I stepped towards Nami and Robin instead, revolted by the belated reaction he was showcasing. I wanted to revoke my apology, my forgiveness. An enormous part of me was almost disdainful that none of them, especially my own soulmate, had listened to me during the fiasco of the party boats... Maybe this wouldn't have happened if that were the case.

"So, that creep was after Chopper?" Sanji mumbled, hands in his pockets. He at least looked guilty about the situation, compared to the others. "Well, I suppose that he is the rarest of rare animals..."

Luffy growled, the confirmation of our loss finally setting in. I ignored him, spotting Zoro who had sat himself on the ground, facing away from the current catastrophe with a bottle in his hand. I grit my teeth, turning away from him, too.